Changes in Merkel cell oncoprotein antibodies after radiation therapy in curatively treated Merkel cell carcinoma and association with recurrence.

Background: Serum antibodies to the Merkel oncoprotein (AMERK) are detectable in approximately 50% of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and can be used to monitor for recurrence. The objective of this study was to characterize AMERK levels in patients receiving curative-intent radiation therapy (RT) for MCC and identify associations between AMERK and recurrence.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with MCC who had baseline AMERK measurements before they received curative-intent RT from 2010 to 2020.

Transarterial Chemoembolization Treatment Paradigms for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 90% of liver cancer cases worldwide and is currently the most quickly increasing cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The 5-year survival rate for primary liver cancer is estimated to be below 20%, and HCC mortality is expected to increase by 41% by 2040. Currently, surgical resection is the first-line approach to definitive treatment of early-stage HCC.

Patient and Treatment Factors Associated With Improved Local Control and Survival in Oligometastatic Bone Disease: Results From a Large Single-Institution Experience Using Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Limited data exist to guide optimal patient selection and treatment of bone metastases with curative intent despite the increasing application of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for oligometastatic (OM) disease control and reirradiation (Re-RT).

Methods And Materials: Clinical characteristics for 434 patients consecutively treated with bone SBRT at a single institution from March 2011 to June 2020 were analyzed by OM, spine, and nonspine bone using Cox regression to determine association with local control (LC), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), and the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate PFS and OS.

Results: Most patients had prostate (39%) or breast/lung (21%) cancer and 1 to 3 lesions (96%), with 651 lesions (spine 63%) treated for Re-RT (12%) or OMD (88%), including synchronous (10%), metachronous (28%), repeat (27%), or induced (23%) states as defined by The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer criteria.

Characterization of clinical outcomes after shorter course hypofractionated and standard-course radiotherapy for stage I-III curatively-treated Merkel cell carcinoma.

Background: Limited data exists regarding the efficacy of curative hypofractionated radiotherapy (hypo-RT) regimens compared to conventionally-fractionated radiotherapy (conv-RT) for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 241 patients diagnosed with non-metastatic MCC from 2005-2021 and who received RT at Dana-Farber/Brigham & Women's Cancer Center. The primary outcome was cumulative incidence of in-field locoregional relapse using Gray's test with competing risks of death and isolated out-of-field recurrence.

Hydronephrosis Due to Bilateral Tubo-ovarian Abscess.

A 27-year-old female presented to the emergency department with fevers, nausea, chills, and non-specific bilateral lower quadrant abdominal pain. A pregnancy test was negative. Computed tomography demonstrated moderate left hydronephrosis secondary to tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA).

Drugs on the Horizon for Chronic Pruritus.

Chronic pruritus is a common condition that has a detrimental impact on quality of life. As the molecular pathogenesis of itch is elucidated, novel therapies that disrupt itch pathways are being investigated. Emerging treatments include drugs targeting the neural system, drugs targeting the immune system, antihistamines, bile acid transport inhibitors, and topical drugs that work through a variety of mechanisms such as phosphodiesterase-4 inhibition or targeting of nerve ion channels.

Clinical spectrum and histological analysis of 32 cases of specific cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown aetiology in which skin involvement is frequent.

Objective: To review histological characteristics of biopsies of specific cutaneous lesions of sarcoidosis and their relationship with clinical course.

Patients And Methods: Biopsies from 32 patients with specific cutaneous sarcoidosis were reviewed.

High prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in biopsies from sarcoidosis patients from Catalonia, Spain.

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The presence of mycobacterial nucleic acid components in patients with sarcoidosis has been demonstrated with varying degrees of success.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in tissues from sarcoidosis patients, in Catalonia, Spain, as well as to assess the long-term clinical course in these patients.

Achilles tendinitis as the presentation form of Löfgren's syndrome.

Löfgren's syndrome is characterised by bilateral hilar adenopathy arthritis and erythema nodosum. Achilles tendinitis as the presentation form of Löfgren's syndrome is very unusual. Herein we present a case of bilateral achilles tendinitis as the presentation form of Löfgren's syndrome.

Sarcoidosis: family contact study.

Aim: To assess the familial aggregation in sarcoidosis in our environment.

Methods: The medical centers of Catalonia (Spain) were approached to identify, retrospectively, patients diagnosed as sarcoidosis from 1986 to 1988. 245 sarcoidosis cases were recorded (annual incidence: 1.

Epidemiology of sarcoidosis in Catalonia: 1979-1989.

For the purpose of estimating the incidence rate and clinico-epidemiological characteristics of sarcoidosis in Catalonia (a country comprising the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona, with a total population of 6 million people), we did a retrospective study of new cases diagnosed in the country's qualified hospitals during 1979 and the three-year period from 1986 to 1988. The annual incidence rate in the province of Barcelona was 1.2/100,000 in 1979 and 1.

Sarcoidosis: chest radiograph screening of familial contacts.

On the basis of the hypothesis that sarcoidosis might be a transmissible disease, we thought a study of the familial contacts of known cases, as is done in tuberculosis, might reveal asymptomatic cases. In order to assess the efficiency of chest radiographs in detecting asymptomatic sarcoidosis in such contacts, we carried out a cross-sectional study. The population studied consisted of 66 index cases of sarcoidosis who were self-selected by their agreeing to take part in the study.

[The Kveim-Siltzbach test in sarcoidosis].

Background: The Kveim-Siltzbach test has been widely used in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. This reactive is currently available in the authors' hospitals. Previous experience with this test in the same centers was reviewed to know its diagnostic usefulness.

Sarcoidosis in Spain.

We review the Spanish literature on sarcoidosis, and describe the most important epidemiological and clinical findings. Recent epidemiological data show a cumulative annual incidence rate of 1.36 per 100,000 inhabitants.

[Sarcoidosis in Catalonia: analysis of 425 cases].

In a retrospective cooperative study carried out in three Barcelona hospitals, 425 patients in whom a diagnosis of sarcoidosis had been made during a 15-year period were evaluated. Several parameters were evaluated and compared with those from the longest series in the literature. Remarkable epidemiological and clinical features included the female predominance, explained by the high frequency of clinical presentations with erythema nodosum; the high incidence of other skin lesions, and, by contrast, the low frequency of eye involvement.

Breakage and detachment of an Abrams needle in the pleural cavity during performance of a pleural biopsy.

This is the report of a case of breakage and detachment in the pleural cavity of the tip of a nearly new Abrams needle during performance of a pleural biopsy. We have not found any reference in the literature to similar accidents and do not know what later complications may be produced by the metal body in the pleural cavity. In this case, there have been no complications 12 months after the incident.