Chronic GVHD in minor salivary glands and oral mucosa: histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of 25 patients

BACKGROUND: Graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT). The aim of our study was to identify the most relevant histological features for diagnosis of chronic Graft-vs.-Host Disease (cGVHD) in oral mucosa and minor salivary glands of 25 patients, as well as to evaluate the immunophenotype of the inflammatory cells. METHODS: Sixteen patients that were submitted to allogeneic BMT but did not present cGVHD were selected as a control group. The sections were studied on H & E and CD68, CD45, CD4, CD8, CD20 staining. RESULTS: The most frequent histologic findings in oral mucosa at the day of diagnosis of cGVHD were: hydropic degeneration of the basal layer of the epithelium, apoptotic bodies, lymphocytic infiltration, and focal or total cleavage between the epithelial and connective tissue. In the labial salivary glands (LSG), lymphocytic infiltration, acinar loss and fibrosis were the main alterations. Cytotoxic CD8-T cells and macrophages were predominant both in the epithelium and connective tissue, as well as in minor salivary glands. CONCLUSIONS: Histological features were useful in the diagnosis of oral cGVHD. It is suggested that CD8-T cells and macrophages play important role in the pathogenesis of the disease.     

Ploidy analysis of field cancerization and cancer development in the hamster cheek pouch carcinogenesis model

BACKGROUND: The hamster cheek-pouch carcinogenesis model is a well-known animal system that closely mimics the development of premalignant and malignant lesions in human oral cancer. Our aim was to numerically characterize the premalignant and malignant lesions and expressions of field cancerization in this model using ploidy as the end-point. METHODS: To study the DNA content and proliferation status of the cells in this model we assessed the Feulgen reaction and the immunohistochemical reaction for 5-bromo-2-deoxiuridine (BrdU) in different histological areas of serial tissue sections of the cheek pouches of animals injected with BrdU. RESULTS: Ploidy values were higher in cancerized epithelia with no unusual microscopic features (NUMF), in preneoplastic and tumor areas than in control epithelia. The aneuploidy index was higher in NUMF areas than in control and differed significantly from control in preneoplastic areas and carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The unexpected alteration in DNA content observed in NUMF epithelia is of great relevance as a biomarker of field cancerized areas.     

Patient education: history, development, and current directions of the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute

With their unique perspectives in the identification, design, promotion, and evaluation of cancer patient education programs and services, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have the abilities to meet a wide variety of cancer patient education needs. With federal support and connections to national organizations and the comprehensive and clinical cancer center networks, the National Cancer Institute has access to nationwide experts in medical care and the resources to develop, design, and promote quality, state-of-the-art education programs. The American Cancer Society, with its strong volunteer community base, can pull together local expertise and collaborate with local organizations to meet the special needs of local population groups. In addition, the American Cancer Society volunteer committees have the flexibility to individualize programming and resources to answer specific patient/family education problems. As the number of people affected by cancer continues to raise, and as organizations realize the need to maximize their resources with collaborative efforts, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society are challenged to focus their energies on the patient education initiatives that build upon and combine their unique strengths.     

Hematotoxicity and concentration-dependent conjugation of phenol in mice following inhalation exposure to benzene

Benzene is metabolized to one or more hematotoxic species. Saturation of benzene metabolism could limit the production of toxic species. Saturation of phase II enzymes involved in the conjugation of the phenolic metabolites of benzene also could affect the hematotoxicity of benzene. To investigate the latter possibility, we exposed male Swiss mice, via the inhalation route, to various concentrations of benzene for 6 h per day for 5 days. Following termination of the final exposure the mice were killed and the levels of phenylsulfate and phenylglucuronide in the blood determined. Spleen weights were recorded and the number of white blood cells counted. At low benzene exposure concentrations phenylsulfate is the major conjugated form of phenol in the blood. At high exposure concentrations, phenylglucuronide is the predominant species. The reductions in spleen weight and white blood cell numbers correlated with the concentration of phenylsulfate in the blood, but are most probably not causally related.     

Chymotrypsin treatment increases the activity of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin

Chymotrypsin treatment of the enterotoxin from Clostridium perfringens results in the loss of 36 amino acids from the N-terminus and 3 amino acids from the C-terminus. This processing results in a 3.2 fold increase in activity on Vero cells, which is close to what had been found for trypsin treatment following the loss of 25 amino acids from the N-terminus.     

Blastomogenic action of heavy vanadium-rich petroleum and its processing products

The contributors performed a study of the blastomogenic properties of the heavy high vanadium oil processed at different temperatures. Skin applications of the oil and oil products in hybrid mice induced skin tumours in 27.5 (48.7%), pregastric--6.4 (7.6%), genital--15.4 (21.1%) cases. It was established that high temperatures of oil sublimation increased the benzopyrene contents and the oil products' blastomogenic activity.     

The impact of partial termination of food subsidy programme on food consumption pattern.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the public opinion towards the possible replacement of ration cards by cash payment and to investigate the effect of partial termination of food price subsidy programme on food consumption by families from different income brackets. A purposive sample of 300 families from Alexandria Governorates were interviewed to assess the attitude of the consumer towards the possible termination of current food subsidy programme. After one year, during which the subsidy programme was reduced, a follow up sample of 240 were interviewed. The results show that a large proportion of the families prefer the continuation of the current programme (80-81.2%), meanwhile, around 90% of them believed that subsidized foods do not reach the target group. The data show that subsidized meat and poultry are consumed by high income families while frozen subsidized fish was mostly consumed by poor families. The partial termination of the subsidy programme forced the families to reduce their consumption from sugar, tea, oil, and rice. During the second phase of the study. However the results show that high income families were least affected by the partial termination of the subsidy programme.