Gemcitabine in combination with paclitaxel for advanced soft-tissue sarcomas.

A limited number of chemotherapeutic agents have been found to be active against advanced soft-tissue sarcomas (STSs), particularly sarcomas that have progressed following doxorubicin treatment. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the response to treatment with gemcitabine plus paclitaxel in patients with STSs. Data were collected on all patients with advanced non-resectable STS who were treated with a fixed dose 700 mg/m gemcitabine in combination with 70 mg/m paclitaxel on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks.

A phase IIb trial assessing the addition of disulfiram to chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Disulfiram, an alcohol aversion agent, has been in use for >50 years. Numerous authors have reported an anticancer effect of this drug in vitro and in mouse models. More recently, several reports have claimed that disulfiram also possesses anti-stem cell activity.

EGFR mutation testing practice in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Testing tumor samples for the presence of a mutation in the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is recommended for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We aimed to collect data about common practice among Medical Oncologists treating lung cancer patients, regarding EGFR mutation testing in advanced NSCLC patients.

Methods: An internet-based survey was conducted among members of the Israeli Society for Clinical Oncology and Radiotherapy involved in the treatment of lung cancer patients.

Development of an electronic database for quality assurance of radiotherapy in the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (Europe) high risk neuroblastoma study.

Quality assurance of radiotherapy is an important determinant of outcome in some cancers. SIOPEN-R-NET developed a computerised remote data entry system for recording imaging and treatment parameters for its multimodality high risk neuroblastoma study. This will enable investigation of the relationship between radiotherapy quality and local control.

Phase II proof-of-concept study of pazopanib monotherapy in treatment-naive patients with stage I/II resectable non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Patients with early-stage, resectable, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are at risk for recurrent disease, and 5-year survival rates do not exceed 75%. Angiogenesis inhibitors have shown clinical activity in patients with late-stage NSCLC, raising the possibility that targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in earlier-stage disease may be beneficial. This proof-of-concept study examined safety and efficacy of short-term, preoperative pazopanib monotherapy in patients with operable stage I/II NSCLC.

Interactions of carboplatin with fibrin(ogen), implications for local slow release chemotherapy.

The effect of carboplatin (CPt) on fibrin(ogen) clot formation and the possible use of this combination for local slow release chemotherapy were examined. CPt significantly reduced thrombin-induced fibrin clotting time (CT) and increased clot turbidity in a concentration-dependent manner. When CPt was mixed with physiological levels of fibrinogen (>1 mg/ml), electron-dense nanoparticles (3 nm) were formed, as demonstrated by both optical particle counter and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

The haematopoietic specific signal transducer Vav1 is expressed in a subset of human neuroblastomas.

Vav1 is a signal transducer protein expressed exclusively in the haematopoietic system, where it plays a pivotal role in growth factor-induced differentiation and proliferation. Vav1 couples tyrosine kinase signals with the activation of the Rho/Rac GTPases, leading to cell differentiation and/or proliferation. Vav1 was originally detected as an oncogene, but its involvement in human malignancies has not been reported thus far.

Expression of p53 gene product and cell proliferation marker Ki-67 in Ewing's sarcoma: correlation with clinical outcome.

Overexpression of tumor suppressor gene p53, cell proliferation nuclear antigen Ki-67, and proto-oncogene HER-2/neu are associated with poor prognosis in some tumors. We studied p53, Ki-67, and HER-2/neu immunohistochemical expression in archival biopsies of 37 patients with Ewing's sarcoma (ES). Patients with ES were treated at four Israeli hospitals between 1982 and 2000.

Isolated extrarenal papillary carcinoma in a child.

A previously healthy 12-year-old boy presented with a mass in the right retroperitoneum adjacent to an ipsilateral hypoplastic kidney. Complete resection of the tumor and kidney were done. The tumor was found to be papillary adenocarcinoma lying 3 cm apart from a contracted kidney, which was free of tumor.

Orbital growth retardation in retinoblastoma survivors: work in progress.

Background: Orbital growth retardation, after enucleation and/or external beam radiation for retinoblastoma (RB), is a serious late effect. We measured orbital volumes of RB survivors treated at Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, between 1980-1998.

Procedure: Forty-five orbits of 28 children with RB (17 bilateral, 11 unilateral) were examined.

Expression of EBV encoded nuclear small non-polyadenylated RNA (EBER) molecules in 32 cases of childhood Burkitt's lymphoma from Israel.

We have analyzed paraffin sections from 32 children with histologically confirmed Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) for the presence of EBV using in situ hybridization to detect expression of the EBV-encoded early RNAs (EBERs). EBV was present in the tumors of 11 patients (34%). Sixty nine percent of the children presented with abdominal disease, 19% had bone marrow infiltration and only one child had jaw involvement.

