Search

This paper describes the occurrence in seven patients of localized ulceration of the lower lip due to the oral administration of various drugs. It is suggested that such ulcers achieve importance by affecting the same area of the lip in the same age group as squamous-cell carcinoma from which they must therefore be distinguished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on various papers related to dermatology. One of the papers discussed is "Basal-Cell Cancer in Children and Young Adults," by J.E. Murray and B. Cannon. In this paper, the histories of forty-one patients with basal-celled carcinoma are reviewed. All were under thirty years of age. In twelve cancer was diagnosed between sixteen and twenty years and in sixteen between twenty-six and thirty. In thirty-two there was a history of a previous lesion, usually a papilloma, naevus or scar, which was injured before cancer appeared. Another paper "The Ocular Complications of Chloroquine Therapy," by H.E. Hobbs and C.D. Calnan observed 30 patients under treatment with chloroquine.

Circulating tissue antigens (CTA) were investigated in 143 patients with disorders involving injury of the liver and of other organs and in forty-eight normal subjects by immunodiffusion techniques using rabbit anti-human liver serum containing antibodies to a liver-specific antigen and to tissue antigens of wide organ distribution. Analysis of serum samples by double immunodiffusion showed up to three CTA in the following cases: fifteen out of eighteen, viral hepatitis (VH), two out of thirteen, other infectious diseases, two out of ten, alcoholic cirrhosis, seven out of twenty-one, congestive heart failure (CHF), four out of fourteen, myocardial infarction, ten out of twenty-one, trauma, two out of thirteen, carcinoma and three out of thirty-three, miscellaneous diseases. Forty-eight normal subjects showed no CTA. Immunoelectrophoresis of most of the positive eases showed two to three CTA, while a few cases showed four to six. Absorption tests with organ extracts demonstrated that in most patients, CTA were substances shared by several organs. However, in two cases of VH, in two cases of CHF with liver necrosis and in two cases of trauma to the liver, one of the CTA was shown to be liver specific. The CTA were susceptible to digestion by pronase and were found to be relatively thermolabile. Positive sera showed higher glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and lactic dehydrogenase activities than the negative sera. These preliminary data suggest that further investigation on CTA in disease involving tissue injury and necrosis may be rewarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the results on a study on the source of advice that cancer patients have used for diagnosing symptoms. They were ranked into upper, middle and lower classes in terms of the Hollingshead Two Factor Index of Social Position. It was found that the upper- and middle-class patients are more likely to consult with their spouse before seeking professional care and they do not depend more on medically-informed persons than that the lower-class individuals. Consultation with registered nurses is more frequent for lower-and-middle class patients than their upper-class counterparts.

