RESUMEN
We report the case of a patient with a history of surgically treated pulmonary leiomyosarcoma, presenting with recurrent acute cholangitis and metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the common bile duct. Preoperative examinations had revealed a high grade malignant neoplasm and bilateral lung metastases. The patient underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy and survived for 5.5 years after the first diagnosis.
RESUMEN
Locally advanced colorectal tumors represent about 5-22% of all colorectal cancers at the time of presentation. Specifically in the case of right colon cancer, the percentage of adjacent structure involvement ranges between 11% and 28%. Organs that are most frequently invaded by right colonic tumors are the duodenum and the pancreatic head. We report the case of a 36-year old man with locally advanced right colonic cancer, invading the head of the pancreas and the superior mesenteric vein, who was successfully treated in our department with right hemicolectomy, pancreatoduodenectomy and short resection of the superior mesenteric vein with an end-to-end anastomosis, and remains alive and well, free of disease, nine years after the operation.
RESUMEN
Human platelets carry membrane glycoproteins that control platelet aggregation and activation. A number of clinical studies have suggested that certain polymorphisms of genes encoding these proteins increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. The frequency of gene polymorphisms for the four most common platelet glycoproteins (HPA 1, 2, 3 and 5) was examined and correlated with the primary cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Greek patients on HD. Fifty-five (55) patients on chronic maintenance haemodialysis (HD) (22 female, 33 male), aged from 23- to 87-years-old, (mean age 66 years), being on dialysis for 53 +/- 34 months, were included in the study. HPA-1, -2, -3, and -5 genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). Calculated relative frequencies of the alleles were as follows: HPA-1a/b 0.81/0.19, HPA-2a/b 0.92/0.08, HPA-3a/b 0.62/0.38 and HPA-5a/b 0.93/0.07. There was a statistically significant association between the HPA-1b allele and hypertension as the primary cause of ESRD (65% of patients with hypertension vs 23% of all other patients carried the HPA-1b allele, p=0.02, Fisher's exact test). The results suggest that Greek carriers of the HPA-1b allele with hypertension may be at increased risk for developing end-stage renal disease.
Asunto(s)
Antígenos de Plaqueta Humana/genética , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Hipertensión/genética , Integrina beta3/genética , Fallo Renal Crónico/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Diálisis Renal , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Frecuencia de los Genes , Genotipo , Humanos , Hipertensión/complicaciones , Hipertensión/patología , Fallo Renal Crónico/etiología , Fallo Renal Crónico/patología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of pre-operative chemoradiotherapy with oral capecitabine in Greek patients with locally advanced, resectable rectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients, 16 men and 14 women with a median age of 58 years (range, 21-75 years), with potentially resectable T3NO (30%), T3N1 (53%) and T4NO-1 (17%) rectal cancer, were treated with capecitabine (825 mg/m(2), twice daily for 7 days/week) and concomitant radiotherapy (50.4 Gy/28 fractions) for 5.5 weeks. Patients underwent surgery with total mesorectal excision 4-6 weeks later followed by 4-months of post-operative treatment with capecitabine. The primary end-point was to determine the clinical and pathological response, safety profile, preservation of the sphincter mechanism and rate of peri-operative complications. RESULTS: The median distance of rectal tumors from the anal verge was 7 cm. All patients had curative resection. Downstaging rate was 84% (25/30) on endorectal ultrasonography and 75% (22/30) on pathology findings. Pathological complete response rate was 23% (7/30). No patient had grade 4 toxicity. Grade 3 toxicity occurred in 3 patients (10%) and consisted mainly of leucopenia (6%) and hand-foot syndrome (4%). Mild or moderate toxicity was frequent, but always reversible. Twenty-four patients (80%) received sphincter-preserving surgical procedures. Peni-operative complications were seen in 6 (20%) patients and included mechanical ileus (3%), delayed wound healing (7%), wound infection (7%) and anastomotic leakage (3%). CONCLUSION: Pre-operative chemoradiotherapy with oral capecitabine in locally advanced, resectable rectal cancer achieves significant rates of tumor downstaging and sphincter preservation with a favorable safety profile.