Can docetaxel concomitant administration with bisphosphonates be considered as a risk factor for osteonecrosis of the jaw in metastatic breast cancer patients? A preliminary study.

Osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ) is rare complication of bisphosphonates use which was described for the first time by Marx in 2004. Bisphosphonates (BP) are stable derived of inorganic pyrophosphate which had an antiresorbant effect in the bone making them very useful in bone metastasis, especially with the third generation of bisphosphonates. Many risk and trigger factors have been described as predisposing to the development of ONJ. The aim of this work is to show if docetaxel administration can be considered as a predisposing factor to develop ONJ. We report a series of 11 patients treated during 5 years in the maxillofacial surgery department in HU Habib Bourguiba Sfax – Tunisia for ONJ due to BP use for breast cancer bone metastasis. Those patients were divised into two sub-groups: with and without concomitant docetaxel administration. All patients’ data (age and delay of appearance of ONJ, cumulative doses and trigger factors) were collected and analyzed. It was found that patients treated with docetaxel in association to bisphosphonates developed ONJ in earlier age, with a lower cumulative doses of zoledronic acid within a shorter delay period. ONJ occurred in these patients even in the absence of trigger factor and intrinsic risk factors

Exceptional Renal Metastasis from Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Nasal Cavity and Literature Review

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant cancer that arises from secretory glands. Slow growth, perineural invasion, and late recurrences are the main characteristics of ACC. Only few cases of kidney metastases from ACC have been reported in the literature. We report here the case of a 66-year-old female patient who presented with bilateral renal metastases from ACC of the nasal cavity, detected 14 years after treatment of primary tumor and 6 years after metastasectomy of lung metastases. Histological examination confirmed diagnosis and the patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy. Radiological evaluation showed stability of the disease. However, a progression with occurrence of metastases in other sites (lung and bones) has been observed after 7 months. She is still receiving second-line chemotherapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case of kidney metastases from ACC of the nasal cavity

Synthesis and Characterization of Hydroxyapatite Ceramics Organofunctionalized with ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

International audienceAdenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the main source of energy for cells. In this article we investigated, with a possible future finality in bone tissue engineering, the original association of ATP molecules and hydroxyapatite (HAp) fine powders. We have in particular inspected, in a preliminary way, the effects of the presence of ATP molecules on the physico-chemistry of apatite compounds obtained via co-precipitation. Hybrids were produced by association of increasing amounts of adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) disodium hydrate salt with hydroxyapatite, leading to so-called “organoapatites”. The structure and composition of the polycrystalline hybrid compounds obtained were studied by XRD, FTIR, SEM and magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR techniques. The presence of ATP was found to alter the apatite crystallization process, leading to a departure from stoichiometry. MAS-NMR data attest to the presence of strong interactions between functional groups of ATP and apatite particles unveiling the obtainment of class II hybrids with potential future applications in cell-loaded bone scaffolds

A case of severe paraneoplastic itch resistant to antihistamines and responding to serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Abstract This article covers an interesting topic. Paraneoplastic pruritus is rare but can be severe. It can sometimes be resistant to usual treatments. In our case, it was resistant to antihistamines but was relieved by inhibitors of serotonin scrapping

Primary Signet Ring Cell Adenocarcinoma of the Urinary Bladder: A Report of 2 Cases

Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is a rare and aggressive histologic subtype of adenocarcinoma. In general, this tumor occurs in the middle age, and clinical presentation does not differ from transitional cell carcinomas. The prognosis is often poor, given the advanced stage at diagnosis. To our knowledge, <100 cases of signet ring cell adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder have been reported. We report 2 cases with bladder linitis plastica primitive, and we draw attention to its pathologic, anatomoclinical, and evolution specificity to optimize its therapeutic management