Cancer, an emotionally charged Illness, can be expected to precipitate a state of crisis for most patients and their families. An understanding of crisis theory and the phenomena that occur during a state of crisis are baste to the social worker's approach to the problems the cancer patient presents. The techniques for Intervention and change are focused on (1) helping the patient or family develop conscious awareness of their problem, (2) assessing their total situation, and (3) enabling them to make a new use of their existing ego-adaptive techniques or to develop new and more effective mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myeloperoxidase was isolated from leucocytes obtained from the blood of patients suffering from chronic granulocytic leukaemia. The enzyme was purified 850 fold and was homogeneous in ultracentrifuge and free boundary electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be about 160,000. The enzyme forms a spectrally characteristic complex with hydrogen peroxide with absorption maximum at 458 mμ. The spectrum of the native enzyme has absorption maxima at 430 and 570 mμ. The reduced enzyme is characterized by a spectrum with absorption maxima at 472 and 637 mμ. The investigated myeloperoxidase catalysed oxidation of amino acids by hydrogen peroxide. Products of the oxidation of amino acids were ammonia, carbon dioxide, and an aldehyde corresponding to the oxidized amino acid. The observed reaction of deamination and decarboxylation is activated by chloride ions. In the presence of the chloride ions the optimum of the reaction is shifted toward the higher pH values. The velocity of the reaction was found to be dependent on the concentration of the amino acid studied. Km values for various amino acids increased in the range 3.4 × 10-4 to 10-3 M in proportion to rising hydrophobic properties of the substrates. Taurine was found to be a competitive inhibitor in the examined reaction, and Ki values were in the range of 2 to 3 × 10-4 M, for different amino acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antinuclear antibody of nasopharyngeal cancer patients, of Taiwan and African origin, was examined by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique on various target cells: human embryonic cells, EL cells. Chang's liver cells, HeLa cells, I. cells, Chinese hamster kidney cells, and ral embryonic kidney cells. Sera of systemic lupus erythematosus patients, of Japanese origin, were also examined on the same cell lines for comparison with those of nasopharyngeal cancer patients. According to the various patterns of fluorescence observed, sera of nasopharyngeal cancer patients were supposed to contain several kinds of antibody to cell organoid(s), alone or in combination: nucleus, nucleolus. spindle fibers, substance(s) related to the spindle fibers, cetitriole, and the Golgi complex. None of these antibodies yielded fluorescence of chromosomes of metaphasic cells. Instead, speckled fluorescence observed in the interphase nucleus seemed to migrate into the cytoplasm at metaphase. Nuclear rim stain with a serum of systemic lupus erythematosus in the interphase nuclei seemed to be preserved in the rim stain of chromosomes at metaphase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using standard personal messages within an urban ghetto, an attempt was made to: (1) change women's beliefs in vulnerability to cervical cancer and in the effectiveness of cytology, and (2) persuade them to visit a cytological clinic. More women with higher post-belief scores made visits than their counterparts. The experimental message was more successful than the control in eliciting clinic visits. Though the experimental message did not change beliefs more than the control message, more experimental subjects high in post-beliefs came to the clinic than (1) experimental or control subjects low in post-beliefs, or (2) control subjects high in post-beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood lymphocytes from Malay, Indian and Chinese patients with leprosy, and from race-matched controls, were cultured in the presence of phytohaemagglutinin. Cells from Malays and Indians with lepromatous leprosy and from Malays with tuberculoid leprosy transformed as well as cells from normal controls when cultured in normal (reference) serum. Cells from lepromatous Malays and Indians transformed significantly less well than cells from normal controls when cultured in autologous serum. Normal lymphocytes transformed significantly less well when cultured in serum from lepromatous or tuberculoid Malays or from lepromatous Indians than when cultured in serum from normal controls. Lymphocytes from lepromatous Chinese transformed significantly more extensively than those from normal Chinese, whether cultured in normal (reference) or autologous serum. The ratio of transformation in autologous serum to transformation in reference serum was significantly depressed for lepromatous Chinese. Although lepromatous Chinese serum, compared with normal Chinese serum, did not depress the response of lymphocytes from one donor, there was evidence of depression when cells from another donor were used. Cells and sera from Chinese patients biopsied for suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma behaved similarly to those from lepromatous Chinese, and not to those of normal Chinese, whether or not nasopharyngeal carcinoma was found. Lymphocytes from patients with disease classified as stable, regardless of other criteria, transformed significantly less well in either normal or autologous serum than did cells from patients with downgrading (rapidly progressive) disease. This was true of all races. In the case of Malays and Indians with stable disease the cells also transformed less well than normal cells in reference serum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of dermabrasion in 38 patients, all with epitheliomata and many with multiple lesions, are described. In treating superficial B.C.C. and Bowen's disease it is suggested that dermabrasion is the treatment of choice where it is readily available, being safe and simple and giving good cosmetic results. Dermabrasion may be a useful adjunct to other forms of treatment in cases of multiple keratoses and intraepidermal carcinoma occurring in association with solar dermatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proportion of patients with heart disease, cancer and stroke in the community practice of medicine was determined by both interview and observation techniques on samples of physicians in general practice, internal medicine and other specialties in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The findings are analyzed as to the role of the physician in the care of these patients and the effects of type (solo vs. group) and place (urban vs. non-urban) of practice. The implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents research which explores the possible relationship of viral hepatitis with cirrhosis and cancer of the liver. Examination of the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis; Existence of the hemagglutination reaction in viral hepatitis; Criteria used for the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis of viral origin.

