Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

For rectal cancer, the decisions about neoadjuvant therapy, radical resection, or local excision depend on accurate preoperative staging. Multiple modalities are available to stage rectal cancer, including digital rectal examination, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and endorectal ultrasound (ERUS). Digital rectal examination accuracy varies from 58% to 88% for depth of penetration. Computed tomography accuracy varies from 53% to 94% for depth of penetration and from 54% to 70% for lymph node metastases. Magnetic resonance imaging accuracy varies from 66% to 92% for depth of penetration and from 60% to 90% for lymph node metastases. Endorectal ultrasound varies from 62% to 92% for depth of penetration and from 64% to 88% for lymph node metastases. In all radiologic modalities, overstaging and understaging occurs. Endorectal ultrasound has the advantage of being portable and often office-based, requiring only minimal preparation and is well tolerated by the patient. Although MRI with the use of an endorectal coil may have a slightly higher accuracy for detecting lymph nodes, ERUS has been shown to be the most accurate method for the determination of the depth of wall penetration, and is comparable for lymph node metastases. Interpretation varies with operator experience. Three-dimensional (3D) ERUS may further improve staging accuracy. Endorectal ultrasound is an accurate method to preoperatively stage rectal cancers. Although operator-dependent, it can be readily performed at the time of patient evaluation with minimal preparation or patient discomfort. We are prospectively evaluating modifications to the current staging system and the use of 3D ERUS.
 ...
PMID:Endorectal ultrasound in the preoperative evaluation of rectal cancer. 1528 19

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus is an unusual, but well-recognized variant of thymic malignant tumors. Its biologic behavior generally depends on the degree of differentiation and the amount of cellular atypia. High grade tumors can be aggressive neoplasms with a tendency to invade and develop metastases. We report on a case of a 53-year-old man, who presented chest discomfort, dyspnea, and weakness. As heart function tests were normal, the patient underwent radiologic examination, which showed a well-demarcated mass in the anterior mediastinum. Histologic examination of the surgically resected mass showed features of a mucoepidermoid carcinoma with associated infiltration of the pleural tissue. Postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy were performed, and the patient died two months after initial diagnosis. In case of the absence of metastatic disease or other common primary neoplasms of the thymus, the diagnosis of a mucoepidermoid thymic carcinoma should be taken into consideration, although this tumor is rare.
 ...
PMID:Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus: a case presentation and a literature review. 1546 5

Patients with malignant pericardial tamponade have a poorer prognosis than patients with non malignant effusion in a neoplastic context. Pericardial metastases occur frequently in advanced-stage disease patients, in 5-10% of all patients with cancer. Among a personal series of five patients who underwent the same procedure, we report characteristic imaging features of a 16-year-old man presenting with malignant tamponade, who was successfully treated by percutaneous pericardioperitoneal shunt. Percutaneous balloon pericardiotomy is a well-tolerated, safe, and well-known technique, but little has been described concerning imaging the percutaneous pericardioperitoneal shunt. This life-saving procedure should be used for recurrence of malignant tamponade and should also be considered for initial treatment. Advantages of the percutaneous procedure include minimal discomfort, low morbidity rate, and efficiency similar to surgical pericardiotomy without sedation.
 ...
PMID:Imaging of percutaneous pericardioperitoneal shunt in patient with malignant cardiac tamponade. 1548 59

Between 1997 and 2002, 107 patients with symptoms of superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction presented at a university hospital in Northeast Thailand. Age averaged 50.7 years (range, 1 to 84). The male to female ratio was 5.7:1. Duration of symptoms before diagnosis was 29.4 days (range, 2 to 240), including facial swelling, cough, and chest discomfort. About 20% of cases developed respiratory failure and 11.2% died shortly after admission. The mean hospital stay was 23.7 days. Anteroposterior and lateral chest radiographs and computed chest tomography helped locate the lesion. Transbronchial biopsy through bronchoscopy, transthoracic needle biopsy under computed tomography, lymph node biopsy, pleural fluid cytology and/or biopsy were used for histopathologic sampling. High levels of alpha-fetoprotein and beta-HCG indicated an anterior mediastinal mass. The most common etiology of SVC obstruction was bronchogenic carcinoma (51.8%), followed by an anterior mediastinal mass (14.5%), lymphoma (13.6%--with an LDH of 262 to 1459 U/l), metastatic cancer (9.1%), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (1.8%). Benign SVC thrombosis was found in four patients with Behcet's disease or some other idiopathy. Mediastinal fibrosis from melioidosis occurred in three patients, which is rare, has not been previouly reported. Most patients (63.6%) received a combination of radiotherapy and corticosteroid and this helped 55.2% improve.
 ...
PMID:Etiology and outcome of superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction in adults. 1569 Nov 55

