The organisation and value of autopsies.

Background: There has been a considerable reduction in the frequency of autopsies over the past few decades. We wanted to investigate whether doctors consider this a proper and natural development, or whether they consider that autopsies should be given a higher priority, and in such case, how.

Materials And Methods: Resources, organisation and opinions on autopsy practice were registered using a questionnaire sent to all pathology departments at Norwegian hospitals, and to all doctors in the clinical departments of Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.

Small intestinal malabsorption in chronic alcoholism determined by 13C-D-xylose breath test and microscopic examination of the duodenal mucosa.

Objective: Diarrhea, weight loss and osteoporosis are prominent symptoms and clinical signs of alcoholism. One of several possible factors causing this clinical picture is small intestinal damage leading to malabsorption. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate small intestinal absorption in alcoholics using the (13)C-D-xylose breath test, and to relate the breath test results to morphological findings of the duodenal mucosa.

Long-term prognosis in patients with severe late radiation enteropathy: a prospective cohort study.

Aim: To assess persistent symptoms and mortality in a cohort of patients with severe (grade 3-4) radiation enteropathy, 59 patients were followed up after 15-18 years.

Methods: Fifty-nine patients were prospectively enrolled by twelve surgical departments. Primary malignant disease, radiation therapy and surgical management were recorded at inclusion.

Two distinct aetiologies of cardia cancer; evidence from premorbid serological markers of gastric atrophy and Helicobacter pylori status.

Background: Non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma is positively associated with Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis. The role of H pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in cardia cancer is unclear.

Aim: To compare cardia versus non-cardia cancer with respect to the premorbid state of the stomach.

Polymorphisms of the XRCC1, XRCC3 and XPD genes and risk of colorectal adenoma and carcinoma, in a Norwegian cohort: a case control study.

Background: Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes may influence individual variation in DNA repair capacity, which may be associated with risk of developing cancer. For colorectal cancer the importance of mutations in mismatch repair genes has been extensively documented. Less is known about other DNA repair pathways in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Immunohistochemistry identifies carriers of mismatch repair gene defects causing hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.

Purpose: Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) may be caused by mutations in mismatch repair (MMR) genes. The aim of this study was to validate immunohistochemistry and family history as prescreening tools to predict germline mutations in MLH1, MSH2, and MSH6.

Patients And Methods: Pedigrees from 250 families were extended, cancer diagnoses were verified, and families were classified according to the Amsterdam and the Bethesda criteria.

GPX Pro198Leu and OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphisms and risk of development of colorectal adenomas and colorectal cancer.

Little is known about genetic risk factors for colorectal cancer. We assessed the association between polymorphisms in two genes involved in DNA repair of oxidative stress, GPX and OGG1, and risk of colorectal carcinoma or adenomas. We studied 166 cases with adenocarcinoma, 974 with adenomas and 397 controls recruited from the Norwegian cohort NORCCAP.

The value of cytology in the diagnostics of lung cancer.

In order to elucidate the relative contributions made by cytology and histology in the diagnosis of lung cancer, we studied the cytology and histology reports of all patients who received a microscopic diagnosis of lung cancer in our hospital during the 7 years 1996-2002. This gave a total of 407 patients. The most frequent diagnoses were squamous cell carcinoma (34.

The inframe MSH2 codon 596 deletion is linked with HNPCC and associated with lack of MSH2 protein in tumours.

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) may be caused by germline truncating mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. Whether or not missense or inframe mutations are disease-associated has become a practical clinical problem, because predictive genetic testing is employed to select high-risk persons for clinical examinations. Clinical examinations may reveal polyps to be removed and prevent cancer.

Ulceration as a possible link between duodenogastric reflux and neoplasms in the stomach of rats.

Background: Duodenogastric reflux predisposes to gastric cancer. This study investigates whether ulceration induced by duodenogastric reflux is associated with the development of neoplasms in the stomach.

Materials And Methods: In a rat experiment, duodenal fluid was directed into the corpus (jejunal reflux) or through the pylorus into the antrum (pyloric reflux).

Gastric mucosa lesions induced by duodenogastric reflux increase penetration of N-[3H]-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine into corpus mucosa of rats.

The mucosal changes by which duodenogastric reflux may predispose to gastric cancer have not been fully clarified. In this study in rats, duodenal fluid was directed into the stomach through a gastroenterostomy (jejunal reflux, N = 29) or through the pylorus (pyloric reflux, N = 30) and compared with 30 controls. Twenty-four weeks later the stomach was exposed to N-[3H]methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine ([3H]MNNG).

Duodenogastric reflux increases the penetration of N-3H-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine into the antral mucosa of rats: a possible role for mucosal erosions and increased cell proliferation in gastric carcinogenesis.

Duodenogastric reflux is a risk factor for gastric carcinogenesis, but the pathogenesis is not fully understood. We studied the risk of N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced carcinogenesis in the antrum of rats with duodenogastric reflux. Duodenal fluid was directed into the stomach through the pylorus (pyloric reflux group) or through a gastrojejunostomy (jejunal reflux group).