Interhospital differences in cancer survival: magnitude and trend in 1975-1987 in Osaka, Japan.

This study addresses the disparity in cancer survival rates among hospitals in Osaka, Japan. Using data from the Osaka Cancer Registry, four-year survival rates for stomach cancer patients (n = 8,845) diagnosed in 1976, 1981 and 1986, and lung cancer (n = 9,795) and breast cancer patients (n = 7,377) diagnosed in 1975-77, 1980-82 and 1985-87 were calculated according to four hospital categories (teaching hospitals, large hospitals: 400 + beds excluding teaching hospitals, medium-size hospitals: 150-399 beds, and small hospitals: 20-149 beds). Cox's proportional hazards model was employed with adjustment for sex, age, clinical stage at diagnosis, and treatment status.

Development of an ELISA assay for soluble CD35 (C3b/C4b receptor): high levels of soluble CD35 in LE-positive patients with hematological malignancies.

Malignant cells usually lack CD35 (complement receptor type 1, C3b/C4b receptor), a differentiation surface antigen. We measured soluble forms of CD35 in the plasma of normal subjects and patients with various malignant diseases. A microassay for the determination of CD35 was established based on a sandwich enzyme immunoassay using 2 monoclonal antibodies that recognize different epitopes.

Migration of genetically labeled glioma cells after implantation into murine brain.

Murine RSV-M glioma cells were genetically labeled with a retroviral BAG vector carrying the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene. The X-gal-positive stable cell line RSV-M/BAG was obtained by the FDG-FACS method. To examine the behavior of glioma cells in the brain, we homografted RSV-M/BAG cells into the brain of C3H/HeN mice as cell suspensions.

Protection by galanin against gastric carcinogenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in Wistar rats.

The effects of prolonged administration of the neuropeptide galanin on gastric carcinogenesis induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, the norepinephrine concentration in the gastric wall, and the labeling index of the gastric mucosa were investigated in Wistar rats. The rats received 2 or 4 micrograms/kg body weight of galanin s.c.

Intrathoracic chemothermotherapy following panpleuropneumonectomy for pleural dissemination of invasive thymoma.

We report a case of pleural dissemination of invasive thymoma, which was successfully treated with intrathoracic chemothermotherapy following panpleuropneumonectomy. Intrathoracic chemothermotherapy in combination with surgery may be a hopeful adjuvant treatment to control pleural disseminated lesions of invasive thymoma.

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and premature coronary heart disease in urban Japanese men.

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the relation of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) to coronary heart disease in Japanese men whose serum total cholesterol is low by Western standards.

Methods And Results: A prospective, observational study based on 7.7 years of follow-up for incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke was conducted.

Production of hydroxyl free radical by exposure of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine to visible light in the absence of hydrogen peroxide.

The production of hydroxyl free radical (.OH) by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in the absence of H2O2 was investigated by electron spin resonance with the use of the spin-trapping agent 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-1-oxide (DMPO). .

[Role of population-based cancer registry in cancer epidemiology--epidemiological studies in the Cancer Registration Scheme in Osaka, Japan].

A population-based cancer registration scheme started in three areas in Japan in the 1950s solely for studying cancer incidence in their respective areas. Soon thereafter, several prefectural governments started their own schemes as part of their cancer control programs, effectively expanding the aims of cancer registration: to clarify cancer facts, to elevate the medical care for cancer patients, and to plan and evaluate cancer control programs. The Osaka Cancer Registry (OCR) started in 1962, and has been using epidemiological methods as a tool in constructing its registration scheme, as well as analyzing and utilizing registry data.

Lung cancer found in a patient with absence of the inferior vena cava associated with a left superior vena cava.

A patients with anomalies of the main systemic veins developed lung cancer. In this patient, the large hemiazygos vein emptied into the left superior vena cava which communicated with the right atrium through the coronary sinus. The cancer was located in the right upper lobe and directly invaded the mediastinum.

