EASL-EORTC clinical practice guidelines : management of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Inherited and sporadic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is an uncommon and challenging malignancy. The American Thyroid association (ATA) chose to create specific MTC Clinical Guidelines that would bring together and update the diverse MTC literature and combine it with evidence-based medicine and the knowledge and experience of a panel of expert clinicians. Methods: Relevant articles were identified using a systematic PubMed search and supplemented with additional published materials. Evidence-based recommendations were created and then categorized using criteria adapted from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Results: Clinical topics addressed in this scholarly dialog included: initial diagnosis and therapy of preclinical disease (including RET oncogene testing and the timing of prophylactic thyroidectomy), initial diagnosis and therapy of clinically apparent disease (including preoperative testing and imaging, extent of surgery, and h...

/pdf/medullary-thyroid-cancer-management-guidelines-of-the-59581m0st9.pdf

Medullary thyroid cancer: management guidelines of the American Thyroid Association.

Population-based study からみた神経予後不良因子の検討

Actinomycosis is a rare chronic disease caused by Actinomyces spp., anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria that normally colonize the human mouth and digestive and genital tracts. Physicians must be aware of typical clinical presentations (such as cervicofacial actinomycosis following dental focus of infection, pelvic actinomycosis in women with an intrauterine device, and pulmonary actinomycosis in smokers with poor dental hygiene), but also that actinomycosis may mimic the malignancy process in various anatomical sites. Bacterial cultures and pathology are the cornerstone of diagnosis, but particular conditions are required in order to get the correct diagnosis. Prolonged bacterial cultures in anaerobic conditions are necessary to identify the bacterium and typical microscopic findings include necrosis with yellowish sulfur granules and filamentous Gram-positive fungal-like pathogens. Patients with actinomycosis require prolonged (6- to 12-month) high doses (to facilitate the drug penetration in abscess and in infected tissues) of penicillin G or amoxicillin, but the duration of antimicrobial therapy could probably be shortened to 3 months in patients in whom optimal surgical resection of infected tissues has been performed. Preventive measures, such as reduction of alcohol abuse and improvement of dental hygiene, may limit occurrence of pulmonary, cervicofacial, and central nervous system actinomycosis. In women, intrauterine devices must be changed every 5 years in order to limit the occurrence of pelvic actinomycosis.

/pdf/actinomycosis-etiology-clinical-features-diagnosis-treatment-3ity2btfy9.pdf

Actinomycosis: etiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, and management

One of the major breakthroughs in the history of medicine is undoubtedly the discovery of antibiotics. Their use in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine has resulted in healthier and more productive farm animals, ensuring the welfare and health of both animals and humans. Unfortunately, from the first use of penicillin, the resistance countdown started to tick. Nowadays, the infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasing, and resistance to antibiotics is probably the major public health problem. Antibiotic use in farm animals has been criticized for contributing to the emergence of resistance. The use and misuse of antibiotics in farm animal settings as growth promoters or as nonspecific means of infection prevention and treatment has boosted antibiotic consumption and resistance among bacteria in the animal habitat. This reservoir of resistance can be transmitted directly or indirectly to humans through food consumption and direct or indirect contact. Resistant bacteria can cause serious health effects directly or via the transmission of the antibiotic resistance traits to pathogens, causing illnesses that are difficult to treat and that therefore have higher morbidity and mortality rates. In addition, the selection and proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains can be disseminated to the environment via animal waste, enhancing the resistance reservoir that exists in the environmental microbiome. In this review, an effort is made to highlight the various factors that contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistance in farm animals and to provide some insights into possible solutions to this major health issue.

/pdf/agriculture-and-food-animals-as-a-source-of-antimicrobial-3tyy7iqkqs.pdf

Agriculture and food animals as a source of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

Hepatocellular cancer ranks fifth among cancers and is related to chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol abuse, steatohepatitis and liver autoimmunity. Surgical resection and orthotopic liver transplantation have curative potential, but fewer than 20% of patients are suitable candidates. Interventional treatments are offered to the vast majority of patients. Radiofrequency (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) are among the therapeutic modalities, with similar indications which include the presence of up to three lesions, smaller than 3 cm in size, and the absence of extrahepatic disease. The therapeutic effect of both methods relies on thermal injury, but MWA uses an electromagnetic field as opposed to electrical current used in RFA. Unlike MWA, the effect of RFA is partially limited by the heat-sink effect and increased impedance of the ablated tissue. Compared with RFA, MWA attains a more predictable ablation zone, permits simultaneous treatment of multiple lesions, and achieves larger coagulation volumes in a shorter procedural time. Major complications of both methods are comparable and infrequent (approximately 2%-3%), and they include haemorrhage, infection/abscess, visceral organ injury, liver failure, and pneumothorax. RFA may incur the additional complication of skin burns. Nevertheless, there is no compelling evidence for differences in clinical outcomes, including local recurrence rates and survival.

