Staphylococcus epidermidis: an increasing cause of infection in patients with granulocytopenia.

Staphylococcus epidermidis, a major component of the skin flora, is usually considered a contaminant when recovered from diagnostic cultures. Since 1974 infections caused by gram-negative bacilli and S. aureus occurring among patients with granulocytopenic cancer have remained constant; infections due to S.

Doxorubicin plus VP-16-213 for the treatment of refractory breast carcinoma.

Thirty patients with refractory advanced breast cancer who had no prior treatment with doxorubicin or VP-16-213 received doxorubicin 45 mg/m2 I.V. on day 1 and VP-16-213 50 mg/m2 I.

Variant Philadelphia chromosome translocations in two patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Two patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia and new variant Philadelphia chromosome translocations are reported. In one case, a 41-year-old male, a 10;22 translocation was found in all bone marrow cells examined. Furthermore, the Y chromosome was missing in 90% of the analyzed metaphase cells.

A phase I trial of aziridinylbenzoquinone (NSC 192986) in patients with previously treated acute leukemia.

Twenty-two adult patients with relapsed leukemia were given aziridinylbenzoquinone (AZQ) intravenously in a phase I clinical trial. AZQ was administered as a 30-minute infusion daily for 17 days. Courses were repeated when the bone marrow returned to normal cellularity and full recovery from nonhematologic toxicity had occurred.

Cytosine arabinoside with daunorubicin or adriamycin for therapy of acute myelocytic leukemia: a CALGB study.

A randomized comparison of the relative efficacy and toxicity of daunorubicin (DNR) at 30 or 45 mg/sq m or adriamycin (ADM) at 30 mg/sq m, given on the first 3 days of a 7-day continuous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) at 100 mg/sq m/day, shows the outcome to be dependent on anthracycline, dose, and patient age. DNR 45 is significantly better than DNR 30 or ADM 30 for inducing complete remissions (CR) in patients younger than 60 yr, (72%, 59%, 58% CRs, respectively). DNR 30 is better than DNR 45 or ADM 30 for inducing CR in patients older than 60 yr (47%, 31%, 35%, respectively).

Comparison of standard versus pharmacokinetically adjusted amikacin dosing in granulocytopenic cancer patients.

The capabilities of two pharmacokinetic amikacin dosing methods were evaluated and compared with the standard amikacin dosage recommended by the manufacturer. Study patients participated in two consecutive prospective randomized double-blind trials of empiric antibiotic therapy for febrile episodes during granulocytopenia. Patients in study 1 received amikacin at a dosage of 15 mg/kg per day in four divided doses in combination with either ticarcillin or piperacillin.

Hydrocele following treatment for Hodgkin's disease.

Thirteen Hodgkin's disease patients developed hydrocele after treatment with radiotherapy (12 patients) or chemotherapy (one patient). An additional patient developed testicular swelling following radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Eleven of 13 patients were staged with laparotomy (nine initially, two at restaging) which included pelvic and aortic node biopsies prior to the development of hydrocele.

Cyclophosphamide plasma and cerebrospinal fluid kinetics with and without dimethyl sulfoxide.

Ten patients with brain tumors and indwelling ventricular reservoirs were pretreated with 5% to 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (intravenous, oral, or both) and were then treated with 1.0 to 1.25 gm/m2 cyclophosphamide (CYC).

Review of amsacrine, an investigational antineoplastic agent.

The pharmacology, chemistry, pharmacokinetics, clinical studies, and adverse effects of amsacrine, an investigational antineoplastic agent, are reviewed. Amsacrine's mechanism of action is not clearly understood, although the drug is known to inhibit DNA synthesis. As an investigational NCI "Group C" agent, amsacrine is available to physicians for the treatment of adult patients with refractory acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) under an established protocol.

CCNU, vincristine, methotrexate, and procarbazine treatment of relapsed small cell lung carcinoma.

Thirty-two patients with refractory relapsed small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL) were treated with a combination of CCNU (lomustine), vincristine, methotrexate, and procarbazine (COMP); 29 were evaluable for response. Nine patients (31%) had responses: five complete responses (CR) and four partial responses. Patients with CR had a median survival of 11 months (range, 51/2-141/2) from the start of COMP.

Empiric antibiotic therapy for suspected infection in granulocytopenic cancer patients: a comparison between the combination of moxalactam plus amikacin and ticarcillin plus amikacin.

