Moderately Hypofractionated Helical IMRT, FDG-PET/CT-guided, for Progressive Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Patients With Intact Lungs.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to present the outcomes of moderately hypofractionated helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (HT) with/without simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) on fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) positive areas (gross tumor volume [GTV]-PET) for patients with progressive malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) after previous treatments. METHODS AND MATERIALS: From May 2006 to April 2014, 51 patients with a median age of 68.8 years (range, 38.6-82 years) were treated. There were 41 men and 10 women; 43 epithelioid MPM and 8 sarcomatoid, involving the left pleura in 25 patients and the right pleura in 26 patients. The initial stage was: I, 11 patients; II, 14 patients; III, 17 patients; and IV, 9 patients. Chemotherapy was prescribed for 46 patients, for 6 cycles (range, 0-18 cycles). Eighteen patients had pleurectomy/decortication, and 33 had talc pleurodesis. FDG-PET was used for target identification. A median dose of 56 Gy/25 fractions was prescribed to the involved pleura, and SIB to 62.5 Gy to GTV-PET was added in 38 patients. RESULTS: The median survival from diagnosis was 25.8 months (range, 8.4-99.0 months). One patient, treated with SIB, was alive at the October 2017 follow-up. Two cases of grade 5 radiation pneumonitis were registered. A GTV-PET ≤ 205 cc was predictive of late ≥ grade 2 lung toxicity, but also of better survival in stage III and IV disease: 5.9 versus 11.7 months (P = .04). A GTV-PET ≥ 473 cc was predictive of early death (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Moderately hypofractionated, FDG-PET guided salvage HT in patients with progressive MPM after previous treatments showed acceptable toxicity and outcome results similar to adjuvant radiotherapy after pleurectomy/decortication, suggesting that the delay of radiotherapy is not detrimental to survival, and has the associated benefit of postponing inherent toxicity.

[Cardiac stem cell therapy for the treatment of chronic stable angina refractory to conventional therapy. State of the art and current clinical experience of the San Raffaele Hospital of Milan, Italy]. / La terapia cellulare cardiaca nel trattamento dei pazienti con angina cronica refrattaria alle terapie convenzionali. Excursus sullo stato dell'arte e descrizione dell'esperienza clinica in corso all'Ospedale San Raffaele di Milano.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac stem cell therapy is a field of scientific research with the goal to translate into clinical benefit the initial findings obtained in basic research laboratories. We have moved into clinical trials in different disease categories: acute myocardial infarction, chronic stable angina refractory to conventional therapy and heart failure. So far we have faced with contradictory results. Some previous studies suggested that bone marrow cell injection may improve myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function in patients with chronic myocardial ischemia. METHODS: In this paper we present a brief review about stem cell use in clinical cardiology and describe our research protocol evaluating the effects of direct intramyocardial injection of autologous bone marrow cells (CD34+ selected cells versus all mononuclear cells) in patients with chronic myocardial ischemia. RESULTS: Preliminary results show that this procedure seems to be safe and generally well tolerated by patients. An improvement in symptoms, in the first 6 months, appears to be achieved in approximately 50% of patients, with concomitant improvement of quantitative scintigraphic stress test imaging. CONCLUSIONS: Before drawing any definitive conclusions, we need to wait for the end of enrollment and unblinding of study randomization.

High-grade endometrial cancer: value of [(18)F]FDG PET/CT in preoperative staging.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the value of 2-[F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([F]FDG PET/CT) in the primary staging of high-risk endometrial cancer patients. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on 32 consecutive patients with histological diagnosis of primary high-risk endometrial cancer, who underwent PET/CT with [F]FDG in addition to conventional clinical and instrumental staging procedures. After surgery, [F]FDG PET/CT findings were correlated with pathological findings on a patient-by-patient basis. The diagnostic accuracy of [F]FDG PET/CT for primary cancer detection, lymph nodal involvement and distant metastases was assessed. RESULTS: [F]FDG PET/CT could correctly detect primary tumor in 29 of the 32 high-risk patients, with a sensitivity of 90.6%. The overall [F]FDG PET/CT patient-based sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 57.1, 100.0, 100.0, 86.4, and 88.5%, respectively, for revealing lymph nodal neoplastic involvement, and 100.0, 96.0, 87.5, 100.0, 96.9%, respectively, for detecting distant metastases. In particular, while the suspicion of distant metastases was documented by conventional imaging in only two patients, [F]FDG PET/CT correctly identified metastatic lesions in seven patients (21.9% of cases). CONCLUSION: The major benefit provided in high-grade tumor patients by the use of [F]FDG PET/CT in the primary staging of endometrial cancer is its ability to accurately detect distant metastases in the abdomen and extra-abdominal regions. [F]FDG PET/CT adds relevant information that may influence patient management.