Electronic Library of Scientific Literature



NEOPLASMA




Volume 43 / No. 4 / 1996


Cancer in hyperthyroidism

L. Pomorski, J. Cywinski, K. Rybinski

Surgery Clinic, Institute of Endocrinology, Medical University of Lodz, 93 513 Lodz, Poland

The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of thyroid cancer in toxic goitre. Based on the material from 14 500 goitre surgeries, including 3466 patients with toxic goitre, incidence of thyroid cancer, in relation to age and sex of the patients were determined.
In 14 500 goitre surgeries, 12 887 women and 1613 men (F:M 7.99:1), 639 (4.4%) cases of thyroid cancer were found. Among 3466 patients with toxic goitre, thyroid cancer was found in 21 cases (0.6%) - 20 females and 1 male, including 18 nodular toxic goitre and 3 Graves disease cases. The difference between the incidence of thyroid cancer in nontoxic and toxic goitre is statistically significant.

Key words: Toxic goitre, Graves disease, nodular toxic goitre, thyroid cancer.
pp. 217-219


Pilot study of enhancement of cisplatin activity by high dose cytarabine in advanced gastric and colorectal (G3/G4) cancer

I. Popov, S. Jelic, S. Radulovic, Z. Tomasevic

Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, 11 000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia

The response rate of advanced gastric cancer to cisplatin monotherapy averages 20% and in colorectal cancer no activity of cisplatin monotherapy has been detected in initial studies. Cytarabine is ineffective in gastic cancer and displays borderline activity in colorectal cancer. In vitro studies on cell lines from human digestive cancers have demonstrated a dose and timing dependent enhancing effect of cytarabine on cisplatin antitumor activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether this enhancing activity can also be demonstrated in vivo.
We have treated 37 patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer (21 gastric and 16 colorectal), poorly differentiated G3-G4. The treatment included - Day 1: cytarabine 500 mg/m[^2] 0 h and 12 h, cisplatin 15 mg/m[^2] 6 h and 18 h. Day 2-4: cisplatin 30 mg/m[^2]. Cycles were repeated every 4 weeks. Thirty four patients were evaluable for objective response. The overall response rate was 16.7% (CR 2/18, PR 1/18, SD 5/18, PD 10/18) for patients with gastric cancer and 25% (CR 1/16, PR 3/16, SD 7/16, PD 5/16) for patients with colorectal cancer. Grade 4 anemia (WHO criteria) occurred in 1/37 and thrombocytopenia in 1/37 patients. These patients had previous adjuvant chemotherapy. Vomiting grade 3 occurred in 4/37 and hepatotoxicity grade 3 in 1/37 patients. There were no toxic deaths. Our study did not demonstrate any enhancement of cisplatin activity by high dose cytarabine in advanced gastric cancer. There appears to be an enhancing activity on colorectal cancer although true synergism can not be ruled out since cytarabine has a borderline activity in this type of human cancer.

Key words: Digestive malignancies, cisplatin, cytarabine, high dose.
pp. 221-224


Pretreatment values of serum CA 15-3 antigen related to prognostic factors in breast cancer patients

J. Wojtacki, A. Dziewulska-Bokiniec, D.M. Kowalski, A. Zoltowska, D. Ciesielski, M. Suszko

Division of Radiotherapy and Oncology, PCK Maritime Hospital, 81-519 Gdynia, Poland;
Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland;
Division of Chemotherapy, Specialistic Center for Lung Diseases and Oncology, Olsztyn, Poland;
Department of Immunopathology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland

In the present study results of serum CA 15-3 immunoassay obtained at diagnosis in 231 breast cancer women (average age: 54.6, range: 27-87 years) were correlated with prognostic factors of the disease; the cut-off level was established at 30.0 U/ml. As a result, elevated mean values of serum CA 15-3 as well as positivity rates of the test were significantly associated with more advanced stage of breast cancer, presence of distant metastases, involvement of four and more axillary lymph nodes, high Bloom and Richardson grade [3], low contents of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PgR) receptors. Although serum CA 15-3 concentrations should be paralleled the increasing tumor size, the difference being significant only for the proportion of positive results. Our findings suggest that pretreatment levels of CA 15-3 antigen represent the breast cancer extent and reflect the cell differentiation and aggressiveness of the tumor. We conclude that pretreatment concentrations of CA 15-3 antigen may be useful as a prognostic factor in breast cancer patients.

