Olga Esik

Non-invasive procedures completing traditional surgical treatment play an increasing role in the management of central nervous system malignancies. Conformal stereotactic irradiation (radiosurgery) has become a routine method in intracranial malignancies. However, application of this modality in tumours of the spinal cord and spinal column is much more difficult to perform. It is because extracranial organs can be only inaccurately fixed, and radio-sensitivity of the spinal cord and risks of radionecrosis with ensuing paraplegia are high. A recurrent sacrum chordoma treated by means of this modality - first reported in Hungary - has been chosen for case presentation as the criteria for radiotherapy such as high dose to target volume, minimal dose to neighbouring structures highly sensitive to radiation are best met in these tumours by means of conformal stereotactic radiotherapy. On the basis of further 13 extracranial cases treated with this method one can conclude that high precision stereotactic conformal radiotherapy offers up-grade to traditional radiotherapy despite the fact that it is a time-consuming procedure. The oncological efficiency, the reduced risks of side effects and the improved quality of life due to this treatment modality compensate duly for the increased labour input.

Authors presented data of treatment results and course of disease in 487 ovarian cancer patients treated by primary surgery and paclitaxel-carboplatin combination chemotherapy between July 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003. Most of our patients (87.8%) belonged to the age-group between 40-70 years. Distribution of their histological diagnosis was as 69.6% serous, 10.7% mucinous, 5.1% endometrial and 4.7% undifferentiated carcinoma. The grade distribution was found as 8.4% grade 1, 40.9% grade 2 and 35.9% grade 3. The primary surgery was evaluated as optimal in 41.7%, suboptimal in 37.3% and exploration was performed in 21.1%. Most patients started chemotherapy 20 days after surgery and 74.2% of them got six courses. During the evaluation period 61 intervallum laparotomies were performed, and resulted on 55.7% optimal debulking. Complete remission was found in 58.9%, and partial remission in 14.7% of patients. This treatment resulted on a complete remission in 40.9% at the follow-up of 12 months.

SummaryBackgroundHungary suffers from one of the highest levels of cancer morbidity, with over 700 new cases per 100000 inhabitants per year. This situation necessitates, among others, investigation of the current state of radiotherapeutic care, and its infrastructural and staffing conditions.AimThe aim of this paper is to present the current state of Hungarian radiotherapy.ResultsAlthough the number of radiation treatments increased substantially between 1995 and 2003 (16544 vs. 26316), together with a considerable increase in the linear accelerator equivalent (LAE) value (15.9 vs 29.45), about one-third of the patients who would profit from radiotherapy do not receive this form of treatment. Radiotherapeutic care is provided at 13 centers in 7 geographical regions, with widely varying infrastructural and staffing conditions, characterized by a mean LAE value of 4.2 (range: 0–8.45), a 1 LAE value for a mean of 343500 inhabitants (range: 0–731500), and a mean annual workload of 353 patients per radiation oncologist (range: 255–424), 532 patients per physicist (range: 255–911) and 149 per radiation technologist (range: 71–300). These conditions result in a waiting list of between 0 and 42 days for non-emergency cases and a mean of 260 radiotherapy-treated patients per 100000 inhabitants (range: 111–434) in the different geographical regions, which is far below the expected Hungarian value of 403 radiotherapy-treated cases/year.ConclusionsAttainment of an adequate radiotherapeutic service with an acceptable waiting time throughout Hungary requires the creation of 2 additional centers and the reconstruction of 1 existing center, the provision of 9 new linacs, the replacement of 10 functioning telecobalt units with linacs, and increases of 54% in the number of radiation oncologists, 51% in the number of physicists and 65% in the number of radiation technologists

A 44-year-old male patient was hospitalised with paranoid schizophrenia in 1985. Depot neuroleptic treatment was started which successfully prevented further psychotic relapses for the next ten years. His myasthenia gravis started with bulbar signs in 1997 and the symptoms soon became generalized. The diagnosis of myasthenia gravis was confirmed by electromyography, by positive anticholinesterase test and by the detection of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in the serum. Mediastinal CT examination showed enlarged hilar lymph nodes on the left but no thymic pathology was observed. Mediastinoscopy was performed and biopsies were obtained from the affected nodes. Histology revealed sarcoidosis. The patient suffered respiratory crisis following the thoracic intervention (in September 1998). Combined oral corticosteroid (64 mg methylprednisolone/e.o.d.) and azathioprine (150 mg/day) treatment regimen was initiated and complete remission took place in both the myasthenic symptoms and the sarcoidosis. The follow-up CT scans showed no mediastinal pathology (January 2000). During steroid treatment a transient psychotic relapse occurred which was successfully managed by supplemental haloperidol medication added to his regular depot neuroleptics. The patient currently takes 150 mg/day azathioprine and receives 40 mg/month flupentixol depot i.m. His physical and mental status are stable and he has been completely symptom free in the last 24 months. The association of myasthenia gravis and sarcoidosis is very rare. To our best knowledge no case has been reported of a patient suffering from myasthenia gravis, sarcoidosis, and schizophrenia at the same time.

Out of the 3310 thoracic surgical procedures performed between 1980 and 2000 at the Department of Surgery of the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, 258 were pulmonary metastasectomies involving 236 patients. Primary tumors were the following in order of decreasing frequency: testicular cancer, colorectal cancer, renal cancer, soft tissue tumor, breast cancer and others. In the present study the authors report two patients with multiple pulmonary metastases. The primary tumor was non-seminoma testicular cancer in case one and endometrial cancer in case two (previously treated for thyroid cancer). Histological examination of resected specimens revealed unsuspected focal inactive tuberculosis in the first case and medullary thyroid cancer in the second. In the reported two cases the following conditions of metastasectomy were given: 1. satisfactory cardiopulmonary status, 2. possibility of surgical radicality, 3. locoregional disease control, 4. prior chemotherapy in chemosensitive tumor (case one). The generally accepted condition of metastasectomy-lack of clinically manifest disease in other distant organs--was not fulfilled in case two (suspected liver metastases).

Advanced malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours are practically resistant to further radio- or chemotherapy. These tumours are characterized by the presence of C-KIT (a transmembrane tyrosin kinase) mutation which can be specified by CD117 expression. Imatinib (2-fenilaminopirimidine) is a selective inhibitor of the mutated C-KIT. The purpose of our study was to determine the potential antitumour effect of imatinib in patients with gastrointestinal stroma tumour patients. An open, non-randomized trial was performed involving 38 patients each of which had received/metastatic disease associated with CD117 positivity. Consecutively daily doses of 400-600 mg imatinib was administered orally to the patients. The evaluation was carried out on 37 patients in a form of an interim analysis. After a 3-18 months observation period 1 complete, 19 partial remissions and 10 static diseases could be registered (78%), in association of only grade 1-2 toxicity. The imatinib treatment improved the quality of life of the patients with gastrointestinal stroma tumour and their life expectancy became considerably prolonged. Further follow-up of the patients as well as design of a prospective, randomized trial on a larger patient material is urgently needed.

To investigate the pathophysiology of the radiation-induced, chronic Lhermitte’s sign (LS) on the basis of long-standing case histories with partial functional recovery.