ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish an canine model of femoral head osteonecrosis using an improved liquid nitrogen freezing method.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen adult canines were divided into 4 groups at random and subjected to instant freezing of the unilateral femoral head with liquid nitrogen. The dogs were observed at 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks after the operation for radiographic, gross and pathological changes of the femoral head.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Significant radiographic, gross and pathological changes occurred in the femoral head after the freezing.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Improved liquid nitrogen freezing of the femoral head provides a simple and convenient method for establishing animal models of femoral head osteonecrosis.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Dogs , Female , Male , Disease Models, Animal , Femur Head Necrosis , Freezing , Nitrogen , ChemistryABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the efficacy and toxicity of nedaplatin combined with tegafur in the treatment for patients with advanced esophageal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Among the 65 patients with advanced esophageal cancer, 27 had no history of prior chemotherapy and the other 38 had ever received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy before. The median age of those cases was 58.0 years. Nedaplatin was given daily by intravenous infusion at a dose of 20 mg/m(2) for 2 hours and tegafur at a dose of 500 mg/m(2) for 8 hours on D1 approximately D5, every 21 days as a cycle.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>193 cycles of chemotherapy were accomplished in the 65 patients, and 63 patients were evaluable for response evaluation. Of 27 patients with no prior history of chemotherapy, 6 achieved complete response and 16 partial response, with a response rate (CR + PR) of 81.5%. Among the 36 patients who had ever received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, 6 obtained complete response and 10 partial response with a response rate (CR + PR) of 44.4%. The overall median time to tumor progression in this series was 5.6 months. The overall median actuarial survival was 9.3 months, and the one-year survival rate was 24.9%. Nausea and vomiting were the major toxicities, but were mild and well tolerable. Grade 3 to 4 neutropenia was only observed in two patients (3.2%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The regimen of nedaplatin combined with tegafur is effective and tolerable for the treatment of advanced esophageal cancer.</p>