The role of thiotepa in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for genetic diseases.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), graft rejection, disease recurrence and long-term toxicity remain significant obstacles to successful allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in children with genetic diseases. In an attempt to improve results, we used a preparative regimen consisting of three alkylating agents, busulfan (BU), thiotepa (TTP) and cyclophosphamide (CY), for T cell-depleted allogeneic bone marrow transplantation instead of the conventional BU-CY protocol. The effect of this intensified regimen was investigated in 26 consecutive children with genetic diseases who underwent T cell-depleted BMT from HLA-identical siblings.

Parathyroid adenoma after radiation in an 8-year-old boy.

We describe an 8-year-old boy who had asymptomatic hypercalcemia 4 years after radiotherapy involving the left orbit and lungs. A right parathyroid adenoma was diagnosed, and normocalcemia was achieved after its removal. Routine monitoring of serum calcium and phosphate levels is recommended for children after head and neck irradiation.

End-stage renal interstitial fibrosis in an adult ten years after ifosfamide therapy.

A 33-year-old male presented with end-stage renal failure. Renal biopsy showed severe interstitial fibrosis without glomerulopathy or vasculopathy. More than 10 years previously the patient had been successfully treated for recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma.

CT appearances of involvement of the peritoneum, mesentery and omentum in Wilms' tumor.

Background: Peritoneal involvement by Wilms' tumor indicates stage III disease. CT is the single preferred modality in determining the extent and staging of Wilms' tumor; however, the CT appearances of Wilms' tumor involvement of the peritoneum have not been specifically addressed in the literature.

Objective: The objective of this study was to demonstrate the CT manifestations when there is involvement of the peritoneum, mesentery and/or omentum in Wilms' tumor.

Retrospective epidemiological study of Burkitt's lymphoma in Israel and diagnosis by a conservative incisional biopsy.

The clinical features of 74 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma diagnosed at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel, are described. The prompt diagnosis of a child with high grade malignant jaw involvement of non-Hodgkin's Burkitt's lymphoma is reported. The use of the open biopsy with special emphasis on the incisional biopsy is discussed in light of the incidental exfoliation of the two primary molar teeth and one permanent successor in this case.

Primary Burkitt's lymphoma of the appendix.

Appendicitis is a very rare presenting symptom of abdominal Burkitt's lymphoma. Only four cases have previously been identified in the literature, all of them males. This is the first reported case of a female as well as the youngest and is representative of the therapeutic considerations in this unusual manifestation of the disease.

High frequency of benign mediastinal uptake of gallium-67 after completion of chemotherapy in children with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We observed increased gallium-67 uptake in the mediastinum after completion of chemotherapy in 10 of 62 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. All 10 were under 15 years of age, yielding a frequency of 43% in this age group. The interval between cessation of chemotherapy and the development of increased gallium-67 uptake ranged from 1 to 8 months, and the abnormality persisted for 2 to 59 months.

Osteogenesis in in vivo diffusion chamber cultures of human marrow cells.

The osteogenic diffusion chamber culture of rodent marrow cells is a well established system. In the present study, marrow cells from children and adult human donors were incubated in diffusion chambers implanted intraperitoneally in athymic mice. After 4 or 8 weeks, the chamber content was examined by light and electron microscopy.

Adverse prognostic influence of hepatitis B virus infection in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Liver function test abnormalities were examined in a retrospective survey in a population of 90 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated in a similar fashion with therapy, using primarily methotrexate, mercaptopurine, vincristine, and prednisone. A twofold or greater elevation of serum glutamyl pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) was found in 80% of the patients during induction therapy, in 63% of the patients during maintenance therapy, and 31% of the patients who completed therapy. Circulating hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) was noted in 26% of patients with liver function test abnormalities during maintenance therapy, and 45% of patients with liver function test abnormalities after the completion of therapy.

Renal sonography in American Burkitt lymphoma.

Renal involvement is a common finding at necropsy in patients with American Burkitt lymphoma, but its in vivo sonographic features have received little attention in the literature. Of 29 patients with American Burkitt lymphoma who underwent sonography, 10 were found to have renal involvement. The 10 patients demonstrated a range of abnormalities, notably renomegaly (nine patients), diffuse increase in cortical echogenicity (six), and focal renal masses (three).

Abnormal CT scans of the brain in asymptomatic children with acute lymphocytic leukemia after prophylactic treatment of the central nervous system with radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy.

Thirty-two asymptomatic patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia, who had received prophylactic cranial radiation (2400 rads) and either intrathecal methotrexate or cytosine arabinoside were studied by computed tomography of the brain 19 to 67 months after initiation of prophylaxis. Seventeen of 32 (53 per cent) had one or more abnormal findings. Dilatation of the ventricles (eight patients) and widening of the subarachnoid spaces (nine patients) were equally distributed among patients in both intrathecal-chemotherapy groups.