Efficacy of Lung Cancer Screening; Comparison of Results from a Case-Control Study and a Survival Analysis

A case-control study to evaluate the efficacy of lung cancer screening conducted by us showed that lung cancer screening may reduce the mortality of the disease up to 28%. Assuming this efficacy is unbiased, and that the screening rate is 51.6%, which was observed in the control group in the above study, the number of lung cancer deaths prevented by screening in the study period was calculated to be 47 for males and females combined. In the same study population, screen-detected lung cancer patients (N = 207) in the same study period were followed and the 7-year survival rate (46.9%) was compared to the 5-year survival rate (11.3%) obtained by the Osaka Cancer Registry, in which screen-detected lung cancer patients were only 1.8%. The number of lung cancer deaths prevented by screening, estimated by the difference in the above two survival rates, was 74 (95% confidence interval; 55–93). The number of lung cancer deaths prevented by screening estimated from the case-control study was significantly lower than that estimated from the survival analysis. This indicates that the efficacy of lung cancer screening estimated by the case-control study was within the range that could be explained by the actual long-term survivors among the screen-detected patients in the study population.     

Oral mifepristone 600 mg and vaginal gemeprost for mid-trimester induction of abortion: An open multicenter study

This open multicenter study was performed in 20 hospital gynecological units in the UK. The effects of 600 mg oral mifepristone as pretreatment to vaginal prostaglandin induction of second second trimester abortion was studied in 267 women.

The primary efficacy variable was the abortion induction interval, defined as the time taken to expel the fetus from the time of administration of the first prostaglandin pessary. Induction was commenced 36 to 48 hours following mifepristone intake.

The mean abortion induction interval was 7 h. A total of 81.9% of women aborted within 12 h. There was a significant relationship between abortion induction interval and age of gestation, and a significant inverse relationship between abortion induction interval and parity.

Vomiting, pelvic pain, and nausea were the most frequently reported adverse events. Two patients required transfusion and one patient with a uterine scar from a previous cesarean section suffered a ruptured uterus and hysterotomy.     

人晶体 γ-晶体蛋白的研究:Ⅳ.近紫外线对胚 γ_2-晶体蛋白的光氧化作用

对人胚胎晶体γ_2-晶体蛋白溶液用近紫外线(γmax 365nm)照射,不同时间取样分析。利用巯基(-SH)特异性试剂 DACM[N-(7-甲基氨基-4-甲基-3-邻羟苯烯基)-马来酰亚胺],经 SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳观察光照射后的γ_2-晶体蛋白及其聚合物的游离巯基,同时检测照射后的蛋白溶液的紫外吸收光谱、光散射强度、色氨酸荧光发射光谱,以及丙烯酰胺对色氨酸荧光的猝灭效应。结果显示:人胚胎γ_2-晶体蛋白经紫外线照射,使其游离-SH 减少,蛋白聚合和分解,蛋白溶液的光散射增强,其二聚体不含游离-SH,γ_2-晶体蛋白的色氨酸荧光减少,这些变化随照射时间的延长而更明显;而对丙烯酰胺对蛋白分子中的色氨酸荧光猝灭效应影响不大。说明人胚胎γ_2-晶体蛋白通过光氧化,损伤及含游离-SH 的氨基酸残基、色氨酸残基,光氧化促使蛋白聚合和分解.提出通过进一步定量分析,可能在较深层次揭示紫外光氧化损伤含-SH 氨基酸、色氨酸残基,进而影响整个蛋白质分子结构的差异。眼科学报 1993;9:85-89。     

Surgical management of endocrine tumor of the pancreas in Japan

Endocrine tumor of the pancreas is potentially malignant. A multicenter analysis of these tumors was conducted to clarity the present status of their surgical management and the subsequent long-term surgical results. The Japan pancreatoduodenectomy (JPD) study group carried out the study; 368 patients were enrolled and variables related to tumor characteristics, surgery, and survival were retrospectively analyzed. There were 222 patients with functioning tumor and 143 patients with nonfunctioning tumor. Malignant tumor was found in 140 of 368 (38%) of the patients, and 63/140 (45%) of these patients had metastatic lesion; the most common site of the metastasis was liver 34/136 (25%), followed by regional lymph nodes 26/136 (19%). Pancreatic resection was performed in 91% of patients with nonfunctional tumor and in 83% of those with malignant tumor, and 73% of the pancreatic resections were done with lymph node dissection. The overall 5-year actuarial survival rate was 76% in patients with malignant tumor. The actuarial 5-year survival rate was 93% in the patients without metastasis and 83% in patients who received curative resection. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence or absence of synchronous metastasis was the sole significant prognostic factor. The results suggest that: (i) malignant endocrine tumor of the pancreas is a curable malignancy when pancreatic resection with lymph node dissection is adopted and (ii) that synchronous metastasis is the dominant prognostic factor. This study was carried out as a group project. The authors' institutions are as follows     

