Phase I study of gemcitabine given weekly as a short infusion for non-small cell lung cancer: results and possible immune system-related mechanisms.

Purpose: To define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the nature of the toxicities associated with gemcitabine given as a short infusion to patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Secondary objectives were to monitor immunologic response, clinical response, and survival.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-two patients diagnosed with advanced inoperable NSCLC and performance status of 0 or 1 participated in this study.

Inflammatory cell infiltrate in a responding metastatic nodule after vaccine-based immunotherapy.

A patient with von Hippel Lindau disease, bilateral symmetric renal cell carcinoma and pulmonary metastases treated with immunotherapy is the subject of this study. A left kidney and tumour mass were removed and the tumour cells used to make an autologous tumour/bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine as part of the treatment protocol. The patient's pulmonary nodules responded, but the remaining renal nodule subsequently grew.

Biologic response modulation by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in a phase Ib trial in cancer patients.

During a phase I study of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in cancer patients, serial immune studies were performed and analyzed for effects of TNF. The TNF (specific activity 9.6 x 10(6) U/mg protein, < 5.

Diagnostic reading session: temporal patterns and case-order effects.

The authors analyzed receiver-operating-characteristic studies to determine temporal patterns and performance as a function of the elapsed time in a reading session. Nineteen radiologists each read as many as 300 chest images with use of seven different display modalities, including conventional and laser-printed film and high-resolution soft display. With a computerized reporting system, the ratio of observers' interpretation rates (time to diagnosis) were recorded for the last five and 10 compared with the first five and 10 of 30-40 cases seen in sessions lasting 45-110 minutes.