ABSTRACT
A case of a primary yolk sac tumor of the spinal cord is reported. The patient was a 17-month-old Japanese girl, who was found to have an intramedullary mass at the upper thoracic level. The preoperative diagnosis was primary glioma, but histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed a yolk sac tumor. As there were no other lesions, the spinal cord lesion was considered to be the primary tumor. Based on our previous experience, we treated this patient with low-dose irradiation followed by combination chemotherapy with cisplatin, vinblastine and bleomycin. However, the effectiveness of this therapy was poor in this particular case, and the patient died of pyelonephritis with uncontrollable imbalance of serum electrolytes.
Subject(s)
Endodermal Sinus Tumor/diagnosis , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/diagnosis , Combined Modality Therapy , Endodermal Sinus Tumor/pathology , Endodermal Sinus Tumor/surgery , Female , Humans , Infant , Laminectomy , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/pathology , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/surgery , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Multicriteria choice-methods, often used in policy analysis, were examined as a methodological procedure for eutrophication assessment. Multicriteria analysis ranked the sampling sites along two coastal areas, according to nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations. Three levels of nutrient loading were revealed, characterizing eutrophic, mesotrophic and oligotrophic waters. These results have been compared to station grouping based on multivariate analysis which indicated similar trends. Multicriteria choice-methods were shown to be an effective methodological tool in assessing eutrophication. In addition, this approach is compatible with multicriteria methods applied on policy-making and therefore the problem of eutrophication can be integrated with plan and project evaluation in environmental management.
ABSTRACT
A case of successful combination chemotherapy using cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin (PVB) therapy with small-dose irradiation (25 Gy) to treat a pineoblastoma that metastasized into the lumbar region through the cerebrospinal fluid is presented. Pain in the lower extremities and urinary incontinence with paraplegia improved during irradiation of the spinal cord after two courses of PVB therapy administered during a period of 6 weeks. The patient is presently attending school normally and has a score of 100% on the Karnofsky performance scale 4 years after therapy. These results suggest that combination chemotherapy with small-dose back-up radiotherapy may be one of the treatments of choice for recurrent or disseminated pineoblastoma.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Brain Neoplasms/therapy , Pinealoma/therapy , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/therapy , Bleomycin/administration & dosage , Brain Neoplasms/pathology , Child, Preschool , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Combined Modality Therapy , Humans , Male , Pinealoma/drug therapy , Pinealoma/radiotherapy , Pinealoma/secondary , Radiotherapy Dosage , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/drug therapy , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Spinal Cord Neoplasms/secondary , Vinblastine/administration & dosageABSTRACT
PP therapy, combination therapy with Cis-platinum (CDDP) and tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (THP-ADR), were performed on a case of recurrent medulloblastoma. CDDP and THP-ADR involve agents difficult to pass the blood brain barrier (BBB), but can pass BBB on the metastatic lesion. PP therapy is considered to be one of the most effective agents for the treatment of recurrent malignant brain tumor.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Cerebellar Neoplasms/pathology , Hypothalamic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Medulloblastoma/drug therapy , Adult , Blood-Brain Barrier/drug effects , Cerebellar Neoplasms/therapy , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Combined Modality Therapy , Doxorubicin/administration & dosage , Doxorubicin/analogs & derivatives , Humans , Hypothalamic Neoplasms/secondary , Male , Medulloblastoma/secondary , Medulloblastoma/therapyABSTRACT
We studied whether lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) were capable of being induced in vitro from peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with brain tumor. The LAK cells were generated by culturing recombinant IL-2 with peripheral blood lymphocytes. The culture was continued for 72 hours; then cytotoxicity to Hela cell was examined by 4-hr 51Cr release assay. LAK cells were induced from lymphocytes of patients with brain tumor, but the cytotoxicity was rather less than that of healthy subjects, and it was accompanied by clinical deterioration. CTL was generated by co-culture of patient's peripheral blood lymphocytes and autologous brain tumor cells with addition of rIL-2. The cytotoxicity to autologous and allogenic brain tumor cells was examined by 16-hr51Cr release assay. The cytotoxicity to autologous tumor was approximately 30-40%, and there was cross reaction to allogenic tumor cells. The adoptive transfer of CTL to four patients was performed. One patient improved clinically, and on CT scan, growth of the tumor appeared to have been reduced.
