Slowing growth and histology changes in Lewis lung carcinoma implanted in a partly denervated muscle.

The purpose of this study is to test the effect of partial muscle denervation on a tumor inocculated on the same muscle. Experiments were performed on male C57BL mice divided into two numerically equal A and B groups, each of which was subdivided into three subgroups AA, AB, Ac and BA, BB, BC, respectively. The right sciatic nerve of each mice of the A group was incised and partly dissected (day 0).

Treatment of recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer with secondary cytoreduction and continuous intraoperative intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion (CIIPHCP).

Objective: Evaluation of the combined effect of secondary cytoreduction and continuous intraoperative intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion (CIIPHCP), in the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer, in a phase II clinical study.

Material And Methods: Twenty consecutive, heavily pre-treated patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, were treated with a combination of cytoreductive surgery and CIIPHCP. All patients had extended peritoneal carcinomatosis.

Cardiac Tamponade Secondary to Metastasis from Adenocarcinoma of the Parotid Gland.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic involvement of pericardium producing cardiac tamponade is rare. When occurs it is mainly from the lung, breast and the neoplasms of the lymphoreticular system. Hematogenous spread of parotid adenocarcinoma to heart is extremely rare and only two cases have been reported in literature so far.

5-Fluorouracil and cisplatin in the treatment of advanced oral cancer.

The benefit of the effect of chemotherapy in patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell tumors have been demonstrated by recent meta-analyses of randomized studies. However, the role of chemotherapy-especially in advanced oral cancer-is not fully clear, because of the very small amount of phase II literature available. From January 1994 to December 2000, a total of 44 pts aged 33-75 years (mean age 60 years) with advanced and histologically proved squamous cell carcinoma's of the oral cavity received at least one chemotherapy course.

Inhibition of factor VIIa generation and prothrombin activation by treatment with enoxaparin in patients with unstable angina.

Factor VIIa (FVIIa) and thrombin generation occur in patients suffering an acute coronary event. We studied the effect of treatment with enoxaparin on FVIIa and prothrombin activation in patients with unstable angina. Anti-Xa activity, FVIIa, FVII coagulant activity (FVII:C) and FVII antigen (FVII:Ag), free tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and prothrombin fragments 1 + 2 (F1+2) were measured in patients' plasma, over a 24-h treatment period with enoxaparin.

Metastatic squamous cell vulvar carcinoma of the lung: a case report and review of the literature.

Recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva advances locally, spreads via the regional lymphatics and hematogenous spread is late and unusual. This is a rare case of a patient with a solitary pulmonary tumor originating from squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva. According to the literature this form of pulmonary involvement has not previously been described in cases of vulvar carcinoma in the last 20 years.

Continuous Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemoperfusion (CIIPHCP) in the treatment of advanced stage and recurrent granulosa cell tumors. Report of two cases.

Background: Treatment of advanced stages and recurrent ovarian granulosa cell tumors, has not been established yet. The effectiveness of radiation therapy could not be proven. Systemic chemotherapy has shown promising results, but with severe side effects and high incidence of relapse.

On the mechanism of action of recombinant activated factor VII administered to patients with severe thrombocytopenia and life-threatening haemorrhage: focus on prothrombin activation.

We report the ex vivo effect of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) on prothrombin activation after whole blood clotting. Two patients with severe thrombocytopenia and life-threatening haemorrhage were successfully managed using a single dose of rFVIIa (90 microg/kg). Western blotting using antiprothrombin antibody showed that rFVIIa did not induce thrombin generation in citrated platelet-poor plasma.

Protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, enhances apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in K562 cells treated with gamma-irradiation.

Genistein, is a natural isoflavone compound with a potent activity against protein tyrosine kinases. The leukemic cell line, K562, is a bcr/abl (Philadelphia chromosome) positive cell line that is resistant to DNA-damaging agents, including gamma-irradiation. Treatment with genistein increased apoptosis and promoted G2-phase arrest in the non-apoptotic population of the gamma-irradiated K562 cells.

Malignant cardiac tamponade in women with breast cancer treated by pericardiocentesis and intrapericardial administration of triethylenethiophosphoramide (thiotepa).

We treated 19 women with malignant cardiac tamponade due to advanced breast cancer with subxiphoid pericardiocentesis and local thiotepa instillation. The method has no serious side effects, prevents pericardial fluid reaccumulation, and, combined with systemic adjuvant therapy, prolongs survival.

Traumatic cervical cystic hygroma.

An unusual case of traumatic cervical cystic lymphangioma in an adult man is presented.

Albumin possesses intrinsic enolase activity towards dihydrotestosterone which can differentiate benign from malignant breast tumors.

Serum albumin was found to possess enolase activity towards the dihydrotestesterone (DHT) molecule, converting it from its 3-keto to 3-enol form. This activity was accompanied by albumin during all stages of purification, as well as following various treatments, a fact indicating that the enzymatic activity was an intrinsic property of albumin molecule and did not represent an impurity of the preparation. Enolase activity was decreased in parallel with the quantity of intact albumin molecules when proteolytic enzymes were used for their degradation.

CDK-inhibitor olomoucine inhibits cell death after exposure of cell lines to cytosine-arabinoside.

