Toxicity of the lower gastrointestinal tract and its predictive factors after 72Gy conventionally fractionated 3D conformal radiotherapy of localized prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To estimate the incidence of acute and late lower gastrointestinal tract toxicity (LGIT) in patients treated with 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) for localized prostate cancer (PC) and estimate the influence of dosimetric parameters and other possible factors. METHODS: Ninety-four patients with localized PC treated with 3DCRT, with an estimated risk of lymph node involvement ?15%, according to the Roach formula, were evaluated in this study. All patients received a total dose of 72Gy in 36 fractions. Acute and late lower gastrointestinal tract (LGIT) toxicity were graded according to the EORTC radiation morbidity scoring scale. Characteristics such as alcohol intake, gastrointestinal (GI) co-morbidities, hemorrhoids, previous abdominal or pelvic surgery (PAPS), diabetes mellitus (DM), the use of antiaggregants, and dosimetric parameters, were analyzed as possible predictive factors of radiation (RT) toxicity. RESULTS: Grade ?1 acute LGIT toxicity during 3DCRT developed in 41 of 94 patients (43.6%). At univariate logistic regression analysis (UVA) using the baseline model, alcohol consumption (p=0.068), hemorrhoids (p=0.004), GI co-morbidities (p=0.018), PAPS (p=0.033), V60 (p=0.070), V65 (p=0.046) and V70 (P=0.056) were significant predictive factors for any grade of acute LGIT toxicity. Predictive factors of grade ?1 acute toxicity in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (MVA) were current hemorrhoids (p=0.007), and the GI co-morbidities (p=0.025). Late grade 1 LGIT toxicity occurred in 17 (18.1%) patients. Late grade ?2 LGIT toxicity as a maximum toxicity score occurred in 9 (9.57%) patients during a median follow-up of 27 months. Following UVA, hemorrhoids (p=0.001) and use of antiaggregants (p=0.034) were significant predictive factors for any grade of late LGIT toxicity. In the MVA, hemorrhoids were significantly associated with late grade ?1 LGIT toxicity (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Hemorrhoids and GI co-morbidities had a significant impact on the occurrence of acute grade ?1 LGIT toxicity. Hemorrhoids had significant influence on the development of any grade of late LGIT toxicity.

Primary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the stomach in an adult woman: a case report and review of the literature.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor has been defined as a histologically distinctive lesion with uncertain behaviour. The term inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor more commonly referred to as "pseudostumor ", denotes a pseudosarcomatous inflammatory lesion that contains spindle cells, myofibroblasts, plasma cells, lymphocytes and histiocytes. It exhibits a variable biological behavior that ranges from frequently benign lesions to more aggressive variants. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor mostly occurs in the soft tissue of children and young adults, and the lungs are the most commonly affected site, but it has been recognized that any anatomic localization can be involved. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors in adults are very rare, especially in the stomach. We present a case of a 43-year old woman with primary inflammatory myofibiroblastic tumor in the stomach and a review of the literature.

Brachybacterium sp. CH-KOV3 isolated from an oil-polluted environment-a new producer of levan.

Various microorganisms isolated from polluted environments, such as Pseudomonas sp. and Micrococcus sp. can synthesize exopolysaccharides (EPSs) which are natural, non-toxic and biodegradable polymers. EPSs play a key role in protection of microbial cells under various external influences. For humans, these substances have potential use in many industries. EPSs can be applied as a flavor or a fragrance carrier, an emulsifier, a stabilizer, a prebiotic, an antioxidant or an antitumor agent. In this study, we characterized an environmental microorganism that produces EPS, optimized EPS production by this strain and characterized the EPS produced. Isolate CH-KOV3 was identified as Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum. The sucrose level in the growth medium greatly influenced EPS production, and the highest yield was when the microorganism was incubated in media with 500g/L of sucrose. The optimal temperature and pH were 28°C and 7.0, respectively. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results and GC-MS analysis confirmed that the residues were d-fructofuranosyl residues with ß-configuration, where fructose units are linked by ß-2,6-glycosidic bonds, with ß-2,1-linked branches. All these data indicate that the investigated EPS is a levan-type polysaccharide. Thus, it was concluded that Brachybacterium sp. CH-KOV3 could constitute a new source for production of the bioactive polysaccharide, levan.