Rhabdomyoma of the heart with intrapericardial expansion

A rare case of a rhabdomyoma originating from the surface of the right atrium in a 20-year-old female is reported. The tumor showed electrical activity and caused both outflow obstruction and tamponade symptoms. It was successfully removed by a right-sided thoracotomy. The clinical course, diagnostic investigations, and the therapeutical approach of this rare lesion are discussed.     

Free amino acid pattern of cerebrospinal fluid in meningeal pathology

Free amino acid concentrations of CSF were measured in bacterial meningitis, aseptic meningitis, meningoradiculitis Garin-Bujadoux-Bannwarth, multiple sclerosis, carcinomatous meningitis, and controls. Almost all CSF amino acids were highly elevated in bacterial but not in aseptic meningitis, meningoradiculitis Garin-Bujadoux-Bannwarth or carcinomatous meningitis thus providing a laboratory tool for their differential diagnosis. In carcinomatous meningitis the amino acid pattern indicates metabolic activity of tumor cells. Minimal alterations were found in multiple sclerosis which have no diagnostic value.     

Intramedullary pilocytic astrocytomas — a clinical and morphological study after combined surgical and photon or neutron therapy

Ten patients suffering from intramedullary pilocytic astrocytomas (WHO-classification: astrocytoma grade I) were investigated catamnesticly. Combined surgery and radiotherapy was performed. Seven patients received neutron irradiation postoperatively. In four cases the neurological symptoms were improved after follow-up periods ranging from 33 to 89 months. The three other patients died after 6 to 21 months. The autopsy findings of a 14 year old child are presented. Our results are compared with reports in the literature. In addition, long-term problems of the spinal column are discussed. It seems that the combined surgical and neutron therapy improves the prognosis of pencil gliomas.     

Role of prolactin in modulating the effects of tamoxifen on growth of the Dunning R3327 rat prostate adenocarcinoma

Tamoxifen (TAM) has previously been shown to inhibit growth of the Dunning R3327 rat prostate adenocarcinoma and to elevate serum prolactin levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of prolactin in modulating the effects of tamoxifen on growth of the R3327 prostatic adenocarcinoma. Intact and castrated Copenhagen-Fischer male rats bearing the Dunning R3327 rat prostatic tumor were divided into groups and injected sc five times per week for 16 weeks as follows: vehicle; TAM (0.5 mg/kg); haloperidol (HALO; 0.5 mg/kg); bromocriptine (CB-154; 5 mg/kg); TAM plus HALO; or TAM plus CB-154. In both intact and castrated rats, agents that either raised (HALO) or lowered (CB-154) serum prolactin had little effect on prostatic tumor growth when administered singly. In intact rats, average tumor diameter in vehicle-treated controls increased 421% 16 weeks after the start of the experiment, and treatment with TAM or TAM plus HALO reduced this tumor growth by approximately one-half. Interestingly, CB-154 administered in combination with TAM completely blocked TAM inhibition of tumor growth in intact rats. In contrast to these results in intact rats, average tumor diameter increased 129% in TAM- and 118% in TAM plus HALO-treated castrated rats and was significantly greater than the characteristic retardation of tumor growth (49% increase) that occurred in the vehicle-treated castrate controls. In addition, combined treatment of TAM plus CB-154 in castrate rats resulted in an even greater increase (188%) in average tumor diameter. The inhibitory effect of TAM on R3327 prostatic tumor growth in intact rats appears to be an indirect effect resulting from its ability to reduce serum testosterone levels. In contrast, the stimulatory effect of TAM in castrate rats appears to result directly from an estrogen-like action, which can directly enhance prostatic tumor growth in the presence of low levels of circulating androgens; this stimulatory effect of TAM is more pronounced when prolactin levels are suppressed by CB-154. Clearly, castration alone is more effective than TAM therapy alone or in combination with castration in the retardation of the growth of the androgen-dependent R3327 prostatic tumor in rats.     