Key words: CA 15-3, breast cancer, prognostic factors.
pp. 225-229


Sequential pulmonary effects of radiotherapy detected by Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy

Wan-Yu Lin, Yih-Chyang Weng, Shyh-Jen Wang, Yeh-You Shen

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan;
Department of Radiation Oncology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan;
Department of Radiological Technology, Chung-Tai Junior College, Taichung, Taiwan;
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital 95 Wen Road, Taipai Taiwan.

Lung damage after radiation therapy in 39 female patients diagnosed with right breast cancer was measured by Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy (DTPA). The clearance rate of Tc-99m DTPA in the lungs was presented as the clearance rate (k; %/min) of the time-activity curve of the dynamic lung images. All patients underwent simple mastectomy, and postoperative radiation of approximately 50 Gy. We divided the patients into three groups according to the interval of time between the date of irradiation and the lung scintigraphy: group 1 included 12 patients who were examined within three months after irradiation, group 2 included 16 patients who were examined 3 to 9 months after irradiation, and group 3 included 11 patients who were examined more than 9 months after irradiation. In addition, 10 age matched normal women were included as the control. The clearance of the right lung was 0.73 ± 0.13 for normal controls, 0.94 ± 0.24 for group 1, 1.11 ± 0.39 for group 2, and 0.69 ± 0.21 for group 3. In this small series of patients with breast cancer, the results suggest that lung damage may occur within the first three months after irradiation. After three months, lung damage becomes more significant and the clearance of Tc-99m DTPA in the lungs becomes faster. However, the clearance rate declines markedly after 9 months, which is assumed to result from the recovery of lung tissue from acute irradiation damage or from pulmonary fibrotic change after radiation therapy, or from a combination of both.

Key words: Breast cancer radiation therapy, Tc-99m DTPA aerosol inhalation, lung scintigraphy.
pp. 231-234


Bloodstream infections due to anaerobic bacteria in cancer patients: Epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, clinical presentation and outcome of anaerobic bacteremia

S. Spanik, J. Trupl, A. Kunova, P. Pichna, L. Helpianska, I. Ilavska, E. Kukuckova, J. Lacka, S. Grausova, K. Stopkova, L. Drgona, V. Krcmery Jr.,

Department of Medicine, University of Trnava, Trnava, Slovakia;
Department of Chemotherapy, Postgraduate Medical School, Bratislava, Slovakia;
Department of Medicine, National Cancer Institute Bratislava, Slovakia;
Department of Hematology, National Cancer Institute Bratislava, Slovakia;
Department of Microbiology, National Cancer Institute Bratislava, Slovakia

Thirthy one bacteremic episodes (BE) in 31 patients due to anaerobic bacteremia (AB) in 979 BE among 9986 admissions at a 360 beds National Cancer Institute within last 6 years were analyzed for time distribution, risk factors, clinical presentation and outcome. Overall incidence of AB was 3.6%, but the proportion to other groups of microorganisms is decreasing. 73% were Bacteroides fragilis, 10.8% Peptostreptococci and Propionibacteria and 5.4% Clostridia.
The most common risk factor for AB was prior surgery, solid tumor as underlying disease, prophylaxis with quinolones and previous therapy with third generation cephalosporines. 48.4% of AB were polymicrobial. Infected wound was the most common source of infection in 38.7% of our cancer patients. Six patients (19.4%) presented septic shock, and 45.2% died, but only in 22.6% death was related to bacteremia. Comparing the groups of AB due to B. fragilis (BF) to non-Bacteroides spp. (NB) AB, infection-associated mortality was higher in BF AB in comparison to NB AB. Other risk factors such as hematologic malignancies, previous prophylaxis with quinolones, prior surgery and prior therapy with broad spectrum antimicrobials, were more frequently associated with BF AB.