Signal transduction for apoptosis or programmed cell death, after DNA damage in mammalian cells, is believed to involve activation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), especially CDK-1 (cdc2) and CDK-2. We used CDK-inhibitor olomoucine, a purine analogue to evaluate the role CDK inhibition on cytosine-arabinoside (Ara-C)-induced cell death. The two drugs showed an antagonistic effect, suggesting that apoptosis after exposure to Ara-C is inhibited by olomoucine.

Sex hormone binding globulin inhibits strongly the uptake of estradiol by human breast carcinoma cells via a deprivative mechanism.

A controversy exists for many years about the role of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in the uptake of estradiol by the cells. Using the estradiol-sensitive human breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7 and SHBG isolated from human serum by a new method, we observed a strong inhibition of estradiol uptake. The inhibition was higher when the concentration of the hormone was low.

Effects of melatonin on proliferation of cancer cell lines.

The pineal hormone melatonin has been reported to have in vitro antiproliferative effects on estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cell lines at concentrations near to plasma physiological concentrations (1 x 10(-11) to 1 x 10(-9) M). Its growth inhibitory actions have been thought to be linked to the estrogen-receptor system. We tested the cytotoxic effects of melatonin on MCF-7 and T47D human breast cancer cell lines by using the SRB (sulforhodamine-B), XTT-tetrazolium, and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assays in 96-well microtiter plates.

Merkel cell carcinoma in a patient with Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis.

A rare case is described of Merkel cell carcinoma of the cheek arising in a cutaneous neurofibroma in a patient with Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis. The relevant literature is reviewed.

Nonlinear binding of sex steroids to albumin and sex hormone binding globulin.

We have studied the binding of sex steroids to albumin and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) using gel filtration chromatography for the separation of the bound from the free fraction of the steroid. It was found that estradiol binds to the globulin and albumin in a nonlinear manner: a lag period of binding was observed at low concentrations of the proteins, followed by an exponential increase of the bound hormone as the protein concentration increased. The same was observed with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and albumin but not with globulin.

Hemifacial atrophy secondary to poliomyelitis.

A 25-year-old woman is presented with hemifacial atrophy due to unilateral bulbar poliomyelitis infection. Although bulbar poliomyelitis is not an uncommon disease, it is rarely a cause of hemifacial asymmetry.

Correlation of apoptosis with the distribution and composition of lymphocytic infiltrate in human breast carcinomas.

We studied the lymphocytic infiltrate in human breast carcinomas and correlated its distribution and composition with the apoptotic index of cancerous cells. Paraffin sections from 36 human breast carcinomas with prominent lymphocytic infiltration were immunohistochemically stained with L26, UCHL1 and Leu-7 antibodies. Apoptotic index was expressed as the number of cells undergoing apoptosis per 20 HPF.

Enzymatic conversion of dihydrotestosterone from 3-keto to 3-enol form in the rat prostate.

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the active androgen, as well as a strong tumor promoter in the prostate, where several enzymes are essential for the regulation of its activity. We localized four enzymes promoting the enolization of the 3-keto group of DHT in rat prostate. The enzymes were purified by ion-exchange chromatography, acetone fractionation and gel filtration to homogeneity, and found to have molecular sizes of 19.

Ultrastructural study of the urothelial lysosomal system in patients with transitional cell carcinoma after transurethral resection and interferon therapy.

The epithelial cells of human bladder urothelium contain a prominent lysosomal system on the surface layer which involves autophagic, phagocytotic and excretory processes. The noninvolved urothelium of tumor-bearing patients, however, does not contain this well-developed lysosomal system. Interferon restores the differentiation of the urothelium.

Effects of tamoxifen and CV 205502 on the morphology and the evolution of the noncancerous mouse mammary gland.

Tamoxifen (TAM, 0.01 mg/animal, three times a week) and the experimental prolactin-lowering CV 205502 (CV, 1 microgram/animal, daily) were administered prophylactically, alone or combined, to virgin C3H/Sy mice during the early period of promotion in this spontaneous mammary carcinogenesis system (end of 2nd-5th month of age), in order to study their influence on the morphology and evolution of the noncancerous mammary gland during therapy and after treatment cessation. During TAM administration the epithelial cells of the growing part of the gland exhibited myoepithelial- and, late in the treatment period, apoptotic-like features instead of the secretory ones expected, accompanied by intense basement membrane alterations, thickening of the surrounding connective tissue and arrested adipocyte maturation.

The ultrastructure of the noninvolved urothelium of tumor-bearing patients before and after interferon treatment.

The ultrastructural morphology of the noninvolved urothelium of tumor-bearing patients before and after interferon-alpha 2b (IFN-alpha 2b) treatment was investigated. The ultrastructure of the normal bladder urothelium has been reported. The noninvolved urothelium of our patients already showed deviation from the normal.

A new approach combining interferon and bromocriptine LA to prevent spontaneous mouse mammary carcinoma.

The development of spontaneous mammary carcinoma in C3H mice is mainly attributed to an oncogenic virus (MMTV) and the high prolactin levels of this inbred strain. Interferon (IFN) reduces the incidence of mammary carcinoma in virgin C3H mice when administered during lactation. Bromocriptine LA, an antiprolactin drug, also decreases the incidence of this tumor in C3H mice.