Advances in the therapy of small cell lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer represents a disease with poor prognosis. Despite rapid progress in the fields of medical or radiation oncology, the treatment strategy of the small cell lung cancer has remained almost unchanged for over the last 30 years. Prophylactic cranial irradiation and irradiation of the primary lung tumor according to CREST clinical trial improved the median overall survival in months. Until the launch on immunotherapy, the systemic treatment didnt make significant progress, unfortunately including targeted therapy. Immunotherapy significantly changed the treatment outcomes of the several tumor types and finally even the prognosis of small cell lung cancer. Clinical trials with atezolizumab and durvalumab have further moved forward the median overall survival by more than 2 months without significant increase in the treatment toxicity and worsening of the patients quality of life. In the combination with chemotherapy, atezolizumab and durvalumab represents a new gold standard in the treatment of small cell lung cancer.

Targeted axillary dissection with preoperative tattooing of biopsied positive axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has emerged as an alternative to axillary lymph node dissection during breast cancer surgery during the last 2 decades. However, there are several controversies regarding the indication of the sentinel node biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy which can convert positive lymph nodes to negative. The false-negative rate after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is unacceptably high. This high false-negative rate can be decreased by marking of the positive lymph nodes and removal during sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure in addition to the sentinel lymph nodes. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of carbon tattooing of the positive sentinel lymph nodes before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In 2016, a prospective protocol was launched investigating the black carbon tattooing procedure of the suspective and positive axillary lymph nodes by injecting 0.1-0.5 carbon ink in normal saline under ultrasound guidance. All patients underwent black carbon tattooing of the suspected or positive axillary lymph nodes before the chemotherapy or one week before the primary surgery when chemotherapy was not indicated in the neoadjuvant setting. Sentinel lymph nodes together with lymph nodes marked by the black carbon ink were removed and histologically evaluated. So far 27 patients were treated under this protocol. Breast saving surgery was performed in 22 cases and mastectomy in 5 cases. All patients had invasive ductal carcinoma. In 20 patients neoadjuvant chemotherapy was indicated and in 7 patients primary surgery was performed. All lymph nodes marked by black carbon ink were successfully identified and removed. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed in 8 cases and sentinel lymph node biopsy followed by axillary dissection in 15 cases. Axillary dissection alone was performed in 4 cases. In 19 cases, the black carbon ink was present in the sentinel lymph node at the same time and in 4 cases carbon dye was present in other lymph nodes than the lymph node identified during SLNB, which corresponds to 17.4%. In the group of patients undergoing primary surgery, in one case from six, the sentinel lymph node was negative and the lymph node marked with carbon ink positive which represents false-negative lymph node and failure of the SLNB procedure. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, there was no false-negative lymph node identified, but the conversion of the positive lymph nodes to negative was present in 10 cases (50%). There were no complications attributed to carbon ink tattooing. The results of positive sentinel lymph nodes tattooing have confirmed that this method is safe and allows a decrease in the false negativity rate during the sentinel node biopsy procedure.

Correction: Genetic risk for schizophrenia and psychosis in Alzheimer disease.

A number of collaborators were not acknowledged for their contribution to this published article. The acknowledgements that were missing in this published article can now be found in the associated correction.

Primary Intracranial Sarcomas, Myxoid Meningeal Sarcoma - a Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Primary intracranial sarcoma is a rare disease. Due to the scarcity of evidence from randomized clinical trials, we follow the treatment guidelines of their extracranial counterparts or those published in case reports, while taking into consideration the specificity of radiotherapy within the brain, and the limit imposed on chemotherapy by the blood brain barrier. Nevertheless, surgery remains the golden standard of treatment for primary tumours, and also for recurrence. Even though there are usually narrow margins achieved in brain compared with the extracranial sarcomas. Despite significant effort, prognosis remains dismal. CASE: We present a 69-year old woman who was investigated for psychoorganic syndrome and paresis of the left hand. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumour expansion in her frontal lobe with collateral oedema. Surgical resection was indicated. Histology of the specimen suggested a myxoid meningeal sarcoma. Early disease recurrence 4 months after primary resection was treated by reresection and 50 Gy of adjuvant radiotherapy to the tumour bed. Similarly, another recurrence 19 months after the second surgery was treated using the same approach. Systemic treatment has not been indicated so far. At this time, the patient is without evidence of any disease recurrence and continues with regular follow-up. CONCLUSION: Myxoid meningeal sarcoma represents a rare disease with a high risk of recurrence. Unfortunately, there is no clear recommendation for treatment algorithm. The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.

