Evaluation of Cyclin D1 expression by western blotting methods and immunohistochemistry in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Considering that cyclin D1 had a prognostic and clinical value for breast cancer patients, adequate measurement of cyclin D1 is necessary.

Methods: In this investigation, we detect cyclin D1 expression in tumour and peritumoral tissue of breast cancer patients by Western blotting method and by immunohistochemistry.

Results: Cyclin D1 expression decreased significantly with each advanced clinical stage of disease and tumour size.

3D MRI-based evaluation of the 2D brachytherapy planning in patients with advanced cervical cancer: An analysis of the delivered dose.

Purpose: To analyze the dose distribution achieved during 2D radiography-based brachytherapy (BRT) planning, by using a 3D MRI-based BRT replanning evaluation, in patients with advanced cervical carcinoma, treated with definitive concomitant chemoradiation (CCRT).

Methods: The curative CCRT was applied to 30 patients with advanced cervical carcinoma. For each patient, 2D radiography-based planning and a 3D MRI-based BRT replanning were performed.

Acute toxicity of postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for cervical cancer: The role of concomitant chemotherapy.

Purpose: The toxicity of postoperative radiotherapy for cervical cancer affects patients' quality of life. We evaluated acute toxicity in postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) as well as the influence of dosimetric parameters and concomitant chemotherapy.

Methods: A total of 45 patients with early operable cervical cancer underwent postoperative IMRT with 40-45 Gy.

pSTAT3 expression associated with survival and mammographic density of breast cancer patients.

Background: Constitutive activation of STAT3 have been shown in several tumor types including breast cancer. We investigate STAT3 expresion as possible molecular marker for breast cancer early detection, as well as prognostic factor for determination of tumor agressiveness.

Methods: In this study we measure p(Y705)STAT3 expression in tumor and adjacent tissue of breast cancer patients by Western blot.

The influence of PTEN protein expression on disease outcome in premenopausal hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant ovarian ablation: a long-term follow-up.

Purpose: All breast cancer (BC) patients with detectable hormone receptors (HR) expression should be offered endocrine therapy (ET). In premenopausal patients, tamoxifen and/or ovarian suppression (OvS)/ablation (OA) may improve disease outcome. Alteration of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) signaling pathways could be one of the possible mechanisms of resistance to antiestrogen therapy.

Molecular signature of response to preoperative radiotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer.

Background: Radiation therapy is an indispensable part of various treatment modalities for breast cancer. Specifically, for non-inflammatory locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients, preoperative radiotherapy (pRT) is currently indicated as a second line therapy in the event of lack of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Still approximately one third of patients fails to respond favourably to pRT.

Vaginal packing volume impact on dose parameters during radiography and computed tomography based postoperative brachytherapy of cervical carcinoma.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of the vaginal packing volume on the registered dose parameters evaluated by radiography (2D) and computed tomography (CT) (3D) based brachytherapy planning in cervical cancer patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy.

Methods: The postoperative radiotherapy was performed in 40 cervical cancer patients with increased risk for disease relapse. Both, radiography and CT based brachytherapy planning were done in all patients.

p21 does, but p53 does not predict pathological response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Purpose: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is the standard treatment option in locally advanced rectal cancer. The tumor response is assessed through tumor and nodal downstaging and the tumor regression grade. Currently, there is no method to predict a tumor response to CRT.

Curative intent for unresectable advanced squamous cell esophageal cancer: Overall survival after chemoradiation.

Purpose: To analyse the overall survival (OS) of patients with locally advanced, unresectable esophageal cancer treated with chemoradiation (CRT) with or without surgery.

Methods: CRT was administered to 63 patients with locally advanced (T3-4, N0-1), initially unresectable squamous cell esophageal cancer. After the assessment of tumor response to treatment, medically fit patients converted to operable stage were subjected to surgery.

Tumor response and patient outcome after preoperative radiotherapy in locally advanced non-inflammatory breast cancer patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this analysis was to assess the tumor response and long-term outcome in patients treated with preoperative radiotherapy (PRT) without systemic therapy.

Methods: Between 1997 and 2000, 134 patients with non-inflammatory locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) were treated with PRT. The tumor dose was 45 Gy in 15 fractions to the breast and to regional lymph nodes over 6 weeks.

Non-diethylstilbestrol exposed vaginal adenocarcinoma in young patients associated with unilateral renal agenesis: two case reports and literature review.

Background: Adenocarcinoma, accounts for up to 14% of all vaginal cancer. In young patients, common histological feature is clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) while mesonephric adenocarcinoma (MA) is very rare. The authors report two patients in their early twenties with unilateral renal agenesis and vaginal adenocarcinoma not exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

Follow-Up Imaging of Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Uterus and Its Spontaneous Regression.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is an aggressive benign mass that may arise from various tissues and organs with a great variability of histological and clinical appearances. Due to variable and nonspecific imaging findings, diagnosis of IMT is not obtained before surgery. The aim of this paper is to present CT and MRI findings during four-year follow-up of complete, spontaneous regression of IMT of the uterus.

