Long-term follow-up of elderly patients with operable breast cancer treated with surgery without axillary dissection plus adjuvant tamoxifen.

Between 1982 and 1990, 321 elderly patients (range 70-92 years, median age 77) with operable breast cancer (T1 in 219, T2 in 77, T3 in one and T4b in 24 patients) and clinically uninvolved axillary nodes underwent surgery without axillary dissection and received adjuvant tamoxifen. All patients had surgery performed under local anaesthesia. Tamoxifen was given after surgery at the dose of 20 mg daily, indefinitely.

Fenretinide in breast-cancer chemoprevention (review).

Fenretinide (4-HPR), a synthetic amide derivative of retinoic acid, has proven effective in preventing chemically induced mammary carcinoma in rodents. During the past years, our group has made a particular effort with regard to this molecule in clinical studies aimed at evaluating its pharmacology, toxicity and efficacy in breast cancer prevention. We have demonstrated that 4-HPR blood levels remain constant during administration for as long as 5 years, that the drug accumulates in the human breast, and that it induces a significant decline of plasma retinol and insulinlike growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels.

Total resection of glans penis surface by CO2 laser microsurgery.

Fifteen patients underwent resection of the whole glans surface with laser microsurgical technique from May 1983 to September 1987. The operations were performed in one stage in 11 cases and in two stages in 4. In 3 cases the resected lesions represented multiple dysplasia grade III or carcinoma in situ, in 1 case hyper/parakeratosis and penile horn, and in 11 cases superficial squamous cell carcinoma.

The lymphatic spread of ovarian germinal and stromal tumors.

This paper reports the results of lymphography in germinal and stromal tumors of the ovary. The group of patients is made up of 30 cases of germ cell tumors (70% dysgerminomas) and 29 cases of stromal tumors (62% granulosa cell tumors). The overall incidence of metastases was 29%; 37% in germ cell and 21% in stromal tumors.