Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Percutaneous Laser Ablation for Non-Functioning Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Prospective Single-Center Study

Silvia Oddo,Edineia Felix,Michele Mussap,Massimo Giusti 대한영상의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.19 No.1

Objective: While many studies have reported that laser ablation (LA) for benign non-fuctioning thyroid nodules is efficacious in reducing nodular volume and neck symptoms, none have described changes in quality of life (QoL). The purpose of this study was to report post-LA changes in QoL in our cohort of patients. Materials and Methods: Fourteen patients with benign thyroid nodules were involved in a prospective, single-center study and underwent a single session of LA. We evaluated the following: changes in nodule volume, thyroid function, and autoimmunity; adverse events during and after LA; changes in neck discomfort by means of a visual analogic scale (VAS) at one week and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months; and changes in QoL through the 13-scale Thyroid-specific Patient Reported Outcome (ThyPRO) questionnaire at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. ThyPRO is a validated questionnaire for thyroid diseases, which consists of 13 scales with multiple-choice answers. They investigate several aspects of life that may be impaired by goiter-related compression symptoms, by esthetic alterations and by hypo- or hyperthyroidism. Results: Nodule volume decrease was -37 ± 23%, -55 ± 22%, -53 ± 25%, -58 ± 25% (p < 0.01 vs. baseline) at the first, third, sixth, and twelfth month, respectively. No hypothyroidism or positivization of autoimmunity was observed. There were no major complications during or after LA. After LA, VAS scores improved significantly from 1 week onwards in 100% of patients, while a significant improvement was seen in the goiter symptoms score after one month, and in the general score and mean values of ThyPRO after six months. Scores on the other ThyPRO scales did not change significantly. Conclusion: Laser ablation is safe and effective in reducing nodule volume and neck symptoms; this is confirmed by improvements in the goiter scale, general score, and mean values of ThyPRO and in the VAS score.

Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Trigona carbonaria Honey from Australia

Livia Persano Oddo,Tim A. Heard,Antonio Rodríguez-Malaver,Rosa Ana Pérez,Miguel Fernández-Muiño,María Teresa Sancho,Giulio Sesta,Lorenzo Lusco,Patricia Vit 한국식품영양과학회 2008 Journal of medicinal food Vol.11 No.4

Stingless bees (Tribe Meliponini) are a diverse group of highly eusocial bees distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics. Trigona carbonaria honey, from Australia, was characterized by traditional physicochemical parameters (acidity, sugars, diastase, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural, invertase, nitrogen, and water content) and other compositional factors (flavonoids, polyphenols, organic acids, and water activity), as well as total antioxidant capacity and radical scavenging activity. For the Australian T. carbonaria, the traditional analytical parameters were similar to those previously reported for neotropical stingless bee honey and confirm that honeys produced by Meliponini bees possess several physicochemical properties that are distinctly different from Apis mellifera honey, with higher values of moisture (26.5 ± 0.8 g of water/100 g of honey), water activity (0.74 ± 0.01), electrical conductivity (1.64 ± 0.12 mS/cm), and free acidity (124.2 ± 22.9 mEq/kg of honey) and a very low diastase activity (0.4 ± 0.5 diastase number) and invertase activity (5.7 ± 1.5 invertase number). The sugar spectrum was quite different from that of A. mellifera honey, with 20.3 ± 2.9 g of maltose/100 g of honey. The values of pH (4.0 ± 0.1), lactonic acidity (4.7 ± 0.8 mEq/kg of honey), sucrose (1.8 ± 0.4 g/100 g of honey), and fructose/glucose ratio (1.42 ± 0.13) fell in the same ranges as those of A. mellifera honey. Citric (0.23 ± 0.09) and malic (0.12 ± 0.03) acid concentrations (in g/kg of honey) of T. carbonaria honeys were in the range described for A. mellifera honey. D-Gluconic was more concentrated (9.9 ± 1.3 g/kg of honey), in the range of Italian Castanea, Thymus, Arbutus, and honeydew honeys. Flavonoid content was 10.02 ± 1.59 mg of quercetin equivalents/100 g of honey, and polyphenol contents were 55.74 ± 6.11 mg of gallic acid equivalents/100 g of honey. The antioxidant activity, expressed as percentage of 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) cation (ABTS.+) decolorization, was 233.96 ± 50.95 μM Trolox equivalents, and free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) depletion was 48.03 ± 12.58 equivalents of ascorbic acid. All reported values are averages ± standard deviation. The antioxidant activity can represent an important added value for T. carbonaria honey, to initiate a medicinal approach for both nutritional and pharmaceutical applications, besides further physicochemical characterization.

