ABSTRACT
Phase II study of a new 5-fluorouracil derivative, 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'-DFUR), was performed with oral administration. Forty-nine patients with advanced cancer of the digestive organs, lung and breast were entered, and 8 institutions in Hokkaido were involved. 5'-DFUR was administered three or four times a day at a daily dosage of 600 to 1200 mg. Partial response was observed in three gastric cancer cases and two breast cancer cases out of 39 evaluable cases, and minor response was observed in one colorectal cancer case. Overall response rate was 12.8%, 15.8% in gastric cancer and 66.7% in breast cancer. Side effects were observed in 15 cases out of 45 (33.3%), which mainly consisted of gastro-intestinal disturbances such as diarrhea.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Colonic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Floxuridine/therapeutic use , Stomach Neoplasms/drug therapy , Adult , Aged , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Drug Administration Schedule , Drug Evaluation , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Present condition and activities of Jeddah Endoscopy Center managed in cooperation with Saudian and Japanese doctors are reported. Total number of patients examined are 1,183 cases; 73% of which were subjected to endoscopy and 27% were to fluoroscopy. With respect to the stomach diseases, gastric cancer and ulcer were found in 16% and 14.7%, respectively. On the other hand, high incidences of severe atrophic gastritis and haemorrhagic or erosive gastritis accounted totally 64.7% of all stomach diseases were noted. Out of 264 cases of duodenal diseases, duodenal ulcer was diagnosed in number of 202 cases (76%). The ratio between gastric and duodenal ulcer was, therefore, approximately 1:6. It was further noted that most of patients with esophagus cancer were found in males having the local habit of taking green tobacco. From the results obtained, discussions were made on the statistical differences of gastrointestinal diseases between Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Subject(s)
Diagnostic Services/statistics & numerical data , Endoscopy , Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Duodenal Diseases/diagnosis , Duodenal Diseases/epidemiology , Esophageal Diseases/diagnosis , Esophageal Diseases/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Saudi Arabia , Stomach Diseases/diagnosis , Stomach Diseases/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Sera from patients with gastric carcinoma markedly suppressed the normal lymphocyte response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) when compared with normal sera. The effect of this inhibition was well correlated with the degree of advance of the disease. Fractionation of normal and cancerous sera was carried out by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography using a continuous concave gradient. The elution patterns of the two kinds of sera were quite similar and separated into nine fractions. Protein analysis by immunoelectrophoresis and immunodiffusion showed no difference in subfractions between normal and cancerous sera. However, inhibitory activities of cancerous sera on PHA response of normal lymphocytes were found in alpha-globulin, beta-globulin, and alpha2-macroglobulin fractions. On the other hand, in the fractions from normal serum, alpha- and beta-globulin fractions showed a similar degree of inhibition to PHA response of normal lymphocytes, but alpha2-macroglobulin fraction had no inhibitory activity. Such inhibitory fractions showed an immunosuppressive activity not only to PHA response of normal lymphocytes in vitro, but also due to the induction of splenic plaque-forming cells in vivo. The electrofocusing patterns of alpha2-macroglobulin fractions obtained from normal and cancerous sera showed a remarkable difference in protein composition. These results indicated that the function of lymphocytes may be regulated by a variety of humoral factors and, especially in patients with gastric carcinoma, the cell-mediated immunity may be modified by some factors not present in normal serum.
