Administration of estramustine in response to changes in the prostate-specific antigen and Karnofsky index in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Androgen ablation is palliative and does not cure advanced prostate cancer. The hormone-sensitive cells die and the hormone-resistant cells overgrow, resulting in disease progression. The drug of choice for secondary treatment is estramustine (Estracyt).

[The place of estramustine in the treatment of prostate cancer].

Introduction/aims: Prostate cancer is a dynamic disease. Androgen ablation is palliative, and does not cure advanced prostate cancer. The hormone-sensitive cells die, and the hormone-resistant cells come into excess; the disease then progresses, which results in a deterioration of the condition of the patient.

In vitro antiproliferation in prostate cancer cell lines with cytostatics and combinations with resistance modifiers.

The treatment of prostate cancer in an advanced state is still unsatisfactory. In the event of the ineffectiveness of total androgen blockade (TAB) therapy, cytostatic administration may be attempted. In this study, we modelled the drugs used in practice on human prostate cancer cell lines.

The role of androgen receptors in the dynamic process of prostate cancer: their analytical determination in biopsy material.

Under normal conditions, androgen receptors function via ligand binding and other coactivators in prostate cancer cells. The effects of the currently applied therapy are achieved through inhibition of the formation of the testosterone-receptor complex. With the advance of research at a cellular level, it is now known that tumorigenesis is much more complicated, and that tumour cell growth regulated by androgens is a complex process.

Reversal of multidrug resistance in mouse lymphoma cells by phenothiazines.

Various compounds were tested with regard to their reversal of multidrug resistance (MDR) in mouse tumor cells transfected with the human MDR1 gene. Phenothiazines containing aromatic moieties were bound through stacking interaction involving the polarization of the aromatic aminoacid substituents at the target site of p-glycoprotein (Pgp) 170, as a consequence of their large dipoles (as in the binding of phenothiazine to calmodulin-like structures). Acting as a calcium channel blocker, verapamil may induce conformational changes in the calcium channel-like structures of the transmembrane regions of Pgp.

Corneal degeneration after silicone oil tamponade in a photorefractive keratectomy treated eye.

Three years after uneventful excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy in both eyes, a 34-year-old man sustained a perforating injury in the left eye. The severe injury, followed by endophthalmitis and retinal detachment, necessitated vitrectomy, lensectomy, and an internal tamponade with silicone oil. One month after the accident and operations, disk-shaped corneal edema corresponding to the laser treatment zone appeared.

Incidence of radiation retinopathy after high-dosage single-fraction gamma knife radiosurgery for choroidal melanoma.

Objective: To investigate the incidence and clinical findings of radiation retinopathy after single-fraction high-dose gamma knife radiosurgery for choroidal melanoma.

Design: Retrospective noncomparative interventional case series.

Participants: Thirty-two patients with choroidal melanoma.