Multicentric Castleman's disease: a challenging diagnosis.

Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) is a sytemic disorder with flares of non-specific symptoms suggestive of a chronic inflammatory syndrome. It is typically accompanied by generalized lymphadenopathy and multiorgan involvement. Histologically, two main variants of Castleman's disease exist, the hyalin vascular type and the plasma cell variant.

Successful tocilizumab treatment in a patient with human herpesvirus 8-positive and human immunodeficiency virus-negative multicentric Castleman's disease of plasma cell type nonresponsive to rituximab-CVP therapy.

We present and discuss the case of a HIV-negative female finally diagnosed upon histopathologic and molecular biologic evaluations with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8)-positive multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) of plasma cell type, but with no detectable HHV8-DNA in peripheral blood. She failed to respond to combination immunosuppressive therapeutic trials of corticosteroids and azathioprine, and neither an immunochemotherapy of rituximab-CVP (R-CVP) induced disease resolution. However, monoclonal anti-IL-6R antibody (tocilizumab) immunotherapy resulted in beneficial disease stabilization.

[Somatostatin receptor endoradiotherapy of neuroendocrine tumors: experience in Hungarian patients].

Beside conventional therapies for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, a new therapeutical approach, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy has been developed recently. There are two important features which make this therapy feasible: somatostatin receptors are strongly over-expressed in most neuroendocrine tumors resulting in a high tumor-to-background ratio and internalization of the somatostatin-receptor complex in neuroendocrine cells. Due to these features, neuroendocrine tumors can be treated with radiolabelled somatostatin analogues.

[Intracranial propagation of invasive aspergilloma in an immuncompromised patient].

Aspergillus infection of the central nervous system is a rare disease, occasionally seen among immunocompromised patients. The most frequent pathway is hematogenic dissemination. Less known is the direct propagation from the paranasal sinuses, which is usually observed in immunocompetent patients.

In vitro effect of carboplatin, cytarabine, paclitaxel, vincristine, and low-power laser irradiation on murine mesenchymal stem cells.

Background And Objectives: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising for use in regenerative medicine. Cytostatics can decrease, but low-power laser irradiation (LPLI) can increase the growth of MSCs. The interaction of LPLI, MSCs and cytostatics is not known.

[Therapy in Hodgkin disease and non-Hodgkin lymphomas].

The therapy of malignant lymphoproliferative diseases has changed many times in recent years. Treatment strategy of Hodgkin's disease is now based on risk adaptation, including not only the results of pretreatment diagnostic and prognostic factors but also the repeated PET/CT (restaging) made in the early treatment period. Possible reduction of irradiation therapy may contribute to lower the risk of secondary tumors, which are common late complications of radiochemotherapy.

Elevation in peripheral blood circulating tumor cell number correlates with macroscopic progression in UICC stage IV colorectal cancer patients.

Aims: Cytokeratin(CK) based real-time RT-PCR assays (QRT-PCR) are now available for peripheral blood circulating tumor cell (CTC) evaluations in colorectal cancer(CRC) patients. Results are non-existent for the application of these techniques to the determination of progression and therapy response in Dukes stage D CRC patients.

Patients And Methods: Each month 30 ml peripheral blood of 30 Dukes D patients (17 with progression) were drawn.

Activity of the notch-signalling pathway in circulating human chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells.

Dysregulation of the Notch-pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL). We characterized the mRNA expression of Notch pathway elements in circulating normal B- and B-CLL cells, and compared expression profiles with clinical and prognostic data. Similar expression profiles were found in normal B-cells and B-CLL cells, however, most B-CLL samples showed lower Hairy/Enhancer of Split-1 expression than normal B-cells, which suggests that the pathway is not over-activated in B-CLL.

[Systemic chemotherapy of liver cancer and patient follow-up].

We have many possibilities how to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. These therapeutic options depend on the stage of the disease, the condition of the patient and the available therapeutic modalities. At present, none of these treatments are fully successful and the results of systemic treatments are very poor.

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the uterine cervix successfully treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy: case report.

Introduction: Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the uterine cervix is a rare malignancy. The mainstay of therapy consists of irradiation alone or irradiation with either surgery or chemotherapy.

Case Report: We present the case of a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with a bulky, Ann Arbor stage IE, primary, diffuse, large B-cell non Hodgkin's lymphoma of the uterine cervix.

Circulating tumor cell clusters in the peripheral blood of colorectal cancer patients.

Purpose: Recently several reverse transcription-PCR techniques have been proven to be useful for the detection of circulating micrometastases. However, this way intact cell clusters that were found in animal experiments of prognostic value could not be detected. In this study, evaluation and modification of a commercial, cytokeratin-based, immunomagnetic cell separation method was performed for the detection of intact cell clusters in colorectal carcinoma patients.

Detection of a b3a3 type chimera in chronic myeloid leukemia by double hybridisation of RT-PCR products.

The standard RT-PCR method performed on RNA of a chronic myeloid leukemia patient resulted in a product of unusual size. Hybridisation to a probe containing the a2 sequences yielded a very faint band. Rehybridisation of the same blot to b3 sequences has given a firm signal.

