SAPHO syndrome in the differential diagnosis of metastasis.

SAPHO syndrome was proposed in the late 80s in order to group different osteoarticular manifestations with specific radiological findings such as the hyperostosis of the front part of the chest wall. Prevalence, etiology and pathogenesis of the disease are unknown, while diagnosis is made both clinically and by the specific gammagraphic image of «bull horn» in the sternoclavicular joint. The following case of a 64-year-old woman diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the right breast pT1N0Mx is reported.

The role of radiotherapy for prevention of heterotopic ossification after major hip surgery.

Heterotopic ossification or ectopic bone formation represents a widely known complication after surgery involving joint spaces. Posttraumatic heterotopic ossification can be found at any site. The most common postsurgical site is the hip following total hip arthroplasty.

Evaluation of the toxicity of the combined treatment of chemoradiotherapy, according to the scheme of Macdonald, after radical surgery in patients diagnosed of gastric cancer.

Purpose: In this study we evaluated the acute toxicity of the combined treatment with chemoradiotherapy, according to the scheme of McDonald et al, in patients diagnosed with gastric cancer, after radical curative surgery.

Methods: From July 2001 to December 2005, a total of 24 patients, with diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the stomach or adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction, who were operated with total or subtotal gastrectomy with free resection margins, were treated at our service with a combined scheme of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Results: Grade 3 toxicity or higher appeared in three patients (12%) and grade 2 in five of the twenty-four patients (21%).

Hypoxia and anaemia in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix.

Hypoxia and/or anaemia have an adverse prognostic impact in locally-advanced cancers of uterine cervix. Moreover, these parameters are independent of other well-known prognostic factors. However, the mechanisms by which treatment efficacy and survival are compromised by anaemia are not fully understood.