Conservative surgery, external radiotherapy, and HDR brachytherapy in a single fraction of 7 Gy in early breast cancer: long-term toxicity and esthetic assessment.

Introduction: The essential issue in conservative treatment is the quality in breast preservation. When risk factors for local relapse exist, a tumour bed boost is required, but the boost choice remains controversial. Prospectively, we studied long-term toxicity, cosmetic outcome and prognostic factors.

Early-stage breast cancer conservative treatment: high-dose-rate brachytherapy boost in a single fraction of 700 cGy to the tumour bed.

Background And Purpose: Conservative treatment represents the current therapy for early-stage breast cancer. When risk factors for local relapse exist, a tumour bed boost is required. Retrospectively, we evaluated the prognostic factors influencing local recurrence (LR), overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Serum C-telopeptide levels predict the incidence of skeletal-related events in cancer patients with secondary bone metastases.

Introduction: We evaluated serum C-telopeptides (CTX) to see whether they may be useful as predictive markers for disease progression in cancer patients with bone metastases who are being treated with zoledronic acid (ZA).

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective, nonrandomised study in which 26 patients with solid tumours and confirmed bone metastases were treated with ZA (4 mg every 3-4 weeks) for 24 months or until a skeletal-related event (SRE) was observed. Serum CTX levels were determined at baseline and 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after study initiation.

Granulocytic sarcoma of the right humerus in a non-leukaemia patient.

Granulocytic sarcoma (GS), an uncommon solid extramedullary tumour, should be considered even in the absence of leukaemia, as delay in diagnosis and treatment worsens the prognosis. We present a GS (single humeral bone lesion) in a non-leukaemia patient, treated with intensive AML (Acute Myeloid Leukaemia) chemotherapy and sequential radiotherapy, in complete response 26 months after diagnosis, confirmed by histopathology and without leukaemia progression.

Early stage breast cancer conserving treatment: high dose rate brachytherapy boost to the tumour bed.

Introduction: The dose administered to the tumour bed is a risk-factor for local recurrence in localised breast cancer following breast-conserving surgery.

Materials And Methods: All patients (n=94) received 50 Gy external beam radiotherapy and one application of 700 cGy at 85% isodose with high dose rate brachytherapy.

Results: Of the cases, 84% were infiltrating ductal carcinoma; 31.