The Clatterbridge high-energy neutron therapy facility: specification and performance.

A new high-energy neutron therapy facility has been installed at the Douglas Cyclotron Centre, Clatterbridge Hospital, Merseyside, in order to extend the clinical trials of fast neutrons initiated by the Medical Research Council. The neutron beam is produced by bombarding a beryllium target with 62 MeV protons. The target is isocentrically mounted with the potential for 360 degrees rotation and has a fully variable collimator.

Pharmacokinetic study of high dose etoposide infusion in patients with small cell lung cancer.

The plasma pharmacokinetics of etoposide administered at a dose of 600 mg/m2/day over 3 consecutive days to 19 patients are described. High performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection was used to determine the etoposide levels. The plasma concentration time curve showed a biphasic decay.

Spontaneous haemoperitoneum from rupture of a primary hepatic adenoma in an adult man.

Hepatic cell adenomata have been described as the rarest of benign liver tumours. Their incidence has increased with the advent of the oral contraceptive pill and they have been reported to rupture spontaneously in women. In men such a phenomenon appears to be an extreme rarity and, to our knowledge, spontaneous rupture of an uncomplicated primary hepatic adenoma, in an adult man, is previously unrecorded.

Tactile orotracheal tube placement test. A bimanual tactile examination of the positioned orotracheal tube to confirm laryngeal placement.

The development of a tactile clinical test of the positioned orotracheal tube is described which allows confirmation of its location within the larynx. It was possible, after preliminary experience with the test, to confirm laryngeal placement confidently in an average of 97% of cases in two concurrent series each of which consisted of 100 patients. Inevitably, there are limitations to its usefulness but it has the advantage that no special apparatus is required for its performance.

An endothelial cell growth factor derived from human lung carcinoma cells grown in serum-free medium.

A factor that stimulates the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells has been shown to be present in serum-free medium conditioned by the prior growth of a cell line (1PT) derived from a poorly differentiated bronchial carcinoma. Preliminary characterization of this factor has revealed that it is a heat-labile, acid-stable proteinaceous material, the activity of which is not diminished by treatment with a reducing agent. In its partially purified state it has been shown to be anionic and to be associated with material exhibiting a broad molecular weight range of 35 X 10(3) to 100 X 10(3).