CLINICAL, IMAGING AND PATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MAMMARY LYMPHOMAS SECONDARY TO MALIGNANT T- CELL CUTANEOUS LYMPHOMAS

Primary cutaneous lymphomas rank as the second most common clinical form of extranodal non-Hogdkin malignant lymphomas. Among non-Hodgkin malignant skin T-cell lymphomas, Mycosis Fungoides (MF) is the most frequent clinical occurence. The MF lymphoma originates in skin-homing helper T-cells, which express the CD4 + marker, showing chronic evolution, with recurrent lesions. In advanced stages, patients with Mycosis Fungoides may experience severe/extensive skin lesions or extracutaneous localizations of the disease. The secondary breast lymphoma is more common in non-Hodgkin malignant lymphoma than in Hodgkin lymphoma. Among the mammographic characteristics of breast lymphoma we mention: oval or round tumor mass, with well-defined or indistinct margins, absence of intratumoral calcifications, presence of intramammary lymph nodes, supra-adjacent skin thickening and lymphedema that causes diffuse increase in breast density. The ultrasound features of breast lymphoma run as follows: it is oval or round in shape, with well-defined or indistinct margins, which in Doppler ultrasound are identified as hypervascularized masses. The description of the imaging features of mammary lymphomas secondary to cutaneous T-cell lymphomas is required before performing the breast core-needle biopsy.

Translation of 15D questionnaire into Romanian language to study quality of life of cancer patients in Romania

The 15D is a self-administered questionnaire for assessment of health-related quality of life, which contains 15 questions with 5 response options each. This research was aimed to translate the 15D questionnaire into Romanian to use for cancer patients and scientific community. The standard procedure of forward-backward translation was used in the translation procedure. The original questionnaire was given to two independent forward-translators (one English teacher and one experienced translator). The second step was the backward-translation with two English speakers who translated the first consensus version into English. The back translation was compared with the original version. The third step was the pilot-test on 15 patients and 10 healthy people. The patients’ obstacles in understanding and completing the questionnaires were reviewed and used to modify the questionnaires by the translation group. The final Romanian version of the 15D can be used for the next step of validation.

ONCOLOGICAL TREATMENT FROM PATIENTS’ ANGLE

Background/Aims: Conducive to improve the participatory process, it is necessary to identify the factors that modulate the perception of risks and benefits of any therapy; in this context, this paper aims to achieve a better understanding of patients' perspectives on cancer treatment to help identify possible discrepancies, resulting in optimizing and customizing various therapeutic strategies and increasing their compliance with treatment. Materials and Methods: The present study was performed on a group consisting of 83 patients hospitalized between April 15 and May 15, 2018 in the Oncology Department of the Municipal Hospital "Philanthropy" in Craiova. In order to assess their perception of the risks / benefits of cancer treatment, a questionnaire based on CTSQ was developed. Results: 39.76% of patients are convinced that oncological treatment will certainly cure them; 43.37% mistakenly believe that cancer therapy can surely prevent cancer spreading; 44.58% of patients consider that therapy limits their activity; 78.31% of the surveyed patients consider that they have always been informed about the potential benefits of the treatment, while 77.11% regarding risks; only 27.71% would definitely opt for the same therapy. Conclusion: This study showed a lower-than-expected level of understanding of cancer treatment. The results obtained in this study should be interpreted with caution, as it is necessary to study a much larger batch to validate them.

IRON OXIDE MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES AS DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR BRAIN CANCER TREATMENT

Nanotechnology offers a new horizon for cancer drug administration and systemic safety of oncological treatments. Compared with conventional pharmaceutical forms, nanoparticles (NPs) have many advantages such as larger surface, ability to adsorb and targeted delivery of different types of drugs, providing decreased side effects and a patient customed approach in cancer treatment. Due to their diverse chemical composition, NPs offer the possibility of developing innovative therapies, which may be also applied in glioblastoma treatment. Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been previously used in cancer treatment, as targeted drug delivery systems. Helianthin is an azo dye compound that we found to induce cell death in high grade glioma (HGG) cells. In this study, we analyzed the in vitro effect of MNPs loaded with Helianthin (HeMNPs) on a glioblastoma cell line (GB2B).

