Tumori
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The aims of this paper are to report the development of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in breast cancer at a single institution and to discuss the relevant issues on SNB still to be elucidated. ⋯ Overall and disease-free survival in patients with a negative SNB result and no further axillary surgery were equal to those in patients with negative ALND. Intraoperative assessment of the sentinel node in expert hands has a low false-negative rate and allows immediate ALND in patients with sentinel node metastases, avoiding the need for a second operation. ALND for sentinel node micrometastases may be safely omitted in most patients with early stage breast cancer.
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The impact of multiple recurrences in disease-free survival of breast cancer: an extended Cox model.
Identifying the risk factors of recurrence of breast cancer is important for both the physician and patient. Analysis of the first recurrence may lead to an inaccurate evaluation of the factor's effects because it does not completely reflect the history of the disease and may result in the loss of valuable information. The present study aimed to determine the factors that influence breast cancer recurrence and to estimate disease-free survival, adjusting for multiple metastases in breast cancer patients. ⋯ Our novel approach might be helpful in clinical practice to predict breast cancer recurrence after surgery and might be adapted to be used in other malignancies as well.
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In Oncology, little is known about dignity-related distress and the issues that influence the sense of dignity for patients. We validated the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) questionnaire in Italian patients on oncological active treatments. ⋯ The Italian version of PDI is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate the dignity related-distress in out-patients with solid and hematological cancers, on active oncological treatments, in non advanced stages of the disease.