Radiation-induced anaplastic astrocytoma following treatment of medulloblastoma

We hereby report a case of a 10-year-old girl in whom neurosurgery was performed for cerebellar vermis medulloblastoma in April 2000. After resection the patient underwent chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, receiving 53.07 Gy to posterior fossa and 35.07 Gy to the rest of the craniospinal axis. In 2012, she was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, which was located within the high-dose region. Surgical resection of the tumour was performed. Postoperatively, the patient received radiation therapy (50.4 Gy) with concurrent temozolomide, followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant temozolomide. Five years after the diagnosis of anaplastic astrocytoma, the patient remains asymptomatic

Kontrowersje w postępowaniu z chorymi na nasieniaka jądra w I stopniu zaawansowania klinicznego

Osiemdziesiąt procent nasieniaków sklasyfikowanych jest w I stopniu zaawansowania klinicznego, stanowiąc około40% wszystkich guzów jądra. Postępowanie z tą grupą chorych po pierwotnym leczeniu polegającym na orchiektomiijest przedmiotem kontrowersji. Rozpatrywane są trzy opcje: obserwacja, radioterapia oraz chemioterapia.Aktywna obserwacja z leczeniem wdrażanym w przypadku wznowy, uzupełniające napromienianie lub adiuwantowamonochemioterapia karboplatyną pozwalają na uzyskanie około 100% przeżyć całkowitych i są alternatywnymi,równoważnymi metodami postępowania. Na podstawie aktualnych danych z literatury przedstawiono zalety i wadykażdej z trzech omawianych opcji

The tolerance of proton radiotherapy — preliminary results

Introduction. Because the specific proton beam dose distribution (i.e. the so-called ’Bragg curve’), proton radiotherapy ensures that the high-dose region is precisely confined to the target volume while minimizing the dose delivered to healthy tissues/critical organs surrounding the tumour or to those lying in the path of the proton beam. This method has been used for patients in Kraków since November 2016. Aim. To report the early tolerance outcomes to proton radiotherapy in patients completing their treatment just before the end of August 2017. Materials and methods. Study subjects were 47 patients who had completed their treatment before the end of August 2017 with a mean age of 41.6 years (range: 16–76, median: 40). The most frequent diagnoses were skull base tumours (22 pts. — 46.8%) and brain G1 or G2 gliomas (17 pts. — 36.2%), whereas the most frequent histological types were chordomas (17 pts. — 36.2%). Proton radiotherapy was administered by pencil beam scanning and consisted of using the intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) technique. The total dose given per cancer type averaged as follows: (i) 70 and 74 Gy(RBE), for respectively chodrosarcomas and chordomas, (ii) 54 Gy(RBE) for brain gliomas and (iii) 70 Gy(RBE) for paranasal sinuses tumours. Early tolerance was prospectively evaluated and measured according to the CTCAE scale, version 4.03. Results. In all, 91 side effects (SE) were recorded in 44 patients. The intensity of SEs were as following: 62 SEs (68.1%) were of grade 1 intensity, 21 SEs (23.1%) were of grade 2 and 8 SEs (8.8%) were of grade 3. The most frequently developed SEs were skin reactions (29 pts. — 61.7%) or oral/pharyngeal mucositis (20 pts. — 42.6%). Because the patient follow-up period was short, presented results only describes the early tolerance to this therapy. Our findings of mild intensities for the most early side effects, at (grades 1 or 2) are consistent with other published studies

The tolerance of proton radiotherapy — preliminary results

Introduction. Because the specific proton beam dose distribution (i.e. the so-called ’Bragg curve’), proton radiotherapy ensures that the high-dose region is precisely confined to the target volume while minimizing the dose delivered to healthy tissues/critical organs surrounding the tumour or to those lying in the path of the proton beam. This method has been used for patients in Kraków since November 2016. Aim. To report the early tolerance outcomes to proton radiotherapy in patients completing their treatment just before the end of August 2017. Materials and methods. Study subjects were 47 patients who had completed their treatment before the end of August 2017 with a mean age of 41.6 years (range: 16–76, median: 40). The most frequent diagnoses were skull base tumours (22 pts. — 46.8%) and brain G1 or G2 gliomas (17 pts. — 36.2%), whereas the most frequent histological types were chordomas (17 pts. — 36.2%). Proton radiotherapy was administered by pencil beam scanning and consisted of using the intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) technique. The total dose given per cancer type averaged as follows: (i) 70 and 74 Gy(RBE), for respectively chodrosarcomas and chordomas, (ii) 54 Gy(RBE) for brain gliomas and (iii) 70 Gy(RBE) for paranasal sinuses tumours. Early tolerance was prospectively evaluated and measured according to the CTCAE scale, version 4.03. Results. In all, 91 side effects (SE) were recorded in 44 patients. The intensity of SEs were as following: 62 SEs (68.1%) were of grade 1 intensity, 21 SEs (23.1%) were of grade 2 and 8 SEs (8.8%) were of grade 3. The most frequently developed SEs were skin reactions (29 pts. — 61.7%) or oral/pharyngeal mucositis (20 pts. — 42.6%). Because the patient follow-up period was short, presented results only describes the early tolerance to this therapy. Our findings of mild intensities for the most early side effects, at (grades 1 or 2) are consistent with other published studies.

Don Chisciotte a Ticino

Przypadki zgonów w wyniku uduszenia przez założenie na głowę worka foliowego, są bardzo rzadkie. W krakowskim Zakładzie Medycyny Sądowej w ostatnich 20 latach, badano czternaście, jednak ich liczba wyraźnie wzrasta, sięgając kilku przypadków rocznie. Śmierć w tym mechanizmie jest trudna diagnostycznie, a często zdarza się, że jedynym śladem wskazującym na tę przyczynę zgonu, jest obecność worka na głowie

Formation of Aberrant Myotubes by Myoblasts Lacking Myosin VI Is Associated with Alterations in the Cytoskeleton Organization, Myoblast Adhesion and Fusion

We have previously postulated that unconventional myosin VI (MVI) could be involved in myoblast differentiation. Here, we addressed the mechanism(s) of its involvement using primary myoblast culture derived from the hindlimb muscles of Snell’s waltzer mice, the natural MVI knockouts (MVI-KO). We observed that MVI-KO myotubes were formed faster than control heterozygous myoblasts (MVI-WT), with a three-fold increase in the number of myosac-like myotubes with centrally positioned nuclei. There were also changes in the levels of the myogenic transcription factors Pax7, MyoD and myogenin. This was accompanied by changes in the actin cytoskeleton and adhesive structure organization. We observed significant decreases in the levels of proteins involved in focal contact formation, such as talin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Interestingly, the levels of proteins involved in intercellular communication, M-cadherin and drebrin, were also affected. Furthermore, time-dependent alterations in the levels of the key proteins for myoblast membrane fusion, myomaker and myomerger, without effect on their cellular localization, were observed. Our data indicate that in the absence of MVI, the mechanisms controlling cytoskeleton organization, as well as myoblast adhesion and fusion, are dysregulated, leading to the formation of aberrant myotubes