ABSTRACT
We report the first documented case of intralesional interferon administration for the palliation of carcinoid tumour metastases. This was performed under ultrasound guidance and gave a good clinical response, which correlated with tumour necrosis demonstrated by serial CT scanning.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Carcinoid Tumor/drug therapy , Carcinoid Tumor/secondary , Interferons/therapeutic use , Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy , Liver Neoplasms/secondary , Aged , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Injections, Intralesional , Interferons/administration & dosageABSTRACT
Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) has been measured in 28 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 90 patients with other forms of lung cancer (NSCLC), i.e., 28 with adenocarcinoma and 62 with squamous cell carcinoma. Increased NSE (greater than 12.0 micrograms/liter) was found in 71.4% of SCLC patients and in 22.2% of NSCLC patients. The predictive value of an increased NSE in identifying SCLC was only 50%, whereas the predictive value of a normal NSE in differentiating SCLC for NSCLC was 91%. Serial studies during chemotherapy of SCLC patients showed that the doubling time of NSE ranged from 7 to 127 days and the mean apparent half-life (AHL) of NSE to be 14 days. AHL values in excess of 20 days suggest that the tumour is not in full remission. We believe that measurement of serum NSE and calculation of the AHL and DT are valuable in identifying the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with SCLC.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/enzymology , Carcinoma, Small Cell/enzymology , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/enzymology , Lung Neoplasms/enzymology , Phosphopyruvate Hydratase/blood , Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/radiotherapy , Aged , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Small Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Small Cell/radiotherapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy , Humans , Injections, Intravenous , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Middle AgedABSTRACT
One prognostic factor in epithelial ovarian cancer appears to be the patient's age at presentation. We have retrospectively analysed data from 2305 patients with this tumour in East Anglia during the period 1960-1980. The influence of age as a factor in survival was studied by comparing outcome in young patients between the ages of 15 and 35 (3.1% of all cases) with the outcome in the women over 35. The prognosis was significantly better in young patients, even when age correction is applied. This has implications for the management of patients with this common tumour.
Subject(s)
Ovarian Neoplasms/mortality , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Child , Child, Preschool , England , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Ovarian Neoplasms/epidemiology , Ovarian Neoplasms/pathology , PrognosisABSTRACT
Twenty-three patients who presented with abdominal pain and were found to have germ cell tumours have been reviewed. The overall survival of these patients was no different from the survival of those presenting with testicular swellings. Intra-abdominal germ cell tumour remains an important differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in men.
Subject(s)
Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal/diagnosis , Pain/diagnosis , Testicular Neoplasms/diagnosis , Abdomen , Dysgerminoma/diagnosis , Dysgerminoma/mortality , Humans , Male , Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal/mortality , Teratoma/diagnosis , Teratoma/mortality , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We have derived sets of human monoclonal antibodies by fusing lymphocytes from cancer patients with a human lymphoid line, LICR-LON/HMy2. Two antibodies, LGL1.1D6 and LLU6.3A4, derived from patients with glioma and bronchial carcinoma respectively, were selected for clinical study on the basis of binding patterns in radioimmunoassays with tumour cell lines and localisation of human tumour xenografts. Highly purified monoclonal antibodies were prepared using bulk supernatants from hybridomas grown in serum free medium. After radiolabelling with 131I, 1 mg antibody was injected intravenously into patients with advanced glioma and carcinoma of the bronchus. Good localisation was obtained in five out of eight patients with glioma and five out of seven patients with carcinoma of the bronchus. Despite the technical difficulties inherent in the production of human monoclonal antibodies this study demonstrates their potential for the clinical localisation of solid tumours.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal , Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Animals , Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology , Antibody Specificity , Brain Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Brain Neoplasms/immunology , Cell Line , Diagnosis, Differential , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Glioma/diagnostic imaging , Glioma/immunology , Humans , Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Lung Neoplasms/immunology , Mice , Mice, Nude , Neoplasm Transplantation , Radionuclide ImagingSubject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal/immunology , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Adolescent , Alpha Particles , Animals , Antibodies, Neoplasm/immunology , Antibody Specificity , Antigen-Antibody Reactions , Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Bone Marrow Transplantation , Chlorambucil/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Iodine Radioisotopes/therapeutic use , Mice , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Neoplasms/immunology , Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Radionuclide Imaging , Rats , Toxins, Biological/therapeutic useABSTRACT
Fifteen patients with locally advanced refractory breast cancer have been treated with recombinant leucocyte interferon ( rIFN -alpha A) for up to 12 weeks. Toxicity was considerable with the initial dosage schedule employed but became acceptable after reducing the starting dose by 50%. Minor side effects occurred in all patients and major CNS toxicity in six. Nine patients showed some evidence of tumour regression at 4 weeks. Only two of these were still responding at 12 weeks. Response was unrelated to the length of previous history, oestrogen receptor status or previous responsiveness to cytotoxic or hormone therapy.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/therapy , Interferon Type I/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Central Nervous System Diseases/etiology , Drug Administration Schedule , Drug Evaluation , Female , Hematologic Diseases/etiology , Humans , Interferon Type I/administration & dosage , Interferon Type I/adverse effects , Middle AgedABSTRACT
