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Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to present the clinical picture and the effectiveness of treatment patients with atypical medullary breast carcinoma (A-MBC). Materials and Methods: Sixty-five patients with A-MBC were treated between 1975 and 2005. More of them (70.2%) were in Stage I or II and had no expression of c-erb-B2 gene (81.5%), estrogen receptor (87.7%), and progesterone receptor (76.9%). Radical mastectomy was applied in 55 patients (84.6%) and remaining ten (15.4%) patients underwent breast conserving therapy. The treatment effectiveness was evaluated as ten-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate (Kaplan-Meier method). Results: The ten-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 61.5%. Only lymph nodal status was statistically significant prognostic factor. Ten--year DFS rate was 82.1% and 30.8% for pN0 and pN+, respectively. Conclusion: Although A-MBC has probably a slightly better prognosis than invasive ductal breast carcinoma, these patients should be treated according to the same rules as those with breast cancer of basal-like or triple-negative type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the study: The analysis of acute and late toxicity of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) based on review of 120 patients treated in Centre of Oncology in Krakow between 2001 and 2007. Materials and Methods: Medium age of the patients was 52 years (43-66). Overall, 12 patients (10.0%) were in Stage IB2, 54 (45.0%) in Stage II, 43 (35.8%) in Stage III, and 11 (9.2%) in Stage IVA. Squamous cell carcinoma was present in 114 (95.0%) patients. Well-differentiated (grade 1) tumour was found in 39 (32.5%) patients, moderately differentiated (grade 2) in 41 (34.2%), and poorly differentiated (grade 3) in 40 (33.3%). Karnofsky performance status score was 70 in 72 (60.0%) patients, and 80-90 in 48 (40%). External radiation therapy was delivered with high-energy six to 15 MV photon beams using four-field brick technique. The total dose of 50 Gy was given in 25 fractions within five weeks using standard fractionation. Concurrently with external radiotherapy, six cycles of chemotherapy were administered to all the patients as an intravenous infusion of once-weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m². On completion of external beam radiotherapy, low-dose rate brachytherapy with tandem and two colpostats was performed to deliver the dose of 40 Gy to point A in two 20 Gy insertions at weekly intervals. Results: Of the 120 patients in the investigated group, 78 (65%) were disease-free for five years. Symptoms of acute treatment-related toxicity grade 3 or 4 (WHO) occurred in 21.6% of patients including leucopoenia in 7.5%, anaemia in 5.0%, nausea and vomiting in 3.3%, diarrhea in 5.0%, and urinary tract infection in 0.8%. Full planned treatment (teleradiotherapy + chemotherapy + brachytherapy) completed 78.3% of the group; full planned radiotherapy without full chemotherapy completed 20% of the patients. Late treatment complications of grade 3 or 4 were observed in two (1.6%) patients (narrowing of large intestine requiring surgery and recto-vaginal fistula). Conclusions: In patients with LACC treated with CCRT, the most frequent acute toxic effects include: haematological disorders (leucopoenia, anaemia), gastrointestinal disorders (nausea and vomiting, diarrhea), vulvo-vaginal disorders, and urinary tract infection. The most frequent late toxic effects included: rectal bleeding, bowel complications requiring surgery, stenosis or recto-vaginal fistula, and haematuria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of the study was to present an institutional experience in radiation therapy of primary invasive vaginal carcinoma (PIVC) patients treated in the Krakow Branch of Centre of Oncology, with special regard to treatment effectiveness and failure causes. Materials and Methods: Between February 1967 and January 2007,162 PIVC patients were treated with radical radiotherapy in the Krakow Branch of Centre of Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Institute. Twenty-seven (16.7%) patients in Stage 1° were treated with intracavitary brachytherapy alone; for 127 (78.4%) patients in Stage 1° - IV0 intracavitary brachytherapy was combined with external radiation therapy; and eight (4.9%) patients in Stage IVA0 were given only external radiotherapy. Results: In the investigated group of 162 patients, five-year disease-free survival was observed in 46.3% of the cases. Patient age and FIGO Stage of neoplastic disease were independent prognostic factors. Five-year disease-free survival was observed in 64.9% of the patients < 60 years of age and only in 30.7% > 60 years of age; and in 62.3% of PIVC patients in Stages I and II0 as compared to 19.7% of Stages III0 and IV0 cases. Among 78 patients who died of PIVC, in 60 (76.9%) cases the cause of death was locoregional failure; in six (7.7%), locoregional failure and distant metastasis; and in 12 (15.4%), distant metastasis. Conclusions: Radiotherapy is effective treatment for PIVC patients. Age below 60 years and non-advanced neoplastic disease were independent favourable prognostic factors in the investigated group of patients. The primary cause of treatment failure was failure to achieve locoregional disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to present the clinical picture of infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast. Materials and Methods: A detailed analysis was performed for the group of 96 ILC patients subject to initial surgical treatment in the Krakow Branch of Centre of Oncology between 1983 and 1996. The investigated group was selected out of 2,347 breast cancer patients treated during that period, based on re-examination of histologic specimens of the initial patient group. Results: The following distinctive demographic and clinical features of ILC were found: average age of patients: 59 years (37 - 83); average duration of pathological symptoms: five months; most frequent site of primary tumor: upper outer quadrant (54.2%); primary tumor Stage: I/II0 (64.6%), III0A (35.4%); tumor size in breast: up to five cm (69.8%), larger than five cm (30.2%); no axillary lymph nodes involvement in 51% of patients; multifocality of lesions in 10% of patients; contralateral disease occurrence in eight percent of patients; atypical pattern of distant metastases, e.g. gastrointestinal system, gynaecologic organs, and cerebral meninges. Conclusions: Based on this analysis as well as on literature reports, it was found that the fundamental differences between ILC and infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) included demographic and clinical features as patient age, primary tumor size at diagnosis, incidence of multifocality and contralateral disease, sites of distant metastases, and histopathological status of axillary lymph nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study that analyses the survival and value of prognostic factors in patients with Stage I and II endometrial carcinoma (EC). EC has become the most common disease of the females of Western countries. The five-year overall survival rate in the observed group was 17 percent and Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that the only independent prognostic factor was the site of recurrence. If the recurrence is traced it can be cured with aggressive surgery or radiotherapy.

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