Evaluation of Serum Ferritin Levels in Brain Tumors

Currently, brain tumors are diagnosed based on clinical suspicion and neuroimaging results. Histological analysis is the only method that certifies the diagnosis and establishes the prognosis. A number of studies suggest that perturbed iron metabolism and increased ferritin levels are part of the changes associated with tumorigenesis. Our study’s aim is to evaluate serum ferritin levels in a series of patients and establish if this protein could play a role in brain cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Our lot is comprised of 267 patients with various types of brain tumors. We registered higher mean ferritin levels when compared to the general population. According to tumor histology, higher levels were found in cerebral metastases patients, and the differences were statistically significant. According to tumor grading, we found higher ferritin levels in grade II tumors, with statistically significant differences when compared to grade I and grade IV tumors. It remains an open question if high ferritin levels are a hallmark for cerebral metastases or just an expression of systemic dissemination. Also, a possible role for ferritin as a biomarker in grade II brain tumors may be established by further studies.

Acute leukemia and stem cell transplantation

Acute leukemias are a type of clonal proliferative malignancies that affect all ages with a predominance of ALL in children and AML in adults. Left untreated they are lethal and require rapid medical management. Not only it imposes high health risks through complications such as infections, but the treatment itself is also a source of potential risks. Acute leukemias require intense medical observation and care. Current treatment consists of a combination of chemotherapeutic agents, stem cell transplantation and supportive care. Recent research offers a better understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases and provide an advancement in the field of targeted therapeutic agents.

NEW PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER. LIPOSOMES

In order to obtain antineoplastic compounds and innovative formulations, new technologies and testing methods are continuously being developed. Unfortunately, besides cancer cells, chemotherapy also affects normal cells. An option to avoid toxicity is represented by the targeted cancer treatment using novel pharmaceutical dosage forms. Liposomes represent a relatively new pharmaceutical dosage form, used for their many advantages. In this article, the methods of liposomal preparation are mentioned, along with the classification and the latest improvements involving this pharmaceutical form. The bioavailability of conventional liposomes is currently improved by developing photodynamic liposomes, pH or temperature sensitive liposomes and targeted liposomes.

ORAL CANCER BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH: CURRENT STATUS AND EMERGING FRONTIERS

Cancer represents one of the leading causes or mortality worldwide, oral cancer accounting for almost 9% of deaths, early diagnosis playing a crucial role. Salivary biomarkers analysis is proving to be an alternative diagnosis method. Oral cancer biomarkers can be compounds that play role in every aspect of malignancy from triggering factors to markers of progression, inflammation or invasiveness. There are numerous genomic markers, ranging from well known ones such as p16, p21, p27 and p53 genes, cyclin D1, EGFR gene (epidermal growth factor receptor), C-kit gene (KIT proto-oncogene, receptor tyrosine kinase), bcl-6(B-cell lymphoma 6 protein gene) to least studied ones such as OXSR1(oxidative stress-responsive kinase-1gene). Proteomic markers range from inflammatory factors such as interleukins IL-8 and Il-6, transcription factors such as FOXO3 (forkhead box O3) protein and S100B protein, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) involved in extracellular matrix degradation and their inhibitors (TIMP - tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases), specific proliferation markers such as Ki-67 protein and many more. Developing saliva based oral cancer screening and prognosis tests may lead to better treatment options.

PLANT-DERIVED CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS DRUGS FOR CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY

Cancer chemotherapeutic drugs acts in different manner to kill malignant cells. Most of the anticancer drugs available in clinical practice to treat cancer patients, are natural products including whole plant extract, crude plant extracts, isolated constituents, plant –based drug formulations etc. These natural compounds have been a basis for the development of several drugs against cancer. Agents such as topotecan, taxol, vinca alkaloids (vincristine, vinblastine, vinorelbine and vindesine), are important anticancer agents in widespread clinical use. Other agents, such as combretastatin, flavopiridol, betulinic acid were shown to have anti-tumor effects in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. In this review, we aim to make a brief description of classical plant-derived chemotherapeutics drugs and also to highlight the importance of these natural compounds in the development of new potential drugs in cancer treatment.

NEW PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER. POLYMERIC MICELLES

Among all types of cancer encountered in women, breast cancer is the most prevalent, with the highest mortality rate. An increased survival rate is closely related to early diagnosis, the use of high performing screening methods and of selective and adequate treatments. By using the nanotechnologies, the therapeutic effectiveness of the drugs may be improved by a controlled release of the active substances to the tumoral site. The aim of this review is to present the current state of knowledge and to mention the new treatment trends in breast cancer, focusing on a pharmaceutical form that, thanks to its advantages, is already used in the therapy of this disease – the polymeric micelles. Several examples of anticancer agents loaded polymeric micelles are mentioned, illustrating the preparation methods and the current state of clinical studies in which polymeric micelles are used.