Evaluation of Psychometric Proprieties of Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) in Italian Language: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to translate, culturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) in post-stroke individuals. The original MASA scale was translated and culturally adapted from English to Italian following the international guidelines. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the MASA-IT were assessed, and its concurrent validity was examined through Pearson correlation coefficients with the Italian versions of two established gold standard scales for dysphagia assessment: the Dysphagia Outcome Severity Scale (DOSS) and the De Pippo Test-Three Oz Water Swallow.

Evaluation of adequacy of levo-thyroxine dosage in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma: correlation between morning and afternoon TSH determination.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to judge the reliability of evaluating thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (f-T4) in the morning and afternoon in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients.

Methods: We evaluated 153 DTC patients, aged 61 ± 13 years, in active follow-up in our center after primary treatments and under stabilized levo-thyroxine (L-T4) posology. In each patient, morning and afternoon examinations were performed 1-3 months apart.

Detection of Polyethylene Glycol Thyrotropin (TSH) Precipitable Percentage (Macro-TSH) in Patients with a History of Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Owing to its large molecular size, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-precipitable thyrotropin (TSH) can accumulate in the circulation, elevating TSH levels. PEG-precipitable TSH can be used to detect macro-TSH (mTSH) in serum. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of mTSH in patients who had undergone thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer.

Differential diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma using Logic Learning Machine.

Background: Tumour markers are standard tools for the differential diagnosis of cancer. However, the occurrence of nonspecific symptoms and different malignancies involving the same cancer site may lead to a high proportion of misclassifications. Classification accuracy can be improved by combining information from different markers using standard data mining techniques, like Decision Tree (DT), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and k-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) classifier.

Is soluble mesothelin-related protein an upfront predictive marker of pleural mesothelioma? A prospective study on Italian workers exposed to asbestos.

Objective: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) may be useful in the diagnosis and detection of early stage mesothelioma. We investigated the SMRP upfront predictive role for mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers.

Methods: A total of 1,715 subjects underwent a first visit and were invited for a follow-up after 1 and 2 years, with a clinical examination and blood sampling.

Diagnostic value of mesothelin in pleural fluids: comparison with CYFRA 21-1 and CEA.

CYFRA 21-1 and CEA have been applied for the differential diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) has been proposed as a specific marker for distinguishing MPM from benign diseases and other malignancies in pleural effusions (PEs). In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of SMRP in PEs in the detection of mesotheliomas by comparing it with that of CYFRA 21-1, CEA, and with cytological examination.

Individual predictors of increased serum mesothelin in asbestos-exposed workers.

The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP), a candidate marker for screening of subjects with asbestos exposure, is influenced by some individual and clinical factors. The aim of this study was to quantify the role of age, smoking, weight, presence of diseases and exposure to asbestos on serum SMRP levels in a large series of subjects exposed to asbestos, possible candidates for mesothelioma screening. One thousand seven hundred and four participants underwent clinical examination and were interviewed on medical anamnesis, occupation, smoking and weight.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule soluble form: a potential biomarker of epithelial ovarian cancer is increased in type II tumors.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) is involved in cell-cell interactions in cancer. Shedding of its ectodomain by the metalloprotease ADAM17/TACE generates a soluble form (sALCAM). Here, we show that serum sALCAM levels were significantly higher in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) (p < 0.

Plasma estrone sulfate concentrations and genetic variation at the CYP19A1 locus in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer treated with letrozole.

Estrogen synthesis suppression induced by aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer (BC) patients may be affected by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the gene encoding aromatase enzyme, CYP19A1. We assessed the association between plasma estrone sulfate (ES), letrozole treatment, and four SNPs of CYP19A1 gene (rs10046 C>T, rs4646 G>T, rs749292 C>T, rs727479 T>G) which seem to be related to circulating estrogen levels. Patients were enrolled into a prospective, Italian multi-center clinical trial (Gruppo Italiano Mammella, GIM-5) testing the association of CYP19A1 SNPs with the efficacy of letrozole adjuvant therapy, in postmenopausal early BC patients.

CREST biorepository for translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory tract diseases: Informatics infrastructure and standardized annotation.

Advances in molecular epidemiology and translational research have led to the need for biospecimen collection. The Cancer of the Respiratory Tract (CREST) biorepository is concerned with pleural malignant mesothelioma (MM) and lung cancer (LC). The biorepository staff has collected demographic and epidemiological data directly from consenting subjects using a structured questionnaire, in agreement with The Public Population Project in Genomics (P(3)G).

Osteopontin plasma level does not detect prostate cancer in patients referred for diagnostic prostate biopsy.

Background: Prostate cancer is the second most frequent cause of tumor-related deaths in men in Western countries. The selection and evaluation of new markers might help to overcome the limits of the most widely used diagnostic tool, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, often combined with digital rectal examination (DRE). Osteopontin (OPN) is an integrin-binding glycoprotein that has recently been shown to be related to tumor development, progression and metastasis in both experimental and clinical studies.

Estrone sulphate, FSH, and testosterone levels in two male breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors.

Estrone sulphate, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone levels in male breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors are examined.

The CREST biorepository: a tool for molecular epidemiology and translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other respiratory tract diseases.

Objectives: The Cancer of RESpiratory Tract (CREST) biorepository was established to investigate biological mechanisms and to develop tools and strategies for primary and secondary prevention of respiratory tract cancer. The CREST biorepository is focused on pleural malignant mesothelioma, a rare and severe cancer linked to asbestos exposure whose incidence is particularly high in the Ligurian region.

