Role for serial prenatal anti-Vel quantitative serologic monitoring with 2-ME serum treatment during pregnancy: case report.

Anti-Vel is an uncommon antibody to a high-prevalence antigen. Its clinical significance and management in the prenatal setting are not well characterized. We present a case that demonstrates the utility of serial prenatal anti-Vel quantitative serologic monitoring with 2-ME serum treatment during pregnancy.

Trimethoprim-induced immune hemolytic anemia in a pediatric oncology patient presenting as an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction.

A 10-year-old male with acute leukemia presented with post-chemotherapy anemia. During red cell transfusion, he developed hemoglobinuria. Transfusion reaction workup was negative.

Trends in prevalence of prognostic factors and survival in lung cancer patients from 1985 to 2004 at a tertiary care center.

Background: After a prolonged period of increasing rates of lung cancer incidence and mortality for both men and women, incidence and mortality rates are decreasing in men and stabilizing in women. The goal of this study was to assess changes over 20 years in the prevalence of known risk factors for lung cancer and to elucidate possible predictors associated with lung cancer survival.

Methods: The study included a total of 908 patients with primary lung cancer referred to The University of Texas M.

One center's experience: the serology and drugs associated with drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia--a new paradigm.

Background: Drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia (DIIHA) is an uncommon finding characterized by a sudden decrease in hemoglobin after treatment with the putative drug. The full range of drugs causing DIIHA and the initial serologic presentation are not fully appreciated. This work identifies additional drugs associated with DIIHA and offers additional insights about diagnosis.

A clinical trial to evaluate the effect of vitamin C supplementation on in vitro mutagen sensitivity. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Clinical Community Oncology Program Network.

Mutagen sensitivity, as measured by an in vitro assay, has been described as a risk factor for the development of several tobacco-related epithelial cancers. In vitro studies have indicated that sensitivity to the clastogenic effects of bleomycin on chromosomes was reduced with the introduction of ascorbic acid in a dose-dependent relationship. We report the results of a randomized clinical trial to determine whether increasing levels of oral ascorbic acid could reduce the levels of mutagen sensitivity.

Lung carcinoma in former smokers.

Background: A reduction in the risk of lung carcinoma and a lower death rate among former smokers (FS) compared with current smokers (CS) have been documented in numerous U.S. and international studies.

Correlation between selected environmental exposures and karyotype in acute myelocytic leukemia.

Many bone marrow cytogenetic abnormalities in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) are tumor specific, clonal, nonrandom, and related to prognosis; it has been hypothesized that they may be markers of exposure to etiological agents. A previous report from our institution revealed several such associations; the purpose of the current study was to determine whether previous findings were present in a new group of patients. Subjects included 84 newly diagnosed AML patients (French-American-British M1 and M2); exposure data were gathered using self-report questionnaires at the time of registration.

Mutagen sensitivity as a biological marker of lung cancer risk in African Americans.

Cigarette smoking is the major determinant of lung cancer. However, only a fraction of smokers develops lung cancer; genetically determined susceptibility factors seem to play an important role also. Previous case-control studies have shown that in vitro bleomycin-induced mutagen sensitivity is an independent risk factor for head-and-neck cancers, and preliminary data suggest a similar association with lung cancer.

A case-control study of nonrandom distribution of bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks in lymphocytes of lung cancer cases.

We used a case-control study design to determine the association between bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks and the risk of lung cancer in general and by specific histopathological types. Lymphocytes from primary blood cultures of 78 controls and 75 cases with 4 histopathological types of lung cancer were treated with 0.03 unit/ml bleomycin for 5 h, and the frequency of induced chromatid breakage and the locations of the breaks were determined in Q-banded preparations.

Lung cancer, smoking patterns, and mutagen sensitivity in Mexican-Americans.

Background: Mexican-Americans have lower age-adjusted lung cancer incidence rates than non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans. Since 87% of lung cancers are attributed to tobacco exposure, this difference could be explained partly by lower prevalence of cigarette smoking. However, only a fraction of exposed individuals will develop smoking-related cancer, and genetically determined differences in modulation of environmental exposures could also explain some of this ethnic risk differential in lung cancer incidence in the United States.

