A phase II trial of combined chemotherapy and surgery in stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.

A poor prognosis for patients with Stage IIIA clinical N2 treated by surgery alone has led clinical researchers to find a new treatment modality to improve the curative potential of surgery. Many Phas II trials have been carried out with induction chemo- or chemo-radiotherapy prior to surgery. From June 1988 to July 1991, 46 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Stage IIIA clinical N2 entered a Phase II induction-chemotherapy trial. Patients received 2-3 cycles of high-dose cisplatin and etoposide. Forty-five were evaluable for response; the response rate was 82% (37/45: 3 CR, 34 PR). Toxicity was primarily hematologic. Surgical resection was performed in 35 patients; radical resection was possible in 28 patients (62%); three patients were incompletely resected and two patients were only explored. Three deaths were surgery-related. Median survival was 24.5 months with a 2-year survival of 53%. Cisplatin with etoposide is an active and safe induction chemotherapy regimen for NSCLC Stage IIIA N2 with a high response rate. The median survival seems to be prolonged and therefore, randomized trials are needed to compare this approach with other treatment modalities.

Retrograde cerebral perfusion for aortic operations through left thoractomy.

Retrograde cerebral perfusion during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest is a technique used largely during operations on the ascending aorta, aortic arch, or both through a median sternotomy. This method is not frequently used for operations performed through a left thoracotomy because of problematic access to the right side of the heart. We propose a technique allowing retrograde cerebral perfusion through a left thoracotomy in a quick, simple, and efficient manner.

Neoadjuvant cisplatin and etoposide for stage IIIA (clinical N2) non-small cell lung cancer.

In an attempt to improve the curative potential of surgery, 46 patients with unresectable Stage IIIA (Clinical N2) non-small cell lung cancer received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide. After 2 or 3 cycles, 45 patients were evaluable for response; the overall response rate was 82% (37/45) with 3 complete and 34 partial responses. Toxicity was primarily hematologic. Surgical exploration was performed on 35 patients, but resection was possible in only 33 (73%). Of these, 28 resections were complete (62%). Four patients (2CR, 2PR; 9%) had no tumor in biopsy specimen. Three deaths were surgery-related. Median survival of the entire 46 patients was 24.5 months with a 2-year survival of 53%. Cisplatin and etoposide is an effective chemotherapeutic regimen for regionally advanced non-small cell lung cancer; the resection and survival rates justify further trials to compare this approach to other treatment modalities.

[Surgery after neo-adjuvant therapy of non-small cell lung cancer. Preliminary results]. / Chirurgia dopo terapia neo adiuvante del cancro del polmone non a piccole cellule. Risultati preliminari.

The Authors report their personal experience of surgical treatment following neo-adjuvant therapy in NSCLC (III a N2) in order to assess: 1) the feasibility and safety of surgical treatment following major responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy; 2) the sectile rate; and 3) the survival rate. Preliminary results show that: 1) chemotherapy using cisplatin and VP-16 gives a high rate of major responses in these patients; 2) surgery is feasible; 3) there is high radical sectile rate; 4) further research is needed to obtain statistical significance.

High-Grade Cerebral Glioma Characterization: Usefulness of MR Spectroscopy and Perfusion Imaging Associated Evaluation.

The aim of our study was to evaluate if both spectroscopy and perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are necessary to differentiate high grade gliomas from low grade tumour, or if only one of these techniques is sufficient. Sixty-five patients with cerebral glioma were retrospectively evaluated. All patients were studied both with spectroscopy and perfusion imaging. In 43 cases histological examination showed a high grade glioma while a low grade glioma was found in 22 patients. For every patient spectroscopic maximum Cho/NAA ratio and lactate presence was established maximum relative CBV value was evaluated by perfusion MR. Both for Cho/NAA and rCBV threshold values were obtained by means of ROC curves. Then diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for high grade gliomas identification was evaluated for spectroscopic data only (Cho/NAA and lactate presence that was considered a high grade glioma marker), for perfusional data only (rCBV) and finally for both spectroscopic and perfusional data together. Sensitivity was significantly highest evaluating both spectroscopic and perfusional data together (89.7%) in comparison with spectroscopy (74.4%) or perfusion (79.4%) alone. Instead specificity was slightly lower with all data (91.7%) in comparison with spectroscopy (95.8%) and perfusion (95.8%) alone. In conclusion, to characterize high grade gliomas it is more useful to evaluate spectroscopic and perfusional data together with respect only one of these techniques alone.

Low-dose brain computer tomography sensitivity: a comparative study with a conventional technique.

A comparative study between brain conventional computed tomography (CT) examinations and low-dose examinations was performed. The aim of the work was to show if a low-dose technique can be used instead of a standard one. Forty patients with 51 brain lesions were studied with both techniques. The low-dose technique was optimized with mAs reduction to obtain a 25% dose reduction compared to standard acquisitions. Even if images have a poor signal-to-noise ratio, the low-dose technique visualized all the lesions disclosed by conventional examination except three chronic vascular lacunar infarcts. In conclusion, the low-dose technique can be adopted instead conventional CT scans in selected cases.

New technique for retrograde cerebral perfusion during arch aneurysm repair.

Many techniques are used to reduce brain damage during surgery for dissecting aneurysms of the ascending aorta and arch. Recently, new techniques of protection were proposed, consistent with hypothermic circulatory arrest in association with retrograde cerebral perfusion via superior vena cava. We propose a simple, time-saving method, which does not require any manipulation of the heart. We use a multilumen cannula for cardioplegia (D 860-DIDECO FUNDARO') with pressure transducer. This cannula is inserted in superior vena cava by means of a simple purse-string, and linked to the arterial line with a "Y" derivation, allowing retrograde perfusion of the brain and monitoring the perfusion pressure at every moment. The superior vena cava placed downstream from the cannula is closed by a small vascular clamp, to avoid blood reflux in the right atrium. This method is time- and money-saving, is readily available, and can be prepared whenever necessary, also in the middle of the surgical procedure.

Aortic coarctation, aortic valvular stenosis, and coronary artery disease: combined one-stage surgical therapy operation.

The presentation of simultaneous severe coarctation of the descending aorta and severe aortic valve disease is uncommon. We describe the management of simultaneous association of aortic coarctation, aortic valve disease, and ischemic cardiomyopathy and describe a one-stage surgical approach for the correction of all pathologies. After performing the aortic valve replacement and myocardial revascularization, coarctation was solved by means of a prosthesis between the ascending aorta and the abdominal aorta. There were no evidence of myocardial ischemia during exercise testing and the blood pressure is normal.