Key words: Anaerobic bacteremia, cancer patients.
pp. 235-238


Variant forms of Philadelphia translocation in two patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

A. Valent, A. Zamecnikova, H. Karlic, H. Nowotny, P. Krizan

Department of Oncological Genetics, National Institute of Cancer, 833 10 Bratislava, Slovakia;
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Leukemia Research and Hematology, Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria

During a 4-year period (December 1990-December 1994), among other diagnoses one hundred cases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) were analyzed in our department. We focused our attention on two cases with a variant form of Philadelphia translocation. Cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies were performed to resolve the status of BCR and ABL in the bone marrow or peripheral blood cells of the two CML patients with complex translocations involving chromosomes 3, 9, 22 and 9, 12, 22 respectively. In the first case the presence of Ph chromosome was detected cytogenetically, BCR-ABL translocation was detected by Southern hybridization. In the second case, only the PCR method showed BCR-ABL rearrangement. The second case, with a random variant form of Ph translocation, could be detected using different methods of clinical molecular genetics.

Key words: Chronic myeloid leukemia, Ph chromosome, variant translocation.
pp. 239-244


Clinical and immunologic effects of T-activin therapy in early stage melanoma patients

N. Stanojevic-Bakic, D. Milosevic, Lj. Vuckovic-Dekic, M. Sasic, Lj. Markovic

Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, 11 000 Beograd, Yugoslavia

We investigated the clinical and immunological effects of T-activin therapy in early stage melanoma patients. Several immune parameters (the number of T cells - E-RFC and CD3+, their subsets - CD4+ and CD8+, the number of CD38+ and CD16+ cells, and mitogen-induced lymphoproliferative response - LPR) were analyzed in relation to the clinical course of the disease in patients treated by T-activin in addition to the surgery (n = 8), and in control patients treated by the surgery alone (n = 9). Immunological tests were performed before therapy and one month after the last (6th) cycle of T-activin, i.e. six months after surgery in controls. The patients were followed-up from February 1991 to August 1995. Clinical evaluation showed that disease-free interval for observed period was similar in both groups of patients (17.5 and 13 months), while the survival time was longer in T-activin-treated patients than in controls (40 vs. 24 months), although this difference was not significant. The phenotyping analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes showed no changes of the pretreatment values of total T cells and their subpopulations regardless the clinical course of the disease in both groups of patients. The number of NK cells (CD16+) was significantly increased after T-activin therapy, but this increase was not associated with clinical benefit, since it was seen in patients with the progression of the disease. In control patients, the initial number of CD16+ cells did not change significantly, irrespective of the clinical course. The lymphoproliferative response increased significantly in 4 out of 5 T-activin-treated patients with the progression of the disease, while a slight increase of this lymphocyte function was seen in 3 disease-free patients. In patients treated by surgery alone, especially those with disease progression, the LPR was significantly decreased six months after tumor excision. These findings, although obtained in small number of patients, suggest an immunomodulatory action of T-activin therapy in early stage melanoma patients, which did not correlate with the clinical course of the disease. On the other hand, an almost doubled survival time in T-activin-treated patients in comparison to the controls, may indicate a possible effect of T-activin therapy on some other immune functions not evaluated in this study. Further investigations in a larger number of patients is needed for assessment of the true effectiveness of such therapy.

Key words: Malignant melanoma, T-activin therapy, clinical effects, immunological effects.
pp. 245-252


Recent trends in the incidence of lymphomas in Kuwait

S. Al-Bahar, R. Pandita, E. Al-Bahar, A. Al-Muhana, N. Al-Yaseen

Kuwait Cancer Control Centre, Shuwaikh, Kuwait;
Al-Sabah Hospital, Kuwait

All cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) reported to the Kuwait Cancer Registry between 1980-1989 were analyzed. Age specific and age standardized incidence rates were calculated for Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti males and females for the two periods of 1980-1984 and 1985-1989, and compared to detect short term changes. The study of 153 cases of HD and 325 cases of NHL in 1980-1984 and 213 cases of HD and 338 cases of NHL in 1985-1989 showed that HD incidence was stable in the two periods, the mixed cellularity subtype frequency and incidence declined, while the frequency and the incidence of nodular sclerosis increased significantly in the second period. These changes were most significant in the non-Kuwaiti males.
The NHL incidence declined significantly in the 1985-1989 period. The incidence of low grade and intermediate grade NHL declined in the period of 1985-1989. The high grade NHL frequency increased, however, the annual incidence rate increase was not significant. The change in the HD subtypes may probably be related to the improvement in the socio-economic condition. The higher proportion of high grade lymphomas may be related to the population structure in Kuwait and is not related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Key words: Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma incidence, epidemiology.
pp. 253-257


