Fibroelastic pseudotumor elastofibroma dorsi detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT scan and by postherapy radioiodine SPECT/CT. / Seudotumor fibroelástico elastofibroma dorsi detectado por 18F-FDG PET/TC y por 131I SPECT/TC posterapia.

Radioiodine uptake in the thyroid tissue, metastasis of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), and in other tissues, depends on the expression of sodium-iodide symporter (NIS). Vascular permeability, effusions, inflammation, and other mechanisms may also play a role in the accumulation of radioactive iodine. A 63-year-old woman underwent radioiodine therapy, as well as a post-therapy whole-body scan, as she was suspected of having lung metastasis from thyroid carcinoma. The scan not only showed uptake at the lung metastasis but also a faint diffuse bilateral uptake in the posterior thorax. On SPECT/CT this uptake was located in a known Elastofibroma Dorsi (ED) previously diagnosed by contrast CT and viewed in a FDG PET/CT. The radioiodine uptake in ED, especially if typical, is not a diagnostic problem in SPECT/CT study, but can be misleading in a study limited to a few planar images, particularly if the uptake occurs asymmetrically, or ED is located in a unsuspected area.

Modulated electro-hyperthermia enhances dendritic cell therapy through an abscopal effect in mice.

The aim of this study was to assess whether modulated electro-hyperthermia (mEHT) can induce an abscopal effect and thereby enhance the antitumor effects of immunotherapy. We used an intratumoral dendritic cell (DC) injection and mEHT to treat C3H/He mice inoculated with squamous cell carcinoma SCCVII cells in the left leg, and we assessed the whole body antitumor effects. Tumors were examined every two or three days in order to assess growth inhibition. The tumor-draining lymph nodes were removed to enable flow cytometric analysis of CD3+ and CD8+ cells, whereas immunohistochemistry was used to assess CD8, S100 and Foxp3 expression in the tumors. Additionally, GP96 expression in the tumors from the different treatment groups was measured. In the control group, the mean tumor volume was larger than that in other groups. These results indicated that the combination therapy of an intratumoral DC injection and mEHT evoked systemic antitumor activity. A larger number of CD3+ and CD8+ cells were detected by flow cytometric analysis in the DC plus mEHT treatment group. Tumor tissue immunostaining showed that CD8 and S100 were more strongly expressed in the DC plus mEHT treatment group, although Foxp3 expression was much higher in the control group. The GP96 gene expression level in the mEHT group was significantly different from the expression level in the control group. An abscopal effect may be induced by mEHT, and the effect of immunotherapy with DCs was strongly enhanced by the overexpression of GP96. GP96 is thought to be one of the molecules explaining the abscopal effect. Direct intratumoral administration of DCs and mEHT may be a feasible future treatment strategy.

Surveillance after surgical treatment of melanoma: futility of routine chest radiography.

BACKGROUND: Current recommendations by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and other groups suggest that follow-up of cutaneous melanoma may include chest radiography (CXR) at 6- to 12-month intervals. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical efficacy of routine CXR for recurrence surveillance in melanoma. METHODS: Post hoc analysis was performed on data from a prospective, randomized, multi-institutional study on melanoma ≥1.0 mm in Breslow thickness. All patients underwent excision of the primary melanoma and sentinel node biopsy with completion lymphadenectomy for positive sentinel nodes. Yearly CXR and clinical assessments were obtained during follow-up. Results of routine CXR were compared with clinical disease states over the course of the study. RESULTS: A total of 1,235 patients were included in the analysis over a median follow-up of 74 months (range, 12-138). Overall, 210 patients (17.0%) had a recurrence, most commonly local or in-transit. Review of CXR results showed that 4,218 CXR were obtained in 1,235 patients either before, or in the absence of, initial recurrence. To date, 88% (n = 3,722) CXR are associated with no evidence of recurrence. Of CXR associated with recurrence, only 7.7% (n = 38) of surveillance CXR were read as "abnormal." Overall, 99% (n = 4,180) of CXR were read as either "normal" or found to be falsely positive (read as "abnormal," but without evidence of recurrence on investigation). Only 0.9% (n = 38) of all CXR obtained were true positives ("abnormal" CXR, with confirmed first known recurrence). Among these 38 patients with true positive CXR, 35 revealed widely disseminated disease (multiorgan or bilateral pulmonary metastases); only 3 (0.2%) had isolated pulmonary metastases amenable to resection. Sensitivity and specificity for surveillance CXR in detecting initial recurrence were 7.7% and 96.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The routine use of surveillance CXR provides no clinically useful information in the follow-up of patients with melanoma. CXR does not detect recurrence at levels sufficient to justify its routine use and, therefore, cannot be recommended as part of the standard surveillance regimen for these patients.