Focuses on a study of clinical cases of colon cancer patients who underwent an operation. Percentage of a decrease in the mortality rate of the patients who underwent a resection; Number of patients operated upon who survived; Factors that influenced the survival of the cancer patients.

Presents a case study of pancreatic cancer. Clinical history of the patients; Results of the physical and laboratory examination conducted on the patients; Clinical characteristics of pancreatic cancer; Modes of spread of pancreatic carcinoma.

Focuses on the move to improve mortality rate of patients suffering from carcinoma of the stomach in the U.S. Review on the survival rate of patients in several publications; Recommendation for exploratory laparotomy for tumor treatment; Importance of carrying resection far from the mucosa border of the tumor.

Report developments on the studies about dermatology from the Royal Society of Medicine in Great Britain. Identification chronic disseminated lupus erythematosus with lichenoid lesions at one case at St. George's Hospital; Approaches for treatment of dermatomyositis in a patient with a past history of carcinoma of the ovaries; Examinations the benign familial pemphigus.

Having a malignant disease and having to undergo long-term therapy is an additional stress to the normal physiologic and psychosocial stresses inherent in the adolescent's maturation. Such patients present complex problems in management. These problems are not the same as those encountered by the pediatrician when dealing with an infant or child who is too young to understand the meaning of malignancy or who has not yet developed a concept of self as it relates to death. Nor are these the same problems as those the internist meets when he treats adults who may have lived a full life or have developed effective ways of adjusting to the psychologic stress of having cancer. Though sufficiently mature to appreciate the implications of his diagnosis and prognosis, the adolescent has not yet completed the personality integration or fully evolved the adult defense mechanisms which might enable him to adjust successfully to the knowledge of his illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on malignancies in African children. A survey of African children from birth to 15 years of age who died at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, between 1953 and 1964 yielded 88 instances of malignant disease. A significant feature of the study is the very high incidence of malignant lymphoma of the Burkitt's type, representing over 50 per cent of both the autopsied and the non-autopsied patients. There has been speculation that the very high prevalence of lymphoma in Uganda as compared with other countries may be related in some way to the relative paucity of leukemia. Studies in experimental carcinogenesis have shown that hereditary and hormonal factors and the nutritional state may influence the degree of sensitivity of cells to neoplastic change.

223 sera of patients having a colonic cancer or other diseases were examined for the presence of antibodies agglutinating tanned sheep erythrocytes coated with saline extracts of human colonic cancers. Some patients' sera were also investigated for precipitating antibodies. Many positive results were found, mainly but not only, in colonic cancer patients' sera. By absorption studies the antibodies found in these sera have been shown to be directed against an antigen present not only in the tumours but also in normal and foetal tissues as well as in the microsomal fraction of the intestine. The chemical nature of the antigen is still under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two hundred cases of basal cell epithelioma were found among 8.51,685 now dermatology patients in 41 university hospitals in Japan during a 5-year-period. Approximately 10% of the tumours, according to the patients' statement, bad been present since childhood but this was not fully verified by studying previous photographs of the patients. Recognition of the tumours was made possible because of conspicuous pigmentation of the tumours, which was due mainly to the presence of hypertrophic and melanotic melanocytes in the tumours. Surgical excision of the tumours resulted in a 8-year-cure in about 70% of all cases. Separate cure rates based on the UICC, TNM classification are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case report of an ischemic colitis in a patient with carcinoma of the sigmoid colon. Case history; Symptoms of ischemic colitis; Causes of vascular compromise of the colon; Features in the diagnosis of ischemic colitis.

1. A series of 500 cancer patients were treated with chemotherapy over a three-year period. Approximately 200 patients were given chemotherapy as adjuvant to primary surgical treatment. There were 300 patients who were treated for inoperable cancer of various anatomical sites. 2. In the group of inoperable patients receiving anticancer drugs there were seven patients who developed severe gastrointestinal bleeding as a manifestation of toxicity. Four of these patients had associated bone marrow depression. 3. The steps in management of this complication are discontinuance of the chemotherapeutic agent, attempt to determine the bleeding site, evaluation of the clotting mechanism with an attempt to correct the defect if possible. 4. The therapy used is one of blood replacement using fresh blood, and fibrinolytic inhibitors if indicated. Local gastric hypothermia may be of benefit. Steroids and antibiotics are used routinely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the clinical features of carcinoma of the gastric stump following gastric resection for benign peptic ulcer. Reason why the diagnosis of cancer is commonly delayed; Symptoms associated with the disease; Recommendation to improve the prognosis of patients with carcinoma of the gastric stump.

