Can you draw the picture of happiness- Treatment of a young woman with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic

WOS: 000573651300023PubMed: 32464519[No abstract available

Abdominal wall perforation in a patient with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer after bevacizumab treatment

Bowel perforation is a rare but well-described complication of bevacizumab, a VEGF monoclonal antibody. However, bevacizumab associated abdominal wall perforation is a more serious complication. In here, a patient with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer developing both bowel and abdominal wall perforation after bevacizumab treatment is reported with review of the literature to point out the clinical significance of this rare complication. To our knowledge, this is the first case with bevacizumab associated abdominal wall perforation

Tumor homing to the oral cavity after tooth extraction in a patient with metastatic lung adenocancer: A case report

Angiogenesis plays a major role not only in the growth of the primary tumor, but also in metastasis. Due to the angiogenesis in granulation tissue, the tumor cells easily migrate to and locate in this region, thereby accelerating the pathological angiogenesis process and proliferation via presence of the angiogenesis-stimulating factors in this site. In this case report, we present tumor homing to granulation tissue following tooth extraction in a 68-year-old male patient with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. He applied to hospital due to delayed wound healing after tooth extraction for tooth decay approximately 5 months after the diagnosis. A superficially swollen mass of 6 × 6 cm was detected in the tooth extraction site. The histopathological examination suggested that it was a lung carcinoma metastasis. The presence of tooth extraction history together with the pulmonary adenocarcinoma metastasis in the extraction site was explained as “tumoral homing” to granulation tissue following tooth extraction. This patient is of significance since it is the first case in the literature with “tumor homing” observed in the granulation tissue following tooth extraction

PET/CT, an important imaging modality in the management of sarcoma patients

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin. 18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography (CT) is a combined imaging modality that could provide an anatomic and functional assessment of many solid tumors. In this study, the association between primary tumor characteristics (grade, histologic type, stage, localization) and the FDG-PET/ CT data of the primary tumor at the diagnosis were evaluated. The study aimed to determine the diagnostic role of numerical metabolic values determined in PET/CT in predicting grade, prognosis, and other patient characteristics of sarcoma patients. Patients with soft tissue and bone sarcoma who applied to the oncology department of Gazi University Faculty of Medicine between 2000 and 2014 were evaluated retrospectively. All patients underwent PET imaging with FDG before initiation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy or resection. Sarcoma patients (27 soft tissue, 18 bone sarcoma) were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Tumor size was found to correlate with SUVmax. Histologic grade was found to be associated with tumor 18F-FDG, but this was not statistically significant because of the small patient number. The optimal cut-off SUVmax value in showing the difference between low and high grades was 5.5. Overall survival was shown to be shorter in patients with SUVmax ≥5.5. In this study, we aimed to show the relationship between histologic grade and tumor metabolic activity. PET-CT could give an idea about tumor histologic grade and predict survival. It has an important role in diagnosis and also in determining the prognosis. [Med-Science 2023; 12(4.000): 1218-22

The role of percutaneous vertebral augmentation in patients with metastatic breast cancer: Literature review including report of two cases.

Patients with metastatic breast cancer are at high risk for developing vertebral compression fractures due to underlying bone metastases and bone density loss. Vertebral augmentation techniques including percutaneous vertebroplasty and percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty are techniques used to stabilize compression fractures and improve pain. However, rare complications from these interventions have been observed, including spinal cord compression, nerve root compression, venous cement embolism, and pulmonary cement embolism. These complications pose unique potential challenges for patients with cancer who may already have decreased lung function and potential for venous thromboembolism. In this review, we first describe the role of percutaneous vertebral augmentations in patients with metastatic cancer, with a particular focus on patients with breast cancer. Then, we describe complications of vertebral augmentation in two patients with metastatic breast cancer including long-term symptomatic and radiographic follow-up

The assessment of incidental thyroid lesions on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomogrophy: A single centre experience

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid lesions detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) incidentally, determine malignancy risk and its relationship with maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and FDG uptake pattern. Methods: Between February 2009 and February 2014, a total of 12713 patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT. Incidental thyroid uptake was seen in 710 patients and further diagnostic evaluation was performed on 147 patients with focal or diffuse FDG uptake. The 18F-FDG PET/CT findings of these patients and their association with malignancy were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The prevalence of thyroid incidentalomas detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT was 5.6% (710/12713). Of the 147 patients who underwent biopsy or thyroid surgery, histology was benign in 99 and malign in 48 patients. The malignancy risk of incidental thyroid lesions was calculated as 32.7% (48/147). The median SUVmax was 2.9 (0.6–27.4) in benign group, whereas 11.8 (2.4–72.9) in malign group and the difference between these groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). According to the ROC analysis, a SUVmax above 6 was more likely to be malign with statistical significance (p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 87.4%, 81.7%, 70.1% and 93% respectively. Conclusion: The malignancy risk of incidental thyroid lesions on 18F-FDG PET/CT is high. Although it is obvious that higher SUVmax values are tended to be malign, an overlap between benign and malign groups is still remaining. In case of absence of clinical contraindications, further examination should be recommended

Carbonic anhydrase IX is a prognostic biomarker in glioblastoma multiforme

WOS: 000446328600001PubMed: 29952031The identification of prognostic factors in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents an area of increasing interest. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX), a hypoxia marker, correlates with tumor progression in a variety of human cancers. However, the role of CA-IX in GBM remains largely unknown. in the present study, we evaluated the prognostic role of CA-IX in GBM patients. in total, 66 consecutive patients with GBM who received concomitant chemoradiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide were retrospectively reviewed, and all patients received temozolomide chemotherapy for at least 3 months. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used for analysis of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was employed to identify factors with an independent effect on survival. the median OS was longer in patients with low levels of CA-IX expression (18 months) compared to patients overexpressing CA-IX (9 months) (P = 0.004). There was not a statistically significant difference in median PFS (3.5 vs. 8 months, P = 0.054) between patients with high or low levels of CA-IX expression. in multivariate analysis, the variables that were identified as significant prognostic factors for OS were preoperative Karnofsky performance scale score (KPS) (hazard ratio (HR), 3.703; P = 0.001), CA-IX overexpression (HR, 1.967; P = 0.019), and incomplete adjuvant temozolomide treatment (HR, 2.241; P = 0.003) and gross-total resection (HR, 1.956; P = 0.034). Our findings indicated that CA-IX may be a potential prognostic biomarker in the treatment of GBM