Clinical value of immunoscintigraphy in colorectal carcinoma patients: a prospective study.

Fifty-seven patients with suspected CEA-producing tumors were studied prospectively by radioimmunoscintigraphy (RIS) using a 123I-labeled anti-CEA monoclonal antibody (MAb) (essentially the F(ab')2 or Fab fragments) and emission computed tomography (ECT). Results of RIS were compared to those of a comprehensive diagnostic study. Final diagnosis was based on surgery, biopsy and autopsy (n = 39) or follow-up findings (n = 18).

[Totally implantable catheters. Experience at the University Hospital Center Vaudois from March 1984 to December 1987].

With cancer patients, the venous access remains a major problem. It causes phlebitis, venous sclerosis, skin necrosis and sepsis. Its maintenance implies careful nursing and a great dependence for the patient.

Detection of colorectal carcinoma by emission-computerized tomography after injection of 123I-labeled Fab or F(ab')2 fragments from monoclonal anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibodies.

This clinical study was based on experimental results obtained in nude mice grafted with human colon carcinoma, showing that injected 131I-labeled F(ab')2 and Fab fragments from high affinity anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) monoclonal antibodies (MAb) gave markedly higher ratios of tumor to normal tissue localization than intact MAb. 31 patients with known colorectal carcinoma, including 10 primary tumors, 13 local tumor recurrences, and 21 metastatic involvements, were injected with 123I-labeled F(ab')2 (n = 14) or Fab (n = 17) fragments from MAb anti-CEA. The patients were examined by emission-computerized tomography (ECT) at 6, 24, and sometimes 48 h after injection using a rotating dual head scintillation camera.

Resection of metastases to the alimentary tract from malignant melanoma.

Metastases to the celio-mesenteric organs from malignant melanoma are studied retrospectively in 22 autopsied cases and in seven surgically treated patients. Metastatic disease to one or more celio-mesenteric organs was found in 86.3% of postmortem examinations: the liver was the most frequently involved organ, followed by the pancreas, peritoneum, small bowel, biliary tract spleen, colon and stomach, in that order.

[Indication for selective surgical excision of hepatic metastases].

451 patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer showed synchronous hepatic metastases in 24.4% (110 cases). Survival of patients with hepatic metastases appears to depend on both the age of the patient and the site of metastatic deposit.

[Reconstruction of the breast after mastectomy].

A wider use of reconstructive surgery of the breast has become possible since Patey-modified mastectomy has been preferred to Halsted classic radical mastectomy for operable breast cancer and routine use of postoperative radiotherapy discontinued in patients eligible for adjuvant chemotherapy. Reconstructive techniques are reviewed and pitfalls subjected to careful scrutiny. It is thought that women might be encouraged to seek earlier medical advice after noticing a lump in the breast if they are alive to the prospect of possibile restoration of the contours of the breast after ablative surgery.

[Role of surgery in the treatment of breast cancer in surgical border-line cases].

Since the turn of the century, a selection of borderline operable cancers of the breast have benefited of preoperative radiotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy may enlarge the limits of operability in a foreseeable future especially if applied before surgery. Different clinical classifications and staging procedures are studied as well as their influence on prognosis and their use in evaluating the limits of operability.