Complications and mortality of surgical therapy for esophageal cancer: 10 years single center experience.

A single-center retrospective study the complication and mortality of surgical treatment of esophageal cancer 2006 to 2015 is presented. A total of 212 patients with esophageal cancer were operated at the First Department of Surgery University Hospital Olomouc, Czech Republic in the period between 2006 and 2015. Adenocarcinoma was histologically described in 127 patients (59.9%), squamous cell carcinoma in 82 patients (38.7%), and other types of carcinoma were described in 3 cases. According to the preoperative staging of esophageal cancer, the patients with early stage disease (T1-2N0M0) had primary surgery, while the patients with advanced stage (T3-4N0-2M0) were indicated for neoadjuvant chemoradiation with the surgery being performed subsequently. Transhiatal laparoscopic esophagectomy was performed in 183 patients, and Orringer esophagectomy in 4 patients. Thoracoscopic esophagectomy was performed in 17 patients and thoracotomy in 30 patients. Respiratory failure with the development of ARDS syndrome accompanied by multiple-organ failure occurred in 21 patients. Statistically significant association between mortality and ASA (p = 0.009) and between respiratory complications and ASA (p = 0.006) was demonstrated. The majority of patients who died were under 60 years of age (p = 0.039). Further, significant association between 30-day mortality and tumor stage (p = 0.021), gender (p = 0.022) and age (p = 0.018) was evident. A significant association between tumor stage and fistula in anastomosis, (p = 0.043) was observed. Esophagectomy is a procedure, which should be performed in specialized high-volume centers experienced in treatment of this serious malignancy and by certified oncology surgeons with long time experience in esophageal surgery.

Genetic risk for schizophrenia and psychosis in Alzheimer disease.

Psychotic symptoms, defined as the occurrence of delusions or hallucinations, are frequent in Alzheimer disease (AD), affecting ~40 to 60% of individuals with AD (AD with psychosis (AD+P)). In comparison with AD subjects without psychosis, AD+P subjects have more rapid cognitive decline and poor outcomes. Prior studies have estimated the heritability of psychosis in AD at 61%, but the underlying genetic sources of this risk are not known. We evaluated a Discovery Cohort of 2876 AD subjects with (N=1761) or without psychosis (N=1115). All subjects were genotyped using a custom genotyping array designed to evaluate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with evidence of genetic association with AD+P and include SNPs affecting or putatively affecting risk for schizophrenia and AD. Results were replicated in an independent cohort of 2194 AD subjects with (N=734) or without psychosis (N=1460). We found that AD+P is associated with polygenic risk for a set of novel loci and inversely associated with polygenic risk for schizophrenia. Among the biologic pathways identified by the associations of schizophrenia SNPs with AD+P are endosomal trafficking, autophagy and calcium channel signaling. To the best of our knowledge, these findings provide the first clear demonstration that AD+P is associated with common genetic variation. In addition, they provide an unbiased link between polygenic risk for schizophrenia and a lower risk of psychosis in AD. This provides an opportunity to leverage progress made in identifying the biologic effects of schizophrenia alleles to identify novel mechanisms protecting against more rapid cognitive decline and psychosis risk in AD.

Esophageal cancer results of surgical treatment at the Department of Surgery I. at the University Hospital Olomouc.

