Can biliary carcinoembryonic antigen identify colorectal cancer patients with occult hepatic metastases?

Background: Twenty-five percent of radically treated colorectal cancer patients already have occult hepatic metastases (OHM) that will later be observed during postoperative follow-up. Instrumental examinations, i.e.

Totally implantable venous access ports: a clinical trial comparing percutaneous versus surgical technique.

Totally implantable venous access ports are valuable instruments for long-term intravenous treatment of patients with cancer, but implantation and use of these devices may be associated with complications. The aim of our study was to compare two implantation techniques in order to establish which one is better for the patient and the surgeon as regards morbidity, surgical time, tolerability, and costs. A prospective study was conducted on a series of 99 patients undergoing implantation of totally implantable venous access ports with surgical cut-down or percutaneous access from January 2000 to June 2004 at the Department of Surgical Sciences, Organ Transplantation and Advanced Technologies.

Ancient schwannoma of the facial nerve: a case report.

Ancient schwannomas are rare benign tumours, deriving from neural crest cells. Schwannomas of the head and neck are frequently misdiagnosed and preoperative investigations are often fruitless. We report a very rare case of a patient with a schwannoma of the seventh nerve.