Oestrogen receptors and prognosis in early breast cancer.

In a study of the role of oestrogen-receptor analysis in early breast cancer the oestrogen-receptor content of the tumour was estimated in 286 patients undergoing mastectomy. These patients were followed for up to 39 months, and the recurrence of disease was noted in relation to the presence or absence of oestrogen receptor.Recurrence-rates were significantly higher in patients whose tumours did not contain receptors than in those whose tumours did.

Plasma 17OH-progesterone concentrations in newborn infants.

Plasma concentrations of 17OH-progesterone were determined in 60 normal newborn infants aged between 3 and 36 hours. Mean levels decreased rapidly during this time after removal of the placental contribution of this steroid. A further 70 normal infants, studied between ages 2 and 7 days, showed a mean plasma 17OH-progesterone concentration of 3.

Purification of the cytoplasmic oestrogen receptor from mammary tumours induced in rats with dimethylbenzanthracene.

The oestrogen receptor from mammary tumours induced in rats by dimethylbenz(a)-anthracene has been extensively purified by affinity chromatography and isoelectric focusing. The unpurified cytoplasmic 8 S oestrogen receptor had a molecular weight of 240,000, a Stokes radius of 5.4 nm and a frictional ratio of 1.

Plasma spermine concentrations of patients with benign and malignant tumours of the breast or prostate.

A radioimmunoassay has been developed for the measurement of plasma spermine concentrations. The sensitivity of the method is 1 pmol spermine/100 microliters plasma and the crossreactivity was 12% with spermidine and 0.18% with putrescine.

Internal quality control of radioimmunoassays: monitoring of error.

A cumulative sum technique has been specially designed to monitor the error between replicate determinations made on quality control plasma for consecutive batches of assays. This procedure has played a vital role in assessing assay performance. Special consideration has been given to small sample sizes (n = 2 or 3) which is generally the rule rather than the exception in many situations.

Relationship between oestrogen-receptor content and histological grade in human primary breast tumours.

A series of 300 patients presenting consecutively with primary operable breast cancer has been studied. A significant correlation was found between oestrogen-receptor (ER) content and histological grade: the better-differentiated tumours rarely lacked receptor. This correlation was significant only in women defined as post-menopausal.

Oxygen incineration and electron microscope x-ray microanalysis of mineral particles in biological tissues.

Techniques employed for the recovery from biological tissues of noncombustible fine particles such as asbestos, talc, kaolin and diatomaceous material were assessed by electron microscope x-ray microanalysis. Recovery procedures which have been proven successful for lung tissue were found to be impracticable for more solid types of tissues. Digestion techniques employing acids, alkalis or enzymes and standard incineration procedures were found to be unsatisfactory for human adrenal, cervix, liver and ovarian tissues when the resultant residues were examined by electron microscope microanalysis.

Estrogen receptor assay in primary breast cancer and early recurrence of the disease.

Estrogen receptor assays of primary breast tumors have been related to early recurrence of the disease. A significantly longer disease-free interval was found in women whose primary tumor was estrogen receptor positive. Although there was no relationship of receptor content to stage of disease at mastectomy, the greatest difference between recurrence rates was found when the tumor had spread to the lymph nodes, especially to those in the apex of the axilla or in the internal mammary chain.

The perception of solid form in early infancy.

Day and McKenzie determined the rate of habituation of fixation of young infants to repeated visual presentations of a cube. They found the habituation rate to be the same when the stimulus orientation changed between presentations as when it was fixed, and they interpreted this as evidence of shape constancy. However, a failure to discriminate between cubes in different orientations is only evidence of shape constancy if the infant can at the same time discriminate the cube from other cubelike forms.

Androgenic regulation of elongation of polyribonucleotide chains on rat ventral-prostate chromatin.

The kinetics of polyribonucleotide-chain elongation by rat ventral-prostate RNA polymerase B with homologous chromatin as a template were investigated. Chain elongation was measured under conditions wherein all initiation had occurred, no reinitiation took place and the reaction rate was constant. The kinetic behaviour of prostate RNA polymerase B was consistent with a mathematical model formulated for the multisubstrate enzyme.

Internal quality control of radioimmunoassays.

A modified cumulative sum technique has been applied to radioimmunoassay quality control data. The method is approximately 50% more efficient in detecting systematic changes in the mean and variance of quality control values for plasma samples than more widely used conventional methods. The salient features of the technique have been restricted to changes in the mean quality control value of a plasma pool, but potential applications to changes in variance and as a diagnostic aid to problems in radioimmunoassay have been evaluated.