Informational needs of individuals and families with hereditary cancers

Individuals and families with hereditary cancers have informational needs that differ, depending on the availability of testing for increased hereditary risk and major focus of concern (reproductive decision-making or risk to self). Cancer risk counseling helps individuals understand risk information so they can make decisions appropriate to their lives and value systems.     

Placental teratoma.

The rare teratoma of the placenta has been compared to the fetus amorphus, two distinguishing characteristics being the teratoma's lack of structural organization and lack of large vessels entering the tumor. A case of placental teratoma and theories of origin are discussed.     

Surgical Management of Renal Cell Carcinoma With Inferior Vena Cava Tumor Thrombus

Background. The optimal management of patients with renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus remains unresolved. Traditional approaches have included resection with or without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Chemotherapy has played a minor role except for biotherapeutic agents used for metastatic disease.

Methods. From January 1989 to January 1996, 37 patients with renal cell carcinoma and inferior vena cava tumor thrombus underwent surgical resection. The 27 men and 10 women had a median age of 57 years (range, 29 to 78 years). Thirty-six patients presented with symptoms; 21 had hematuria. Distant metastases were present in 12 patients. Tumor thrombi extended to the infrahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 16), the intrahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 16), the suprahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 3), and into the right atrium (n = 2). All tumors were resected by inferior vena cava isolation and, when necessary, extended hepatic mobilization and Pringle maneuver, with primary or patch closure of the vena cavotomy. Cardiopulmonary bypass was necessary in only 2 patients with intraatrial thrombus.

Results. Complications occurred in 11 patients, and 1 patient died 2 days postoperatively of a myocardial infarction (mortality, 2.7%). Twenty patients are alive; overall 2- and 5-year survival rates were 61.7% and 33.6%, respectively. For patients without lymph node or distant metastases (stage IIIa), 2- and 5-year survival rates were 74% and 45%, respectively. The presence of distant metastatic disease (stage IV) at the time of operation did not have a significant adverse effect on survival, as reflected by 2- and 5-year survival rates of 62.5% and 31.3%, respectively. Lymph node metastases (stage IIIc) adversely affected survival as there were no long-term survivors.

Conclusions. Resection of an intracaval tumor thrombus arising from renal cell carcinoma can be performed safely and can result in prolonged survival even in the presence of metastatic disease. In our experience, extracorporeal circulatory support was required only when the tumor thrombus extended into the heart.     

Effects of laparotomy on systemic macrophage function.

Surgical trauma induces immunosuppression that may adversely influence survival. This study examined the effect of laparotomy on two different macrophage populations, peritoneal macrophages (PM phi) and Kupffer cells. Female, 6- to 8-week old, CFW/C3H-HeN mice (n = 160) were randomly allocated to one of three study groups: control, ether anesthetic only, or ether anesthetic and laparotomy. On postoperative days 1 and 3, PM phis and Kupffer cells were harvested and assayed for superoxide anion production (O2-), percent macrophage phagocytosis of Candida albicans (CAP), percent C. albicans killed by macrophages (CAK), percent major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-class II antigen expression, and antigen presentation. Macrophages isolated on postoperative day 1 were also cocultured with 100 units/10(6) cells/ml interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Laparotomy significantly impaired microbicidal activity (O2-, percent CAP, and percent CAK) and antigen presentation on postoperative day 1. On postoperative day 3, O2- and antigen presentation were increased significantly (p less than 0.05) over control values, indicating a rebound phenomenon. Kupffer cell microbicidal function was unchanged on postoperative days 1 and 3. The initial immune impairment (PM phis: O2-, CAP, and CAK) was abrogated by IFN-gamma treatment. In immunosuppressed hosts after injury, administration of macrophage-activating factors such as IFN-gamma could be of therapeutic benefit.     

Hemolytic and sphingomyelinase activities of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin are dependent on a domain homologous to that of an enzyme from the human arachidonic acid pathway.

The N-terminal domain of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin, homologous with the nontoxic phospholipase C of Bacillus cereus, was expressed in Escherichia coli and shown to retain all of the phosphatidylcholine hydrolyzing activity of the alpha-toxin, but not the sphingomyelinase, hemolytic, or lethal activities. The C-terminal domain of alpha-toxin showed sequence and predicted structural homologies with the N-terminal region of arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase, an enzyme from the human arachidonic acid pathway which plays a role in inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases in humans.     

Hyperaemia in rat neocortex produced by acute exposure to methylenedioxymethamphetamine

Cerebral blood flow and glucose utilization were measured in rat neocortex, hippocampus and striatum following methylenedioxymethamphetamine injection (5 mg/kg, i.v.), using the tracers [¹⁴C]iodoantipyrine and [¹⁴C]2-deoxyglucose, respectively. In control rats, blood flow was coupled to glucose metabolism, but in methylenedioxymethamphetamine-treated rats, marked hyperperfusion was measured in frontal and parietal cortex with no change in glucose use. This suggests that methylenedioxymethamphetamine has the potential to disrupt cerebrovascular control.