The authors present the results of surgical treatment of esophageal cancer at Department of Surgery I, University Hospital Olomouc between 20062016. The aim of the study was to use retrospective analysis to evaluate the results of patients operated for esophageal cancer and statistically evaluate the results based on the type of surgical approach (transhiatal, transthoracic). Method: A total of 240 patients with esophageal cancer were operated at Department of Surgery I between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2016. We evaluated respiratory complications, the incidence of anastomotic fistula and complications based on the Clavien-Dindo classification of complications, based on the type of surgical approach selected (transhiatal or transthoracic esophagectomy). Results: The patient set included 207 men (86.3%) and 33 women (13.7%). The mean patient age was 60.4 years. The histological type was adenocarcinoma in 145 (60.4%) and squamous cell carcinoma in 90 (37.5%) patients; another type of carcinoma was observed in 5 cases. Transhiatal esophagectomy was performed in 194 patients (80.2%) (transhiatal laparoscopic in 190 and classic Orringer in 4 patients). Transthoracic approach was used in 46 patients (19.2%), thoracoscopic in 16, and thoracotomic in 30 patients. A gastric conduit was used in 236 patients and coloplasty was performed in 4 patients. The mean duration of surgery was 217 min for the transhiatal approach, 239 min for the thoracoscopic approach and 277 min for the thoracotomic approach. Total blood loss per patient was 562 ml on average for all the operated patients. Peri- or postoperative blood transfusions were administered to 148 patients. Lymphadenectomy was performed as part of the procedure in all patients; the mean of 16.1 lymph nodes were removed. The average hospital stay was 20.7 days. In the patient set, 30-day mortality included 12 patients (respiratory complications 10, MI 1, conduit necrosis 1) and 90-day mortality included 4 (multi organ failure during ARDS). Based on statistical analysis, the incidence of respiratory complications significantly correlated with ASA classification (p=0.0001) and Clavien-Dindo classification (p.

[Evaluation of Anti-cancer Therapies with Reimbursement Limited to Comprehensive Cancer Centres Using the European Society for Medical Oncology Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale]. / Hodnocení klinického benefitu protinádorových léku limitovaných na komplexní onkologická centra podle metodiky ESMO-MCBS.

BACKGROUND: The costs of oncology treatments are increasing, due to the rising prevalence of malignant diseases and the introduction of expensive novel anti-cancer agents. The new European Society for Clinical Oncology (ESMO) has recently developed a new parametric system to evaluate the clinical benefit of drugs. The Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) compares the contribution of a novel drug based on overall and progression-free survival and quality of life with those of current treatment options. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An expert group of the Czech Oncological Society conducted an assessment based on published data and an ESMO-MCBS methodology for antineoplastic agents used for the treatment of solid tumors with limited reimbursement to Comprehensive Cancer Centers. We evaluated drugs categorized as "S" that were eligible for public health insurance as of January 1, 2017. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The ESMO-MCBS score is a promising new parameter for the evaluation of new anticancer drugs. The ESMO-MCBS method for assessing the clinical benefit of drugs is simple, robust, and reproducible. The advantage of the assessment is that it is not based on a single index but rather combines several dimensions of drug performance. This parameter will be gradually added to Czech cancer guidelines. Scores obtained in the majority of cases correspond to the observed benefit of a drug in routine clinical practice.Key words: tumors - farmacotherapy - assesment study as a subject - survival - protocols of anti-cancer therapy The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.Submitted: 3. 5. 2017Accepted: 20. 6. 2017.

[Is it possible to avoid axillary dissection?] / Muzeme se vyhnout disekci axilárních lymfatických uzlin?

The essential aim of oncology surgery including breast cancer is to remove the malignant tumour and lymph nodes. For many decades, dissection of axillary lymph nodes has been a common part of mastectomy, virtually the only surgical procedure in breast cancer treatment until the 90ies of the previous century. Although mastectomy has been replaced with breast preserving procedures, axillary dissection remained an integral part of the surgery. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has introduced a revolutionary change in breast cancer treatment in the axilla, replacing dissection in clinically negative axillary nodes. As a result, the number of radical procedures in the axilla was significantly limited, as well as the incidence of serious complications that may have a negative impact on the quality of life of the patients. As shown by other studies, the number of dissections can be reduced even further. Subsequent axillary dissection is unnecessary where the sentinel nodes contain only malignant cells, micrometastases and even a limited number of macrometastases. SLNB can also be used in a selected group of patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Key words: breast carcinoma - axillary dissection - sentinel lymph node - micrometastases - macrometastases.

