Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: clinical and radiographic findings in children

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in childhood occurs so infrequently that it is not suspected in affected children until the disease has been present for a long time and local spreading has occurred. The survival rates are therefore quite poor. Six children with NPC are described. A massive local lymph node spread simulating lymphoma was present in half of the patients; in the other half the disease was more subtle, presenting with epistaxis and CNS involvement. If an evaluation of the nasopharynx were part of the initial physical examination in children, the diagnosis of NPC would be made earlier and survival rates would improve.     

Penetration of Idarubicin into Malignant Brain Tumor Tissue

Anthracyclines are effective in breast cancer and have in vitro cytotoxicity in glioma. In patients with glioma anthracyclines are not effective possibly because the hydrophilic drugs do not reach cytotoxic levels in tumor tissue. Idarubicin is more lipophilic than the other anthracyclines and is more cytotoxic in glioma cell lines. The uptake of idarubicin and its major metabolite idarubicinol in brain tumor tissue were measured in a patient with a brain metastasis from breast cancer and in 4 patients with malignant glioma after an oral dose of idarubicin (45 mg/m² in 1 patient; 25 mg/m² in 4 patients), given 15–24 h before brain tumor resection. The concentrations of idarubicin and of idarubicinol in tumor tissue exceeded the concurrent plasma concentrations as well as the peak plasma concentrations in all cases. The median tumor: concurrent plasma ratio of idarubicinol was 5.7 (range 1.7–18). The concentration of idarubicinol in the marginal zone between brain and tumor tissue was lower than in central tumor tissue, but was still higher than the plasma concentration in 2 of the 3 examined cases. Bone marrow suppression (platelets CTC grade 2, granulocytes CTC grade 4) occurred after a single dose of 45 ml/m². No toxicity was seen at a dose of 25 mg/m². These results, the in vitro activity of idarubicin in glioma, the convenience of oral administration, and its toxicity profile make clinical studies with idarubicin in malignant glioma, and perhaps also in brain metastases from breast cancer worthwhile.     

Low prevalence of <Emphasis Type=Italic>H. pylori</Emphasis> Infection in HIV-Positive Patients in the Northeast of Brazil

Background  

This study conducted in Northeastern Brazil, evaluated the prevalence of H. pylori infection and the presence of gastritis in HIV-infected patients.     

Chemopreventive activity of oltipraz against induction of glandular stomach carcinogenesis in rats by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine [published erratum appears in Carcinogenesis 1998 May;19(5):955]

The modifying effects of oltipraz on induction of glandular stomach carcinogenesis by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were investigated in a total of 120 male 6-week-old Wistar rats, divided into six groups. Groups 1-3 (30 animals each) were given 100 p.p.m. MNNG in their drinking water for 10 weeks as an initiation treatment for gastric cancer induction and respectively fed diets supplemented with 0.04%, 0.02% and 0% oltipraz for 12 weeks, starting 1 week before and finishing 1 week after the carcinogen exposure. Groups 4-6 (10 animals each) were similarly treated without the application of MNNG. At the end of the 80th experimental week, all surviving animals were autopsied and examined histopathologically for the existence of gastric proliferative lesions. The incidence and multiplicity of adenocarcinomas were significantly (P < 0.01) lower in group 1 than in group 3. In addition, the multiplicity of atypical hyperplasias in the pyloric region was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in group 1 as compared with the group 3 value. No gastric proliferative lesions were found in groups 4-6. In an additional short-term experiment, oltipraz significantly reduced cell proliferative activity (P < 0.01) and elevated glutathione levels (P < 0.05) in the glandular stomach mucosa of rats treated with MNNG. Thus our results clearly indicate that oltipraz can inhibit induction of proliferative glandular stomach lesions by MNNG in the rat.      

A new rat model of portal hypertension induced by intraportal injection of microspheres

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