Percutaneous microwave ablation vs radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

A number of different methods have been proposed for pain relief in cancer patients with bone metastases, each with different indications, contraindications and complications (systemic analgesics, bisphosphonates, antitumor chemotherapy, radiotherapy, systemic radio-isotopes, local surgery and vertebroplasty). The ideal treatment has to be fast, safe, effective and tolerable for the patient. CT-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation may fulfill these criteria. Our experience in the treatment of 30 patients (34 lesions) with painful bone metastases using RF ablation was assessed. There was a significant decrease in the mean past-24-h Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) score for worst pain, for average pain and for pain interference during daily life (4.7, 4.8 and 5.3 units respectively) 4 and 8 weeks after treatment. There was a marked decrease (3 out of 30 patients 4 and 8 weeks after treatment) in the use of analgesics. CT-guided RF ablation appears to be effective for treatment of painful bone metastases.

/pdf/radiofrequency-ablation-of-osseous-metastases-for-the-225w00rg0g.pdf

Radiofrequency ablation of osseous metastases for the palliation of pain.

PurposeSpondylodiscitis is a rare infectious entity that requires multimodal diagnostic procedures. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of 18F-FDG PET on suspected spondylodiscitis based on published literature.Patients and MethodsWe searched the PubMed and EMBASE for pertinent studies up to Jul

FDG PET Is a Robust Tool for the Diagnosis of Spondylodiscitis: A Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Data

To evaluate the efficacy of computed tomography (CT)-guided radiofrequency (RF) ablation for the treatment of osteoid osteomas in common and in technically challenging locations. Twenty-three patients with osteoid osteomas in common (nine cases) and technically challenging [14 cases: intra-articular (n = 7), spinal (n = 5), metaphyseal (n = 2)] positions were treated with CT-guided RF ablation. Therapy was performed under conscious sedation with a seven-array expandable RF electrode for 8–10 min at 80–110°C and power of 90–110 W. The patients went home under instruction. A brief pain inventory (BPI) score was calculated before and after (1 day, 4 weeks, 6 months and 1 year) treatment. All procedures were technically successful. Primary clinical success was 91.3% (21 of total 23 patients), despite the lesions’ locations. BPI score was dramatically reduced after the procedure, and the decrease in BPI score was significant (P < 0.001, paired t-test; n − 1 = 22) for all periods during follow up. Two patients had persistent pain after 1 month and were treated successfully with a second procedure (secondary success rate 100%). No immediate or delayed complications were observed. CT-guided RF ablation is safe and highly effective for treatment of osteoid osteomas, even in technically difficult positions.

Osteoid osteomas in common and in technically challenging locations treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation.

The predictive value of 18F-FDG PET in patients with relapsing/refractory lymphoma who are receiving high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) remains a matter of debate. Seminal reports on pretransplant ASCT indicated an adverse prognosis in patients with positive FDG PET scans. The lack of a uniform outcome measure along with the mixed histologies in various studies have hampered efforts to quantify this prognostic value. A MEDLINE review of published trials up to April 2009 identified 16 studies involving pretransplant FDG PET scans in lymphoma. Where progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were set as the main outcome measures, time-to-event data analysis was used to calculate the overall prognostic value of a pretransplant FDG-PET scan. Pooled survival data from seven eligible studies suggested a worse PFS in patients with a positive FDG PET study (HR 3.23, 95% CI 2.14 to 4.87). The OS pooled from six eligible studies was also significantly worse among patients with a positive FDG PET study (HR 4.53, 95% CI 2.50 to 8.22). No statistically significant heterogeneity was observed between studies for either outcome. Despite the documented clinical heterogeneity between studies, meta-analysis data confirmed the prognostic impact of pretransplant FDG PET in patients with lymphoma and provided a uniform measure of the association for both progression and survival after ASCT.

Unifying the predictive value of pretransplant FDG PET in patients with lymphoma: a review and meta-analysis of published trials

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Loukas Thanos

Author Tools

Chat about Author