[Internal mammary lymph nodes in early stage breast cancer]. / Vnitrní mamární uzliny u casného karcinomu prsu.

Internal mammary nodes (IMN) in early stage breast cancer are a still unresolved issue. Their involvement has a crucial impact on the staging as well as prognosis of the breast cancer patients. The reported incidence of IMN drainage in the process of detecting the axillary sentinel node is about 20% depending on the tracer application technique. However, the IMN drainage itself apparently has no effect on the prognosis even when the nodes are left without biopsy or radiotherapy. The major predictive factor for the presence of metastases in IMN is the presence of metastases in axillary lymph nodes. Studies evaluating adjuvant IMN radiotherapy have shown inconsistent outcomes. The generally accepted trend towards less extensive locoregional procedures in breast cancer treatment will apparently affect the IMN, as well, given that new systemic treatment will probably compensate for uncertainties in IMN management.Key words: breast cancer internal mammary nodes radiotherapy.

[Microscopic tumor cells in re-excision tissue by conservative surgery in breast cancer]. / Mikroskopické nádorové reziduum v reexcidované tkáni po konzervativních výkonech na prsu pro karcinom.

INTRODUCTION: Conservative procedures in early breast carcinoma are a safe alternative to mastectomy. The resection line is controversial, as well as the presence of residual malignant cells in the breast after excision and their influence on local recurrence. The aim of the study was to assess the presence of residual cells in re-excised tissues near positive resection lines, in the distance up to 2 mm, and 2-5 mm. The distance of more than 5 mm was evaluated as free margin. METHOD: All patients operated on in Atlas Hospital from 2004 to 2008 using conservative surgery were included in study. The resection line and the presence of residual malignant cells were followed in positive margins and in the distance of the resection line from the tumour up to 2 mm, and 2-5 mm. RESULTS: The conservative procedure was indicated 330 times, and 78 patients were re-operated for insufficiently free margins. The conservative procedure was completed 311 times, and mastectomy was done as the final procedure in 19 cases. Positive resection line was found 10 times. Distance up to 2 mm occurred 12 times and 25 mm 56 times. In all re-operated patients, presence of malignant cells in the re-excised tissue was found 31 times (39.7%). Repeated surgery for positive line, i.e. tumour present in the resection line, was done 10 times while malignant cells were found in all patients; for the distance up 2 mm, repeated surgery was done 12 times and 3 cases were positive (25%). For the distance of 2-5 mm, repeated excision occurred 56 times and 18 cases were positive, i.e. 32.1%. CONCLUSION: For the resection line "no tumour in contact with ink", presence of malignant cells in breast tissue must be expected in one third of the cases.Key words: breast carcinoma - conservative surgery - residual malignant cells.

[Radiotherapy of Lung Tumours in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis]. / Radioterapie nádoru s plicní lokalizací u idiopatické plicní fibrózy.

