Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer After Treatment with Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy--Room for Improvement?

Background: The standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) is concomitant chemoradiotherapy. In the majority of patients with LACC after properly executed concomitant chemoradiotherapy local control of the disease is achieved, and consequently distant relapse becomes the main cause of death for these patients. In an attempt to improve the outcome of patients with LACC, we designed a regimen of concomitant chemobrachyradiotherapy with cisplatin and ifosfamide followed by consolidation chemotherapy.

[Clinical recommendations for diagnosing, treatment and monitoring of patients with ovarian cancer -- Croatian Oncology Society and Croatian Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics as Croatian Medical Association units and Croatian Society of Gynecological Oncology].

Ovarian cancer together with fallopian tube represents the fifth most common female cancer in the Republic of Croatia. Epithelial ovarian cancer, serous subtype, encompasses most of malignant ovarian neoplasms. Less common are various non-epithelial ovarian malignancies.

[Clinical recommendations for diagnosing, treatment and monitoring of patients with endometrial cancer -- Croatian Oncology Society and Croatian Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics as Croatian Medical Association units and Croatian Society of Gynecological Oncology].

Uterine cancer occurs mainly in postmenopausal women, usually as vaginal bleeding. Following ovarian and cervical cancer it is the third most common cause of female reproductive system cancer death. Diagnosis is set by analyzing samples obtained via hysterectomy with salpingo-oophorectomy and pelvic / paraaortal lymphadenectomy.

[Clinical recommendations for diagnosing, treatment and monitoring of patients with uterine cervical cancer -- Croatian Oncology Society and Croatian Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics as Croatian Medical Association units and Croatian Society of Gynecological Oncology].

Cervical cancer, in comparison with other gynecological malignancies, mainly affects younger women. It can be prevented trough educational programs, screening and early detection. It also can be efficiently treated when it appears.

A stereotypic "elbowing" movement, a possible new primitive reflex in newborns.

The primitive reflexes are brainstem-mediated and play various roles in the child's psychomotor development. The objective of the current study is to describe a new pattern of primitive reflex, noticed in 52 of 81 randomly chosen newborns and young infants during pressing of the subcostal region. Some of them reacted by three-phase stereotypic movement as follows: phase 1: quick adduction of upper arm with flexion of the forearm, with elbow directed toward the site of stimuli, touching the stimulated area; phase 2: abduction and retroflexion of upper arm with the movement of removing the stimulus with the elbow; phase 3: extension and pronation of the forearm.

Concomitant chemobrachyradiotherapy with ifosfamide and cisplatin followed by consolidation chemotherapy for women with locally advanced carcinoma of the uterine cervix--final results of a prospective phase II-study.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of ifosfamide and cisplatin administered concomitantly with low-dose rate brachyradiotherapy followed by consolidation chemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma (LASCC) or adeno/adenosquamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Methods: Sixty-two patients with primary uterine cervical cancer were enrolled between August 1999 and November 2004. The patients had to have FIGO-stage IB2 bulky to IVA disease, biopsy-proven squamous cell or adeno/adenosquamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

[Long-term results after cardiac valve replacement (author's transl)].

The value of prosthetic valve replacement is determined not only by the improvement in life expectancy but also by the quality of life. This statement resulted from an analysis of 168 patients undergoing isolated aortic -- or mitral -- valve replacement between 1970 and 1976. Besides numerous complications -- probably often avoidable such as side effects of incorrect anticoagulation -- long term results of 125 surviving patients were satisfactory over a period of 3-9 years after surgery.