Search results for "EMC"
showing 10 items of 369 documents
Safety and efficacy of afatinib as add-on to standard therapy of gemcitabine/cisplatin in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced biliary tract can…
2019
Background To date, the cornerstone of treatment in patients with advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is systemic chemotherapy based on a combination of gemcitabine and a platinum derivative. Other therapeutic approaches including targeted agents and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) have demonstrated disappointing results, highlighting the complexity of CCA. Recently, drugs aiming at the inhibition of HER-receptors have shown first therapeutic benefit in patients with late stage disease. The aim of this phase I study was to test the dose level toxicities (DLTs), safety and efficacy of afatinib, a highly specific panErbB family receptor TKI, in chemotherapy naive patients with ad…
Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio helps select metastatic pancreatic cancer patients benefitting from oxaliplatin
2016
BACKGROUND: High Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio (NLR), as a measure of enhanced inflammatory response, has been negatively associated with prognosis in patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we aimed at investigating the prognostic value of NLR in two homogeneous groups of chemotherapy-na've metastatic PDA patients. Patients were treated with either gemcitabine (GEM) or gemcitabine/ oxaliplatin (GEMOXA). We also assessed whether NLR could identify patients benefiting from the use of oxaliplatin. METHODS: Consecutive PDA patients treated at the Medical Oncology Unit of Tor Vergata University Hospital of Rome with either GEM or GEMOXA wer…
Clinical efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer
2018
Rossella De Luca,1 Livio Blasi,2 Massimiliano Alù,2 Valerio Gristina,1 Giuseppe Cicero1 1Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, Section of Medical Oncology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 2Medical Oncology Unit, ARNAS Hospital Civico, Di Cristina, Benfratelli, Palermo, Italy Purpose: Pancreatic carcinoma is the neoplasia with the major mortality, and main standard treatments in this cancer increase survival but do not lead to complete recovery of the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Abraxane® (nab-paclitaxel) in Italian patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC).Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective …
Gemcitabine in intravesical treatment of Ta-T1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: Phase I-II study on marker lesions
2004
Abstract Objectives To study the ablative activity of intravesical gemcitabine against superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder at different doses and concentrations. Methods A total of 27 patients were treated with intravesical gemcitabine after transurethral resection during which one to three papillary marker lesions were left unresected. Starting 14 days after transurethral resection, six instillations of gemcitabine were given at weekly intervals. Gemcitabine, diluted in 50 mL of saline solution and maintained for 2 hours, was given at the dose of 500 mg, 1000 mg, and 2000 mg in groups of 9 patients each. A complete response (CR) was defined as negative cytology, cystosco…
Colon Cancer Stem Cells Dictate Tumor Growth and Resist Cell Death by Production of Interleukin-4
2007
A novel paradigm in tumor biology suggests that cancer growth is driven by stem-like cells within a tumor. Here, we describe the identification and characterization of such cells from colon carcinomas using the stem cell marker CD133 that accounts around 2% of the cells in human colon cancer. The CD133(+) cells grow in vitro as undifferentiated tumor spheroids, and they are both necessary and sufficient to initiate tumor growth in immunodeficient mice. Xenografts resemble the original human tumor maintaining the rare subpopulation of tumorigenic CD133(+) cells. Further analysis revealed that the CD133(+) cells produce and utilize IL-4 to protect themselves from apoptosis. Consistently, trea…
Pretreatment quality of life and functional status assessment significantly predict survival of elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung ca…
2005
Purpose To study the prognostic value for overall survival of baseline assessment of functional status, comorbidity, and quality of life (QoL) in elderly patients with advanced non—small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy. Patients and Methods Data from 566 patients enrolled onto the phase III randomized Multicenter Italian Lung Cancer in the Elderly Study (MILES) study were analyzed. Functional status was measured as activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL). The presence of comorbidity was assessed with a checklist of 33 items; items 29 and 30 of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire QLQ-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) wer…
Immune-modulating effects of the newest cetuximab-based chemoimmunotherapy regimen in advanced colorectal cancer patients.
2012
Cetuximab is a human-murine chimeric monoclonal antibody to the epidermal growth factor receptor, active for advanced colorectal cancer treatment in combination with chemotherapy. Cetuximab mainly acts by inhibiting epidermal growth factor receptor-mediated pathways in cancer cells; however, in the human host, its IgG1 backbone may offer additional antitumor activity that includes FcγRs-mediated antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, cross priming, and tumor-specific T-cell-mediated immune response. These mechanisms are still under active investigation. At this purpose, we have performed an immunologic investigation in advanced colon cancer patients enrolled in an ongoing phase…
Microbiological assessment of the implant-abutment interface in different connections: cross-sectional study after 5 years of functional loading.
2014
Objective To evaluate the bacterial microflora present inside the implant connection and in the peri-implant sulcus fluid of healthy implants, and to analyze the relationships between these harboring sites for four different implant systems after at least 5 years of functional loading. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was performed involving 40 patients treated with metal-ceramic cemented bridges supported by at least two healthy implants functionally loaded for 5 years. Four different implant-abutment connections were studied: external hexagon (control group), double internal hexagon (test group 1), internal hexagon with external collar (test group 2), and conical connection (…
Periodontal clinical and microbiological data in desquamative gingivitis patients.
2013
Objectives: A series of patients affected by desquamative gingivitis (DG) was investigated in order to evaluate relation patterns among clinical parameters relevant to plaque induced periodontitis, periodontal microbiological data and the presence of DG lesions. Patients and methods: Eight oral lichen planus (OLP) and four mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) patients were examined. Periodontal measurements (performed at six sites per tooth on all teeth) included probing depth (PD), gingival recession (REC), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and full mouth plaque (FMPS) and bleeding (FMBS) scores; the presence and the exact location (site by site) of DG lesions were carefully recorded. Sub-gingiva…
In Vitro-Differentiated Embryonic Stem Cells Give Rise to Male Gametes that Can Generate Offspring Mice
2006
SummaryMale gametes originate from a small population of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). These cells are believed to divide infinitely and to support spermatogenesis throughout life in the male. Here, we developed a strategy for the establishment of SSC lines from embryonic stem (ES) cells. These cells are able to undergo meiosis, are able to generate haploid male gametes in vitro, and are functional, as shown by fertilization after intracytoplasmic injection into mouse oocytes. Resulting two-cell embryos were transferred into oviducts, and live mice were born. Six of seven animals developed to adult mice. This is a clear indication that male gametes derived in vitro from ES cells by this…