Primary testicular lymphoma: a single centre experience

Aim: Primary testicular lymphoma (PTL) is an uncommon and aggressive form of extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We aimed to analyse the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of our PTL cases. Materials and Methods: A review was made of the medical records of 339 NHL patients who were treated in the Medical Oncology Department between January 2005 and December 2013. Results: 8 PTL patients were identified from the 339 NHL patients. The average age of the patients was 67.7 ± 7.9 years (range 53–79 years). The mean follow-up time was 24.8 months (range 7–98 months). Inguinal orchiectomy was performed as a diagnostic and initial therapy and all the patients underwent 4–6 cycles of chemoimmunotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone plus rituximab. 4 of 8 patients received intrathecal prophylactic chemotherapy and 6 of 8 patients continued contralateral testis irradiation. Relapse occured in only 1 patient in central nervous system after 6 months who had not received intrathecal prophylaxis. No contralateral testis relapse was observed. Conclusions: Primary testicular NHL is an uncommon entity and we evaluated 8 patients; with one relapse in central nervous system and no relapse in the contralateral testis. Key Words: primary testicular lymphoma, contralateral scrotal irradiation, intratechal chemotherapy

Single dose regorafenib-induced hypertensive crisis

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are uncommon tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Regorafenib is a new multikinase inhibitor and is approved for the treatment of GISTs in patients who develop resistance to imatinib and sunitinib. The most common drug-related adverse events with regorafenib are hypertension, hand-foot skin reactions, and diarrhea. Grade IV hypertensive side effect has never been reported after a single dose. In this report, we present a case of Grade IV hypertensive side effect (hypertensive crisis and seizure) after a single dose of regorafenib. A 54-year-old male normotensive GIST patient was admitted to the emergency department with seizure and encephalopathy after the first dosage of regorafenib. His blood pressure was 240/140 mmHg upon admission. After intensive treatment with nitrate and nitroprusside, his blood pressure returned to normal levels in five days. Regorafenib was discontinued, and he did not experience hypertension again. This paper reports the first case of Grade IV hypertension after the first dosage of regorafenib. We can suggest that hypertension is an idiosyncratic side effect unrelated to the dosage. Key Words: hypertension, regorafenib, gastrointestinal stromal tumor

High body-mass index is not associated with worse clinicopathological characteristics in predominantly obese breast cancer patients

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. A high body-mass index (BMI) is related to increased incidence of BC with poorer prognosis. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the association in patients with BC between BMI at the time of diagnosis and biological characteristics, according to the menopausal status. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study comprised a total of 318 women with BC. Clinicopathological differences between normal, overweight and obese patients according to menopausal status were evaluated. Results: Premenopausal women had a significantly lower BMI than postmenopausal patients (28.7 vs. 31.5, respectively; p = 0.00001). No statistically significant association was determined between BMI and clinicopathological characteristics in either the premenopausal or the postmenopausal group (all p values are > 0.05). Conclusions: There are many conflicting results in literature on this relationship. The results of this study showed that a high BMI is not associated with worse clinicopathological cha­racteristics in a predominantly obese population. In current medical oncology practice, BC should be evaluated on an individual patient basis and the impact of obesity on BC prognosis seems to be difficult to estimate especially in an obese population. Key Words: breast cancer, body-mass index, prognosis

Attitudes and perceptions regarding entrepreneurship around the world : a cluster analysis approach

Nowadays it is believed that entrepreneurship could be a driving force in growth and develop-ment. For the achievement of a relevant national entrepreneurship rate the social and economic business environment can be crucial. However, despite the international attention given to entrepreneurship, it is not known if it is a global phenomenon or if there are particular regions where the entrepreneurial activity is specially recognized by society. Applying cluster analysis statistical techniques to a dataset gathered by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and that includes, in 2010, 59 countries this paper intends to identify groups of countries with the same population attitude and perception regarding entrepreneurship

Attitudes and perceptions regarding entrepreneurship around the world : a cluster analysis approach

Nowadays it is believed that entrepreneurship could be a driving force in growth and development. For the achievement of a relevant national entrepreneurship rate the social and economic business environment can be crucial. However, despite the international attention given to entrepreneurship, it is not known if it is a global phenomenon or if there are particular regions where the entrepreneurial activity is specially recognized by society. Applying cluster analysis statistical techniques to a dataset gathered by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and that includes, in 2010, 59 countries this paper intends to identify groups of countries with the same population attitude and perception regarding entrepreneurship

Plakophilin-3 Is Required for Late Embryonic Amphibian Development, Exhibiting Roles in Ectodermal and Neural Tissues

The p120-catenin family has undergone a significant expansion during the evolution of vertebrates, resulting in varied functions that have yet to be discerned or fully characterized. Likewise, members of the plakophilins, a related catenin subfamily, are found throughout the cell with little known about their functions outside the desmosomal plaque. While the plakophilin-3 (Pkp3) knockout mouse resulted in skin defects, we find larger, including lethal effects following its depletion in Xenopus. Pkp3, unlike some other characterized catenins in amphibians, does not have significant maternal deposits of mRNA. However, during embryogenesis, two Pkp3 protein products whose temporal expression is partially complimentary become expressed. Only the smaller of these products is found in adult Xenopus tissues, with an expression pattern exhibiting distinctions as well as overlaps with those observed in mammalian studies. We determined that Xenopus Pkp3 depletion causes a skin fragility phenotype in keeping with the mouse knockout, but more novel, Xenopus tailbud embryos are hyposensitive to touch even in embryos lacking outward discernable phenotypes, and we additionally resolved disruptions in certain peripheral neural structures, altered establishment and migration of neural crest, and defects in ectodermal multiciliated cells. The use of two distinct morpholinos, as well as rescue approaches, indicated the specificity of these effects. Our results point to the requirement of Pkp3 in amphibian embryogenesis, with functional roles in a number of tissue types

Osteointegration of soft tissue grafts within the bone tunnels in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction can be enhanced

Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a soft tissue autograft (hamstring autograft) has grown in popularity in the last 10 years. However, the issues of a relatively long healing time and an inferior histological healing result in terms of Sharpey-like fibers connection in soft tissue grafts are still unsolved. To obtain a promising outcome in the long run, prompt osteointegration of the tendon graft within the bone tunnel is essential. In recent decades, numerous methods have been reported to enhance osteointegration of soft tissue graft in the bone tunnel. In this article, we review the current literature in this research area, mainly focusing on strategies applied to the local bone tunnel environment. Biological strategies such as stem cell and gene transfer technology, as well as the local application of specific growth factors have been reported to yield exciting results. The use of biological bone substitute and physical stimulation also obtained promising results. Artificially engineered tissue has promise as a solution to the problem of donor site morbidity. Despite these encouraging results, the current available evidence is still experimental. Further clinical studies in terms of randomized control trial in the future should be conducted to extrapolate these basic science study findings into clinical practice. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.postprin

Metalloproteinases and their inhibitors—diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities in orthopedics

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and related enzymes (ADAMs, ADAMTS) and their inhibitors control matrix turnover and function. Recent advances in our understanding of musculoskeletal conditions such as tendinopathy, arthritis, Dupuytren's disease, degenerative disc disease, and bone and soft tissue healing suggest that MMPs have prominant roles. Importantly, MMPs are amenable to inhibition by cheap, safe, and widely available drugs such as the tetracycline antibiotics and the bisphosphonates. This indicates that these MMP inhibitors, if proven effective for any novel indication, may be quickly brought into clinical practice

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]