The article presents information on a paper on carcinoma of the lip. The records of 182 patients with histologically proved squamous carcinoma of the lip were analyzed. Males predominated as usual, and when allowance was made for patients dying from other causes, there was an 80% survival rate without recurrence after five years.

The article reflects on projected social distances as a measure of approach-avoidance behavior toward radiated figures. The degree of approach-avoidance behavior toward radiated figures by former radiated cancer patients and nonradiated individuals was assessed by using a social distance figure placement test and an open-ended question about approaching radiated figures. The study results were that both radiated cancer patients and nonradiated individuals projected significantly more physical interpersonal distance between themselves and the radiated figures than from the normal figures, and content analysis of normal individuals' statements showed that the main concerns about approaching radiated figures were about personal danger from contact and questions about radiation effects.

Discusses the medical case of the patient with carcinoma erysipelatodes. Assessment of the physical condition of the patient upon diagnosis; Treatment options for the disease; Malignant changes undergone by the neoplastic cells in erysipelatodes.

The article presents information on the paper "Determinations of Squalene in Sebum From the Forehead of Patients with Skin Cancer," by H. Sobel, J. Makmorstan, E.T. Wright and E. Garcia that appeared in the 1957 issue of the "Journal of Investigative Dermatology." Squalene is supposed to neutralize the carcinogenic properties of methylcholanthrene. The normal secretion from the forehead is 1.4-7.3 mg per sq cm averaging 5.11 in 22 subjects. Eighteen patients with basal-celled growths averaged 10.58; while the 12 with squamous growths averaged only 2.86.

The article presents information on the research paper "The Action of Horse Serum on Sensitised Malignant Tissue." One patient had a punctate lymphogranulomatosis of skin and enlargement of glands mediastinal and other one had a spinulocellular carcinoma of the lower lip and adjacent area of skin. Photographs show the marked local anaphylactoid reaction that followed treatment of the lip lesion, the rapid reduction of swelling within 14 days, complete within a month and the excellent result when reviewed in 4 months.

This article focuses on the paper "The Aetiological Position of Sunlight in Skin Cancer," by H. Gratmann and E.-M. Reiners. This is an analysis of 24-73 cases of skin cancer. The authors found that epithelioma was commoner in rural male patients than urban ones. Epithelioma of the lower lip was commoner in rural patients and those urban ones more exposed to sunlight, than in town dwellers with indoor occupations. They consider that these types of skin cancer may have to be accepted as occupational diseases. There is no significant difference in basal-celled tumors and in the female.

The article focuses on the research paper "Scleroderma (Progressive Systemic Sclerosis), Associated With Cancer of the Lung," by S.M. Jonsson and J.M. Houser. The interesting feature in this report is the development of an adenocarcinoma of the lung in a woman aged 31, many years after the onset of scleroderma. The lesion appeared two months after treatment with cortisone was begun.

This article discusses the paper "Association of Mucocutaneous and Visceral Cancers," by Ervin Epstein. While admitting the difficulty of finding adequate controls for such a study the author concludes that internal cancer is not uncommon in patients with epitheliomas and that there is no evidence that epitheliomas immunize against visceral cancer.

The association of dermatomyositis with malignant disease is briefly reviewed, and all reported cases in the Bulgarian medical literature are listed. Of 18 cases of dermatomyositis investigated at the Plovdiv Clinic, 12 were over 40 years of age. Of these 50% had an associated carcinoma. In 1 the symptoms of dermatomyositis preceded by 3 years the discovery of the tumour. It is essential that any patient over 40 with dermatomyositis should be intensively and repeatedly investigated for the presence of malignant disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]