Are brain metastases curable? Case report and a brief review of the literature

Background: Most of the times the prognosis of the patients with cancer who develop brain metastases remains incurable and hopeless with a median survival that goes between 2.7 and 15.07 month according to Grade Prognostic Assessment (GPA) Score for brain metastasis. Case summary: The following is a case report of a 33-year-old patient that presented with breast cancer and after one year of follow-up she developed one single brain metastases treated aggressively with surgery, whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) 30 Gy in 10 Fractions and Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) 22 Gy who achieved complete response and after more than 6 years since treatment the patient continues free of disease. Conclusion: An aggressive treatment for brain metastases in well-selected patients provides long periods of free intracranial disease, with acceptable results in the quality of life

Fractionated Stereotactic radiotherapy for POEMS syndrome: A case report

Background: POEMS syndrome is a rare neoplastic entity. It has population incidence of 0.3/100,000 and presents predominantly on the 5th or 6th decade of life. Its treatment is considered to be multidisciplinary. Case summary: We present the case of a 47 year old male patient with POEMS syndrome who was initially managed with chemotherapy but was treated with stereotactic radiation therapy for spinal cord compression associated due to a plasma cell neoplasm at the T6-T7 vertebral body. Conclusion: Radiation therapy is the preferred treatment modality for one to three isolated bone lesions, with a marked improvement in neuropathy

Phase Angle, a Cornerstone of Outcome in Head and Neck Cancer

In patients with head and neck cancer, malnutrition is common. Most cases are treated by chemo-radiotherapy and surgery, with adverse effects on the aerodigestive area. Clinical and biochemical characteristics, health-related quality of life, survival, and risk of death were studied. The selected subjects were divided into normal- and low-phase-angle (PA) groups and followed up for at least two years. Mean ages were 67.2 and 59.3 years for low and normal PA, respectively. Patients with PA < 4.42° had significant differences in age, anthropometric and biochemical indicators of malnutrition, and inflammatory status compared to patients with PA > 4.42°. Statistical differences were found in the functional and symptom scales, with lower functional scores and higher symptom scores in patients with low PA. Median survival was 19.8 months for those with PA < 4.42° versus 34.4 months for those with PA > 4.42° (p < 0.001).The relative risk of death was related to low PA (2.6; p < 0.001). The percentage of living patients (41.7%) is almost the same as the percentage of deceased subjects (43.1%; p = 0.002), with high death rates in patients with PA < 4.42°. Phase angle was the most crucial predictor of survival and a risk factor for death in the studied cases

Amber and the Cretaceous Resinous Interval

Amber is fossilized resin that preserves biological remains in exceptional detail, study of which has revolutionized understanding of past terrestrial organisms and habitats from the Early Cretaceous to the present day. Cretaceous amber outcrops are more abundant in the Northern Hemisphere and during an interval of about 54 million years, from the Barremian to the Campanian. The extensive resin production that generated this remarkable amber record may be attributed to the biology of coniferous resin producers, the growth of resiniferous forests in proximity to transitional sedimentary environments, and the dynamics of climate during the Cretaceous. Here we discuss the set of interrelated abiotic and biotic factors potentially involved in resin production during that time. We name this period of mass resin production by conifers during the late Mesozoic, fundamental as an archive of terrestrial life, the 'Cretaceous Resinous Interval' (CREI)