Tumour-associated monoclonal antibodies for the diagnosis and assessment of ovarian cancer

Summary. A tumour-associated radiolabelled monoclonal antibody (HMFG 2) was used to investigate 51 patients who were referred with a pelvic mass and suspected ovarian cancer or recurrent disease. The day before operation the ¹²³I-labelled antibody was injected and the patients then underwent radioimmunoscintigraphy immediately and again 4 and 22 h after the injection. An exploratory laparotomy with appropriate surgery was then performed and the tumours were staged. Tumours were positively imaged 3 min-22 h after injection in all the patients with ovarian cancer, with a mean 0.6% of the injected antibody taken up by the tumour. The presence of HMFG antigen on the tumour was confirmed by immunoperoxidase staining of the surgically-removed tissues. Of the 51 patients, 39 proved to have ovarian cancer. The accuracy of diagnosis and detection of primary and metastatic malignant disease was 95% when correlating pre-operative radioimmune scan findings and laparotomy findings. The procedure is minimally invasive, apparently without side-effects and offers information for tumour detection as an adjunct or alternative to existing methods.     

Histopathological Changes Following Laser Ablation of a Left-Sided Accessory Pathway in a Human

Laser ablation was performed intraoperatively in a patient with coronary artery disease and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Histopathological evaluation of the laser ablation site revealed a transverse laser incision in the left atrial septum and mitral valve annulus. There was hemorrhage in the atrioventricular (AV) groove with interruption of a posterolateral AV connection. The laser lesion was confined largely to the atrial aspect of the AV annulus. We conclude that laser catheter ablation of accessory pathways is feasible in humans.     

Expression of an Onchocerca volvulus Ov33 homolog in Dirofilaria immitis: potential in immunodiagnosis of heartworm infection

In this study, the expression of an Onchocerca volvulus Ov33 homolog was demonstrated in Dirofilaria immitis. Rabbit antiserum raised against a recombinant fusion protein of O. volvulus, MBP/OvD 5B (Ov33), was found to react with a 31–33 kDa glycoprotein (DiT33) of adult worms of D. immitis. An antibody response to MBP/OvD 5B was observed in dogs, as early as 11 weeks post infection with infective larvae of D. immitis, and in dogs with occult infection. Cats both experimentally and naturally infected with D. immitis also reacted strongly with the recombinant antigen. In contrast, sera from dogs receiving chemically-abbreviated infection or from animals harbouring a variety of other helminths failed to react. These data suggest that antibody responses generated by DiT33 may have potential in immunodiagnosis of heartworm infection in cats and dogs.     

Arachidonic acid metabolism by peripheral blood cells in psoriasis

The metabolism of arachidonic acid by mixed suspensions of leukocytes and platelets prepared from peripheral blood has been studied in 20 patients with psoriasis and 21 healthy controls. A lipoxygenase-derived product, identified as 12,20-dihydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid was formed in increased amounts by the cell suspensions from the psoriatic patients. This product results from the metabolism of platelet-derived 12-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid by the polymorphonuclear leukocyte 20-hydroxylase enzyme. By contrast, synthesis of the cyclo-oxygenase products 12-hydroxy-5,8,10-heptadecatrienoic acid and thromboxane B₂ was diminished. Benoxaprofen, which is known to be beneficial in psoriasis, diminished the levels of 12,20-dihydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid formed in vitro.