Results of an international round robin for the quantification of serum non-transferrin-bound iron: Need for defining standardization and a clinically relevant isoform.

Non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) appears in the circulation of patients with iron overload. Various methods to measure NTBI were comparatively assessed as part of an international interlaboratory study. Six laboratories participated in the study, using methods based on iron mobilization and detection with iron chelators or on reactivity with bleomycin.

Current concepts in the role of intravesical instillations in the therapy and prophylaxis of superficial transitional-cell cancer of the bladder. The Finnbladder Research Group.

A survey on superficial, local urinary bladder cancer, its prognostic factors, and instillation treatments is presented on the basis of experience with approximately 1,000 patients over a period of 20 years, experimental investigations, and the literature. Personal opinions and practical recommendations are presented in 11 conclusive theses.

Immunoreactivity of bcl-2, p53 and EGFr is associated with tumor stage, grade and cell proliferation in superficial bladder cancer. Finnbladder III Group.

Immunoreactivity of bcl-2, p53, the epidermal growth factor (EGFr) and Ki-67 (MIB-1) proteins was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 185 patients with superficial bladder cancer (SBC) in order to evaluate their usefulness as indicators of tumor progression. Forty-one percent of the tumors were bcl-2 positive, 36% of them were positive for p53 (over 20% of nuclei), while 41% were positive for EGFr, and 30% of the tumors were MIB-1 positive (proliferation index > 15%). Immunoreactivity of all analyzed proteins was highly significantly related to tumor grade and stage.

Alternating mitomycin C and bacillus Calmette-Guerin instillation prophylaxis for recurrent papillary (stages Ta to T1) superficial bladder cancer. Finnbladder Group.

Purpose: We attempted to prove if alternating chemoprophylactic and immunoprophylactic instillations improved efficacy and decreased toxicity in patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer.

Materials And Methods: A total of 188 patients with rapidly recurring stage Ta or T1 cancer was randomly treated with mitomycin C (group 1) or alternating mitomycin C and Pasteur strain bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillations (group 2) for 2 years. Mean followup was 34 months.

Alternating mitomycin C and bacillus Calmette-Guerin instillation therapy for carcinoma in situ of the bladder. The Finnbladder Group.

Purpose: Our aim was to prove if alternating chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic instillations improved efficacy and reduced toxicity in patients with carcinoma in situ of the bladder.

Materials And Methods: Of 68 carcinoma in situ patients randomly treated with instillations 40 received mitomycin C and 28 received mitomycin C and Pasteur bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) in alternating courses. Mean followup was 33 months.