Selective modulation of non-protein sulfhydryl levels in Ehrlich ascites tumor bearing mice

L. B. Wlodek, M. Wrobel

Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, 31-034 Krakow, Poland

Thiazolidine derivatives (TD), prodrugs of l-cysteine (cys), synthesized by the condensation of cys with formaldehyde (thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid - CF), acetaldehyde (2-methyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid - CA) and pyruvate (2-methyl-thiazolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid - CP), as well as amino acids thiocystine (T-cys) and cys, but not methionine (met) and S[_2]O[_3][^-2], successfully elevated non-protein sulfhydryl (NPSH) levels in livers of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EATC) bearing mice. At the same time, CA, promote a significant drop of NPSH concentration in EATC, whereas the other sulfur compounds (S-comp) have no effects. Thus TD and T-cys through their selective influence upon the level of NPSH in the liver and in cancer cells, seem to be the most interesting compounds for further studies on anticancer therapy.

Key words: Non-protein sulfhydryl, sulfur amino acid, thiazolidine, Ehrlich ascites, liver.
pp. 259-263


Polarographic behavior of kojic acid and its derivatives, determination of potential carcinogenicity and correlation of these properties with their other attributes

A. Vachalkova, J. Bransova, J. Brtko, M. Uher, L. Novotny

Cancer Research Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 812 32 Bratislava, Slovakia;
Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 833 06 Bratislava, Slovakia;
Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak Technical University, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia

Polarographic properties of kojic acid [5-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyran-4-one] and 10 of their synthetic derivatives were investigated. It was shown that these compounds are reduced in anhydrous conditions, usually in one two-electron step or in two one-electron steps. The presence of some substituents may change the course of reduction process. The polarography of these compounds in the presence of alpha-lipoic acid showed the kojic acid analog - alpha-lipoic acid complex formation. The determined potential carcinogenic activity of these compounds expressed as a parameter tg alpha is not substantial.

Key words: DC polarography, kojic acid derivatives, carcinogenic activity, kojic acid.
pp. 265-269


In vivo effect of chemically induced fibrosarcoma on copper metabolism of liver in mice

P.K. Chakravarty, A. Ghosh

Tumor Immunity and Gene Therapy Unit, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (Research Wing) 37, S.P. Mukherjee Road, 700 026 Calcutta, India

Copper and ceruloplasmin concentrations were determined in different subcellular fractions of liver of mice bearing benzo(a)pyrene induced fibrosarcoma. Though the copper content was elevated in the nuclear, mitochondrial and lysosomal fractions of tumor bearing mice, the microsomal and soluble supernatant fractions showed a downward trend in their copper concentration when compared to the controls. Similarly, ceruloplasmin concentration in the different subcellular fractions also showed variable results. This study was aimed to ascertain the distribution of copper. The incorporation of radioactive copper in different fractions was also monitored. The possible reasons for the variation in copper and ceruloplasmin concentrations observed during malignancy in the tumor bearing animals, has been discussed.

Key words: Copper, ceruloplasmin, malignancy.
pp. 271-274


Two tumor-associated membrane antigens defined by monoclonal antibodies in a transplantable sarcoma induced by Rous sarcoma virus in rat

I. Alexandrov, R. Toshkova, M. Alexandrov, T. Dimitrov, N. Sotirov

Institute of Experimental Pathology and Parasitology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria

Two hybridoma clones have been produced by hybridization of murine myeloma cell line PAI and splenocytes from BALB/c mice immunized with cells from a transplantable sarcoma induced in rat by SR-RSV. The antibody produced by hybridoma clone 2C2 was of subclass IgG3 and recognized a cell surface antigen of 52 kD. It only cross-reacted with cells from SR-RSV-induced sarcoma in hamster, but not with cells from the chicken RSV-induced sarcoma, nor with a number of methylcholanthrene sarcomas and various other tumors of viral or other etiology developed in rats, mouse, hamsters or chickens. The antibody produced by hybridoma clone 5G2 was of subclass IgG2A and recognized an antigen of 28 kD which was located under the plasma membrane, particularly in the cell protrusions and microvilli. Cross-reactions were found with all sarcoma cells tested, indicating that this antigen might represent a common sarcoma antigen of comparatively low molecular mass.

Key words: Sarcoma, hybridoma, monoclonal antibody, tumor-associated antigen.
pp. 275-282