Krukenberg tumor in an 11-year-old girl

AbstractKrukenberg tumors are uncommon metastatic neoplasms of the ovary with a prominent component of signet ring cells. The occurrence of a Krukenberg tumor in young individuals is rare, with only few cases reported in the second decade of life. The authors describe a case of this tumor diagnosed in an 11-year-old girl, characterized by massive metastatic spread, lack of tumor response and rapidly fatal clinical course. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest patient with Krukenberg tumor reported to date

Percorsi a Sud. Geografie e attori nelle strategie regionali del Mezzogiorno

Il lavoro si colloca nel quadro dell’interesse di ricerca che la Fondazione Agnelli è andata esprimendo negli anni sul tema della dimensione regionale, non soltanto come afferente al ritaglio geografico delle regioni italiane, ma soprattutto nella sua accezione di spazio di aggregazione di società ed economie territorialmente integrate.- Indice #4- Premessa, Marco Demarie #8- Introduzione, Lida Viganoni- Prima parte Una lettura geografica delle regioni meridionali #22- Fra il Tirreno e lo Ionio: frammenti d’Euromediterraneo, Pasquale Coppola e Lida Viganoni #24- La dorsale adriatica fra integrazione e frammentazione territoriale, Alessandro Gallo, Armando Montanari, Paola Morelli e Franco Salvatori #78- Sicilia, un’insularità complessa, Vincenzo Guarrasi #104- La Sardegna, ovvero la modernizzazione difficile, Francesco Boggio #128- Seconda parte Mezzogiorno testimoniato. Cento interviste al ceto dirigente locale #158- Campania: oltre l’”effetto Napoli”, Pasquale Coppola e Lida Viganoni #160- Basilicata: il “modello” dei piccoli?, Pasquale Coppola e Lida Viganoni #196- Calabria: dallo stallo a Gioia Tauro, Rosario Sommella #230- Abruzzo: tra Mezzogiorno e Italia “di mezzo”, Franco Salvatori #250- Molise: limiti e potenzialità di una “cerniera”, Alessandro Gallo #278- Puglia: proiettati verso l’esterno, Paola Morelli #300- Sicilia: visioni per un progetto, Vincenzo Guarrasi e Angela Alaimo #322- Sardegna: presi nella corrente?, Francesco Boggio #338- Riferimenti bibliografici #36

Zoledronic acid in metastatic chondrosarcoma and advanced sacrum chordoma: two case reports

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Chondrosarcomas and chordomas are usually chemoresistant bone tumors and may have a poor prognosis when advanced. They are usually associated with worsening pain difficult to control.</p> <p>Patients and Methods</p> <p>Zoledronic acid was used in a 63-year-old man with metastatic chondrosarcoma and in a 66-year-old woman with a diagnosis of sacrum chordoma both reporting severe pain related to tumor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the first case, zoledronic acid was able to maintain pain control despite disease progression following chemotherapy, in the other case, zoledronic acid only produced significant clinical benefit.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Control of pain associated with bone tumors such as chondrosarcoma and chondroma may significantly improve from use of zoledronic acid, independently from tumor response to other treatments. Evaluation on larger series are needed to confirm the clinical effect of this bisphosphonate on such tumors.</p

Concomitant treatment of brain metastasis with Whole Brain Radiotherapy [WBRT] and Temozolomide [TMZ] is active and improves Quality of Life

BACKGROUND: Brain metastases (BM) represent one of the most frequent complications related to cancer, and their treatment continues to evolve. We have evaluated the activity, toxicity and the impact on Quality of Life (QoL) of a concomitant treatment with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and Temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with brain metastases from solid tumors in a prospective Simon two stage study. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients were enrolled and received 30 Gy WBRT with concomitant TMZ (75 mg/m2/day) for ten days, and subsequently TMZ (150 mg/m2/day) for up to six cycles. The primary end points were clinical symptoms and radiologic response. RESULTS: Five patients had a complete response, 21 patients had a partial response, while 18 patients had stable disease. The overall response rate (45%) exceeded the target activity per study design. The median time to progression was 9 months. Median overall survival was 13 months. The most frequent toxicities included grade 3 neutropenia (15%) and anemia (13%), and only one patient developed a grade 4 thrombocytopenia. Age, Karnofsky performance status, presence of extracranial metastases and the recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) were found to be predictive factors for response in patients. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were dependent on age and on the RPA class. CONCLUSION: We conclude that this treatment is well tolerated, with an encouraging objective response rate, and a significant improvement in quality of life (p < 0.0001) demonstrated by FACT-G analysis. All patients answered the questionnaires and described themselves as 'independent' and able to act on their own initiatives. Our study found a high level of satisfaction for QoL, this provides useful information to share with patients in discussions regarding chemotherapy treatment of these lesions