Mutagen sensitivity in upper aerodigestive tract cancer: a case-control analysis.

Variability in DNA repair capability may be a determinant of interindividual difference in susceptibility to carcinogenic exposures. A cytogenetic assay which quantifies chromosomal breakage induced by in vitro exposure to a clastogen provides an indirect measure of repair. We report the results of a case-control study of upper aerodigestive tract cancers assessing differences in mutagen sensitivity based on this assay.

Association between family history of cancer and mutagen sensitivity in upper aerodigestive tract cancer patients.

This study evaluated the relationship between family history of cancer and bleomycin-induced mutagen sensitivity. The study included 108 patients who registered at The University of Texas M.D.

Low incidence of familial breast cancer among Hispanic women.

There is a paucity of data on familial patterns of breast cancer among minority populations. This study compared the frequency of cancer in 1,095 first-degree relatives of 50 White, 46 Black, and 49 Hispanic breast-cancer patients referred to The University of Texas M.D.

Cancer prevention practices among Texas primary care physicians.

Primary care physicians are uniquely positioned to practice primary and secondary cancer prevention. However, despite a positive commitment, many physicians are pessimistic about the success of their interventions. This study describes the self-reported cancer prevention practices and perceived obstacles of 1600 Texas primary care physicians.

Familial patterns of prostate cancer: a case-control analysis.

Epidemiological data have not yet enabled physicians to look beyond age and race to identify men at increased risk for prostate cancer. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study of familial patterns of prostate cancer with self-reported data from a risk-factor questionnaire. There were 385 patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer, and 385 race and age-matched (+/- 5 years) controls with other cancers.

Detecting fetomaternal hemorrhage: a comparison of five methods.

Appropriate postpartum administration of Rh immune globulin relies on sensitive detection and accurate quantitation of fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH). Recently, the microscopic Du test (micro Du) enhanced with polyethylene glycol (PEG Du) and flow cytometry (FC) have been advocated for this purpose. Three qualitative methods (micro Du, rosette test, and PEG Du) and two quantitative methods (acid elution and FC) for assessing FMH were evaluated with particular attention given to PEG Du and FC.

Employees' perceptions of an on-site cancer screening clinic.

A 14-question survey was mailed to 355 employees examined during a 5-month period in 1989 in a nurse-administered employee cancer screening clinic at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Risk profiles of women with cervical neoplasia.

Risk-factor profiles were compared in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center patients with various uterine cervix histologic diagnoses.

Salivary gland cancer. A case-control investigation of risk factors.

Unlike most upper aerodigestive tract cancers, salivary gland cancers are relatively infrequent, are characterized by a diversity of histologic subtypes, and have never been etiologically associated with tobacco exposure. We present the results of a case-control study of risk factors for these cancers, with risk estimates derived from self-administered comprehensive risk-factor questionnaires distributed to patients at The University of Texas M. D.

Cigarette smoking patterns in patients after treatment of upper aerodigestive tract cancers.

There is a paucity of data on variables predictive of successful smoking cessation in cancer patients. In this questionnaire-based study, we report the smoking status of 75 patients (46 men, 29 women) with head and neck cancer followed for a minimum of 30 months after definitive therapy. Seventy-one percent of the men and 61% of the women who were current smokers at diagnosis stopped smoking subsequent to diagnosis and treatment.

Chromosome sensitivity to bleomycin-induced mutagenesis, an independent risk factor for upper aerodigestive tract cancers.

Defective DNA repair capability, measured by enumerating mutagen-induced chromosomal lesions, might explain variable host susceptibility to the action of environmental carcinogens. We compared sensitivity to bleomycin-induced chromosome damage in 75 patients (53 men and 22 women) with previously untreated upper aerodigestive tract malignancies with that in 62 healthy control subjects. Data on tobacco and alcohol use were derived from a detailed, self-administered cancer risk factor questionnaire.