BACKGROUND: This article is a joint statement of the Czech Pneumological and Physiological Society and the Czech Society for Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, and reviews current opinions on radiotherapy in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In general, radiotherapy of lung tumours is associated with risk of radiation pneumonitis (RP); moreover, IPF may be complicated by acute exacerbations (AE-IPF). Both complications may immediately threaten patients lives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Assessment of individual radiotherapy modalities has shown that conventional radiotherapy is not appropriate, especially in large tumours. Up to 30% of patients are at risk of developing AE-IPF. As a result, as many as 83% of patients die within 3 months of initiation of lung cancer treatment. Fatal RP is most commonly observed within 2 months of radiotherapy. In IPF accompanied by early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) may be considered. NSCLC should be treated with chemotherapy. Several cases report severe exacerbations of subclinical IPF after SBRT even with minimal signs of previous interstitial involvement. Grade 2 RP has been reported in up to 50% of cases with any level of interstitial change detected by lung CT prior to radiotherapy. In palliative radiotherapy, external radiation may be considered as an exception if the main bronchi are involved. Similarly, brachytherapy may be indicated for certain cases of bronchial stenosis. RESULTS: The presence of any level of interstitial change suggests a risk for fatal RP and AE-IPF. This is also supported by the fact that, at the present time, there are no dose limitations for radiation therapy of lung cancer in IPF, irrespective of whether conventional fractionated radiotherapy or SBRT is used. Moreover, there are no reliable predictive factors for lung involvement. In some studies, RP was more frequently associated with high CRP and LDH levels, PS 2 and interstitial changes of 10% or more. Treatment depends on the severity of the involvement. In more severe forms, corticosteroids, antibiotics and oxygen therapy should be administered. Ventilation support is often needed. CONCLUSION: Radiotherapy for patients with IPF and lung cancer or other chest tumours requires an individual approach depending on the local findings, the patients lung function and general condition, and the prognosis of the primary disease. Decision-making should take into consideration potential benefits and risks, and be carried out by a multidisciplinary team comprising a pulmonologist and clinical and radiation oncologists. Treatment should always be thoroughly discussed with the patient signing an informed consent form.Key words: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - chest radiotherapy - indications - radiation pneumonitis - acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - treatment This work was supported by grant AZV 16-32-318 A. The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study. The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.Submitted: 4. 5. 2017Accepted: 18. 5. 2017.

[Clinical and Functional Importance of Selected CASP8 and CASP9 Polymorphisms in Breast Carcinoma]. / Klinický a funkcní význam vybraných polymorfizmu CASP8 a CASP9 u karcinomu prsu.

BACKGROUND: Caspase-8 and caspase-9 (encoded by CASP8 and CASP9) are executive caspases of programmed cell death (apoptosis). Dysregulation of apoptosis plays an important role in cancer development, progression, and resistance to anticancer therapy. The goal of this work was to evaluate potential associations between polymorphisms in CASP8 and CASP9, previously linked to breast cancer risk, and the transcript levels of these genes (including their alternative anti-apoptotic variants) in tumor tissues and the clinical characteristics of the patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sanger sequencing, high resolution melting (HRM) analysis, and allelic discrimination were used to identify polymorphisms in DNA samples isolated from tumor tissues and peripheral blood lymphocytes of 60 breast carcinoma patients. Total transcript levels of CASP8 and CASP9, and levels of alternative splicing variants CASP8L and CASP9B, were quantified by real-time PCR in tumor tissues. Clinically interesting associations were validated in DNA from lymphocytes of 615 breast carcinoma patients. RESULTS: A haplotype in CASP9 composed of three polymorphisms rs4645978-rs2020903-rs4646034 was significantly associated with CASP9 expression in tumors, with the expression of the progesterone receptor and ERBB2, and with the TNBC subtype of breast carcinoma in the validation study. The associations between the rs3834129 polymorphism in CASP8 and stage of disease, rs6435074 with grade, expression of estrogen receptor and ERBB2, and rs6723097 with ERBB2 expression have not yet been validated. However, rs6723097 was associated with disease-free survival in patients treated with hormonal therapy. CONCLUSION: This study reveals a previously unknown and presumably functional (in silico) association between a haplotype in CASP9 and molecular and clinical phenotypes of breast carcinoma. The potential clinical utility of this association for prognostication of breast carcinoma should be evaluated by independent studies.Key words: breast carcinoma - caspases - polymorphisms - functional - clinical - importanceThis work was supported by grant of the CU Grant Agency No. 1444313, and grant of the Internal Grant Agency of the Czech Ministry of Health No. 15-25618A.The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.Submitted: 3. 3. 2016Accepted: 26. 10. 2016.

[Multimodal Therapy of Recurrent Malignant Schwannoma]. / Kombinovaná lécba recidivujícího maligního schwannomu.