Traditionally, withdrawal of thyroid hormone has been used to attain the increase in serum TSH concentrations that are believed to optimize the trapping and retention of radioiodine for diagnostic procedures, thyroid remnant ablation and treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, withdrawal frequently causes clinical hypothyroidism, with resultant cognitive impairment, emotional dysfunction, physical discomfort, health risks in patients who are elderly, frail or have concomitant illness, and impaired quality of life and ability to work. Recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) was developed to provide TSH stimulation without withdrawal of thyroid hormone and the associated morbidity. rhTSH has been approved as an adjunct for diagnostic procedures in patients with DTC, but is currently an experimental aid in thyroid remnant ablation and the treatment of thyroid tumours. In the period 1997-2004, nearly 30 medical centres worldwide have reported on almost 400 patients with DTC who were given rhTSH in preparation for radioiodine ablation of thyroid remnants or treatment of local tumours of metastatic disease. We have analysed and summarized the findings reported in this literature. Ablation aided by the standard course of rhTSH, two consecutive daily injections of 0.9 mg, had success rates better than 84% in 90 patients given radioiodine activities in excess of 4000 MBq. However, when 1110 MBq was administered, success rates were 81.2% in 16 patients given the standard course of rhTSH and 4-day withdrawal of thyroid hormone around the time of radioiodine administration in one study, but 54% in 70 patients in another study. rhTSH-aided treatment of persistent or recurrent local or metastatic cancer, or both, with from one to six courses of radioiodine 1000-19055 MBq, achieved 2% complete remission, 36% partial response and 27% disease stabilization rates, for a 65% clinical benefit rate, in 115 primarily elderly, late-stage patients for whom responses were reported. Twelve of these patients died as a result of progressive disease or were discharged from hospital into hospice care. Generally, rhTSH was very well tolerated. However, in a minority of patients with central nervous system, spinal or bone metastases, or bulky thyroid remnant or neck lesions with or without poor pulmonary reserve, administration of rhTSH, like thyroid hormone withdrawal, was found to stimulate expansion of the tumour, with ensuing compression of key anatomical structures and neurological, respiratory or other clinical complications. The rapid onset, response to glucocorticoids and radiological findings of peritumoural oedema or, less commonly, haemorrhage in the published cases, strongly suggest that the tumour expansion was the result of swelling rather than growth. As in the case of thyroid hormone withdrawal, special attention and glucocorticoid premedication are thus warranted when rhTSH is given to patients known or suspected to have the above characteristics. Dosimetric data suggest that whole-body and whole-blood radioiodine clearance may be faster in euthyroid patients after administration of rhTSH. In theory, the faster clearance could allow, or demand, increased radioiodine activities when rhTSH is used, but clinical data to date suggest that this may be unnecessary. The faster clearance also might result in safety or convenience benefits with the use of rhTSH, such as decreased exposure of extrathyroid areas to radiation, and shorter hospital stays. In conclusion, in preliminary results from open-label studies, both rhTSH-aided tumour ablation and treatment have been well tolerated and have shown efficacy in substantial proportions of patients. rhTSH-aided ablation merits further study. rhTSH-aided treatment may be preferred in patients who are at greater risk of hypothyroid complications from withdrawal of thyroid hormone or are unable to produce sufficient endogenous TSH, and warrants additional investigation in younger patients at earlier stages of thyroid cancer.
 ...
PMID:rhTSH-aided radioiodine ablation and treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma: a comprehensive review. 1578 38

We present the case of a 64-year-old male who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer with tracheal invasion and distant lymph node metastases, and he received chemoradiation therapy. The therapy resulted in complete remission. However, he was unable to eat anything because of missed swallowing caused by a large tracheoesophageal fistula. The placement of a covered self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) improved his quality of life and palliated dysphagia for 3 months. Stenting in the cervical or upper esophagus may cause discomfort. However, the placement of a covered SEMS is one of the useful palliative treatments for esophageal cancer with tracheoesophageal fistula.
 ...
PMID:[A case report of esophageal cancer with tracheoesophageal fistula--improving the quality of life by using a covered self-expandable metallic stent]. 1631 67

