The records of 256 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma have been reviewed to determine the incidence and location of distant metastases. Sixty-three patients underwent autopsy. The incidence of distant metastases was 36% overall, and 51% in the autopsy patients. Bones, distant lymphnodes, liver, and lungs were the most common sites of distant metastases. Liver was the most common site in the autopsy patients. Compared to other major histological subtypes, undifferentiated carcinoma had the highest incidence of bone but lowest incidence of lung metastases. There was a strong correlation between advanced locoregional disease and distant metastases. Of those patients who developed distant metastases, 98% were discovered within 3 years or earlier. Thorough evaluation of the above organs/systems is indicated at the time of initial staging work-up and at follow-up, specifically for patients with advanced locoregional disease. A literature review of distant metastases in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is presented.
Quality of life is negatively affected in children with food allergy. Oral immunotherapy is an approach to food allergy that leads to patient desensitization by administering gradually increasing amounts of a given food allergen. The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate how oral immunotherapy affects quality of life in children allergic to cow milk proteins. Thirty children (aged 3-12 years) with cow milk allergy were recruited. Their parents were provided with a validated disease specific quality oflife questionnaire (the food allergy quality of life questionnaire -parent form, FAQLQ-PF) before and again 2 months after completing an oral immunotherapy protocol with cow milk. A significant improvement in all the investigated domains -emotional impact, food anxiety and social and dietary limitations -was found. The separate analysis of the different age groups demonstrated that the emotional impact and the foodrelated anxiety improved in children older than 4, while the social domains improved in each age group. In this pilot experience, oral immunotherapy significantly improves quality of life in children with cow milk allergy. The improvement seems particularly evident in children over 4 years old, who are most likely to benefit from the oral immunotherapy approach. Further placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.Food allergy is a common problem in children for which at the moment there are no standard curative treatments, so that the management of food allergy is mainly based on food avoidance and emergency treatment in the event of an accidental exposure (l). The need to carefully avoid a given food and fears of unintentional exposure pose limitations on a person's social life, negatively affecting the quality of life (2, 3). Pediatric studies have confirmed that quality of life suffers both in the children affected, at all ages, and in their parents (2, 3). DunnGalvin et al. validated the first food allergy specific questionnaire that allows parents to report children's QoL from the child's perspective (food allergy quality of life questionnaire -parent form, FAQLQ-PF) (4). Being a disease specific questionnaire, it has the advantage of showing no ceiling effect, which on the contrary, is present in the generic quality of life questionnaires due to the fact that most of the patients reach the highest score in generic questions, not related with the specific problems of their disease (l, 5). In addition, a disease-specific questionnaire can be used in longitudinal studies and it is suitable for the assessment of changes in the quality of life due to treatment interventions (4). The objective of our pilot study was to apply the questionnaire to
Schwannoma is a peripheral nerve tumour, occasionally located in the genitourinary tract. We described an extremely rare case of intratesticular neurinoma in a 79-year-old patient.
A set of biodegradable nanocarriers characterized by a hyperbranched polyester core and an amphiphilic branched shell was developed and employed to efficiently solubilize hydrophobic drugs in aqueous media.
Viable cell suspensions were prepared from 31 nodes diagnosed non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma, and from 30 non-malignant nodes. The cells were examined and counted by phase contrast microscopy. The suspensions were characterized by the percentage of large cells and by a colchicine-sensitivity index.The finding of more than 6% large cells or the finding of a sensitivity index of more than 30% was considered a positive test for a malignant lymphoma.According to these criteria there were 2 false positives in 30 reactive nodes and one false negative in 31 malignant nodes. Findings on 3 nodes diagnosed angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy suggested malignancy. The colchicinesensitivity index of blood lymphocytes seemed useful for monitoring lymphoma patients for leukemic involvement.Cancer 4 1 : 184 5 -185 6, 1 9 78.
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