We have investigated the ability of various predictive studies to assess which monoclonal antibody (MCA) will be most useful in the immunoscintigraphic localization of metastatic colorectal carcinoma. A set of MCAs was obtained by fusing splenic lymphocytes from rats immunized with membrane preparations from fresh human colorectal cancer. Supernatants from 17 cloned hybridomas were found to bind strongly to colon carcinoma lines by indirect radioimmunoassay. Immunofluorescence using these MCAs on sections of fresh frozen colon carcinoma and normal tissue revealed different staining patterns. Nine MCAs were purified and labelled with 131I. Groups of mice bearing human colorectal tumour xenografts were given radiolabelled MCA and scanned. Six out of the nine MCAs showed tumour localization as determined by rectilinear scanning. Three MCAs which gave good tumour images in mice were selected for clinical evaluation in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. One gave good tumour images, another targeted to bone marrow and the third bound almost exclusively to normal liver. Clinical evaluation is clearly essential in the selection of MCAs for tumour localization.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal , Colonic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Rectal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Animals , Colonic Neoplasms/immunology , Humans , Mice , Neoplasm Transplantation , Rectal Neoplasms/immunology , Transplantation, HeterologousABSTRACT
Several studies of patients with prostatic carcinoma have reported worse survival rates for younger patients (less than 60 years) than for older and have concluded that this disease takes a more aggressive form in younger patients. We have retrospectively analysed data on 597 patients in East Anglia between 1973 and 1977 and have shown that in this region younger patients have a much better prognosis when compared with older groups with the same disease. When age-correction is applied, their prognosis still appears no worse than in older patients. This has implications in the management of patients with this common cancer.
Subject(s)
Prostatic Neoplasms/mortality , Age Factors , Aged , England , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The case is described of a patient presenting with prostatic symptoms and a biopsy proven neoplasm in the prostate gland. Radical radiotherapy initially given to the pelvis produced satisfactory symptomatic improvement with tumour regression, but the patient subsequently developed endocrine complications which led to the site of the primary carcinoma being reconsidered. The case illustrates the ubiquitous nature of aggressive metastatic cancer.
Subject(s)
ACTH Syndrome, Ectopic , Carcinoma, Small Cell/metabolism , Lung Neoplasms/metabolism , Paraneoplastic Endocrine Syndromes , Prostatic Neoplasms/secondary , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Rat monoclonal antibodies were prepared by immunising rats with human colorectal carcinoma cell membranes and fusing splenic lymphocytes with a rat myeloma. Hybridoma supernatants were screened by binding assays on membranes prepared from colorectal carcinoma tissue. One hybridoma supernatant, containing a monoclonal antibody with high binding activity on malignant compared to normal colon sections, was grown in large quantities in serum-free medium. After ammonium sulphate precipitation the antibody was purified by ion-exchange chromatography and labelled with 131I. Radiolabelled antibody was administered i.v. to 27 patients with colonic and other tumours. Scintigrams were obtained at 48 h. Computerised subtraction of the blood pool image revealed localised areas of uptake corresponding with areas of known disease in 13/16 patients with colorectal carcinoma and 3/4 patients with breast cancer.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal , Neoplasm Metastasis/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Aged , Animals , Antibodies, Monoclonal/biosynthesis , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Colonic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Colonic Neoplasms/immunology , Female , Humans , Hybridomas/immunology , Male , Middle Aged , Rats , Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Rectal Neoplasms/immunology , Subtraction Technique , Tomography, Emission-ComputedABSTRACT
Ten women with advanced locally recurrent breast cancer who had failed to respond to radiation and hormonal and cytotoxic agents were given up to 12 weeks of recombinant leucocyte interferon 20 X 10(6) U/m2 daily or 50 X 10(6) U/m2 three times a week. Within one hour of administration influenza-like symptoms began, which one week later were superseded by lethargy, anorexia, and nausea, with a consequent loss of weight in most patients. Other side effects included profound somnolence, confusion, paraesthesia, and (in one patient) signs of an upper motor neurone lesion in the legs. All these effects together with increased slow wave activity in electroencephalograms from all patients during treatment disappeared when interferon was withdrawn and did not recur on reintroducing the drug at a lower dosage. Studies are continuing to determine the mechanisms of these effects.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Diseases/chemically induced , Interferon Type I/adverse effects , Adult , Breast Neoplasms/therapy , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Electroencephalography , Female , Humans , Interferon Type I/administration & dosage , Interferon Type I/therapeutic use , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/therapy , Sleep Wake Disorders/etiologySubject(s)
Genetic Engineering , Occupational Diseases/prevention & control , Occupational Medicine , England , Female , Humans , SafetyABSTRACT
The pathological status of internal mammary chains at the time of presentation in patients with carcinoma of the breast carries important prognostic significance. The aggressive treatment of involved nodes may alter the course of disease favourably in terms of survival and local recurrence. Methods of accurately localising and assessing the state of the internal mammary chain have been described previously. We present here the preliminary results of a series of patients studied with radioisotope techniques to assess anatomy and status of the nodes with special reference to radiotherapy planning.
