Increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer among women in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1940 through 1988.

To determine trends in the incidence of pancreatic cancer and associated survival, we conducted a population-based study in Olmsted County, Minnesota. From 1940 through 1988, 219 residents of Olmsted County (120 men and 99 women) were diagnosed as having exocrine pancreatic cancer. All patients were Caucasians, and 92% had a histologically confirmed diagnosis. The mean annual adjusted incidence of pancreatic cancer per 100,000 population was 8.5 overall (11.3 for men and 6.6 for women). During the course of the study, the incidence rates increased in women (P < 0.05) and in both genders combined (P = 0.06) but not in men (P = 0.4). The male:female ratio decreased from approximately 2:1 for 1940 through 1949 to 1.5:1 for 1980 through 1988. The incidence was significantly associated with increasing age (P < 0.001) and male gender (P < 0.001) but not calendar period (P = 0.19). The overall median duration of survival was 2.8 months. The 1-year survival rate was only 14%, and no patient lived for more than 55 months after pancreatic cancer was diagnosed. Men and women had similar survival rates. The increased incidence of pancreatic cancer among women may be due in part to the increasing life span of women and the increasing occurrence of pancreatic cancer in the aged.     

Islet amyloid polypeptide is not a satisfactory marker for detecting pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) levels are elevated in pancreatic cancer and may be a useful marker of pancreatic cancer-associated diabetes. The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity for pancreatic cancer of IAPP with that of CA19-9, examine clinical characteristics of diabetes in pancreatic cancer, and define the relationship of IAPP to diabetes of pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Fasting serum glucose, IAPP, and CA 19-9 were measured in 130 subjects with pancreatic cancer, 250 subjects with other pancreatic and peripancreatic diseases, and 116 controls. In pancreatic cancer patients, we noted tumor stage and the presence and duration of diabetes. RESULTS: IAPP was markedly elevated in pancreatic cancer, especially in patients with diabetes. However, the sensitivity of IAPP for pancreatic cancer was less than that of CA 19-9 (40% vs. 75%; P < 0.001). Diabetes was present in 46% of pancreatic cancers and 55% of resectable tumors. In pancreatic cancer with diabetes, the sensitivity of IAPP was only 50%. In resectable cancer it was 27%. CONCLUSIONS: IAPP is elevated in pancreatic cancer but is not sensitive enough to replace or complement existing tests. Diabetes occurs early and frequently in pancreatic cancer. Development of a sensitive and specific marker for pancreatic-associated diabetes might lead to diagnosis of resectable pancreatic cancer.     

Role of the pancreas in the control of interdigestive gastrointestinal motility

Our aim was to determine if the pancreas regulates the interdigestive motor patterns of the upper gut. Four dogs were prepared with gastric and intestinal manometry catheters and interdigestive (fasting) motility was measured before and after total surgical pancreatectomy. The characteristics of the gastric and intestinal migrating motor complex were very similar before and after pancreatectomy. The time intervals between successive migrating motor complexes in the antrum (145 +/- 11 vs. 135 +/- 15 min, mean +/- SE) or small intestine (133 + 10 vs. 137 +/- 16 min) were not significantly (p greater than 0.4) altered by pancreatectomy, but the antral motility index (the sum of the antral contractions in a 15-min period) was greater after pancreatectomy (53 +/- 6 vs. 27 +/- 4; p less than 0.05). Pancreatectomy led to undetectable plasma concentrations of pancreatic polypeptide, but had no effect on absolute concentrations of plasma motilin or on the cycling of plasma motilin in association with the duodenal migrating motor complex. We conclude that the pancreas and pancreatic polypeptide play little, if any, role in controlling canine interdigestive motility of the upper gut.     

