Subject(s)
Dexamethasone/therapeutic use , Leukemia, Plasma Cell/drug therapy , Thalidomide/analogs & derivatives , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Dexamethasone/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Lenalidomide , Male , Middle Aged , Thalidomide/administration & dosage , Thalidomide/therapeutic useSubject(s)
Apoptosis , Carrier Proteins/physiology , Leukemia, B-Cell/pathology , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing , Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins , Carrier Proteins/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Humans , Immunoblotting , Leukemia, B-Cell/metabolism , Oligonucleotides/pharmacology , Oligonucleotides, Antisense/chemistry , Protein Structure, Tertiary , RNA/metabolism , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors at presentation and survival in Italian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Clinical and demographic data of 176 patients consecutively observed from 1993 to 1997 were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Overall median survival was 18 months. At univariate analysis, low albumin, high bilirubin, high alkaline phosphatase, high alpha-fetoprotein (AFP); high platelet count, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positivity, the presence of ascites, of encephalopathy, of portal vein thrombosis (PVT), male sex, no treatment, poor differentiation, untreatable tumours and incidental diagnosis were each associated with shorter survival. HBsAg-positive subjects more often presented with untreatable lesions or diffuse tumours (P=0.001 and P=0.007, respectively) and had significantly worse survival (P=0.0057). By multiple regression analysis, low albumin, high bilirubin, abnormal AFP, presence of PVT and of untreatable lesions were independent risk factors for worse survival. Thus, the most important factors influencing survival are the degree of functional impairment of the liver, the presence of hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection, the type of diagnosis and the aggressiveness of the tumour.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality , Liver Neoplasms/mortality , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Analysis of Variance , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/virology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hepatitis B/complications , Hepatitis B/epidemiology , Hepatitis B/pathology , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/blood , Hepatitis C/complications , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Hepatitis C/pathology , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Liver Neoplasms/virology , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Survival Analysis , Survival RateABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & AIMS: The gold standard for screening for colorectal carcinoma is colonoscopy. The aim of this study was to compare endoscopic results with those obtained using the noninvasive screening test of K-ras determination in the stool in a large population of patients undergoing colonoscopy. METHODS: Two hundred thirty consecutive patients were studied by K-ras amplification on stool-derived DNA using polymerase chain reaction and oligomer-specific hybridization. RESULTS: Wild-type K-ras was amplified in 103 of 230 patients (44.8%), the rate of amplification being directly proportional to the presence of an organic disease of the intestine characterized by hyperproliferating mucosa. In 30 of these 103 patients (29.1%), a K-ras mutation was found. Four of 5 with early colorectal carcinoma, all who had K-ras mutations in the tumor, were identified. In first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal carcinoma, all subjects either carrying adenomas > 1 cm in diameter or multiple smaller adenomas were identified. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease, the test identified the only patient with neoplastic transformation. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity and specificity of K-ras determination on stool-derived DNA in patients with colorectal carcinoma, in first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal carcinoma, and in patients with inflammatory bowel disease support the opportunity of a large-scale trial to validate its use as a screening test.