Search

A case of bilateral ovarian Brenner Tumor of above average size with smooth surface, is reported. The Authors describe symptomatology and diagnostics, considering the uncertainty and rarity that still surround this neoplasia.

The RIA method has been used to assay the squamous cell carcinoma antigen in the serum of twenty-four patients suffering from cervical cancer. The results obtained showed expressive differences between the levels in women with metastatic relapse and in those in remission, but the SCC antigen is particularly useful in the therapeutic monitoring, since it can assess of the current treatment.

The Authors refer to two cases of sclerous lichen treated with medical therapy (Vit. E, topic betametasone and lavage with K-permanganato). They conclude that when there is no association with other dystrophies of the vulva defined precancerous, the medical therapy is the only one that supplies satisfactory results.

Authors examined validity of laparoscopy for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. They studied 144 cases of patients with benign neoplasia diagnosed by clinical examination and found ten cases of ovarian cancer by laparoscopy. They point out validity of laparoscopy indicated as a present day essential technique for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Sera from former Ra workers were incubated with normal human lymphocytes and the effects produced in stimulation assays with specific mitogens were compared with those observed with incubation using normal human sera. The sera from the Ra workers with high residual body burdens (greater than 0.1 muCi 226Ra) inhibited normal control lymphocytes stimulated with Con A and PHA when compared with control homologous sera. Although a significant suppression was not obtained between high- and low-body-burden groups a trend was indicated. Sera from the highest body-burden worker (0.58 muCi) was inhibitory to all normal lymphocyte populations tested regardless of the mitogen stimulant employed.

Mitogenic stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures obtained from 36 thorium workers was studied to determine whether the response of these cells was affected by the individuals' occupational exposure to alpha irradiation. The standard assay involved incubating 2 X 10(5) lymphocytes per test well for 72 hours in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) or pokeweed mitogen (PWM). The results showed that there was a significant decrease in lymphocyte responsiveness of former thorium workers grouped by decade of life when compared with controls of the same decade of life for each mitogen tested with the exceptions of PHA in the 41-50 age group and PWM in the 51-60 age group. We are unable to correlate the decreased response observed with the measured body burdens, external gamma exposure, or thoron exhalation rates in these thorium cases. However, other occupational exposures (i.e., various chemicals used in processing thorium) cannot be eliminated as a possible cause.