Carcinoid tumor of the appendix: treatment and prognosis.

In a long-term study of 150 unselected patients with carcinoid tumors of the appendix, we found that the neoplasms were usually less than 1.0 cm in largest dimension and discovered as an incidental finding during surgery performed for other reasons. Metastases were observed with none of the 127 appendiceal carcinoids less than 2.

Trends in right and left-sided colon cancer.

The increasing ratio of proximal to distal colorectal carcinomas was confirmed in this population-based study of 668 new cases diagnosed among Rochester, Minnesota residents between 1940 and 1979. The change was due to a rise in the incidence of proximal lesions (from 15.1 per 100,000 person-years in 1940-59 to 17.

A decline in carcinoma of the stomach. A diagnostic artifact?

During the past 50 years or more, a dramatic decline in the mortality from gastric carcinoma has been observed in virtually every country in the world, including the United States. Some investigators suspect that this decline is due to refinements in the diagnosis and classification of abdominal malignancies rather than being a true decline in the incidence of gastric cancer. Because the record system in Rochester, Minnesota, ensures the identification of virtually every patient in the local population with a serious illness, and the level of diagnosis is high, it seemed appropriate to study the incidence and long-term trends of gastric cancer in this community.

Cholecystectomy and carcinoma of the colon.

After cholecystectomy the concentration of secondary bile acids in the bile increases. These bile acids have been incriminated in the pathogenesis of carcinoma of the colon. Hence the hypothesis that cholecystectomy predisposes to the development of carcinoma of the colon.

Lack of evidence for cancer due to use of metronidazole.

Experimental studies have shown that metronidazole is carcinogenic in rodents and mutagenic in bacteria. In 771 women given metronidazole for the treatment of vaginal trichomoniasis, more cancers developed than had been expected after exclusion of carcinoma of one uterine cervix (observed, 24 cases; expected on the basis of the Connecticut Tumor Registry, 21.7; expected on the basis of the Third National Cancer Survey, 18.

Ovarian cancer: incidence and case-control study.

The incidence of ovarian cancer in Rochester, Minnesota over the 40-year period 1935 through 1974 was determined; and risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer occurring in Rochester from 1945 to 1974 were examined in 116 patients and 464 controls. Among the characteristics studied, only nulliparity was found to be a significant risk factor--relative risk 1.8.

Exogenous estrogen and endometrial carcinoma: case-control and incidence study.

Recent independent case-control studies have indicated that treatment with exogenous estrogen is associated with an increase in the risk of endometrial cancer. This question was studied in Olmsted County, Minnesota, by identifying all cases of endometrial cancer among residents over a 30 year period (1945 through 1974) and by matching four controls to each of the 145 patients. The rate of past exposure to any exogenous estrogen for any duration was about the same for patients as for controls.

Primary transitional cell carcinoma of the prostate.

The symptoms and physical findings in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the prostate were similar to those in patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma. Usually the neoplasm was poorly differentiated and advanced when the diagnosis was first established. Osseous metastases were commonly osteolytic.

Status of the contralateral ovary in encapsulated low grade malignant tumors of the ovary.

The incidence of bilateral involvement in carcinoma of the ovary is shown to be relatively high. This is true for the different histologic type of malignant lesions and even when the ovary is grossly normal in appearance and on palpation. Only when carcinoma of the ovary is low grade, intracystic, unruptured and nonadherent and is in a young woman desirous of childbirth can it be managed conservatively.

Clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix: survival data.

Survival data on 36 patients with clear-cell adenocarcinomas are reported: seven with vaginal lesions and 29 with cervical lesions. Although the tumor responds to present treatment modalities, it tends to be associated with early lymph node involvement, thus making early diagnosis essential. Radiation as a primary therapeutic measure has often been followed by late recurrence, though many patients with these tumors were treated by older, low-energy modalities.