BACKGROUND: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor schwannoma (MPNST), also known as malignant schwannoma, is a very rare tumor accounting for only 2% of all sarcomas. The prognosis is relatively poor, with a 5-year survival rate of 46-69%. The treatment of MPNST has not been standardized yet. Mainstay treatment is radical resection. Oncological adjuvant or neoadjuvant treatment has equivocal indications with unclear effects. CASE: The case report presents a 55-year-old patient who showed resistance in the medial-ventral area of the left lower limb. An MRI scan showed a tumor adjacent to the femoral nerve. Tumor extirpation was performed. Histology revealed malignant schwannoma (MPNST) and the resection was assessed as R0. Postoperative whole-body PET/CT revealed no viable tumor tissue. The patient was regularly followed-up. On a follow-up MRI scan, performed 53 months after initial surgery, tumor recurrence was detected in the left thigh. Extirpation of the recurrent tumor was performed. Histology confirmed MPNST and the resection radicality was assessed as R2. Postoperative PET/CT revealed tumor residues. Therefore, 58 months after the initial surgery, another operation of the residual tumor was performed with R0 resection. Three applicators for interstitial brachytherapy were placed in the resection cavity. Following the operation, radiotherapy with an interstitial brachytherapy boost of 18 Gy followed by external fractionated radiotherapy of 50 Gy were administered. The latest MRI scan, performed 66 months after the diagnosis of MPNST, showed no tumor tissue. The patient had no neurological deficit. CONCLUSION: The mainstay of treatment for MPNST is radical en bloc resection. The use of subsequent oncological therapy depends on the radicality of the resection. In our case, because of the good radicality of the initial surgery, adjuvant oncological therapy was postponed. As part of recurrence management, we again attempted to achieve the most radical resection possible and then apply adjuvant radiotherapy. In MPNST, as in all soft tissue sarcomas, high doses are chosen because of potential radioresistance. Given the confined nature of the disease, we chose this locally intensified therapeutic strategy, which resulted in this case in disease remission. Due to the low incidence of MPNST, it is not possible to test the efficacies of individual oncologic therapeutic procedures in larger patient cohorts.Key words: malignant schwannoma - soft tissue sarcoma - multimodal therapyThe authors declare they have no potential confl icts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.Submitted: 13. 3. 2016Accepted: 25. 4. 2016.

Predictive factors for the presence of tumor cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood in breast cancer patients.

UNLABELLED: Simultaneous detection of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) was shown to be associated with an especially poor prognosis and increased incidence of disease-related deaths in non-metastatic breast cancer patients. We analyzed the occurance of DTCs and CTCs in patients with primary breast cancer and evaluated the correlation of their presence with other prognostic markers and investigated the changes in DTCs/CTCs number at different time points during treatment.Blood of 50 patients with primary breast cancer were used for immunomagnetic separation and detection of circulating tumor cells using the commercial available system the AdnaTest Breast Cancer™ (AdnaGen GmbH, Langenhagen, Germany). Bone marrow aspirates from 50 patients were analyzed for DTCs by immunocytochemistry using the pan-cytokeratin antibody conjugated with FITC (Monoclonal Anti-Cytokeratin antibody F3418, Sigma Aldrich).DTCs were identified in 30% (15/50) and CTCs in 22% (11/50) of patients. We found that DTC positivity could point to a significantly high risk of larger primary tumor size (p-value 0.011) and significantly higher risk of lymph node involvement (p-value 0.002). For CTC positivity, no such relationship was proven. DTCs have shown significantly higher prevalence in ER/PR-negative females and in HER2-positive cases. CTCs were equally prevalent in patients with the presence and absence of standard prognostic and predictive markers such as ER, PR and HER2. We found no correlation between CTCs and DTCs findings (r = -0.097, p = 0.504). We used DTCs/CTCs analysis for therapy monitoring in a small group of 29 patients, who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We find out no significant correlation between DTCs/CTCs detection and the primary tumor response to NACT. A pathologic complete response (pCR) was achieved by 31% (9/29) of the patients in our study, however, no association was observed between pCR and the detection of DTCs after NACT.These results support the use of DTCs/CTCs analysis in early breast cancer to generate clinically useful prognostic information. The study of these cells apart from the impact on refining prognosis, has the exciting potential of individualising treatment for women with breast cancer. KEYWORDS: breast cancer, disseminated tumor cells, circulating tumor cells, bone marrow aspiration, prognostic/predictive markers, therapy monitoring.