[Chemotherapy for metastatic brain tumors with CDDP and other agents: correlation between chemotherapeutic effects and the results of in vitro chemosensitivity tests using collagen gel-embedded culture combined with computerized image analysis in metastatic brain tumors].

Chemotherapy with CDDP and/or other agents was performed in 15 patients after removal of metastatic brain tumors. A chemosensitivity test using a system of collagen gel-embedded culture and computerized image analysis was performed on the tumors from these patients. The clinical usefulness of the chemosensitivity test was evaluated by comparing chemotherapeutic effects with the results of the test.

Clonal analysis of solitary intraductal papilloma of the breast by means of polymerase chain reaction.

Clonality of solitary intraductal papillomas of the breast was analyzed using a method based on restriction fragment length polymorphism of the X-chromosome-linked phosphoglycerokinase (PGK) gene and on random inactivation of the gene by methylation. The application of polymerase chain reaction to this method enabled clonal analysis of such a small intraductal lesion as papilloma. Clonal analysis of DNA samples obtained from the nine solitary intraductal papillomas and adjacent normal breast tissues showed that all of the papillomas were monoclonal and all the normal breast tissues were polyclonal in origin.

Long term follow-up results of high-dose rate remote afterloading intracavitary radiation therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Purpose: High-dose rate remote afterloading intracavitary radiation therapy (HDR) has been used as more safety system by the dose calculation using computer system before treatment and dose monitoring system using semiconductor dosimeter (ICD-5). This study shows our long-term follow-up results concerning survival, prognostic factor and late complications.

Material And Methods: Between August 1978 and December 1982, a total of 200 patients with carcinoma of the intact uterine cervix were treated using HDR.

[A comparative clinical study on the treatment of head and neck tumors by adjuvant chemotherapy with HCFU--Second Study by Kinki Head and Neck Tumor Study Group].

In the first study by the "Kinki Head and Neck Tumor Study Group," we performed a comparative study to investigate intergroup difference between a control group consisting of patients given radical treatment only, and a HCFU group consisting of patients receiving long-term administration of HCFU after radical treatment. We earlier reported that subsequent observations by stratification revealed a favorable tendency in the cumulative disease-free rate in Stage II and Stage III patients in the HCFU group. In the second study, the same methods of treatment as in the first study were compared in a prospective control study.

[Trends of lung cancer incidence and its prognosis in Osaka, Japan].

Lung cancer incidence figures in Japan were estimated as 30,000 for males and 11,000 for females for 1989 and represented the second and the fifth leading site of cancer, respectively, according to the Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japan. It is also estimated that lung cancer will steadily increase in the future. In relative frequencies of the major histological types, squamous cell carcinoma showed a decreasing trend, while small as well as large cell carcinomas showed an increasing trend in Osaka.

Pleural invasion by peripheral bronchogenic carcinoma: assessment with three-dimensional helical CT.

Purpose: To evaluate the potential role of three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) in assessment of pleural invasion by peripheral bronchogenic carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four-second helical CT scans were obtained during a single breath hold in 42 consecutive patients with peripheral bronchogenic carcinoma. Conventional two-dimensional (2D) images and 3D reconstruction images were reviewed independently by three blinded observers, who reached a decision by consensus.

Comparison between conventional and spiral CT in patients with hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma.

To determine the usefulness of spiral CT in the detection of hypervascular hepatic lesions, we compared conventional contrast enhanced CT (CECT) with whole liver dynamic scanning during the artery-dominant phase by spiral CT (SDCT), using hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a model. Twenty-nine patients with 56 hypervascular nodular type HCCs detected by hepatic digital subtraction angiography were examined by both CT techniques. These nodular type HCCs were divided into three groups according to diameter: < 10 mm (n = 7), 10-20 mm (n = 17), and over 20 mm (n = 32).

Cumulative risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C virus carriers: statistical estimations from cross-sectional data.

