Metachronous malignancies in men with previous prostate cancer in Umbria, Italy, 1994-2003.

Data about second primary tumors after prostate carcinoma are controversial. Some authors emphasize an increased incidence of some cancer sites, others an overall diminution. With the aim to provide further information to define the issue, we have analyzed the frequency of second metachronous primary malignancies in patients with diagnosed prostate cancer in the Umbria region of Italy.

Incidence of multiple primary bladder and prostate cancer in a central region of Italy. Umbria, 1994-2004.

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of multiple bladder-prostate cancers in the population of the Italian region of Umbria and to clarify some diagnostic aspects. Prostate and bladder cancer incidence data in Umbria were obtained from cancer registry records. In the period from 1994 to 2004, 3,470 new patients with bladder cancer and 5,430 new patients with prostate cancer were registered.

Epidemiology of colorectal cancer in the Umbria region of Italy: prescreening period.

Aims And Background: The epidemiology of colorectal cancer in Umbria, Italy, was evaluated, and data were analyzed in the pre-screening period to better understand the etiology of the disease and to develop screening strategies.

Materials And Methods: Incident data were collected by the Umbrian Population Cancer Registry and mortality data by the Nominative Regional Mortality Registry from 1994 to 2002. The survival rates relative to Italian cancer registries were derived from the Italian Associations of Cancer Registries publications.

Detection of HER-2/neu (c-erbB-2) overexpression and amplification in breast carcinomas with ambiguous immunohistochemical results. A further contribution to defining the role of fluorescent in situ hybridization.

Background: The assessment of HER-2/neu status is a prerequisite in the clinical management of patients with breast cancer in order to obtain prognostic and predictive information, including Herceptin sensitivity. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) are the techniques recommended to detect HER-2/neu alterations and considerable attention is currently being focused on the standardization of these techniques. Intrinsic limitations of IHC, such as antigen preservation and antibody specificity, may make it difficult to score the membrane staining thereby resulting in inconclusive results.

Ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion: clinicopathologic study and biopathologic profile.

Data regarding the biologic behavior and surgical management, in particular the axillary lymph node excision, of ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCIS-MI) are controversial. Therefore, we decided to study the histopathologic characteristics, the biopathologic profile, as well as the follow-up of a group of patients with DCIS-MI. Thirty-one cases of DCIS-MI, 21 of whom were treated with axillary lymph node dissection, were studied.

Biopathological profile of multiple synchronous homolateral and bilateral breast cancers.

It still needs to be verified whether multiple syncronous homolateral and bilateral breast cancers represent intramammary spread of a single tumor or two or more separate neoplastic events. To clarify this problem, we studied the biopathological profile of 46 homolateral and 20 bilateral cases. The cancers were always surgically removed and processed at the same time.

Primary cutaneous leiomyosarcoma: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of 7 cases.

Primary cutaneous leiomyosarcomas are rare tumors, few series being reported in the current literature. A retrospective study of 7 cases was undertaken to understand the clinicopathological characteristics of these neoplasms and some of their molecular mutations. Histologically, a well-differentiated proliferation of cells of smooth muscle derivation was evident in all cases.

Relevance of p53, bcl-2 and Rb expression on resistance to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Tumors with p53 overexpression have been associated with enhanced resistance to cisplatin-based chemotherapy in a few and small studies involving non-small cell lung cancer. The relationships and interactions between p53, Rb and bcl-2 immunostaining, clinical parameters and response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy were evaluated in the present study.

Experimental Design: Histological specimens obtained by bronchial or fine-needle biopsy from patients who underwent cisplatin-based chemotherapy between 1992 and 1999 were evaluated by immunostaining.