Primary papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma of broad ligament

A rare case of an advanced primary broad ligament carcinoma is discussed, with a review of the literature regarding its incidence, presentation and management. This patient showed a complete response to adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy following panhysterectomy and is presently without any evidence of disease, 15 months after completion of her treatment.     

Is chronic inflammatory change in the prostate the major cause of rising serum prostate‐specific antigen in patients with clinical suspicion of prostate cancer?

AIM: To evaluate the cause of elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in patients with transrectal needle biopsy negative for prostate cancer. METHODS: Serum PSA concentration, prostate volume, and pathologic findings were examined in 223 patients with negative biopsy for prostate cancer. The degree of prostate inflammation was determined by the extent and degree of inflammation shown by biopsy specimens and is expressed as an inflammation score (range: 0-36). RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between PSA concentration and prostate total volume (P=0.0001). Prostate chronic inflammation showed no correlation with PSA concentration (P=0.485, F=0.488). After allocating patients to normal PSA (4 ng/mL) groups, we found that serum PSA concentrations in both groups were predominantly affected by prostate total volume. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in prostate volume appears to be the major contributor to a high serum PSA concentration in patients with negative biopsy for prostate cancer. However, in contrast to previous reports, there was no correlation between the degree of prostate chronic inflammation and serum PSA concentrations.     

Immunogenicity study of low-dose administration of hepatitis B virus vaccine in newborn infants: A cost reduction trial

Different doses of hepatitis B virus vaccine—prepared by Korea Green Cross Corporation, were given to healthy infants born to HBsAg-negative mothers at birth, 1 and 6 months of age. A dose of 2 μg was administered intradermally in Group A and, in the three other groups, the vaccine was given intramuscularly (i.m.). An adequate follow-up observation was possible for 9 months after birth in 22, 25, 23 and 21 infants in Groups A, B, C and D, respecvely.
Group C (5 μg, i.m.) produced seroconversion most rapidly, showing the highest rate (96%) at 9 months of age. The lowest seroconversion rate (5%) was found at the age of 1 month in Group A subjects, but the rate increased to 91% after a booster dose was given at 6 months of age.
While it can be concluded that a 5 μg i.m. dose of vaccine at 0, 1 and 6 months of age is optimum for the immunization of infants in efficacy and economy, a 2 μg intradermal dose can also be considered as an immunogenic and economical regimen, though the immune response is slower and a special technique is required for immunization.     

Randomized Evaluation of an Inflatable Femoral Artery Compression Device After Cardiac Catheterization

Mechanical femoral artery compression devices have several limitations. We compared a novel disposable beltheld pneumatic compression device to manual compression alone in 213 patients randomized into two equal groups. Both were comparable for age, gender, current therapy with aspirin (ASA) and warfarin, diameter of the arterial sheath, previous procedures via the same artery, procedure duration, and blood pressure. Manual compression time was 12 ± 3 minutes. Pneumatic compression was reduced during 60 minutes. Patient discomfort was assessed as none (82% vs 88%), mild (13% vs 8%), moderate (3% vs 4%), or severe (2% vs 0%) for the manual versus pneumatic group, respectively. Bleeding and hematoma occurred in 7.5% of patients with no difference between the treatment groups. However, manual compression was significantly more effective in the higher range of systolic blood pressure, and pneumatic in the lower range, with a cut point of approximately 170 mmHg. Predictors for bleeding were systolic blood pressure and dose of ASA. Among 113 patients with systolic blood pressure < 160 mmHg and low dose (75 mg) or no ASA, only / patient (0.9%) experienced bleeding while 31% of 16 patients with both elevated systolic blood pressure and high dose ASA (150–330 mg) bled. We conclude that pneumatic femoral artery compression does not reduce bleeding and hematoma compared with manual compression. The use of low dose (75 mg) or no ASA, as well as giving special attention to patients with elevated systolic blood pressure, may reduce the risk of bleeding after cardiac catheterization .     

DNA flow-cytometric analysis in colorectal cancer: A comparison of metastasizing and non-metastasizing tumours

The most common cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer is metastatic liver disease. In order to identify patients at a high risk of developing hepatic secondaries from colorectal cancers, DNA content was measured in metastasizing colorectal primaries (Group I, n= 32) as well as in their subsequently resected liver secondaries and in sections of non-metastasizing colorectal cancers (Group II, n= 25). A modified interpretation system involving both a DNA index and percentage of cycling cells (those in S and G2 + M phases) was developed. DNA content was measured in paraffin-embedded sections by flow cytometry using internal controls (human peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and non-malignant tissue controls (19 patients with diverticular disease). In Group I there were significantly more tumours with both abnormal ploidy (aneuploid or abnormal tetraploid peak) and > 15% cycling cells compared with Group II (Chi-squared; P= 0.034). The combination of abnormal ploidy and > 15% cycling cells was superior to Dukes’ classification for identifying metastasizing tumours (Logistic Regression; P= 0.047). However, it was not possible to discriminate between the two groups using either DNA ploidy or the percentage of cycling cells alone. The metastasizing colorectal cancers exhibited similar DNA ploidy characteristics and had a similar percentage of cycling cells compared with their liver metastases. These results suggest that tumour DNA ploidy plus the percentage of cycling cells may predict the development of liver metastases and thus survival in patients with colorectal cancer.     

十名志愿者口服维拉帕米缓释片药代动力学和心电图研究

对10名男性受试者单剂量po240mgVer缓释片药代动力学及心电图变化进行研究。血药浓度—时间数据用零级吸收过程的一室模型拟合,其药代动力学参数:T_max5.9±1.6h;C_max118.9±37.2μg·L^-1;T₁ 5.4±1.5h;k₀30.5±17.5μg·L^-1·h^-1;T_1/210.8±4.9h。PR间期延长有显著意义,血药浓度与PR间期变化满足S 型模型,其药效学参数:EC₅₀ 64.6±16.9μg·L^-1; E_max54±11ms;s 1.68±0.66。