Role of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in predicting brain cancer risk for glioblastoma multiforme patients.

AIM: Prediction of chromosomal disorders causing to severe pathological conditions can provide big benefits in early diagnosis and treatment. Adding a predeterminable feature to the cancer risk is very important in enlightening of the mechanisms inducing the disease, in elongation of survival times of the patients due to early diagnosis of the disease and in reducing mortality and morbidity by developing effective and economical treatment protocols. Studies using chromosomal aberrations as biological markers indicate that increasing aberration levels are important indicators in predisposition to the cancer. Aim of this study was to determine it this is feasible. One or several types of cancers were used in these studies reported in the literature. The increases in frequency of chromosome aberrations in Italy and Norwegian societies have been associated to some types of cancers. METHODS: This study was performed on 10 untreated brain cancer patients and 10 controls. Peripheral blood specimen taken from each of the patients and healthy individuals and one of these specimens were subjected to in-vitro 2 Gy irradiation dose. Mitosis was induced in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes via the activation of mitogen (phytohemaglutinin) activated pathways. Cell division was blocked in metaphase by the addition of colchemid and the chromosomal damages in the preparations were scored with asymmetrical chromosomal aberrations. RESULTS: The ratio of dicentric chromosome was found to be higher in the glioblastoma multiforme patients. CONCLUSION: To reach judicial conclusions, case-controlled trials including more patients should be performed.

Vascularization pattern of C6 glioma is modified with medroxyprogesterone acetate and ibuprofen in Wistar rat brain.

Beneficial effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in cancer therapy is partly mediated via its antiangiogenic activity. The same is true for the antitumoral action of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. We have studied two liposoluble drugs, MPA and the analgesic ibuprofen, on glioma vascularization in vivo. In this study we have shown that, until the sacrifice at 27. day after tumor inoculation in the right hemisphere, MPA had a slight though insignificant activity to reduce the fatality of C6 glioma, growing in right cerebral hemisphere of male Wistar rats. But ibuprofen both alone or with MPA had no effect on survival with gavage application of a 30 mg/kg/day dosing regime. On histological analysis, intra- and peritumoral vessels were counted. Progesterone seemed to lower intratumoral, but to increase peritumoral vessels, especially glomeruloids, around the tumor mass. Coadministration of ibuprofen acted to suppress the peritumoral vessel increase, and to enhance lymphomonocytic infiltration around tumor vessels.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate alone or synergistic with chemotherapy suppresses colony formation and DNA synthesis in C6 glioma in vitro.

We have studied the effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on C6 glioma growth in vitro in order to prove the hypothesis that it could arrest growth and induce drug sensitisation in a glial tumour as it does in breast cancer cells. Plating, thymidine-labelling index, ultra-structure, and soft agar colony growth were determined after incubation with MPA, and/or cisplatin, procarbazine and methotrexate (MTX). MPA (microg/ml) reduced the thymidine-labelling index by 41 and 73% at 48 and 96 h, respectively, and decreased colony growth by 61%. Soft agar colony inhibition by MPA was almost as potent as MTX (0.3 microg/ml), but the latter drug showed very high cytotoxicity. Electron microscopy revealed that in medroxyprogesterone treated cells myeloid bodies developed, but MTX treatment caused mainly necrosis. Medroxyprogesterone increased procarbazine and cisplatin-induced colony growth and S-phase inhibition, but reduced MTX-induced thymidine-labelling inhibition. In conclusion, progesterone may inhibit growth and sensitize to drugs.

Diagnosis of postoperative intra-abdominal abscess.

Clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and radionuclide findings of 40 patients with operatively proven intra-abdominal abscesses were evaluated to determine their degree of diagnostic accuracy. Correct preoperative diagnosis was established by clinical, laboratory, and simple radiologic technics in 24 (60%) patients, whereas more sophisticated imaging procedures were used in 16. Gallium citrate Ga 67 scan was done in nine and was positive in six, ultrasonic scan was positive in seven of 16, and computerized tomography in six of eight patients. In 12, two consecutive imaging procedures were used. Concordant results were obtained in eight, of which five were accurate and three inaccurate. Of the four remaining patients with discordant results, the second imaging procedure was incorrect in three and correct in one instance. Accordingly, sophisticated imaging procedures were done in only 40% of patients and were accurate in 75% of less of cases. Furthermore, addition of a second imaging procedure did not increase diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, these technics, while improving the previously existing diagnostic means, should be still considered less than perfect and their negative result should not exclude the need for diagnostic celiotomy when clinical findings are highly suggestive of intra-abdominal abscess.