Case report of the successful treatment of pemphigus vulgaris using ovine forestomach matrix graft.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a subtype of pemphigus and life-altering disorder that results in the formation of intraepithelial blisters in mucosa and skin. Though the etiology is not well understood, it is an autoimmune disorder resulting in acantholytic blisters due to auto-antibodies targeting proteins of keratinocyte adhesion. Rapid diagnosis and restoration of the epidermal layer is imperative for patients with PV as widespread epidermal damage can lead to high morbidity and mortality rates.

The value of symptom directed evaluation in the surveillance for recurrence of carcinoma of the breast.

Specific postoperative tests used to diagnose recurrent carcinoma of the breast were evaluated for their ability to have an impact on the over-all course of the disease. Sixty-four patients with recurrent or new contralateral primary disease were divided into two groups based on the method of diagnosis. Those patients with a new complaint at an interval between scheduled follow-up visits and who went on to have tests to document a recurrence were categorized as interval follow-up.

Sialosyl-Tn. A novel mucin antigen associated with prognosis in colorectal cancer patients.

Colon cancers typically produce mucin. However, it is not known whether tumor mucin plays a biological role in cancer cell behavior. To address this issue, the expression of a mucin-associated antigen, sialosyl-Tn, was examined by immunohistochemical study in 128 primary colorectal carcinoma specimens from 137 patients who underwent curative surgical resection.

A prospective, randomized evaluation of the treatment of colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver.

Over a 4-year period (1982 to 1986), 91 patients with solitary or multiple metastases from colorectal cancer were stratified, based on findings at laparotomy, to one of three groups and then prospectively randomized to one of two treatment arms within each group. Group A patients had solitary resectable metastases, group B patients had multiple, resectable metastases, and group C patients had multiple, unresectable metastases. Patients were randomized to one of two treatment arms within a group: group A-arm A1: resection only, arm A2: resection and continuous hepatic artery infusion (CHAI) of fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR); group B-arm B1: resection and CHAI, arm B2: CHAI only; group C-arm C1: CHAI, arm C2: systemic fluorouracil followed by CHAI.

A prospective, randomized double-blind study of the use of antibiotics at the time of mastectomy.

The ability of perioperative cefazolin to reduce the incidence of postoperative wound infection in patients undergoing ablative surgical treatment for carcinoma of the breast was tested in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study. From May 1983 until December 1985, 118 women were divided into two groups at random. Group 1 consisted of 59 patients and received cefazolin and group 2 was made up of 59 patients who received a placebo.