Gorham-Stout syndrome (GSS) is a very rare disorder of uncertain etiology. GSS presents with lytic destruction of one or more bones and can include chylous effusion in the pleurae, peritenoum and pericardium and cystic lesions in visceral organs, such as the spleen. A 32-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department suffering from dyspnea and orthopnea. A chest roentgenogram revealed bilateral pleural effusion (Picture A). Thoracentesis was performed, which led to a diagnosis of chylothorax. Radio-graphs and a computed tomography scan showed multiple lytic lesions in several vertebrae, the cranium (Picture B, arrows) and the pelvis (Picture C, arrows) as well as pleural and peritoneal effusion and cystic lesions in the spleen (Picture D, arrows). We administered combination medical treatment consisting of interferon-α-2b, thalidomide, bevacizumab, zoledronic acid and enoxaparin and argue that this multitargeted approach should be considered in cases of severe GSS. In the first month of treatment, the amount of

Background: First-line treatments for metastatic pancreatic cancer are chemotherapy regimens consisting of 5-fluorouracil or gemcitabine; however, there are no biomarkers to help determine which patients might benefit from which treatment regimens. We aimed to show that microRNAs let-7c and 7d can be used as independent predictive biomarkers for metastatic pancreatic cancer. Methods: A total of 55 patients who had first-line chemotherapy with FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine + capecitabine were included. Patients were divided into groups based on let-7c and let-7d levels and chemotherapy treatment as let-7c-7d high FOLFIRINOX, let-7c-7d high gemcitabine + capecitabine, let-7c-7d low FOLFIRINOX, and let-7c-7d low gemcitabine + capecitabine. Blood samples were taken from patients before chemotherapy for microRNA let-7c and 7d analysis. MicroRNA isolation was performed using a miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Kit and identified using spectrophotometric measurements. After isolation, microRNA was converted to cDNA using a microRNA cDNA Synthesis Kit with poly (A) polymerase tailing. The expression of microRNA was examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The overall survival of patients who received FOLFIRINOX treatment with a high let-7c-7d level was statistically significantly longer than those who received gemcitabine + capecitabine with a high let-7c-7d level. In addition, patients with low let-7c expression receiving FOLFIRINOX progressed significantly 2.104 times earlier than patients with high let-7c expression receiving FOLFIRINOX. Conclusion: The serum MicroRNA let-7c level was found to be an independent predictive biomarker in the FOLFIRINOX treatment group.

Objectives: The clinicopathological characteristics, treatment modalities, and effects on the prognosis of pure squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) were evaluated. Materials and Methods: 86 patients with pure SqCC and AC bladder cancer were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Of the 86 patients, 51 had SqCC and 35 had AC. No differences in clinicopathological characteristics were observed between patients with AC and SqCC, except for the prevalence of T4 disease (28.6% vs. 51.0%, respectively). In multivariate analysis, older age, stage IV disease, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (> 2) were predictive of a poor overall survival (OS). The median OS was significantly longer for stage I-III patients (82.9 months) treated with surgery ± chemotherapy (CT) ± radiotherapy (RT) than for those treated with transurethral resection ± CT ± RT (24.3 months) (P = 0.007). The median OS of patients with SqCC and AC who were given platinum-based CT for metastasis was 7.7 and 30.3 months, respectively. Conclusions: Advanced age, stage IV disease, and poor ECOG performance status were factors associated with a poor prognosis. Surgery ± CT ± RT resulted in significantly better OS, except in stage IV disease. Patients with metastatic AC had better response rates with platinum-based CT.

Introduction. The Peritoneal Equilibration Test (PET) is employed to assess peritoneal membrane transport function. The purpose of the test is to determine the optimal peritoneal dialysis regimen. The performance of the test, which is conducted over 4 hours, is time consuming both for the nurses and the patient. There have been studies to validate an approved short version of the original PET protocol, and all have yielded different results. We evaluated the concordance between the 1-hour, 2-hour and 4-hour (classical) test results of the fast PET. Methods. The study included 32 patients (20 males and 12 females). The patients underwent the 4-hour fast PET test, and the dialysate-to-plasma ratio of creatinine concentration (D/Pcrea) was determined. The standard deviation was added to or subtracted from the mean D/Pcrea ratios at hours 1, 2, and 4 to determine transport groups. Results. The mean age of the patients was 51.4±16.7 years. Mean D/Pcrea ratios at hours 1, 2, and 4 were 0.41±0.07, 0.54±0.10, and 0.69+0.12, respectively. There was a strong correlation between the 4-hour D/Pcrea ratio and 1-hour (r=0.756, p<0.001) and 2-hour (r=0.867, p<0.001) D/Pcrea ratios. Seventeen patients (53%) were in the same transport group at hours 1, 2, and 4. Eighteen patients (56%) at 1 hour and 24 patients (75%) at 2 hours fell into the same transport group at 4 hours. The patients that fell into different transport groups at different time points showed a shift to a lower or higher transport group. Conclusions. Two-hour fast PET gives promising results for clinical assessment purposes.

HD significantly improves PWV in patients reaching dry weight. Reduction of fluid excess by ultrafiltration in HD patients may reduce CV mortality by reducing arterial stiffness.