"WATCH AND WAIT" STRATEGY IN RECTAL CANCER PATIENTS WITH A COMPLETE CLINICAL RESPONSE AFTER NEOADJUVANT CHEMORADIATION THERAPY: A SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE.

BACKGROUND: The non-operative management of rectal adenocarcinoma (RA) after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) has gained increasing attention. The "Watch and Wait" ("W&W") strategy allows one to avoid surgery-related reduction in the quality of life due to permanent pelvic organ dysfunction or irreversible stoma. Still, the oncological safety of this strategy is under evaluation. AIM: To share a single-center experience of the "W&W" strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective analysis of 125 patients who received nCRT in 2016-2021 was performed. Patients who met the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO, 2017) criteria of clinical complete response (cCR) and received non-operative management were analyzed. RESULTS: Ten patients (8%) were re-staged after nCRT as cCR and followed the "W&W" strategy. Patients' characteristics: 7 female, 3 male; mean age 67.3 years. Tumor characteristics: pre-treatment N+ was present in 7 cases; G1 adenocarcinoma in a majority of cases; mean tumor distance from the anal verge - 5.85 cm; mean tumor circumference - 71%; mean tumor length - 3.87 cm. The mean follow-up time was 30 months. Local regrowth or/and distant metastases developed in 3 cases. The 2-year disease-free survival was 70%. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the patients following the "W&W" strategy have benefited. However, to reduce the number of relapses, it is necessary to perform a more careful selection of patients.

[Possibilities of prevention of posttraumatic fat embolism]. / Vozmozhnost' profilaktiki posttravmaticheskoi zhirovoi embolii

Hypocoagulation induced artificially with anticoagulants of an indirect action in patients, subjected to osteotomy of the femoral bone, resulted in diminishing of the intensity of fat globulemia and a decrease in the average size of fat globules, thus lessening the risk of fat embolism.

[Utilization of magneto-biological effects in neurosurgery]. / Zur Anwendung magnetisch-biologischer Effekte in der Neurochirurgie.

After referring to the application of magnetoes used until now for fixation of ferromagnetic substancies in aneurysms, the new results obtained with externally exployed magnetic fields are discussed. Target site is calculated according to stereotactic principles. In the magnetic field the circulating blood is influenced in such a manner, that in the anode region clotting will occure, wherease in the region of cathode the clotting will be inhibited. After developing the appropiate equipment, these conditions were studied on the basis of experimentally produced aneurysms in thyroid arteries of animals as well as in 30 ptients. It is assumed, that magnetic fields increase the immunoresistance of the organism and also exert a direct influence on the growth of tumourcells.