Staging in untreated patients with small cell lung cancer.

In order to describe the real biological behavior of the small-cell lung cancer we have analyzed survival rates of 66 patients with small-cell lung cancer who did not receive any specific anti cancer therapy. Also, objective of this study was to evaluate the staging system of the small-cell lung cancer. Untreated small-cell lung cancer patients with limited stage disease had statistically significant (p < 0.05) better survival rates in comparison to patients with extensive stage disease. T and N factor of the TNM classification did not influence the survival in untreated small-cell lung cancer patients. It appears that the TNM staging system is not predicting survival probabilities of untreated patients with small-cell lung cancer, while the two-stage system appeared very well based on survival probabilities of these patients.

[Activity of acid aspartic proteinase Candida strains isolated from palatine tonsils]. / Aktywnosc kwasnej proteazy asparaginowej szczepów candida izolowanych z migdalków podniebiennych.

We have evalueated the activity of acidous asparagine protease in 48 strains of Candida isolated from homogenates of palatine tonsils from 116 patients after tonsilectomy. Strains most frequently isolated were C. albicans (66.7 +/- 6.8%) and C. tropicalis (14.6 +/- 5.09%). The range of proteolysis zone for Candida strains was 4.6 to 12.5 mm. Over 60% of the studied strains showed high and very high proteolytic activity (>6.6 mm) and the remaining strains showed moderate activity (4.6-6.5). There were no strains with low medium activity (to 4.5 mm zone). The range of the number of rosettes E formed by lymphocytes obtained from the studied tonsils was 0-268.3. Lymphocytes isolated from 70 % of tonsils infected with Candida formed only 0-130 rosettes E; in the remaining cases the number ranged between 131 and 220. The number of lymphocytes T forming rosettes E isolated from palatine tonsils from patients not infected with fungi was 2.5 times higher. There was no correlation between the size of proteolysis zone and the number of rosettes E.

[Evalution of activity of acid aspartic proteinase in Candida strains isolated from oral cavity of patients with increased risk of mycosis]. / Ocena aktywnosci kwasnej proteazy asparaginowej szczepów Candida wyizolowanych z jamy ustnej od pacjentów z podwyzszonym ryzykiem zakazenia grzybami.

We have evaluated the activity of acid aspartic protease in 195 strains of Candida isolated from the oral cavity of three groups of patients. The first group comprised patients with cancer of the larynx qualified for surgery, the second- patients with neoplastic disease ( Hodgkin s disease, lymphoma, acute granulocytic leukaemia, lymphatic leukaemia, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, stomach cancer, breast cancer) who were not treated, the third group- patients with neoplastic diseases treated by chemotherapy. The strains of fungi were differentiated using API 20C and Api 20C AUX tests according to the protocol adopted at the Department of Medical Parasitology and Biology, Medical University of Lódz. The activity of acid protease was studied by Staib method in Rózga modification. Almost all strains showed high and very high proteolytic activity. The rang of proteolysis zone of Candida strains from the three groups of patients varied from 2,5 to 12,5 mm. We have found the mean proteolytic zones of strains isolated from groups I and III differed statistically significantly (p<0,001). Similarly, statisticall sihnificant difference was seen between these parameters for groups II and III (p<0,05), while there was no difference between strains from group I and II.

[Hydrolytic activity yeast-like fungi strains isolated from Sulejów reservoir water]. / Aktywnosc hydrolityczna szczepów grzybów drozdzopodobnych izolowanych z wód zbiornika sulejowskiego.

We have investigated the hydrolytic activity of 21 species of yeast-like fungi from Candida genus and 1 species of yeast S. cerevisiae isolated from Sulej6w Reservoir water. The activity of hydrolytic enzymes of the studied fungi was different than that of standard strains and also of fungi isolated from patients. This difference demonstrates the capability of the studied fungi to adapt to various environmental conditions.

[Proteolytic activity of Candida albicans strains isolated from women's genital organs with clinical diagnosis of mycosis]. / Aktywnosc proteolityczna szczepów Candida albicans izolowanych z narzadów plciowych kobiet z klinicznymi objawami grzybicy.

The aim of the presented study was to assess the in vitro activity of aspartate proteinase of strains isolated from women's genital organs with clinical diagnosis of mycosis. We have evaluated the activity of proteinase of 75 Candida albicans strains using Staib method with Rózga modification, in agar medium with human albumin at pH 4.6. The proteolysis zone ranged from 4.0 to 11.0 mm. The values of proteolysis zones in human albumin of C. albicans were similar to left-oblique normal distribution. High and extremely high proteolytic activity is characteristic for more than 50% of strains.

Prognostic parameters in low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

In a group of 73 patients with low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (LG NHL) a multivariate analysis of the following variables was performed: pathological types following the International Working Formulation, clinical stage, B-symptoms, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hemoglobin level, white blood cell and lymphocyte count, serum gamma globulin level, serum total lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level, mitotic and complete remission. The patients with lymphocytic lymphoma manifested the best survival in this group. Low-proliferative lymphomas showed better survival than high-proliferative lymphomas at 3 and 10 years. B-symptoms, serum total LDH level and complete remission were significant independent prognostic factors.

Survival analysis of untreated patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

The survival rate analysis of 130 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who did not receive any specific anticancer therapy showed no statistically significant differences in the survival rates between various TNM combinations classified into stage groups II, IIIa, IIIb, and IV, as proposed by Mountain in 1989 and adopted by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. Following these findings, based on survival probabilities, two distinctive staging groups could be distinguished. The first stage group was composed of only the T1, 2N0, M0 combination, and the second of all other TNM combinations. In a purely biologic sense of tumor growth, the lymph node involvement appeared to be the crucial factor determining the length of survival.