Correlation between Ki67 and Histological Grade in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Preoperative Chemotherapy

Petric, Militza,Martinez, Santiago,Acevedo, Francisco,Oddo, David,Artigas, Rocio,Camus, Mauricio,Sanchez, Cesar Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.23

Background and Aim: Breast cancer (BC) is a heterogeneous disease and cell proliferation markers may help to identify subtypes of clinical interest. We here analyzed the correlation between cell proliferation determined by Ki67 and HG in BC patients undergoing preoperative chemotherapy (PCT). Materials and Methods: We obtained clinical/pathological data from patients with invasive BC treated at our institution from 1999 until 2012. Expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) and Ki67 were determined by immuno-histochemistry (IHC). Clinicopathological subtypes were defined as: Luminal A, ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative, HG 1 or 2; Luminal B, ER and/or PR positive, HER2 negative or positive and/or HG 3; triple negative (TN), ER, PR and HER2 negative independent of HG; HER2 positive, ER, PR negative and HER2 positive, independent of HG. By using Ki67, a value of 14% separated Luminal A and B tumors, independently of the histological grade. We analyzed correlations between Ki67 and HG, to define BC subtypes and their predictive value for response to PCT. Results: 1,560 BC patients were treated in the period, 147 receiving PCT (9.5%). Some 57 had sufficient clinicopathological information to be included in the study. Median age was 52 years (26-72), with 87.7% invasive ductal carcinomas (n=50). We performed IHC for Ki67 in 40 core biopsies and 50 surgical biopsies, 37 paired samples with Ki67 before and after chemotherapy being available. There was no significant correlation between Ki67 and HG (p=0.237), both categorizing patients into different subtypes. In most cases Ki67 decreased after PCT (65.8%). Only 3 patients had pathologic complete response (cPR). Conclusions: In our experience we did not find associations between Ki67 and HG. Determination of clinicopathological luminal subtypes differs by using Ki67 or HG.

Clinico-Pathologic Subtypes of Breast Cancer Primary Tumors Are Related to Prognosis after Recurrence

Sanchez, Cesar,Camus, Mauricio,Medina, Lidia,Oddo, David,Artigas, Rocio,Sepulveda, Alejandra Perez,Domainguez, Francisco,Razmilic, Dravna,Navarro, Maria Elena,Galindo, Hector,Acevedo, Francisco Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.12

Background: Pathological factors, based mainly on immunohistochemistry (IHC) and histological differentiation, are mostly used to differentiate breast cancer (BC) subtypes. Our present aim was to describe the characteristics and survival of a relapsing BC patient cohort based on clinico-pathologic subtypes determined for the primary tumors. Methods: We used a clinico- pathological definition of BC subtypes based on histological grade (HG), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR),and epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) expression assessed by IHC. We determined variables associated with loco-regional recurrence (LRR), second primaries (SP), systemic recurrence (SR) and post-recurrence survival (PRS). Results: Out of 1,702 patients, 240 (14%) had an event defined as recurrence. Those with recurrent disease were significantly younger than those without,and were initially diagnosed at more advanced stages, with larger tumors, greater lymph nodal involvement and higher HG. With a median follow up of 61 months (1-250), 4.6% of patients without recurrence and 56.6% of patients with an event defined as recurrence had died. The median PRS for the LRR group was 77 months; 75 months for those who developed a SP and 22 months for patients with an SR (p <0.0001). In SR cases, the median PRS was shorter for ER- tumors than for ER+ tumors (15 vs. 26 months, respectively; p = 0.0019, HR 0.44; CI: 0.25-0.44). Conclusions: Subtype, defined through classic histopathologic parameters determined for primary tumors, was found to eb related to type of recurrence and also to prognosis after relapse.

DYNAMIC MR IMAGING, BIODISTRIBUTION AND PHARMACOKINETICS OF POLYMER SHELLED MICROBUBBLES CONTAINING SPION

ÅSA BARREFELT,MOUSTAPHA HASSAN,HEBA ASEM,PETER ASPELIN,TORKEL B. BRISMAR,GAIO PARADOSSI,SILVIA MARGHERITELLI,MARYAM SAGHAFIAN,LETIZIA ODDO,MAMOUN MUHAMMED 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2014 NANO Vol.9 No.6

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive diagnostic method that provides informa-tion on morphological and physiological changes of the internal organs over time. Imaging andmeasurements can be repeated on the same subject, thereby reducing inter-individual variabilitye®ects and hence the number of subjects required. A potential MRI contrast agent consisting ofmicrobubbles embedded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) in the shell(SPION MBs) was injected intravenously into rats to determine their biodistribution andpharmacokinetics using MR imaging. Agarose phantoms containing SPION MBs were scannedusing 3 T MRI to construct a standard curve. Rats were injected with SPION MBs, free SPIONor plain MBs and scanned dynamically at 3 T using a clinical MR scanner. The relaxation rate(R2*) was studied over time as a measure of the iron oxide concentrations to enable calculation ofthe pharmacokinetic parameters. The kinetics of SPION MBs in the liver was ¯tted to a one-compartment model. Furthermore, the biological fate of SPION MBs was examined via a his-tological survey of tissue samples using Perls' Prussian blue staining and immunohistochemistry(IHC). 1.2 h after injection of SPION MBs, T2* of the liver had decreased to its minimum. Theelimination half-life of SPION MBs was 598 : 2 ? 97 : 3 h, while the half-life for SPION was222 : 6 ? 26 : 4 h. Moreover, our study showed that SPION MBs were taken up by the macrophagesin the lungs, spleen and liver. MBs labeled with SPION can be used for MR imaging. Moreover,MRI is a reliable and noninvasive tool that can be utilized in pharmacokinetic investigations offuture contrast agents using SPION MBs and SPION in the rat.