益肾化浊注射液对慢性肾功能衰竭大鼠残余肾中细胞因子含量的影响

通过观察益肾化浊注射液对5／6肾切除大鼠残余肾中细胞因子含量的影响，益肾化浊注射液延缓慢性肾功能衰竭（CRF）模型大鼠肾功能减退的作用机理。结果显示：益肾化浊注射液可以降低5／6肾切在鼠血清肌,尿素氮（P＜0．01），下调肾组织中白细胞介素－1（IL－1）（P＜0．05），白细胞介素－8（IL－8）（P＜0．05）及肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）（P＜0．05）的总体水平，说明益肾化浊注射液可以通过下调5／6肾切除大鼠残余肾中相关细胞因子含量，抑制促炎细胞因子对肾脏的损害，从而延缓CRF的进展。     

Electrochemotherapy significantly inhibits the growth of colon 26 tumors in mice

Electrochemotherapy is a novel antitumor treatment involving the systemic administration of bleomycin followed by the delivery of electrical pulses to the tumor. The present study investigates the effects of electrochemotherapy on the growth of colon 26 cells inoculated subcutaneously into the backs of BALB/c mice. The mice were divided into the following four experimental groups: 20 that received no further treatment after the inoculation of colon 26 cells (control group); 20 that received 500 μg of bleomycin intraperitoneally 7 and 9 days after the inoculation (BLM group); 20 that received electric pulses to the tumor 7 and 9 days after the inoculation (EP group); and 30 that received electrochemotherapy 7 and 9 days after the inoculation (ECT group). During 28 days of observation, no deaths due to tumor progression occurred in the ECT group, but there were 18 in the control group, 11 in the BLM group, and 18 in the EP group. While weight loss was observed in all groups, it was most remarkable in the control group. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited in the ECT group, compared to the other experimental groups (P<0.01). The results of this study demonstrated that electrochemotherapy significantly inhibited the growth of colon 26 tumors in mice, without causing any remarkable adverse effects.     

Expression of the cell surface antigen detected by the monoclonal antibody A7 in pancreatic carcinoma cell lines

In a previous study, we used a murine monoclonal antibody, A7, against human colon carcinoma as a drug-carrier to treat colorectal cancer.¹ In the present study, we found that MAb A7 also reacted immunohistochemically with 73% of human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines, with the A7 antigen mainly being detected on the cell surface. However, the A7 antigen was found in only 9% of the spent media of these human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines by ELISA. On the other hand, the positive incidence of CA19-9, POA, ferritin, CEA, DU-PAN-2 and SLX in those spent media was 100%, 64%, 64%, 55%, 55% and 36%, respectively. These results suggest that the A7 antigen may only rarely be shed into the sera of pancreatic cancer patients, in which case MAb A7 could be a suitable drug-carrier in targeting chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer patients.     

恶性肿瘤患者的皮肤转移（附50例报告）

恶性肿瘤的皮肤转移确与患者的病种、病理类型、术前后淋巴结转移情况、临床分期、手术类型、放疗及化疗的剂量、遗传因素有关。其出现于任何部位均提示预后不佳。     

Significance of the BTA Test in Bladder Cancer: A Multicenter Trial

Background :
The BTA test is a latex agglutination assay for the qualitative detection in the urine of analytes that are associated with bladder tumor. We compared the results of the BTA test with those of voided urine cytology (VUC) in patients with bladder cancer.
Methods :
A multicenter trial was performed at 6 institutions. A total of 132 patients with histologically diagnosed bladder cancer were enrolled. Urine samples were split for BTA and VUC testing.
Results :
The sensitivities of the BTA test and VUC were 57.6% and 37.9%, respectively; this difference was significant ( P < 0.001). The BTA test had much higher sensitivity for small, solitary, superficial tumors than did VUC.
Conclusion :
The BTA test is simple to perform, gives rapid results, and is far more sensitive than VUC for detection of bladder cancer. The BTA test has the potential to become an additional tool for detecting bladder cancer.     

Elevated serum levels of the apoptosis related molecules TNF-α, Fas/Apo-1 and Bcl-2 in oral lichen planus

BACKGROUND: The serum circulatory levels of apoptosis related molecules measured in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and healthy individuals in order to investigate possible alterations associated with the clinical forms of OLP. METHODS: Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, soluble Fas (sFas) and Bcl-2 studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in whole blood samples in 13 OLP reticular, 13 OLP atrophic-erosive form patients and 26 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Significantly elevated levels of TNF-alpha and sFas detected in OLP patients as compared with controls. Serum concentrations of Bcl-2 although increased in 17/26 patients, they were not statistically significant. Reticular OLP exhibited slightly elevated TNF-alpha and significantly elevated Bcl-2 serum levels, compared with erosive OLP. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that a putative dysfunction in the Fas/FasL mediated apoptosis might be involved in the OLP pathogenesis. A downregulation of Bcl-2 serum levels in the atrophic-erosive OLP may be associated with promotion of the disease activity.