Hypersensitivity to Parietaria officinalis pollen in newcomers to the area with the plant.

Hypersensitivity to Parietaria officinalis (wall pellitory) pollen and other environmental allergens was studied in pollinosis patients allergic to P. officinalis pollen who were born in areas without P. officinalis and later moved to the city of Split, where P. officinalis is responsible for some 65% of pollinosis cases. Highly significant positive correlations were found for both the intensity of skin test reaction and concentration of specific serum IgE with the length of residence in the area. In contrast, the respective data on subjects hypersensitive to P. officinalis pollen allergen, but born and living in the area of Split, revealed a tendency to negative correlation between age and intensity of hypersensitivity to P. officinalis. A number of patients from both groups were tested for presence of serum IgE antibodies specific for 14 common environmental allergens. Hypersensitivity to P. officinalis pollen was associated with hypersensitivity to olive, mugwort, and birch pollen in newcomers; hypersensitivity to birch and, to some extent, olive pollen was significantly more frequent in newcomers than in autochthonous patients who were allergic to P. officinalis pollen. Regardless of whether the patients were autochthons or newcomers to the area with P. officinalis, hypersensitivity to P. officinalis mostly excluded hypersensitivity to Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus, and vice versa.

[Proteolytic activity of Candida strains--parameter of their identity or similarity]. / Proteolityczna aktywnosc szczepów Candida--parametr ich identycznosci lub podobienstwa.

Proteolytic activity of 238 strains of Candida was investigated by the Staib method in Rózga modification, permitting for quantitative evaluation of the result (agar medium with albumin). Analyzing size of proteolysis zones--obtained for strains isolated from selected ontocenoses of the same women--a linear correlation coefficient was used; for confirmation of identity of tested strains a conformity coefficient was used. Isolated strains were identified as C. albicans, C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, C. pseudotropicalis, C. tropicalis and other species (singular). It was found that the curve of distribution of proteolysis zone sizes of all strains is normal and that statistically significant correlation between size of proteolysis zone of strains isolated from vagina and oral cavity of the same women does exist.

[The prognostic model--an aid for decision-making in the use of adjuvant cytostatic therapy in breast cancer]. / Prognosticki model--pomoc u odluci o primjeni adjuvantne citostatske terapije raka dojke.

The prognostic model as a help in deciding for the application of the adjuvant cytostatic therapy (ACT) in breast cancer is proposed. Risk factors including size of tumour, status of axial, value of hormonal receptors, grade of differentiation of tumour and age are included in the prognostic model. The clinical study comprises patients with breast cancer in premenopausal age with (30 patients) and without ACT (36). By using a multiple regression method and correlation analysis (multivariate analysis), the "weight"--the values of each risk factor have been determined in relation to the disease free interval and survival are obtained by employing the proposed prognostic model. By simple mathematical methods type of therapy is determined by the prognosis. This is the proposed model: Y = beta 0 + beta 1 x x1 + beta 2 x x2 + ... + beta k x xk. Coefficient values for each risk factor have been obtained by this clinical study. Full attention is not paid to the results of the ACT application in this presentation.

Role of digoxin in right ventricular failure due to chronic cor pulmonale.

The effect of digoxin in the treatment of decompensated chronic cor pulmonale was investigated in a randomized double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial. A total of 34 successive patients with evident right heart failure were included in the study. The mean maintenance daily dose of digoxin was 0.30 +/- 0.03 mg with the mean serum level of 1.7 +/- 0.7 nmol/L. The severity of heart failure was assessed according to a clinicoradiographic scoring system (Heart Failure Score). The heart failure worsened during the placebo-period in eight (23.5%) patients (four with atrial fibrillation, two with a third heart sound (S3), one with a cardiothoracic ratio of more than 0.5 and one with sinus rhythm). By regression analysis, the heart failure significantly worsened only in the subgroup of patients with atrial fibrillation. Digoxin was successfully (without worsening of the heart failure) discontinued in 26 (76.5%) patients. No significant improvement was observed in the patients with S3 gallop. It was concluded that digoxin had no beneficial effect in chronic cor pulmonale patients with heart failure, except in those with atrial fibrillation.

[Evaluation of the effect of a new polyfungin derivative in chronic infection of albino mice with P-32 labeled Candida albicans]. / Próba oceny dzialania nowej pochodnej polifunginy w przewleklym zarazeniu bialej myszy Candida albicans znakowanej 32P.

White mice, Balb/c, were infected intraperitoneally with Candida albicans strains: standard ATCC 1023 and 910 strain isolated from vaginal excretions of patient suffering from genital mycosis. One group of animals was given new Polish polyene antibiotic N-methylglucamine salt of N-glucosylpolyfungin (N-MGP). It was possible to follow a course of infection using our own experimental model of candidiasis with 32P-Candida albicans cell suspension by measuring a degree of radioactivity of organs taken from treated and untreated animals. Statistically significant lower radioactivity values (P less than 0.01) were found in organs of animals treated with N-MGP salt for 20 days in daily dose of 20 mg/kg of body weight. Therapeutic efficacy of N-MGP salt was confirmed in separate experiments where mice were infected intraperitoneally with unlabelled Candida albicans cells. Negative results of mycological examinations were found when several organs homogenates of treated mice were tested. Activity of new polifungin derivative in chronic candidiasis of mice was found using two different ways of evaluation of this new preparation.