Effects of supportive-expressive group therapy on pain in women with metastatic breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether a group intervention including hypnosis can reduce cancer pain and trait hypnotizability would moderate these effects. DESIGN: This randomized clinical trial examined the effects of group therapy with hypnosis (supportive-expressive group therapy) plus education compared to an education-only control condition on pain over 12 months among 124 women with metastatic breast cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain and suffering, frequency of pain, and degree of constant pain were assessed at baseline and 4-month intervals. Those in the treatment group also reported on their experiences using the hypnosis exercises. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that the intervention resulted in significantly less increase in the intensity of pain and suffering over time, compared to the education-only group, but had no significant effects on the frequency of pain episodes or amount of constant pain, and there was no interaction of the intervention with hypnotizability. Within the intervention group, highly hypnotizable participants, compared to those less hypnotizable, reported greater benefits from hypnosis, employed self-hypnosis more often outside of group, and used it to manage other symptoms in addition to pain. CONCLUSION: These results augment the growing literature supporting the use of hypnosis as an adjunctive treatment for medical patients experiencing pain.

[Superficial microwaves hyperthermia tumoral temperature distribution by using finite element analysis]. / Evaluarea distributiei de temperatura tumorala în hipertermia superficiala cu microunde prin metoda analizei cu element finit.

UNLABELLED: The main aim of this study is to present a virtual method for tumor temperature distribution by using finite element analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: First step is geometrical synthesis that means tumor and neighbor structures three-dimensional reconstruction using CT sections; the second represent temperature and material synthesis: temperature values application and tissues density, thermal conductivity, specific heat values application, then finite element analysis. RESULTS: Finite element analysis indicate tumor temperature distribution with maximum and minimum values as a result of microwave hyperthermia treatment.

Transcatheter arterial embolization for tumor seeding in the chest wall after radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Tumor seeding in the chest wall was depicted at follow-up CT obtained 9 months after radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma. Transcatheter arterial embolization was successfully performed, injecting emulsion of 10 mg of epirubicin and 1 ml of iodized oil followed by gelatin sponge particles via the microcatheter placed in the right eleventh intercostal artery. The patient died of tumor growth in the liver one year after the embolization, but no progression of the tumor seeding was noted during the follow-up period. We conclude that transcatheter arterial embolization was effective for the control of tumor seeding after radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

[A case of postoperative chestwall recurrence of gastric cancer responding to a combination of radiation, hyperthermia and oral administration of TS-1].

A 77-year-old man diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer underwent total gastrectomy with combined splenectomy and resection of the pancreatic tails in 1996. He was treated with 400 mg/day of UFT for 2 years. Serum CEA level was found to be elevated on July 5, 2001. He complained of left chest pain in December 2001. A 4 cm-sized tumor was detected in the region extending from the subcutaneous region to the left chest wall containing the osteolytic change of the left sixth rib. He was diagnosed with a chest wall metastasis from gastric cancer. He underwent radiotherapy with thermotherapy and was also treated with chemotherapy. TS-1 was administered at 80-100 mg/body/day, twice daily for 3 weeks followed by a 2-week rest interval as 1 cycle. As a results, shrinkage of the tumor was confirmed on February 14, 2002. The tumor was confirmed to have disappeared on April 17, 2002, by chest CT. A complete response of the metastatic tumor was achieved. The patient maintained a complete response for more than 12 months, but died from the chest wall metastasis recurrence and weakness on August 13, 2003. The only observed adverse event, was grade 2 leukopenia.

Use of plasma exchange in methotrexate removal in a patient with osteosarcoma and acute renal insufficiency.

