Influence of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on serum tumor markers CA 15-3, MCA, CEA, TPS and TPA in breast cancer patients with operable disease.

Serum levels of CA 15-3, mucinous-like cancer antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, tissue polypeptide antigen and tissue polypeptide-specific antigen (TPS) have been determined in 99 patients with T2-4 N0-1 M0 breast cancer (BC) before and after primary (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy and after surgery. As a whole, no difference in marker levels was apparent according to tumor and patient characteristics, with the only exception of TPS values, which showed an inverse relationship with the histologic grade. Serum marker levels did not substantially change with respect to baseline either after chemotherapy, despite the high response rate obtained, or after surgery. These data indicate a limited contribution of the primary tumor to the serum marker levels and are consistent for the scarce usefulness of marker evaluation in BC patients with an early stage of disease. Interestingly, pretreatment elevated CA 15-3 levels were correlated with a higher recurrence rate, further supporting the prognostic significance of this tumor marker.

[Effects of nifedipine, in primary hypertension, on calcium metabolism and on the excretion of the main urinary electrolytes]. / Effetti della nifedipina, nell'ipertensione primitiva, sul metabolismo calcico e sull'escrezione dei principali elettroliti urinari.

The short term or acute intravenous administration of nifedipine has been reported to increase urine flow rate and sodium clearance but does not significantly alter the patient's serum or urine electrolytes as other vasodilators. Still comparatively little is known, however, about the effects of antihypertensive drugs on calcium metabolism. Our data, on 15 hypertensive patients with normal renal function, don't show significative changes in plasma or urine levels of calcium in short term treatment; moreover there isn't water and salt retention. Thus nifedipine is confirmed as a prime choice drug in hypertensive patients with normal renal function.