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The National registry of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NET) in Bulgaria was established in 2013 as a joint initiative of the Bulgarian Surgical Society and the Institute for Rare Diseases. The register aims to explore the epidemiology of NET in Bulgaria, as well as the different diagnostic and treatment approaches for the disease throughout the country. This the first of its kind retrospective study of NET in the country is covering the period January 2012 - January 2013. A total of 127 patients with NET were identified. At the time of the survey the average age of patients with NET was 58.61 ± 15.59 years. The data show almost equal distribution between the genders with a slight predominance of women. The largest relative part of NET is those of NET located in the gastrointestinal tract (54.10 ± 4.51%), followed by those located in the pancreas (12.30 ± 2.97%) and in the lungs (10.66 ± 2.79%). In 72.44 ± 3.96% of the patients a immunohistochemical diagnosis was performed. The study confirmed the leading role of the surgery method of the NET management. In 65.83 ± 4.33% of the patients a radical removal of the tumor was conducted, while the relative part of the undertaken partial resection was 7.50 ± 2.40%. A statistically significant association between the type of surgical treatment and during the follow-up of patients was found. An update of the information in the register will allow a more precise determining of the distribution and management of NET in Bulgaria.

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PURPOSE: The objective of our study was to analyze the possibilities of diagnostic flexible hysteroscopy in women with irregular uterine bleeding. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 661 women aged 26-72 years (mean 46.23) with mild to moderate irregular uterine bleeding who agreed to have invasive investigations. Diagnostic hysteroscopy by panoramic fibrohysteroscope Pentax LH-150 II (5 mm in diameter) was performed initially to all patients, followed by classical dilatation and curettage (D & C). RESULTS: Different types of normal endometrium were found in 248 (37.52%) women, hyperplasia and polyposis in 300 (45.39%), suspected changes for atypia and neoplasia in 82 (12.40%) and other different findings in 31 (4.69%). Subsequent D & C showed lack of adequate material from the uterine cavity in 26 (3.93%) women, in 538 (81.39%) the morphological findings were due to hormonal and dyshormonal reasons, 66 (9.98%) were with different precancer and cancer lesions and in 31 (4.69%) cases, clinically and morphologically, bleeding was due to the presence of submucosal myomas, intrauterine devices, residua and pathology of the chorion. CONCLUSION: The comparison of the hysteroscopy results with clinical and histological findings from D & C showed good diagnostic possibilities of the flexible hysteroscopy for evaluation of women with irregular bleeding (sensitivity 74.07% and specificity 90.61%). This examination is relatively simple, safe and requires simultaneous performance of a direct biopsy, in order to improve the accuracy of the results.

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PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to assess and compare the diagnostic possibilities of the loop electroexcision procedure (LEEP) and of conventional surgical conization of the uterine cervix in women with cervical precancerous lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study involved 80 women aged between 22 and 63 years (mean age 38.75 years), with cytological findings indicating various degrees of dyscaryosis. The patients were subjected to colposcopic targeted biopsy with subsequent (within 3 months) wide excision (40 patients with LEEP and 40 with cold knife conization). RESULTS: In both groups of women coincidence of the results to 1 degree of difference was found in 34 (85%) women. Analysis of the results obtained showed no statistically significant difference (p >0.05), both in the cases of full agreement as well as in the cases with 1 degree of difference, between the findings obtained by LEEP and surgical conizations on the one hand, and targeted biopsies on the other hand, as well as between the two excisional procedures. Also, no statistically significant difference between LEEP and surgical conization was found in comparing the frequencies of resection lines in healthy tissues and in the cases with visible squamous/ columnar junction (p= 0.418). At the same time, such a difference was found in comparing the cases with invisible junction (p= 0.0003), which was due to the cases with positive edges after LEEP. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study have evidenced the good possibilities of the LEEP and surgical conization as precision diagnostic tools in precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix. Based on the results obtained we think that LEEP has advantages in lower-grade lesions with visible boundary between squamous and columnar epithelium. In all other cases the method of choice should be surgical conization.

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Since 1985, 54 with localized Ewing's sarcoma of bone were treated at the Onco-Orthopedics Clinic of the Sofia University Hospital (Sofia, Bulgaria). Thirty-two patients received the classical four-drug combination with doxorubicin, dactinomycin, vincristine, and cyclophosphamid. The last 22 patients were treated with six-drug protocols where cisplatinium and ifosfamid were added to the standard four-drug regimens. Local treatment was adapted to the age of the patient and the location and volume of the tumor. Fourteen patients received radiotherapy alone, 24 postoperative radiotherapy and 16 surgery alone as local treatment. At a mean follow-up of 6 years, the disease free survival rate reached 44%. Eleven patients had a good local response and 25 developed metastatic disease. Statistical analysis confirmed the deleterious effect of pelvic localizations and large tumor volume on prognosis and demonstrated the dramatic improvement obtained with the six-drug protocol (5-year disease free survival 61% versus 23%) and surgery (61% versus 25%).

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The efficacy of cisapride, as compared with cimetidine, in the treatment of erosive esophagitis was studied in a double-blind trial. One hundred and twenty-nine patients were assigned to one of four dosage schedules: cisapride 10 mg b.i.d. (20 mg group) or q.i.d. (40 mg group), or cimetidine 400 mg b.i.d. (800 mg group) or q.i.d. (1600 mg group). Treatment lasted 8 to 12 weeks. The degree of esophagitis and the severity of diurnal and nocturnal heartburn and regurgitation were significantly (p less than 0.01) reduced in the four treatment groups. Endoscopy did not show any significant differences among the four groups, although cisapride tended to be more effective in moderate to severe esophagitis, in which cases mucosal healing (i.e. absence of erosions and ulcers) was observed in 69%, 64%, 55% and 55% of the patients treated with cisapride 40 mg, cisapride 20 mg, cimetidine 1600 mg and cimetidine 800 mg. Improvement in reflux symptoms in the two cisapride groups was not significantly different from that in the cimetidine 1600 mg group, but was better (p less than 0.05) than that in the cimetidine 800 mg patients. The severity score for all reflux symptoms had decreased by 79%, 74% (cisapride 40 mg and 20 mg), 69% and 57% (cimetidine 1600 mg and 800 mg) by the end of treatment. These results show that cisapride is at least as effective as acid-suppressing therapy in patients with reflux esophagitis, and is therefore a valuable alternative to it.

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