[The role of nutrition in the pathogenesis and prevention of oncologic diseases].

Nutrition influences the etiopathogenesis of oncological diseases by several mechanisms: the food may contain carcinogens and the organism is able to produce them also in vivo from some foods. The mutagens in the warmed or heated foods, several food-additives and other accessory ingredients of the food chain can influence the carcinogenetic process. From the epidemiological point of view the role of ethanol is very important in the etiology of tumours: its complex cocarciogenic effect is based upon its influence on the DNA metabolism and the hormonal status.

[Serologic study of human herpesviruses 6 and 7 in lymphoma patients].

DNA sequences, antigens and elevated antibodies to HHV-6, and DNA sequences of HHV-7 in patients with Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have been detected. It is not known whether HHV-6 variants A and B, and HHV-7 contribute to the malignization by different ways, there is any interaction between these viruses, and their primary or recurrent infections occur during the disease progression. Total and high avidity IgG, IgM to HHV-6A, HHV-6B and HHV-7 were quantitated simultaneously in the sera of 12 patients with lymphomas and 12 control persons by indirect immunofluorescent assay and ELISA.

Automated prozone effect detection in ferritin homogeneous immunoassays using neural network classifiers.

The application of turbidimetric homogeneous immunoassays made the determination of several plasma components widely available. The sensitivity and accuracy of these assays are appropriate enough for routine laboratory use; however, in the case of many pathologically high concentration samples, prozone effect (high dose hook effect) can be observed, that leads to false-negative determination. Up to the present there are no cost-effective algorithms available for the safe detection of the prozone effect.

[Chronic myeloproliferative diseases].

The chronic myeloproliferative syndromes are bone marrow stem cell disorders. An increase of cell counts of one or rather all three blood cell types is characteristic for these disorders. The most important diseases in this group are: chronic myelogenous/granulocytic leukemia, polycythemia rubra vera, osteomyelosclerosis or agnogenic myeloid metaplasia and essential thrombocythemia.

Expression of syndecan-1 in human B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Syndecan-1 is considered an important transmembrane proteoglycan in cell-microenvironment interactions, but its exact function in normal or in transformed B cells is still unknown. In this study, RNA was isolated from peripheral cells of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) and 'normal', non-leukaemic patients, as controls. Reverse PCR showed no or very low syndecan-1 mRNA expression in controls, while in 11/13 B-CLL the circulating leukaemic cells expressed syndecan-1.

[Small intestinal leiomyoma causing gastrointestinal hemorrhage].

Leiomyomas are uncommon benign tumors of smooth muscle which may occur wherever smooth muscle is present. The small bowel is the most frequent site. Bleeding is the most common presenting symptom.

Management of hemophilias--gene therapy to come?

Background: Hemophilias are relatively common coagulopathies that require very careful management to prevent bleeding and related complications.

Objective: To review the current management of hemophilias, with an overview of gene therapy.

Summary: Although with the availability of highly purified and recombinant factor concentrates the replacement therapy of hemophilias has become safer and more effective, a therapeutic method providing continuous supply of clotting factors is desirable.

Elevated nascent DNA content of peripheral blood mononuclear cell compartment in lymphoma patients.

The kinetics of DNA synthesis and the DNA pattern of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from control subjects and lymphoma patients prior to drug treatment were studied as a possible tool in the early diagnosis of lymphoma. Thymidine and [H3]-dTTP incorporation represented the measure of replicative DNA synthesis in permeable murine thymocytes and HT-168 human melanoma cells as described earlier. The kinetic parameters of nucleotide incorporation were compared with the ploidity parameters of the Feulgen-stained smears examined by the DNASK TV-cytophotometric system.

Nerve growth factor stimulates clonal growth of human lung cancer cell lines and a human glioblastoma cell line expressing high-affinity nerve growth factor binding sites involving tyrosine kinase signaling.

The growth of a panel of 22 different human tumor, leukemia, and lymphoma cell lines was examined in a human tumor cloning assay in agar or methylcellulose and a tritiated thymidine uptake assay. The cultures were performed in the absence or presence of increasing concentrations (0.5-500 ng/ml) of nerve growth factor (NGF).

Role of interferon in clinical practice.

Interferons are currently the most widely used biological response modifiers. They are of high clinical value in haematological malignancies (chronic myelogenous leukaemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma), in solid tumours (malignant melanoma, hypernephroma, pancreas neoplasms, carcinoid tumours, Kaposi's sarcoma, glioma, in ovarium, cervix and bladder carcinoma, and in basalioma) and in infectious diseases (chronic hepatitis B, chronic non-A/non-B hepatitis, chronic delta hepatitis, AIDS, Papova virus and Rhinovirus infections, leishmaniasis, leprosy) and some other conditions. Although the mechanism of action of interferons has not been explained in every detail these agents are promising therapeutic means in a number of diseases.

[The interleukins ].

Immune response is regulated by a number of soluble mediators. Interleukins belong to these mediators, as a well defined group of regulatory molecules. Interleukins are necessary for the differentiation and activation a T and B lymphocytes and other cells.