Foreign bodies in the external auditory canal: Influence of age on incidence and outcomes in a Japanese population.

Aim: Otolaryngologists occasionally observe foreign bodies (FB) in the external auditory canal (EAC), although relatively few studies have focused on the role of age in this condition.

Methods: We retrospectively compared the incidences, outcomes and complications of FB in the EAC in different age groups.

Results: The patients at our center included 24 children (19%), 46 adults (37%) and 56 older adults (44%).

Efficacy and safety of pilocarpine mouthwash in elderly patients with xerostomia.

Objective: Xerostomia is a common condition and can impair quality of life. Pilocarpine tablet ingestion can relieve dry mouth symptoms, but produces numerous adverse effects. We investigated the safety and efficacy of pilocarpine mouthwash.

Prognostic significance of immunoreactive neutrophil elastase in human breast cancer: long-term follow-up results in 313 patients.

Objective: We have measured the concentration of immunoreactive neutrophil elastase (ir-NE) in the tumor extracts of 313 primary human breast cancers. Sufficient time has elapsed, and we are now ready to analyze its prognostic value in human breast cancer.

Methods: ir-NE concentration in tumor extracts was determined with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that enables a rapid measurement of both free-form ir-NE and the A1-protease inhibitor-complexed form of ir-NE.

Neutrophil elastase and cancer.

This mini-review summarizes our recent experimental and clinical studies on neutrophil elastase (NE) and cancer based on our original view point. Neoplasms metastasize as a result of a complex series of events. This process requires various degradative enzymes including proteases.

Comparison of video-assisted minithoracotomy and standard open thoracotomy for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

This study represents a retrospective comparison of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy with standard open lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The endpoints of this study include surgical stress as measured by interleukin 6 concentration and patient survival. A retrospective review was performed of 240 consecutive patients with clinical stage IA or IB NSCLC who underwent either VATS lobectomy (n=67) or conventional open lobectomy (n=173).

Circulating tumor cells detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA: distinguishing follicular thyroid carcinoma from adenoma.

Background: We prospectively tested whether circulating tumor cells could be detected in peripheral blood of patients with thyroid tumors by a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) messenger RNA (mRNA).

Methods: We assayed for CEA mRNA by RT-PCR in peripheral blood sampled before and 2 to 3 weeks after curative surgery for thyroid tumors in 121 patients. Blood samples from 7 patients with chronic thyroiditis and 7 healthy subjects served as controls.

Synthesis and evaluation of 6-methylene-bridged uracil derivatives. Part 2: optimization of inhibitors of human thymidine phosphorylase and their selectivity with uridine phosphorylase.

A series of novel 6-methylene-bridged uracil derivatives have been optimized for clinical use as the inhibitors of human thymidine phosphorylase (TP). We describe their synthesis and evaluation. Introduction of a guanidino or an amidino group enhanced the in vitro inhibitory activity of TP comparing with formerly reported inhibitor 1.

Synthesis and evaluation of 6-methylene-bridged uracil derivatives. Part 1: discovery of novel orally active inhibitors of human thymidine phosphorylase.

A series of novel 6-methylene-bridged uracil derivatives have been prepared as inhibitors of human thymidine phosphorylase (TP). To enhance the in vivo antitumor activity of fluorinated pyrimidine 2'-deoxyribonucleosides such as 2'-deoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl)uridine (F(3)dThd), a potent TP inhibitor preventing their degradation to an inactive compound, has become a target of medicinal chemistry. We present here the synthesis and evaluation of novel human TP inhibitors.

Persistent evidence of circulating tumor cells detected by means of RT-PCR for CEA mRNA predicts early relapse: a prospective study in node-negative breast cancer.

Background: In 100 consecutive patients with node-negative breast cancer who underwent curative surgery, we prospectively tested whether detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood by means of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) messenger RNA (mRNA) could predict patient outcomes.

Methods: We performed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in blood samples taken before surgery and in repeat samples taken 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses of relapse-free survival were performed.

Immunohistochemical analysis of estrone sulfatase and aromatase in human breast cancer tissues.

We examined, by immunohistochemical analysis, the expression of aromatase and estrone sulfatase (E1-STS) which are the two major enzymes involved in in situ estrogen synthesis in breast cancer tissue. In the 83 cases examined, E1-STS, which hydrolyses estrone sulfate (E1S) to estrone (E1), was dominantly detected in tumor cells in 43 (59.0%) cases.

A pulmonary metastatic model of human non-small cell lung carcinoma cells that produce a neutrophil elastase-like molecule in severe combined immunodeficiency mice.

Study Objectives: To establish a clinically relevant animal model of pulmonary metastases of human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice, which can be used for repetitive investigations, so as to improve our understanding and management of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human lung cancer metastases.

Methods And Results: SCID mice subcutaneously injected in the flank with 1 x 10(6) EBC-1 cells derived from human lung squamous cell carcinoma were killed weekly for examination until 12 weeks after tumor inoculation. The biological characteristics of implanted tumors and their metastatic foci were investigated by hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunostaining for neutrophil elastase (NE).

Preoperative evidence of circulating tumor cells by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA is an independent predictor of survival in non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective study.

Objective: We conducted a prospective study of 103 consecutive patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent a curative lobectomy to test whether circulating tumor cells detected in the peripheral blood by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA is a prognostic indicator independent of tumor stage in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Methods: We assayed for carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in peripheral blood taken at the time of diagnosis before an operation and again 2 to 3 weeks after an operation from patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent a curative lobectomy between March 1996 and April 1998. We analyzed the prognostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen messenger RNA expression in the patients with non-small cell lung cancer in a univariate and multivariate manner.

Does megestrol acetate down-regulate interleukin-6 in patients with cancer-associated anorexia and weight loss? A North Central Cancer Treatment Group investigation.

Megestrol acetate improves appetite and abrogates weight loss in some patients with advanced cancer. Moreover, preliminary studies suggest that progestational agents down-regulate interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory cytokine widely implicated in cancer-associated anorexia and weight loss. The present investigation examined the effects of megestrol acetate on IL-6 in an attempt to confirm these earlier, preliminary studies.