Antitumour imidazotetrazines XXVIII 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase activity in cell lines sensitive and resistant to temozolomide.

The ability of extracts of a range of cell lines to release methylated bases from a DNA substrate, which had been modified with [3H]dimethyl sulphate, has been compared in cell lines with differing sensitivity to the cytotoxic drug, temozolomide. High performance liquid chromatography profiles of the bases released by these extracts showed that the activity was specific for 3-methyladenine. There was little variation in the level of 3-methyladenine-DNA glycosylase between the different cell lines despite a 40-fold difference in sensitivity to temozolomide and no correlation with the level of O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase.     

A leg ulcer as manifestation of metastatic squamous cell vaginal carcinoma

Cutaneous metastasis of vaginal carcinoma is extremely rare. So far, the total number of reported skin metastasis of vaginal carcinoma is only one. We present another case with an unusual manifestation of vagina carcinoma metastasis: skin metastasis presenting as a leg ulcer on the lower leg.     

Colorectal carcinoma: importance of clinical and pathological factors in survival.

A series of clinicopathological variables was assessed on 312 patients undergoing surgical resection for primary colorectal cancer. Although the presence of venous invasion was related to mortality (P = 0.02), classifying invasion into involvement of thick-walled or thin-walled veins did not produce a variable of prognostic value. Intestinal obstruction (P = 0.04) and the macroscopic appearance of the tumour (P = 0.04) were related to mortality from colorectal cancer, but not from all causes of death. Duke''s stage, increasing patient age and poorly differentiated tumours were the variables which were individually most significantly related to poor prognosis (P < 0.001 for each analysis). Cox''s regression analysis identified these three variables as independent predictors of outcome in colorectal cancer. This study confirms that Duke''s stage, patient age and tumour differentiation are still the most important clinicopathological variables in colorectal cancer.