Moxalactam is a new cephalosporin with a broad spectrum of activity which includes Pseudomonas aeruginosa in addition to Klebsiella species Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Moxalactam was combined with amikacin (M + A) compared to ticarcillin plus amikacin (T + A) in a prospective, randomized double-blind trial of empiric therapy for febrile episodes among granulocytopenic cancer patients. One hundred and ninety-one epidoses were evaluated; T + A, 93 episodes and M + A, 98 episodes.

A phase II trial of m-AMSA in the treatment of advanced gynecologic malignancies.

Thirty-two patients with advanced gynecologic malignancies were treated with m-AMSA, 120 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks. Seventeen patients with advanced carcinoma of the cervix who were treated with m-AMSA had a median performance status (CALGB scale) of 2. There were two partial responses (PR) (14%) in 16 evaluable patients.

Phase I trial of aclacinomycin A.

Aclacinomycin A (ACM-A), an anthracycline analog, was given to 17 patients with solid tumors and to one patient with multiple myeloma, in a phase I clinical trial. A single dose of 60-120 mg/m2 was given every 3 weeks. Dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression, especially thrombocytopenia.

Anatomic substages of stage IIIA Hodgkin's disease: followup of a collaborative study.

The clinical significance of anatomic substage was reassessed in a previously reported series of 130 patients with Hodgkin's disease in pathologic stage IIIA. For 100 patients, followup was greater than 8 years. By definition, stage III1 disease includes involvement of spleen or splenic, celiac, or portal nodes, or any combination of these; stage III2 disease includes involvement of para-aortic, iliac, or mesenteric nodes, with or without upper abdominal involvement.

Hodgkin's disease with direct extension into pulmonary parenchyma from a mediastinal mass: a presentation requiring special therapeutic considerations.

The significance of limited extranodal Hodgkin's disease involving pulmonary parenchyma by direct extension from a mediastinal mass (E stage) was evaluated in 177 patients with stages IA-IIIB. Disease-free and total survival rates of four groups were compared: 58 patients without and 13 patients with pulmonary E stage treated with radiotherapy followed by six courses of MOPP (mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone), and 86 patients without and 20 patients with E stage treated with radiotherapy alone. The 12-year disease-free and total survival rates projected by life-table analysis were significantly poorer for E stage patients treated with radiotherapy alone.

Long-term cardiovascular evaluation of patients with Hodgkin's disease treated by thoracic mantle radiation therapy.

The long-term cardiac effects of anterior-weighted thoracic mantle field radiotherapy were assessed in 25 patients treated for Hodgkin's disease. These patients underwent an evaluation that included a careful history and physical examination, ECG, M-mode echocardiogram, exercise ECG-gated radionuclide ventriculography, and cardiac catheterization. In these 25 patients evaluated 37-144 months (median, 96) after completion of thoracic mantle radiotherapy, eight had constrictive pericarditis; eight had occult constrictive pericarditis; three had an abnormal response to fluid challenge; three had suspected or proven occlusive coronary artery disease; and one each had a cardiomyopathy and diminished functional capacity on exercise testing.

Volume determinations in computed tomography.

Modern computed tomographic (CT) scanners allow reasonably high-resolution cross-sectional visualization of most viscera and masses. To determine the accuracy of CT volume estimation, CT volumes of inanimate objects, cadaver kidneys and spleens, and in vivo balloons were performed. Regions of interest were outlined by a hand-operated cursor, and the computer program calculated the cross-sectional area in square millimeters and in pixels.

Computed tomographic evaluation of carcinoma of the cervix.

To assess the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in staging advanced carcinoma of the cervix, 18 staging evaluations were performed in 16 patients with locally advanced (FIGO Stage IB-IVA) cervical carcinoma. CT staging results were compared with the results of clinical staging and postoperative staging. CT was accurate in 12/18 (66%) cases, clinical staging was accurate in 10/18 (55%) cases, and clinical staging with cystoscopy was accurate in 14/18 (78%) cases.

Moderate dose methotrexate, vincristine, asparaginase, and dexamethasone for treatment of adult acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Thirty-eight adults with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), 24 previously untreated and 14 previously treated, were entered into a study in which sequential, moderate-dose methotrexate and asparaginase were added to vincristine and dexamethasone (MOAD) for remission induction therapy. Eighteen of 24 previously untreated patients (75%) and 11 of 4 previously treated patients (79%) achieved a complete remission (CR). Once in CR, patients were given remission continuation therapy, which included intravenous high-dose methotrexate that was used without prophylactic cranial irradiation and without intrathecal methotrexate because of its potential activity alone as prophylaxis against central nervous system (CNS) leukemia.