The probability of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers during their life-time is unknown. This paper addresses the estimation of the cumulative risk of HCC among HCV carriers using cross-sectional data. Age-specific prevalences of HCV carriers among the general population were estimated according to 5-year age group, based on the data of 2nd-generation anti-HCV assay in blood donors resident in Osaka (33,226 males and 29,054 females).

Case-control study for lung cancer and cigarette smoking in Osaka, Japan: comparison with the results from Western Europe.

In order to clarify the relation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, a case-control study was conducted. The case series consisted of 1,376 lung cancer patients (1,082 males and 294 females) who were newly diagnosed and admitted to eight hospitals in Osaka during 1986-88. Smoking histories were compared with those of 2,230 controls (1,141 males and 1,089 females) admitted to the same hospitals during the same period without established smoking-related diseases.

Small PACS for digital medical images--reliability and security in a clinical setting.

Recently we introduced a small Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) for handling CT and MRI data. Our experience with this system has been useful in identifying potential problems in a clinical setting. Since the use of PACS raises both medical and social concerns, it cannot be instituted without addressing concerns related to the reliability and security issues.

Analysis of factors affecting uptake of Tc-99m Sn-N-pyridoxyl-5-methyltryptophan by hepatocellular carcinoma.

We performed Tc-99m PMT imaging in 176 patients with HCC and evaluated factors affecting 99mTc-PMT uptake by HCC with a logistic model. The probability of HCC showing increase in uptake of the radioisotope was 104.6 times higher in patients with the Ed I type than in those with the Ed III type and 12.

Myelin basic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with brain tumors.

We measured the level of myelin basic protein (MBP) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with various kinds of tumors, including malignant tumors, using radioimmunoassay. The CSF had been obtained by lumbar puncture through an Ommaya reservoir or a shunt device placed in the lateral ventricle. The level of MBP was high (> 4 ng/ml) in the patients with meningeal dissemination of malignant tumors, but in those who showed a good response to chemotherapy and/or radiation, it decreased or returned to the normal level, with improvement on the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, cytological, general CSF, and neurological findings.

[Evaluation of multislice dynamic MR imaging of the whole liver].

In 47 patients with liver cirrhosis, we performed dynamic MRI with a multisection FLASH technique that enabled us to obtain 13 T 1-weighted images of the entire liver within a single breath hold. Computed tomographic arterial portography (CTAP), US, CT, angiography (AOG) and MRI (spin echo [SE] and dynamic MRI) were performed in all 47 patients. Except for cyst, hemangioma and metastatic tumor, 104 focal nodules less than 3 cm in diameter were detected.

Incidence of second primary cancers in Osaka residents, Japan, with special reference to cumulative and relative risks.

This study was conducted to examine the incidence rates and cumulative risks of second primary cancers in Osaka and to compare the observed number of second primary cancers with the expected number calculated using cancer incidence rates among Osaka residents. Study subjects were all reported cases aged 0-79 who were first diagnosed as having a first primary cancer between 1966-86. Incidence of second primary cancer among the study subjects was examined through to the end of 1989.

Differentiation of a Ewing's sarcoma cell line towards neural and mesenchymal cell lineages.

Two different pathways of differentiation were investigated in Ewing's sarcoma (ES) cell line, designated CADO-ES1, which has been established in our laboratory. This cell line was induced to differentiate and display a neural phenotype when treated with dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate or when cultured in serum-free medium (HB101). In these in vitro differentiation studies, two different phenotypes were demonstrated by light and electron microscopy.

Expression of c-myc mRNA as an aid in histologic differentiation of adenoma from well differentiated adenocarcinoma in the stomach.

Background: Using prospective follow-up studies, the authors examined the value of the expression of c-myc mRNA in biopsy specimens obtained from elevated gastric lesions as an aid in the differentiating between adenomas and well differentiated elevated-type adenocarcinomas.

Methods: By in situ hybridization, the authors determined the expression of c-myc mRNA in biopsy specimens of elevated gastric lesions. The 31 patients who had borderline lesions with and without overexpression of c-myc were followed with repeated endoscopic examinations and gastric biopsies.