Acute renal failure induced by methotrexate (MTX) can be lethal because renal excretion of the drug can be delayed. Pre-existing renal impairment, abstention, or underdosage of folinic acid and inadequate hydration facilitate toxicity. The prolonged high serum levels of MTX result in severe mucositis and pancytopenia, but strategies useful to accelerate MTX removal have not been universally accepted. We report a case of a 13-year-old girl with osteosarcoma who was treated with high-dose MTX because of thoracic tumor recurrence. No side effects were observed after 2 cycles of high-dose MTX; however, after the third cycle there was a delayed MTX elimination followed by clinical toxicity. Forty hours post-MTX infusion the serum level of MTX was 5.39 x 10(-4) mol/L. Treatment was based on symptomatic measures, such as maintenance of an abundant and alkaline diuresis and parenteral administration of folinic acid. Concomitantly, plasma exchange was employed to accelerate MTX removal and reduce its toxicity. After 24 days, she was discharged from the hospital, and her renal function recovered gradually.

Resection of residual masses alone: an alternative in surgical therapy of metastatic testicular germ cell tumors after chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES: The standard approach in postchemotherapy surgery of testicular cancer is retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. However, because of its high rate of morbidity (mainly loss of antegrade ejaculation), various approaches have been suggested. We present our experience in limited postchemotherapy surgery for residual masses. METHODS: Seventy-five patients underwent resection of residual masses after chemotherapy. After tumor marker levels returned to normal, patients with residual lymph nodes greater than 2 cm in nonseminomatous germ cell tumors and greater than 4 cm in seminomas and any resectable parenchymal lesions were candidates for the limited surgery. We performed 82 operations on 75 patients. The ejaculatory function of the patients after surgery was assessed during their last visit. RESULTS: The histologic features of the resected specimens were necrosis/fibrosis, teratoma, and viable cancer in 33.3%, 45.3%, and 21.3%, respectively. Two patients had a relapse in the retroperitoneum, two in the thorax, and one in the liver. In 3 of these 5 patients, repeated limited resections were performed. At a mean follow-up of 37.4 months (range 3 to 127), 62 patients (82.7%) had no evidence of disease, 8 patients (10.7%) had died, 3 patients were alive with disease, and 2 patients were lost to follow-up. Removal of the residual masses was incomplete in 7 patients (9.3%). Five (45.5%) of 11 patients with viable cancer cells in the specimen had no evidence of disease after complete removal of the residual mass; in the group with incomplete removal, all patients had evidence of disease. The prognosis of patients with incomplete resections and those with viable cancer cells in the specimen was found to be worse than for those with complete resections and those with other histologic findings. Antegrade ejaculation was preserved in 58 (93.6%) of the 62 living patients. CONCLUSIONS: In the present series, our surgical technique resulted in an excellent antegrade ejaculation rate and a rate of relapse attributable to the surgical technique that was very low (3%). Thus, removal of the residual mass only may be a beneficial option in postchemotherapy surgery.

Surgical resection combined with intrathoracic hyperthermic perfusion for thymic carcinoma with an intrathoracic disseminated lesion: a case report.

Thymic undifferentiated carcinoma has a poor prognosis. We encountered a patient with thymic carcinoma associated with an intrathoracic disseminated lesion, who underwent surgery combined with intrathoracic hyperthermic perfusion after systemic chemotherapy and showed good results. The 45-year-old man was diagnosed as having a thymoma with an intrathoracic disseminated lesion. After he underwent three courses of systemic chemotherapy, he was admitted to our hospital. An anterior mediastinal tumor and an intrathoracic disseminated lesion remained, and were treated by surgical resection combined with intrathoracic hyperthermic perfusion. The tumors were histopathologically diagnosed as thymic undifferentiated carcinomas with pleural dissemination. At present, approximately 16 months after surgery, the patient is alive without recurrence.

[PET-FDG in thyroid cancer with high thyroglobulin levels and negative 131-I scan. A case report]. / La PET-FDG en el cáncer de tiroides ante niveles altos de tiroglobulina y rastro 131-I negativo. A Propósito de un caso.

The value of whole body PET-FDG in the evaluation of metastases has been demonstrated in a wide variety of tumors. In this report, we present the case of a patient with antecedent of papillary thyroid carcinoma, who was operated twelve years ago, and submitted to an ablative dose of residual thyroid tissue through 131I, being the levels of thyroglobulin normals. After twelve years of evolution, the patient refers bag pain and respiratory trouble, appearing in the CT image suspicious of metastases in right pulmonary base. The levels of thyroglobulin were shown increased, being the 131I scan negative. A whole body PET-FDG study was performed in order to exclude metastases of his malignant process, showed multiple high FDG uptake focus in brain, cerebellum, neck, chest, lymphatic nodes and bone, suggestive of dedifferentiated disease These findings were confirmed subsequently in the clinic evolution. Therefore, whole-body PET-FDG is a complementary diagnostic technique for study patients with CDT (Thyroid Differentiated Carcinoma) with 131I scan negative and rising thyroglobulin levels.

