Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in stage IVB mycosis fungoides

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (LD) is effective in the treatment of relapsing or recalcitrant cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the activity and toxicity of LD in patients with stage IVB mycosis fungoides (MF). METHODS: In this retrospective study, we evaluated outcomes and recorded adverse effects in 10 patients with MF (seven men and three women) with extracutaneous involvement. Patients were treated with LD 20 mg m(-2) administered intravenously every 4 weeks. RESULTS: All patients received at least two cycles of LD, three patients received four cycles and one patient received six cycles. Three patients (30%) had a partial response and two patients had stable disease. Grade 1-2 leucopenia occurred in three of the 10 patients, and grade 4 leucopenia in one. Three patients had grade 2 palmoplantar erythrodysaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that LD is beneficial in terms of activity and toxicity in stage IVB MF. These observations should be verified in larger studies

Role of pegylated lyposomal doxorubicin (PLD) in systemic Kaposi's sarcoma: a systematic review

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a form of skin cancer that can involve internal organs. It is often found in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and can be fatal. Kaposi's sarcoma produces pink, purple or brown tumors on the skin, mucous membranes or internal organs. Treatment goals for KS are simple: to reduce the severity of the symptoms, shrink tumors and prevent disease progression. Unfortunately, there is no single best treatment-plan that can achieve all these goals. With widespread KS lesions over the body surface or evidence of spreading to other parts of the body, the physicians need to treat the patients with systemic chemotherapy. A new class of drugs, called liposomal anthracyclines, appears to produce good results with fewer toxic side effects than more conventional cytotoxic drugs. One of these drugs, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) has become the treatment of choice. This article summarizes all the studies with PLD in systemic Kaposi's sarcoma

A comprehensive multiscale methodology to investigate microbial fuel cell performance

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical reactors that have shown promising performance towards the management of the world-wide spread issue of waste treatment. The employment of these systems, in fact, allows to turn the problem of waste disposal into an economic opportunity, by directly producing electrical energy through the metabolism of particular strains of bacteria. In this paper we deploy a full 3D model for the evaluation of the electrochemical performance of MFCs, based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Despite a simplified, yet effective, electrochemical schematization, the proposed numerical approach is able to accurately capture the main energetic parameters of MFCs in terms of polarization and power curves, as well as pH evolution and ion distribution within the batch reactor. The results are validated against experimental measurements taken on solid-waste microbial fuel cells: the comparison highlights the accuracy and reliability of the proposed numerical method for the prediction of MFC performance

Expression of HECA-452 in Parapsoriasis and Mycosis Fungoides

We have investigated the HECA-452 expression in large plaque parapsoriasis (PP) and mycosis fungoides (MF) patients, evaluating the potential role of this biomarker in both cutaneous disorders. Skin specimens from 72 PP and 61 MF patients were selected in this study. We compared their actual histological diagnosis with their previous diagnosis and we found that all 72 PP patients had the same diagnosis as before (stable PP), while 26 out of 61 MF have a previous PP histological diagnosis (evolving PP). Our results show an increased expression of HECA-452 in MF compared to PP (p<0.01). Furthermore, evolving PP showed a significantly higher level of HECA-452 than stable PP (p< 0.05). We conclude that HECA-452 expression increases during the natural history of Mycosis Fungoides. HECA-452 could be used as a biomarker for MF and predict which PP evolves to MF

Expression of HECA-452 in parapsoriasis and mycosis fungoides

We have investigated the HECA-452 expression in large plaque parapsoriasis (PP) and mycosis fungoides (MF) patients, evaluating the potential role of this biomarker in both cutaneous disorders. Skin specimens from 72 PP and 61 MF patients were selected in this study. We compared their actual histological diagnosis with their previous diagnosis and we found that all 72 PP patients had the same diagnosis as before (stable PP), while 26 out of 61 MF had a previous PP histological diagnosis (evolving PP). Our results show an increased expression of HECA-452 in MF compared to PP (p<0.01). Furthermore, evolving PP showed a significantly higher level of HECA-452 than stable PP (p<0.05). We conclude that HECA-452 expression increases during the natural history of Mycosis Fungoides. HECA-452 could be used as a biomarker for MF and predict which PP evolves to MF