The predictive value of steroid hormone receptor analysis in breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer

The predictive value of female sex steroid, estrogen and progesterone, receptor (ER and PR, respectively) assays in breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer is reviewed with emphasis on comparative aspects of these malignant tumors in relation to their hormone dependency. The endocrine etiology of these three tumor types seems to be at least partly different, and so is the expression of these receptors in normal and malignant tissues of the breast, endometrium and ovary. There is a tendency for decreased receptor concentrations and disappearance of these receptors in association with advancement of these malignancies. There is also a decrease in the presence and concentrations of ER and PR in relation to loss of differentiation in breast and endometrial cancer. Receptor analyses have an established position in the selection of patients with advanced breast cancer for endocrine treatment, and they give promise of a similar application in endometrial cancer and in endometrioid cancer of the ovary. It is not clear whether the disease-free interval is related to the presence or concentrations of ER or PR as such in the tumor tissue. There is better survival in breast cancer patients with receptor-positive tumors, which might be due to a response to endocrine treatment. The same seems to be true for patients with endometrial cancer. Future progress in the application of female sex steroid receptor analyses in breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer needs additional controlled clinical trials and more highly developed receptor assays.     

Synthesis and anti-tuberculous activity of diesters based on isosteviol and dicarboxylic acids

Diesters based on isosteviol and dicarboxylic acids were synthesized and tested for antituberculous activity. Isosteviol and some of its derivatives exhibit appreciable tuberculostatic properties in vitro, the activity being dependent on the length of the polymethylene spacer connecting two ent-beyeran fragments. The mechanism of the antituberculous action of isosteviol derivatives are discussed. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 9, pp. 12–13, September, 2006.     

Traumatic Injury of the Superior Mesenteric Vein: Ligate,Repair or Shunt?

Abstract We report a case of SMV injury in a critically ill patient. The patient was a 19-year-old woman involved in a motor vehicle collision. Her injuries included grade II splenic and renal lacerations, devascularized and lacerated right and transverse colon, a transected transverse mesocolon, a massive shear injury of her abdominal wall, and two partial SMV transections. At initial damage control laparotomy, the SMV was ligated, the devascularized bowel resected and a temporary abdominal closure applied. At re-operation, a mesocaval shunt using saphenous vein was employed. The shunt failed and the patient required a saphenous vein jump graft. Although visceral vascular injuries are rare, ligation of the SMV in a damage control situation is acceptable. This case study is the first to discuss appropriate treatment when interruption to a patient's collateral visceral venous drainage limits the surgeon’s ability to ligate. In these situations, bypass shunts may be successful.