[Monitoring tumor response to therapy by means of 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A case of advanced prostatic cancer with metastatic chest wall tumor].

The response of advanced prostatic cancer with metastatic chest wall tumor to high-dose diethylstilbestrol diphosphate (DESP) therapy was monitored by in vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) study. A eighty-three year old man with Stage D2 prostatic cancer had been treated with chlormadinone acetate and cyclophosphamide since 1984. He was admitted to our hospital with a chest wall tumor and anemia on May 9, 1992. The elevated PAP, PSA and gamma-Sm levels were also observed. Needle biopsy of the tumor revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma metastatic from the prostatic cancer. The patient received 500 mg of DESP by DIV daily for 10 days, and the tumor was reduced by 54% clinically. The abnormal PAP, PSA and gamma-Sm levels returned to almost normal range by three weeks after the initiation of high-dose DESP therapy, and regression of the tumor was confirmed by the MRI. After the first administration of DESP, the MR spectra of the chest wall tumor showed elevated peaks of phosphomonoesters and phosphodiesters. These substances are related to the membrane metabolism and their increase represents the membranous degeneration of tumor cells. The same changes continued consecuitively for three weeks, and corresponded with the regression of the tumor. In conclusion, these results suggest that in vivo 31P MRS of malignant tumors can be useful for evaluating early response to therapy prior to other clinical examinations.

Spurious thyroid cancer metastasis: saliva contamination artifact in high dose iodine-131 metastases survey.

The use of high dose 131I for workup of thyroid cancer patients increases the chance of contamination artifact which may mimic metastases. Two elderly male patients with follicular carcinoma of the thyroid had salivary contamination artifacts on metastatic survey scans. These patients received a 1 and 10 mCi dose of 131I, respectively. The artifacts were recognized only retrospectively when follow-up scans were obtained and compared. The characteristics of contamination artifacts and several methods to confirm these are discussed.

Adjuvant CMF effect on site of first recurrence, and appropriate follow-up intervals, in operable breast cancer with positive axillary nodes.

From June 1973 to May 1978 a total of 845 patients with operable breast cancer were entered into different adjuvant programs. The medical records of the 278 patients showing relapse were carefully re-evaluated to assess the pattern(s) of first recurrence and the consistency of follow-up modulation. Ninety-one of 179 patients treated with surgery alone, 130 of 414 given 12 cycles of adjuvant CMF and 57 of 252 treated with 6 cycles of CMF showed treatment failure within 5 years from radical mastectomy. The frequency of new disease manifestations was significantly affected by primary treatment, since patients given adjuvant CMF showed a lower tendency to recur in local-regional area(s) and in bone(s). However, in relapsed patients, patterns of new lesions were not substantially altered by type of primary treatment. The most frequently involved sites were soft tissues (37.8%) and bones (37%) followed by viscera (34.2%). Retrospective evaluation of X-rays revealed that in 26.2% of osseous metastases, diagnosis could have been assessed earlier, with a median delay of 4 months (range 1-8). Present analysis also revealed that short-term repeated X-ray examinations yielded findings more controversial than reliable for assessing the exact time of relapse, thus preventing firm conclusions in the presence of suspicious recurrence. A new follow-up schedule after completion of adjuvant chemotherapy is proposed, since on the basis of our experience, in asymptomatic patients frequently repeated examinations are not necessary and some can safely be omitted.

Adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy following regional therapy for isolated recurrences of breast cancer (stage IV NED).

A combination of 5-fluorouracil, Adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, and BCG (FAC-BCG) was evaluated as adjuvant treatment in breast cancer patients following surgical excision and/or radiation of first site of recurrent disease. In a group of 68 patients treated with FAC-BCG, the estimated proportion remaining free of disease at 2 years from first recurrence was 69%, compared to 24% in 60 historical control patients (P less than 0.01). Estimated 2-year survival rate from first recurrence was 85% for the FAC-BCG patients and 78% for the controls (P = 0.07). This regimen has significantly prolonged the disease-free interval from the first recurrence, but additional follow-up is needed to determine its effect on long-term survival.