ABSTRACT
Fifteen patients with rectal adenocarcinoma were endoscopically biopsied and given short-term [5 fluorouracil (5FU) (600 mg/m2) and Ca-Folinate (60 mg/m2) for two days] cytostatic therapy. Seven days later the tumor was resected or a second biopsy was performed. Apoptotic and mitotic indices were determined in the tumor tissue before and after the short-term chemotherapy. The patients were treated thereafter with long-term, intermittent 5 FU administration and followed up clinically for 4-13 months. Three patients showed progression of the disease, twelve improved or showed no tumor progression. An increase of the apoptotic index and decrease of the mitotic index after the short-term cytostatic treatment were seen in the tumor tissue of responder cases. Non-responders showed increase or no change in mitotic activity, and decrease or no change in apoptotic activity. These findings suggest that apoptotic and mitotic response to short-term cytostatic therapy may be additional predictive factor in rectal adenocarcinoma.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma/drug therapy , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/therapeutic use , Apoptosis , Fluorouracil/therapeutic use , Mitosis , Rectal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Rectal Neoplasms/pathology , Aged , Carcinoembryonic Antigen/blood , Female , Humans , In Situ Nick-End Labeling , Leucovorin/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Predictive Value of Tests , PrognosisABSTRACT
The new total herbicide Toxurazine was subjected to general toxicologic and neurotoxicologic examinations. Rats were treated with 1/80, 1/40 and 1/20 of the acute oral LD50 for three months. The animals showed a decrease in body weight and a transitional anaemia. The product had a slight liver damaging effect. Renal function tests and urine analysis were negative. With time, the learning ability of animals tested in maze for 42 days became impaired dose dependently. At the end of the treatment, both at rest and on flashlight stimulation, as well as in complex EEG activity and in each frequency band there was a decrease in electric activity. In electroneuromyographic tests no effect damaging the peripheral nervous system could be detected. The hot plate method showed the reaction time of the animals to be slightly extended. The results suggest that the compound should only be used in uncultivated areas.
Subject(s)
Amitrole/toxicity , Atrazine/toxicity , Nervous System/drug effects , Pesticides/toxicity , Triazoles/toxicity , Animals , Electroencephalography , Electromyography , Female , Learning/drug effects , Male , Muscles/drug effects , Nociceptors/drug effects , Rats , Rats, Inbred StrainsABSTRACT
The effect of pesticides on cell growth and on the cell layer was examined. The pesticides under study had a similar toxicity for the cell suspension and for the cell layer. Vital staining of the cells allowed a more sensitive determination of the cytotoxic concentrations than did the studies on cell morphology without staining. No correlation was found between the cytotoxic concentrations and LD50 values of mammals. The results were compared with those of earlier experiments on rats in which methods of general toxicology and neurotoxicology were applied. Of the eight compounds tested, in six the tissue culture method proved even more sensitive than did the functional neurotoxicological tests. It is suggested that the in vitro method with cultured cells should be used to complement in vivo functional toxicological procedures.