Neurophysiologic assessment of the anal sphincters

One hundred twenty consecutive patients with either fecal incontinence (60 patients), chronic constipation (41 patients), or idiopathic intractable pelvic pain (19 patients) were prospectively assessed. Patients underwent concentric needle electromyography (EMG), bilateral pudendal nerve terminal motor latency evaluation, anorectal manometry, and cinedefecography. The most common EMG finding in patients with fecal incontinence was decreased recruitment of motor units with squeezing and polyphasic motor unit potentials; these are consistent with an injury pattern. The most common EMG finding in the constipated patients was paradoxical puborectalis contraction. This latter abnormality was also a frequent finding in patients with rectal pain, as was prolongation of pudendal nerve latency. Paradoxical puborectalis contraction was diagnosed more frequently with EMG than with cinedefecography. Inter-examination correlation was best in the incontinent group between EMG and manometry. Cinedefecography had poor correlation with EMG in all patient groups but was valuable in the detection of additional pathology such as rectoanal intussusception and anterior rectocele. Electromyography including pudendal nerve terminal motor latency assessment is a valuable adjunct in the evaluation of disorders of evacuation. The information it yields is complementary to that offered by more routine physiologic examinations.     

A sudden increase in factor VIII inhibitor development in multitransfused hemophilia A patients in The Netherlands. Dutch Hemophilia Study Group

The development of antibodies to factor VIII (inhibitors) in response to clotting-factor concentrates administration in hemophilia is common during the first few years of treatment but rare in multitransfused patients. We have investigated the possible association of a recently introduced factor VIII concentrate (Factor VIII CPS-P) in The Netherlands with the occurrence of inhibitors. To this effect, we conducted two studies. First, we performed a national multicenter study in which clinical information and inhibitor test results were obtained for 447 hemophilia A patients over the period 1988 through 1991. Secondly, for a baseline comparison we estimated the frequency of inhibitor development in a closely followed cohort of 144 patients, from 1984 through 1989. Before the introduction of Factor VIII CPS-P, the incidence of new inhibitors was 4.4/1,000 patient-years in the national study from March 1988 through May 1990, and 3.9/1,000 patient- years in the cohort followed from 1984 through 1989. These figures are similar to the incidence of new inhibitors that was found in a large cohort of patients in the United States followed in the 1970s. In the period that the new concentrate Factor VIII CPS-P was on the market, from June 1990 through November 1991, 11 clinically relevant inhibitors were detected, which yielded an incidence over this interval of 20.1/1,000 patient-years, a 4.5-fold increase compared with the previous interval (C195: 1.4 to 14.3). Nine of these 11 patients had in their lifetime received over 250 infusions with factor VIII preparations. whereas all of the inhibitors detected in the previous time interval, and all of the 24 inhibitor patients described in the US study, had received less than 250 infusions in their lifetime. All patients who developed inhibitors after June 1990 had been exposed to Factor VIII CPS-P, whereas only 75% of the patients who did not develop an inhibitor had been exposed to this product. In a prospective extension of the study, with a second inhibitor measurement after 3 months, we found that one additional inhibitor had developed during 52.5 patient-years of Factor VIII CPS-P use. In conclusion, there has been a sudden increase in the frequency of inhibitor patients, for a large part among multitransfused patients. It seems more than likely that this increase is associated with the introduction of a new factor VIII concentrate in The Netherlands.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Human heart: tagging with MR imaging--a method for noninvasive assessment of myocardial motion

Specified regions of the myocardium can be labeled in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to serve as markers during contraction. The technique is based on locally perturbing the magnetization of the myocardium with selective radio-frequency (RF) saturation of multiple, thin tag planes during diastole followed by conventional, orthogonal-plane imaging during systole. The technique was implemented on a 0.38-T imager and tested on phantoms and volunteers. In humans, tags could be seen 60-450 msec after RF saturation, thus permitting sampling of the entire contractile phase of the cardiac cycle. Tagged regions appear as hypointense stripes, and their patterns of displacement reflect intervening cardiac motion. In addition to simple translation and rotation, complex motions such as cardiac twist can be demonstrated. The effects of RF pulse angle, relaxation times, and heart rate on depiction of the tagged region are discussed.