中国18城市新生儿死因研究

我们于1988年5月～1989年4月对我国18城市19所医院住院分娩的60960例活产婴进行了前瞻性调查研究.60960例中死亡556例,总死亡率9.12‰,其中死亡率男高于女,早产、低体重儿高于过期产儿和足月、正常体重儿,三胎和双胎高于单胎.前6位死因依次为窒息(或羊水胎粪吸入)、呼吸系统疾病、感染、畸形、颅内出血和硬肿症.并对各种死因在不同孕周、体重以及不同日龄组中的分布特点及主要防治对策进行了分析讨论.     

Comparison of bronchial responsiveness to histamine in asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic sensitization at the age of 7 years

BACKGROUND: Bronchial responsiveness (BR) to histamine or methacholin is a common finding in adult non-asthmatic patients with allergic rhinitis. OBJECTIVE: We tested whether BR is also present in children with a comparatively short history of allergic rhinitis in a paediatric cohort. METHODS: We performed pulmonary function tests and histamine challenges in a total of 654 children (age 7 years, participants of the German Multicenter Allergy Study) and compared PC20 FEV1 values in children with asthma, allergic rhinitis, asymptomatic allergic sensitization and non-atopic controls. RESULTS: Most pronounced BR to histamine was observed in allergic asthmatics (n = 28), irrespective of the presence or absence of allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, PC(20)FEV(1) values in non-asthmatic children with allergic rhinitis (n = 24) were not significantly different from those seen in asymptomatic atopic (n = 54) or non-atopic controls (n = 92). CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to adult study populations, 7-year-old non-asthmatic children with allergic rhinitis do not show a higher degree of BR than asymptomatic atopic or non-atopic controls. Therefore, secondary preventive measures in non-asthmatic children with allergic rhinitis (such as regular local anti-inflammatory therapy or specific immunotherapy) should be studied and applied more intensely to prevent bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) and asthma in this high-risk group.     

Properties of circulating IgA molecules in Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis with focus on neutrophil cytoplasmic antigen IgA binding (IgA-ANCA): new insight into a debated issue

Background: The presence and the pathogenetic role of circulating IgA reacting with neutrophil cytoplasmic antigens (IgA-ANCA) in patients with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) is still debated. This study was aimed to investigate some characteristics of serum IgA and macromolecular IgA in HSP patients, focusing on IgA-ANCA. Methods: Eighty-seven HSP patients with biopsy proved renal involvement (51 adults and 36 children) enrolled in a multicentre study of the Italian Group of Immunopathology were investigated. Results: Significantly high levels of IgA immune complexes were found in both adults (P <0.05) and children (P <0.01), while the binding of IgA to jacalin, was significantly low in children with HSP (P <0.01) only. Two series of ELISA were done for IgA-ANCA, in two different laboratories. Increased binding to PMN crude extracts (P <0.01) without any modification in IgA binding to proteinase 3 was found by either specific ELISA. Conversely, the binding of IgA to myeloperoxidase (MPO) was found to be significantly (P <0.05) increased with positive values in 25% of patients by one assay only. Three of four sera with positive IgA-MPO ANCA exhibited binding in Western-blot studies with the MPO preparation used in ELISA to a 28-kDa species. D-galactose and N-acetyl-glucosamine decreased the binding of serum IgA to MPO more in HSP than in controls (P <0.05). Conclusions: The conflicting reports on IgA-ANCA may reflect some atypical characteristics of the reaction which can be detected only by some ELISAs. We suggest that not an antigen-antibody reaction but a lectinic interaction due to abnormal composition of IgA carbohydrate side chains may account for the IgA-ANCA reaction in patients with HSP nephritis.