Severe hidradenitis suppurativa.

INTRODUCTION: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease causing significant changes and damage to skin. Predilection sites are the axilla and the anogenital region. Chronic and severe forms of the diseases may cause both physical and psychological injury to the patient. PATIENTS: We present the cases of two female patients with severe hidradenitis suppurativa in the axillae and in the anogenital region. The patients had been unsuccessfully treated for eight and four years respectively with antibiotics and by limited surgery. Different methods of closing the defects following radical surgical excision (local flap reconstruction, healing by granulation) had to be used with respect to the extent of the disease and the site of involved skin. CONCLUSION: Radical wide excision of the skin area involved is the only appropriate surgical procedure which prevents recurrence of the disease. Selection of the therapeutic method must be done very carefully with respect to the individual characteristics of the disease and the patients attitude to therapy.

[Continuing progress in withdrawal of axillary dissection in early stage breast cancer]. / Dalsí postupný ústup od axilární disekce u casného karcinomu prsu.

For a long period of time, axillary dissection represented a standard approach for axillary node management in the case of sentinel node biopsy positivity during early stage breast cancer treatment. In recent years, there has been a trend to highlight the morbidity of such an axillary procedure considering longterm survival of early stage breast cancer patients. Two big trials, AMAROS and Z0011, were initiated to answer the question whether axillary dissection should be performed in the case of positivity of axillary sentinel node considering the fact that more than 70% of these patients will have no metastasis found during the axillary dissection and such a procedure only increases the morbidity of the surgery. Considering the results of the above mentioned trials, axillary dissection may be avoided in the case of fulfilling of inclusion criteria of these trials without any impact on the patient survival. IBCSG 23- 01 study brought similar conclusion in the case of micrometastasis in axillary sentinel node.

Significance of using DICOM communication standard in quality assurance in radiation oncology - an institutional experience.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article was to highlight the importance of data management systems in radiotherapy. METHODS: We performed a database search to review the errors or potential errors in radiotherapy planning and delivery which could be prevented in case of using the DICOM communication system. RESULTS: We registered the following rates of errors: 1) Errors caused by manual rewriting of treatment plan 30%; 2) Errors caused by wrong assignment of the verification system 15%; 3) Errors during the manual rewriting of treatment data to the verification system 15%; 4) Patient identification 5%; 5) Field verification 15% 6) Wedge orientation 10%. CONCLUSION: DICOM communication system may significantly improve the quality assurance in radiotherapy.

[Patient with atypical neurocytoma -  case report]. / Pacientka s atypickým neurocytomem -  kazuistika.

BACKGROUND: Neurocytoma represents a rare tumor of the central nervous system usually slowly growing and generally with good prognosis after surgical resection with or without adjuvant radiotherapy. CASE: A 25-year- old woman presented with sudden fainting. During the initial workup, brain CT was completed with finding of tumor inside the third ventricle spreading into both lateral ventricles. The patient underwent partial surgical resection followed by radical gross resection, no adjuvant radiotherapy was indicated during the initial treatment and the patient was followed up with regular brain MRIs and clinical examinations. Thirty six months after the initial resection, there was progression on MRI and radiotherapy was recommended. At this moment, patient is 12 months after radiotherapy with stable disease on MRI and with good stable performance status. CONCLUSION: One of the greatest problems in the management of neurocytoma is the timing of adjuvant radiotherapy. From published data, it is clear that adjuvant radiotherapy increases local control; however, this has to be considered carefully against the possible risks from late side effects of radiotherapy considering long-time survival of the patients.