3-Tesla MR spectroscopy in patients subjected to bone marrow transplantation: clinical correlations.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the usefulness of 3-Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve NHL patients who were candidates for BMT underwent three MR examinations of the lumbosacral spine: before ablative therapy for BMT, 15±4 days and 54±24 days after BMT. The MR study was supplemented by spectroscopic analysis. The lipid content was calculated and expressed as a percentage of lipid signal intensity relative to total signal intensity [fat fraction (FF)]. RESULTS: In the first MR study, the FF was 62.5±7%, in the second it was 70.75±5% and in the third it was 75±1%. We observed a statistically significant difference between FF values calculated at the various MR studies (p=0.02) and between red blood cell count (p=0.017), platelet count (p=0.003) and haematocrit (p<0.001) at the three MR studies. FF had a statistically significant correlation with the number of circulating platelets (p<0.01) CONCLUSIONS: MR spectroscopy of the bone marrow of NHL patients undergoing BMT is noninvasive and highly sensitive for characterising and monitoring bone marrow after BMT.

Local treatment with deep percutaneous electrochemotherapy of different tumor lesions: pain relief and objective response results from an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this investigation focuses on the evaluation of the efficacy of deep-seated Electrochemotherapy (ECT) in terms of pain relief and local objective response, in pre-treated patients with neither further available pharmacological treatments nor eligible for surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Deep percutaneous ECT has been performed in 20 patients subjected to systemic anaesthesia. Bleomycin was administrated intravenously before the application of the electrical pulses on the target area, employing multiple single needles depending on the size and location of the target tumor. RESULTS: Pain assessment based on Visual Analogue Scale showed significant pain relief one month after treatment in all patients, reducing from 7.5 to 3 as a median value (p-value at Wilcoxon test <0.001). Local symptom-free survival median value was 5.5 months. At the first follow-up (1-2 months), a local disease control rate (LDCR) was observed in 19/20 (95%) patients: complete responses in 2 (10%), partial responses in 8 (40%) and stable disease in 9 (45%). Local progression-free survival median value was 5.7 months. Overall, no major adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that deep percutaneous ECT can produce a significant pain reduction and a high LDCR in different tumor lesions, for anatomical site or histotype. In particular, ECT has demonstrated to be effective in various histotypes and deep-seated tumor lesions never treated before by this approach giving a new chance to physicians for reducing oncological pain in patients not eligible to other therapeutic routes. The innovative peculiarity of our study was the successful application of deep percutaneous ECT on adrenal metastasis, malignant pleural mesothelioma, uterine leiomyosarcoma and the uncommon case of a male müllerian tumor.