Pneumopericardium, pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and pneumoretroperitoneum complicating pulmonary metastatic carcinoma in a cat.

This report describes a case of severe spontaneous tension pneumopericardium with concurrent pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and retropneumoperitoneum in a cat presenting with dyspnoea and signs of cardiac tamponade secondary to metastatic pulmonary carcinoma. Spontaneous pneumopericardium is an extremely uncommon condition consisting of pericardial gas in the absence of iatrogenic/traumatic causes. In humans, it has been described secondary to pneumonia or lung abscess and very rarely secondary to pulmonary neoplasia.

Treatment of early-stage Hodgkin's disease with four cycles of ABVD followed by adjuvant radio-therapy: analysis of efficacy and long-term toxicity.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The use of combined modality therapy in early-stage Hodgkin's disease can spare staging laparotomy and reduces the risk of relapse compared to radiation alone. This paper reports on the efficacy and long-term events of a combined modality approach consisting of a brief course of chemotherapy followed by adjuvant radiotherapy, without laparotomy, in early-stage Hodgkin's disease. DESIGN AND METHODS: This study included 78 patients with Hodgkin's disease (20 in stage I and 58 in stage II); 60% had mediastinal enlargement (12% had bulky disease) and 5% had subdiaphragmatic disease. Their median age was 33 years (range: 15-64) and median follow-up 60 months. The treatment program consisted of four cycles of ABVD followed by adjuvant radiation to involved sites (43 patients) or involved and contiguous sites of disease (35 patients); radiation doses ranged from 30 to 36 Gy to uninvolved and involved sites, respectively; bulky disease received up to 44 Gy. Gonadal function in women was assessed by hormonal tests and evaluation of menses; young men were given the opportunity to have their semen cryopreserved. RESULTS: The treatment program was completed in a median of 6.2 months (range: 5-10). The complete remission rate was 88% after 4 courses of ABVD and 98.7% after adjunctive RT. The 5-year relapse-free survival was 97% and overall survival 98%; three patients died, one of disease progression and two of small cell lung carcinoma. Long-term events included three cases of pulmonary fibrosis with symptomatic interstitial disease, one case of dilated cardiomyopathy with cardiac failure (all had received mediastinal radiation) and four cases of dysthyroidism. Fertility was preserved in young women, with three subsequent normal pregnancies. Second neoplasms included two small cell lung carcinomas and one breast carcinoma. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: In early-stage Hodgkin's disease, four cycles of ABVD followed by adjuvant radiotherapy produced a 5-year overall survival of 98%. Prolonged monitoring for therapy-related long term complications is mandatory in these potentially curable patients.

[The relationships between the general practitioner and the oncological radiotherapist. A preliminary study by telephone interviews]. / I rapporti tra medico generico e radioterapista oncologo. Studio preliminare attraverso interviste telefoniche.

PURPOSE: We addressed the issue of the relationship between the general practitioner (GP) and the radiotherapist to improve the quality of care of cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study consisted in evaluating medical requests and phone interviews, with a questionnaire with yes/no and multiple choice answers to the following 5 questions: 1) Do you think a cancer diagnosis is always a hopeless death sentence? 2) Is it professionally rewarding to cure a cancer patient? 3) Are you satisfied with your relationship, as a general practitioner, with oncologic reference centers? 4) Is it more wearing for a general practitioner to manage a cancer than a noncancer patient? 5) Would you answer a questionnaire about the relationship between the general practitioner, the cancer patient and the oncologist? We evaluated 1590 medical requests and made 401 phone interviews; 255 colleagues (70%) answered the questionnaire. RESULTS: Medical requests were correctly and completely formulated by GPs in 45% of cases. A cancer diagnosis was not considered a hopeless death sentence in 90.9% of cases and 76% of GPs considered it professionally rewarding to cure a cancer patient. 75.6% of GPs considered it more wearing to manage a cancer than a noncancer patient, and female GPs felt this more strongly than their male counterparts. Irrespective of gender, GPs over 50 years of age tend to consider cancer a hopeless and fatal disease. The relationship with oncologic centers was considered satisfactory in 86.2% of cases. However, since cancer patients need greater medical care, GPs would like a closer cooperation with oncologists. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The great interest GPs took in this study encourages further investigation through a more in depth questionnaire designed with the help of GPs themselves and interested statisticians.

Primary cervical melanoma with brain metastases. Case report and review of the literature.

Primary intramedullary melanoma is a very rare tumor that occurs most frequently in the middle or lower thoracic spinal cord. The authors present a case of primary cervical cord melanoma that developed in a 62-year-old man who was surgically treated and subsequently underwent radiation therapy. Clinical and histogenetic features of this neoplasm and results of chemo-. radio-, and immunotherapy are reported. Both "dysembryogenetic" and "mesodermal" hypotheses on the origin of primary spinal melanoma are discussed.

Long-term pulmonary sequelae after treatment of childhood Hodgkin's disease.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary sequelae have been reported in patients treated for Hodgkin's disease (HD). Few data are available about patients treated for childhood HD followed over several years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study carried out for 76 months (median time) after treatment completion, we evaluated the lung function abnormalities and respiratory symptoms in 27 patients (16 males and 11 females) with HD diagnosed between 1983 and 1994 (median age at diagnosis 11 years, range 2-16 years). They had been treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy according to current protocol AIEOP-MH 83 (n = 14) or AIEOP-MH 89 (n = 13). At the time of the study, 26 patients were in first complete remission and one in second remission. Of the 27 patients, 19 had had mediastinal irradiation at a dose of 20 Gy (n = 5) or 20.8-44 Gy (n = 14). Forced vital capacity (FVC), functional residual capacity (FRC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, and maximal expiratory flow at 25% of FVC were registered; diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was determined. Data were expressed as standard deviation (SD) score. Four patterns of respiratory function abnormalities were defined: restrictive, obstructive, isolated bronchiolar impairment, isolated diffusing impairment. RESULTS: Twelve patients (44%) were asymptomatic and showed completely normal pulmonary function tests. Three patients reported dyspnea on exertion, and one of them also cough and phelgm: out of these symptomatic subjects, only 1 had functional abnormality (isolated DLCO impairment). A restrictive pattern was found in 5 patients (18%), including 2 who also had a pathological DLCO SD score. Eight additional patients (30%) had isolated diffusing impairment. Oxygen saturation was normal in all patients. Forty-seven percent of patients with normal DLCO had had lower dose irradiation (20 Gy) compared to 10% of patients with impaired DLCO (P = 0.054). Similarly, patients with normal DLCO had had significantly less chemotherapy as compared to patients with abnormal DLCO (P = 0.003). Occurrence of lung abnormalities was not significantly associated with sex, age at treatment, mediastinal irradiation, and time elapsed from treatment completion. CONCLUSION: Adolescents and young adults treated for childhood HD are at risk for lung function abnormalities, significantly more frequent in patients who received more intense treatment, as mediastinal irradiation at a higher dose (> 20 Gy) and more chemotherapy blocks. Long-term follow-up should be offered to these patients because of their possible limited potential for pulmonary function and possible lesser resistance to adverse agents such as smoke, pollution, infections and aging.