Methods: The CREST biorepository includes biological specimens from (a) patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer, (b) patients with nonneoplastic respiratory conditions, and (c) control subjects.

Predictive and prognostic significance of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The predictive and prognostic role of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still under debate.

Patients And Methods: To study these aspects, serum NSE was prospectively measured at baseline of first-line chemotherapy treatment and tested for correlation with clinical outcome in 129 advanced NSCLC patients.

Results: An objective response was achieved in 27 out of 65 (41.

Neuropeptide Y in the brain and retina of the adult teleost gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.).

The presence of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the brain and retina of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) was investigated for the first time. For this investigation we employed an immunoperoxidase technique and the western immunoblot analysis using an antiserum raised against porcine NPY.

Voice disorders and posturography: variables to define the success of rehabilitative treatment.

Previous studies have investigated the relationship between muscular tension, body posture, and voice quality. The aim of this paper is to study the postural pattern during voice production in healthy subjects compared with patients affected by voice disorders and in the same patients before and after vocal treatment by means of static posturography. Classic posturographic variables and spectral frequency analysis of body sway have been measured.

Decline in serum carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin 19 fragment during chemotherapy predicts objective response and survival in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Background: The authors assessed the predictive and prognostic role of decline in the serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA 21-1) during chemotherapy in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Changes in serum levels of CEA and CYFRA 21-1 during first-line, conventional chemotherapy were studied prospectively with an immunometric assay at baseline and every 2 courses in 117 patients with advanced NSCLC. Data were correlated with radiologic objective response (OR) and survival.

Metabolic genotypes as modulators of asbestos-related pleural malignant mesothelioma risk: a comparison of Finnish and Italian populations.

The role of CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1, EPHX1, and NAT2 genotypes in susceptibility to malignant mesothelioma (MM) was compared in two case-control studies, previously conducted in two countries where different types of asbestos fibers have been used [Hirvonen et al., 1995. Inherited GSTM1 and NAT2 defects as concurrent risk modifiers in asbestos-related human malignant mesothelioma.

Serum PDGF-AB in pleural mesothelioma.

Overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has been observed in lung and pleural tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of serum PDGF in pleural mesothelioma (PM). Four groups of subjects were studied: 93 malignant PM patients, 33 primary non small cell lung cancer patients, 51 subjects exposed to asbestos, defined as high-risk controls, and 24 healthy controls.

Immunohistochemical distribution of neuropeptide Y in the mesencephalon and rhombencephalon of carp, Cyprinus carpio L. (Cyprinidae: Teleostei).

The localization of neuropeptide Y (NPY)-immunoreactive elements was investigated in the mesencephalon and rhombencephalon of carp, Cyprinus carpio, by using antisera raised against porcine NPY and the immunoperoxidase technique. Concurrently, to identify the distribution of NPY-immunoreactivity, we developed an atlas of the studied areas based on Nissl-stained sections. The NPY-immunoreactive (NPY-ir) elements were located in many zones of the mesencephalon and rhombencephalon.

Prognostic role of serum sialyl Lewisx (CD15s) in colorectal cancer.

Objective: Sialyl Lewis(x) (sLe(x)) is one ligand for E selectin (CD62E), a glycoprotein that is expressed on activated endothelial cells. Adhesion mediated by endothelial E selectin and sLe(x) expressed on human tumor cells could be relevant for the development of metastases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not a correlation exists between pre-operative levels of ganglioside serum sLe(x) and disease-free interval and survival in colorectal cancer patients.

Serum anti-p53 autoantibodies in pleural malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and non-neoplastic lung diseases.

Alterations of the p53 gene may lead to the production of detectable autoantibodies (p53-Abs) in cancer patients. In order to evaluate the association of p53-Abs with pleuropulmonary diseases, four groups of subjects were analyzed by ELISA for serum p53-Abs, in the framework of a molecular epidemiologic study. Two of 30 pleural malignant mesothelioma patients (MM; 6.

Cell proliferation and apoptosis during histogenesis of the guinea pig and rabbit cerebellar cortex.

Cell proliferation and apoptosis are essential for development of the nervous system. In this study we have investigated the histogenesis of the cerebellar cortex in guinea pig (a precocial species) and rabbit (an altricial species) at different stages of pregnancy and postnatal life. Proliferating cells were identified after labeling with antibodies against the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and/or the Ki-67 antigen.

c-erbB-2 protein in serum of primary lung cancer patients.

We determined c-erbB-2 protein level in serum of 86 primary lung cancer patients (78 non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC), 3 small cell carcinomas, 5 not histologically defined) and in 61 controls. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of c-erbB-2 as marker for lung cancer diagnosis. The protein was measured with a commercially available sandwich enzyme immunoassay.

Study of pretreatment serum levels of HER-2/neu oncoprotein as a prognostic and predictive factor in patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.

Background: HER-2/neu tissue overexpression is found in nearly 15% of patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma and is reported to affect prognosis adversely in surgical series. However, the prognostic role of serum HER-2/neu oncoprotein, particularly in patients with advanced lung carcinoma, remains unknown. This study was designed to assess the potential value of measuring serum levels of HER-2/neu oncoprotein in predicting response to treatment and survival in patients with locally advanced and metastatic nonsmall cell lung carcinoma.