Positive enhancement integral values in dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of breast carcinoma: ductal carcinoma in situ vs. invasive ductal carcinoma.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to contribute to the standardization of the numeric positive enhancement integral (PEI) values in breast parenchyma, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and to evaluate the significance of the difference in PEI values between IDC and parenchyma, DCIS and parenchyma and IDC and DCIS.

Materials And Methods: In the prospective trial, we analyzed the dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) of 60 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed unilateral DCIS (n=30) and IDC (n=30) and defined the PEI values (range; mean ± SD) for the lesions and the breast parenchyma. Tumor-to-non-tumor (T/NT) ratios were calculated for DCIS and IDC and compared.

Does the computed tomography perfusion imaging improve the diagnostic accuracy in the response evaluation of esophageal carcinoma to the neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy? Preliminary study.

Purpose: To estimate whether the computed tomography (CT) perfusion imaging could be useful to predict the pathological complete response (pCR) of esophageal cancer to the neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT).

Methods: Twenty-seven patients with the advanced squamous cell esophageal carcinoma, who were treated with concomitant CRT (CIS/5-FU/LV and 45-50 Gy total radiation dose), were re-evaluated using CT examination, which included the low-dose CT perfusion study. CT perfusion series were analysed using the deconvolution-based CT perfusion software (Perfusion 3.

MRI in the evaluation of breast cancer patient response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: predictive factors for breast conservative surgery.

Purpose: We aimed to prospectively assess the role of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in the evaluation of predictive factors for breast conservative surgery during neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-six patients were evaluated before the first treatment cycle, after the second cycle, and upon the completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy according to largest tumor diameter, tumor volume, postcontrast enhancement, and tumor regression pattern. The patients were divided into responders (pathologic complete and near complete response) and nonresponders.

[The role of breast magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ].

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the noninvasive breast malignant tumor originates from the terminal ductal-lobular units (TDLU). The typical feature of DCSI is the formation of calcifications. Up to 90% of DCIS are diagnosed on mammographic examinations, as clinically asymptomatic.

The impact of PTEN tumor suppressor gene on acquiring resistance to tamoxifen treatment in breast cancer patients.

Tamoxifen is a standard therapeutical treatment in patients with estrogen receptor positive breast carcinoma. However, less than 50% of estrogen receptor positive breast cancers do not respond to tamoxifen treatment whereas 40% of tumors that initially respond to treatment develop resistance over time. The underlying mechanisms for tamoxifen resistance are probably multifactorial but remain largely unknown.

Outcome of childhood brain tumors in Serbia.

Purpose: To present the results of treatment for childhood brain tumors in Serbia.

Methods: The medical records of patients with brain tumors diagnosed and operated at the Institute of Neurosurgery, Clinical Center of Serbia and treated with postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, between January 1995 and December 2004, were reviewed. Of the 247 patients who were identified, 212 formed the basis of this study.

PTEN protein expression in postmenopausal steroid receptor positive early breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen.

Purpose: Since one of possible causes of resistance to antiestrogen therapy in steroid receptor positive (SR+) breast cancer (BC) patients is an alteration of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) signaling pathways, the aim of this study was to determine the PTEN protein expression in postmenopausal patients with steroid SR+ BC treated with adjuvant tamoxifen, to investigate the association of PTEN protein expression with tumor histology, size and grade, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) statuses and disease outcome.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 78 postmenopausal stage I/II SR(+)BC patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen. PTEN protein expression and ER, PR and HER2 status were determined using immunohistochemistry.

Percutaneous nephrostomy in the management of advanced and terminal-stage gynecologic malignancies: outcome and complications.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to evaluate the outcome and complications after percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) insertion in advanced and terminal-stage gynecological malignancies with ureteral obstruction (UO).

Materials And Methods: We analyzed data of 117 patients with UO due to gynecological malignancies, who had undergone PCN between 1996 and 2006. Cervical cancer was evidenced in 108 patients, uterine carcinoma in six and ovarian cancer in three patients.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines in cervical cancer: phase I study of Lovaxin-C.

Producing effective therapeutic vaccines has proved much more difficult and challenging than developing cancer preventive vaccines. Despite huge research in the area of cancer immunology, FDA/EMEA have not approved any type of cancer treatment vaccine so far. More than 99% of cervical cancers have detectable amounts of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA.

Invasive inflammatory pseudotumor of the pelvis: a case report with review of the literature.

Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare benign lesion of unknown etiology, which mimics malignant neoplasm and may arise from various organs. A 53-year-old woman was submitted to diagnostic evaluation because of bilateral, hydroureteronephrosis and oedema of the left leg after a 3-month history of fever of unknown origin. On bimanual vaginal and rectal examination, a mass was involving the uterus, parametria and mostly left adnexa, while the cervix appeared normal.

[Implementation of 3D- CT based brachytherapy in the postoperative radiotherapy of cervical cancer: treatment technique and dose-volume parameters].

Intracavitary brachytherapy has an important roll in developing complications in postoperative radiotherapy of cervical cancer. 3D- CT based brachytherapy gives precisely estimating doses to organ at risk. In this study, we show our preliminary results in implementation of 3D-imaging based postoperative brachytherapy of cervical cancer: treatment technique and dose-volume parameters.