The rheological behavior of PBT/LLDPE and PBT/LLDPE‐g‐AA blends [where PBT is poly(butylene terephthalate), LLDPE is linear low‐density polyethylene, and AA is acrylic acid] under a capillary flow was investigated with a capillary rheometer. The Utracki equation was used to describe the viscosity–composition dependence of PBT/LLDPE and PBT/LLDPE‐g‐AA blends at low shear stresses. However, at high shear stresses, this equation was not suitable for these blending systems. There existed a maximum on the curves of the entrance pressure drop versus the blending compositions, and the interlayer slip factor β in the Utracki equation was related not only to the shear stress but also to the elasticity difference of the two blending components. Morphological observations indicated that at high shear rates, there existed two different morphologies at different positions of the extrudates, and this was the reason that the Utracki equation failed. Near the wall of the capillary, low‐viscosity PBT stratified, and this resulted in an additional decrease in the viscosities of the blending systems. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 206–213, 2003

To evaluate the efficacy of conservative management of intraocular retinoblastoma with chemoreduction combined with local therapy with or without plaque radiation in the preservation of the eye, and avoidance of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) (success rate). From 1995 to 2000, 84 newly diagnosed patients with intraocular retinoblastoma were admitted to the Pediatric Department of the Hospital do Cancer A.C. Camargo, São Paulo, Brazil. All children were treated with 2 to 6 cycles of chemotherapy (carboplatin, vincristine, and etoposide) plus local therapy (cryotherapy, laser photocoagulation, and thermotherapy), or plaque radiation therapy during and/or after the chemotherapy. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare means of quantitative variables. The chi test or the Fisher exact test were employed to verify the association between the outcome and the independent variables. For all tests alpha=5% was adopted. Success rate was higher for patients with bilateral tumors (54%) than for children with unilateral tumors (19%) (P=0.003). For patients with Reese-Ellsworth stages I, II, and III, no statistically significant differences in the success rates were noted in the group of unilateral (50%) and bilateral tumors (79.1%) (P=0.179). Among children with Reese-Ellsworth stages IV and V, the success rate was significantly higher for patients with bilateral tumors (40.7%) than for those with unilateral (0%) (P=0.012). Chemoreduction combined with local therapy, with or without plaque radiotherapy, is efficacious in avoiding enucleation and the use of external beam radiation therapy for children with intraocular retinoblastoma.

This study aimed to determine the impact of the addition of ifosfamide/etoposide to a regimen containing cisplatin/teniposide on the survival of patients with retinoblastoma with orbital involvement. Thirty patients were treated at the A. C. Camargo Hospital, Brazil, from 1986 to 2002. From 1986 to April 1992 (period I, n=12), treatment consisted of 3 cycles of induction chemotherapy with cisplatin and teniposide, followed by maintenance with same drugs alternating with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and doxorubicin every 21 days for 60 weeks. Since April 1992 (period II, n=18), the treatment consisted of 3 cycles of ifosfamide and etoposide followed by maintenance with same drugs, alternating with cisplatin and teniposide every 21 days for 36 weeks. In both periods, children were submitted to exenteration with eyelid preservation and orbital radiation therapy with 45 cGy, and also received intrathecal therapy with methotrexate plus dexamethasone and cytarabine. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. The median age was 31 months. Most patients (86.7%) presented unilateral tumors. The 3-year overall survival was 34.4% and 72.2%, respectively, for patients treated during periods I and II (P=0.061). The addition of ifosfamide/etoposide to chemotherapy with cisplatin/teniposide improves survival in these patients, but further studies are still necessary.

TTT is an effective treatment in the management of selected small choroidal melanoma. Decrease in visual acuity occurred early after treatment mainly associated with subfoveal and perifoveal tumors treatment and complications. Long-term randomized studies are still needed in order to better situate this treatment.

We concluded that patients who are treated with cisplatin are at risk for developing hearing loss.

Early diagnosis as well as new therapeutic approaches are needed to achieve better results.

Because of its low incidence at this age, diagnosis of retinoblastoma is usually delayed due to low level of suspicion. Therefore, it is important that physicians are aware of this disease in order to perform an earlier diagnosis, and decrease treatment-related morbidity.

Here we describe the case of a 65-year-old Caucasian female who presented with an amelanotic malignant conjunctival melanoma and highlight the clinical and pathological features of this rare entity that displayed exclusive corneal invasive growth without evidence of conjunctival tumors other than primary acquired melanosis. Impression cytology aided in the initial diagnosis. The patient underwent surgical treatment. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed an invasive amelanotic melanoma limited to the cornea and exhibiting S-100, Melan A, and HMB-45 positivity. The absence of pigmentation delayed early clinical detection and treatment. Awareness of this nonpigmented melanoma is important for early recognition and appropriate management. vessels to the temporal limbus. The conjunctiva appeared normal without thickening or pigmentation. The right eye was normal, revealing an uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/20 according to the Snellen chart. The intraocular pressure was 12 mmHg in both eyes. There were no other abnormal findings, and no history of systemic disease was recorded. The patient was not undergoing any systemic or topical treatment, but she reported a positive family history of skin cancer. On the basis of slit-lamp examination, anterior segment ultrasound biomicroscopy, and the suspicion of a neoplastic lesion limited to the cornea, impression cytology (IC) was performed to confirm the diagnosis. Following induction of anesthesia with topical 0.5% proxymetacaine hydrochloride (Anestalcon® 0.5%, Alcon, São Paulo, Brazil), a membrane filter (Millipore HAWG01300, Bedford, EUA) was placed onto the corneal surface, gently pressed for 5 s, and peeled off. Sampling was performed 3 consecutive times to increase the sensitivity of IC and access the deeper layers. The filters were immediately fixed in a solution containing glacial acetic acid, 37% formaldehyde, and ethyl alcohol in a 1:1:20 volume ratio. All strips were processed with periodic acid-Schiff and Gill's hematoxylin stains. Glass slides were mounted with Entellan (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) and cells were analyzed under light microscopy by an experienced professional (J.N.B). IC samples (Figure 2) obtained from the nodule surface and the corneal opacities revealed abundant clusters of pleomorphic, atypiBarros JN, et al. Keywords 59Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2014;77(1):57-9 cal, tumor-dissociated cells of different sizes with anisokaryosis characterized by large and irregular nuclei and occasionally prominent nucleoli. Some of the atypical cells were spindle-shaped. Melanin pigments were absent. Some non-neoplastic squamous epithelial cells were also observed. On the basis of cytomorphological findings, a tentative diagnosis of an amelanotic melanoma was made (4)(5) . The initial surgical approach was complete resection of the corneal components with tumor-free margins, followed by conjunctival cryotherapy and alcohol corneal epitheliectomy. Histological studies were performed. All fragments of the 3-mm-thick tumor demonstrated (Figu...