Given the limitations of existing health-related quality-of-life (QOL) measures in capturing the end-of-life experience of patients with advanced chronic diseases, an empirically grounded instrument, the quality-of-life concerns in the end of life questionnaire (QOLC-E), was developed. Though it was built on the McGill quality of life questionnaire (MQOL), its sphere is more holistic and culturally specific for the Chinese patients in Hong Kong. One hundred and forty-nine patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or metastatic cancer completed the questionnaire. Seven factors (28 items) which emerged from the factor analysis were grouped into four positive (support, value of life, food-related concerns, and healthcare concerns) and four negative (physical discomfort, negative emotions, sense of alienation, and existential distress) subscales. Good internal consistency and concurrent validity were shown. The results also revealed that these two groups of patients had similar QOL concerns. The validity of applying QOLC-E as an outcome measure to evaluate the effectiveness of palliative and psychoexistential interventions has yet to be tested.
 ...
PMID:Assessing quality of life of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the end of life. 1633 73

We present a case in which a patient with disseminated well-differentiated papillary thyroid cancer developed severe thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. Eight years after initial surgery and ablative radioiodine therapy the patient was found to have multiple pulmonary metastases. The metastases showed poor uptake of radioiodine. An attempt was made to use 13-cis-retinoic acid in order to achieve a redifferentiation of the thyroid cancer cells before recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) stimulated radioiodine therapy. The treatment did not improve the uptake of radioiodine. However, approximately 2 weeks after completion of the treatment the patient experienced discomfort in her eyes and then over the next months she developed a severe ophthalmopathy. The analyses of TSH receptor antibodies and S-thyroglobulin simultaneously showed a pronounced increase. An association between therapy given and severe ophthalmopathy cannot be excluded.
 ...
PMID:Development of severe thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy in a patient with disseminated thyroid cancer treated with recombinant human thyrotropin/radioiodine and retinoic acid. 1640 14

Lymph nodes are involved in a wide variety of diseases, particularly in cancer. In the latter, precise nodal staging is essential to guide therapeutic options and to determine prognosis. For long, imaging of the lymphatic system has been limited to lymph vessel,especially via the exclusive use of conventional lymphography, at the expense of invasive procedures and patient's discomfort. Three main technical advances, however, have recently completed the clinical armamentarium for lymph node imaging: first, the refinement of cross sectional imaging, i.e. CT and MRI, combined or not with dedicated contrast agents, has progressively replaced conventional lymphography in oncology situations; second, the development of intra-operative sentinel node mapping has profoundly modified the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in several cancer situations, mostly melanoma and breast cancer; finally, the increased availability of functional imaging, especially through the use of FDG-PET, has greatly contributed to the accuracy improvement of nodal metastases identification. The aim of this review will thus be to briefly review the anatomy and physiology of the lymphatic systems and to overview the basic principles of up-to-date lymph node imaging.
 ...
PMID:Lymph node imaging: basic principles. 1647 89

Fracture of the proximal femur due to metastatic disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among breast cancer patients. Prophylactic surgical fixation is advised for patients at risk of fracture and typically involves placement of an orthopaedic implant. We propose that some proximal femora with metastases can be repaired by removing the lesion and filling the resulting defect with bone cement (polymethylmethacrylate), a procedure that could be performed percutaneously without the use of hardware. We studied the strengths of 12 matched pairs of cadaveric proximal femora under single-limb stance loading. One femur from each pair remained intact, while a simulated metastatic lesion, measuring approximately 75% of the neck diameter, was burred into the neck of the contralateral femur. The defects were repaired using a procedure similar to the one proposed. Femoral strength was measured via mechanical testing to failure. The strengths of the repaired femora averaged 94.7% of the strength of their respective contralateral intact femur (standard deviation, 8.7%). These findings suggest that the proposed procedure may be useful for some patients with metastases in the femoral neck. If the proximal femur could be safely repaired using the proposed technique in place of conventional surgical fixation, the patient would benefit from a shorter and less invasive surgical procedure, less pain and discomfort, greatly reduced recovery time, and a shorter hospital stay-all at a much lower cost.
 ...
PMID:Feasibility of a percutaneous technique for repairing proximal femora with simulated metastatic lesions. 1694 54


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>