ABSTRACT
Diagnosis for lower abdominal pain is always challenging clinically and more so inthe setting of rural Africa. Eighteen cases of sonographically-shownipsilateral enlargement and echo alteration of iliopsoas muscle have been compiled in patients with chronic lower abdominal pain. Seventy percent of the cases were treated with antibiotic and 30% with additional anti-inflammatory drug. A telephone interview follow up was done to nine patients, in which eight reported improvement after treatment. One case was biopsied and shown to be myofibrositis of iliopsoas muscle.
Subject(s)
Abdominal Pain/etiology , Myositis/diagnosis , Psoas Muscles/diagnostic imaging , Psoas Muscles/pathology , Adult , Female , Fibrosis , Humans , Kenya , Male , Middle Aged , Rural Population , Ultrasonography , Young AdultABSTRACT
The prognosis for patients with bone sarcoma treated with LSS has improved considerably over the past 2 decades, but this has also lead to an increase in the number of complications requiring treatment. Imaging plays an important role, not only in assessing the primary tumour, but also in identifying postsurgical complications. Plain radiography demonstrates the majority of the complications associated with LSS and remains the mainstay of follow-up imaging. Complications such as fractures are common and warrant frequent plain film follow-up. Imaging with scintigraphy, MRI and CT should be tailored to the patient's clinical history, type of surgery and suspected complications. A baseline postoperative bone scan examination can be helpful for comparisons with subsequent scans for the detection of complications. Sonography should be considered if infection is suspected. Finally, tumour recurrence may be frequent enough to consider more extensive use of MRI.
Subject(s)
Bone Neoplasms/surgery , Diagnostic Imaging , Osteosarcoma/surgery , Postoperative Complications/diagnosis , Sarcoma, Ewing/surgery , Adolescent , Bone Neoplasms/diagnosis , Bone Transplantation , Child , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/diagnosis , Osteosarcoma/diagnosis , Prosthesis Failure , Prosthesis Implantation , Retrospective Studies , Sarcoma, Ewing/diagnosis , Transplantation, HomologousABSTRACT
Yuehchukene (YCK) is a novel bis-indole alkaloid with weak estrogenic activity. Biochemical studies showed that YCK could attenuate estrogenic action. In this study, the response of MCF-7, an estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cell line, under different combinations of estradiol, cyclophosphamide and YCK, was tested. From the dose-response curve, we discovered that 10(-2) M cyclophosphamide, even in its so-called 'bio-inert' form, could inhibit MCF-7 cell growth. However, the cytotoxic effect of cyclophosphamide was lost by reducing its concentration to approximately 1 x 10(-3) M. On the other hand, a low concentration ( approximately 10(-8)-10(-9) M) of YCK was found to potentiate the cytotoxic effect of cyclophosphamide on the MCF-7 cell line. Such an effect was absent in the estrogen-receptor-negative cell line MDA-MB-231. These findings, together with the dual role of a mixed estrogen and anti-estrogen effect, suggested that YCK and cyclophosphamide can be a potential combination in chemo-hormonal therapy for breast cancer.
Subject(s)
Alkaloids/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/pharmacology , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Cyclophosphamide/pharmacology , Alkaloids/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/administration & dosage , Breast Neoplasms/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/metabolism , Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Drug Synergism , Humans , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Tetrazolium Salts , Thiazoles , Tumor Cells, CulturedABSTRACT
The distributions of 2093 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), by stage, over a 12-year-period did not show any evidence of a shift towards early stages despite growing awareness of this prevalent malignancy. The IgA VCA titre was determined for 1880 of these patients. The median titre increased from 40 in stage I to 80 in stages II, III, and IV, before rising to 160 in stage V. The percentage of patients with a titre > or = 320 increased steadily with advancing stages. Within the same disease stage, the percentage of patients having a particular titre value and the median titre varied considerably from year to year. Better education of the general population and a better serological marker for screening are needed for the early detection of NPC.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Neoplasm/blood , Antigens, Viral/blood , Capsid Proteins , Carcinoma/immunology , Carcinoma/pathology , Herpesvirus 4, Human/immunology , Immunoglobulin A/blood , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/immunology , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Antigens, Viral/immunology , Biomarkers/blood , Humans , Neoplasm Staging , PrognosisABSTRACT
47 newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were studied using the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunostaining technique. The results were reproducible as shown by assessment of three separate sections performed for each patient. No statistical correlation was found between PCNA labelling index (LI) and Ho's clinical staging or time required to achieve complete remission of the local disease. A higher PCNA LI was associated with a poorer disease-free survival. The literature on the use of PCNA in human tumours is reviewed.
Subject(s)
Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/chemistry , Neoplasm Proteins/analysis , Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen/analysis , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biopsy , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Middle Aged , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Neoplasm Staging , Prospective Studies , Remission Induction , Time FactorsABSTRACT
A cell kinetic study of 27 newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) using the in vitro bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) technique was performed. The results were reproducible as demonstrated by three independent sections performed on each patient. No correlation between BrdU labelling index (LI) and Ho's clinical staging was found. A higher LI was associated with the development of distant metastases (P = 0.057). Statistically significant correlation was found between low LI and longer duration required to achieve complete remission in the primary site of disease (P = 0.026). This study suggests a potential role for in vitro BrdU labelling index as a prognosticator for NPC prior to treatment.
