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- Malmström, P U, et al.
(author)
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Increasing survival of patients with urinary bladder cancer : A nationwide study in Sweden 1960-1986
- 1993
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 29A:13, s. 1868-1872
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Survival rates were analysed in 29,055 patients with urinary bladder cancer diagnosed in Sweden from 1960 to 1986 and followed up until 1987. The 2-, 5- and 10-year relative survival rates were 79, 70 and 64% for men and 75, 68 and 63% for women, respectively. Patients with a history of bladder cancer for at least 15 years ran a negligible risk of dying from their disease. Prognosis was consistently better in younger than in older patients; below 50 years of age the 5-year relative survival rate was 90%, as compared with 60% in patients aged 70-79 years. Patients diagnosed between 1960 and 1964 had a 60% 5-year relative survival, as compared to 71% in those diagnosed between 1980 and 1984. Multivariate analyses further confirmed that age but not sex is an important prognostic factor in bladder cancer and, further, that a substantial improvement in survival rates took place during the 1960-1986 period. Compared with 1960-1964 the risk of dying of bladder cancer within 5 years in patients diagnosed between 1980 and 1984 was 51% lower in men [relative risk (RR) = 0.49; 95% confidence interval (C.I.) 0.42-0.57] and 44% lower in women (RR = 0.56; 95% C.I. 0.45-0.70).
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- Tiensuu Janson, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Octreotide and interferon alfa : a new combination for the treatment of malignant carcinoid tumours
- 1992
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 28A:10, s. 1647-1650
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 24 patients with malignant carcinoid tumours received octreotide and interferon alfa (IFN-alpha). All the patients initially received octreotide 50-100 micrograms, twice daily. When progressive symptoms or increasing biochemical markers were observed, the daily dose was raised to a median 300 micrograms. If the initial dose proved ineffective or if no improvement was seen after escalation, IFN-alpha was added (median 9 MU subcutaneously per week). After the addition of IFN-alpha, 17 of the 22 patients (77%) with elevated urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid showed a significant (> 50%) reduction. Only 1 patient progressed and 4 had continuously stable biochemical disease. No significant reduction in tumour size was noted; in 5 patients, the tumour continued to grow despite decreasing hormone levels. 18 patients had carcinoid syndrome when IFN-alpha was added in 10 (56%) symptoms ameliorated. Thus, the addition of IFN-alpha is beneficial for patients with malignant carcinoid tumours that progress and/or who do not respond to octreotide.
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3. |
- Åvall Lundqvist, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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Initial experiences with serum alkaline DNase activity in monitoring the effects of therapy for carcinoma of the uterine cervix.
- 1991
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 27:10, s. 1313-1315
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The objective was to evaluate if variations in serum alkaline DNase activity (SADA) can predict the effects of therapy in women with early stages of primary cervical carcinoma. 29 out of 33 patients had no evidence of disease after therapy. Only 5 out of the 29 women showed increased SADA levels after therapy compared with the pretreatment SADA value. Of the 4 women with evidence of disease after therapy, 3 had unchanged or decreased SADA levels. We conclude that serum alkaline DNase activity seems to have little to offer in predicting the effects of treatment in stage I and stage II cervical carcinoma.
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4. |
- Åvall-Lundqvist, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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Prognostic significance of pretreatment serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen and CA 125 in cervical carcinoma.
- 1992
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 28A:10, s. 1695-1702
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum levels of squamous cell carcinoma antigen SCC, carcinoembryonic antigen CA 125, and tissue polypeptide antigen were determined in 142 patients with primary cervical carcinoma, 60 patients with precancerous lesions and in 129 healthy women. With regard to elevated tumour marker levels, specificity ranged from 94.6% to 97.7%. Sensitivity was highest (44.4%) for SCC. A stage relation was found for all tumour markers except for carcinoembryonic antigen. In stage Ib, SCC levels increased according to tumour volume. SCC, CA 125 or both markers were elevated in 7 of 8 patients with pelvic lymph node metastases compared with only 17 of 58 patients with negative nodes (P = 0.005). In a multivariate analysis, pretreatment serum levels of SCC and CA 125 were found to be significantly related to patient survival, in addition to stage. In cervical SCC, the risk of a fatal outcome increased 16 times with SCC levels > or = 4.5 ng/ml, compared with SCC levels < or = 1.3 ng/ml. We conclude that pretreatment serum levels of SCC may be of value as an adjunct to clinical staging. In addition, serum determinations of SCC and CA 125 seem to be useful in predicting the risk of pelvic lymph node metastases and as prognostic risk factors for disease outcome.
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5. |
- Pero, Ronald W., et al.
(author)
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Elevation of ADP-ribosylation as an indicator of mononuclear leucocyte responsiveness in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen
- 1992
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049. ; 28:11, s. 1803-1806
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 82 women who had had surgery for removal of breast cancer were randomised during the primary care period before initiation of any chemotherapy or radiotherapy into two groups: no drug treatment (n = 40) and 20 mg tamoxifen per day for 2 years (n = 42). Mononuclear leucocyte (MNL) fractions from blood samples were collected during the first 368 days of the study and ADP-ribosylation was quantified. Tamoxifen treatment resulted in a dose-duration increase in ADP-ribosylation. This was true even after adjustment for covariates such as age, smoking habits, oestrogen use, menstruation and tumour size. These data suggest that part of the antitumour effects of tamoxifen treatment in vivo relates to an enhanced immune cell responsiveness, as indicated by the increased MNL ADP-ribosylation.
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6. |
- Westerdahl, J., et al.
(author)
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At what age do sunburn episodes play a crucial role for the development of malignant melanoma
- 1994
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-8049. ; 30:11, s. 1647-1654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The age relationship between sunburns and malignant melanoma was investigated in a population-based, matched, case-control study from the South Swedish Health Care Region (the highest risk area for melanoma in Sweden). Between 1988 and 1990, a total of 400 patients with a first diagnosis of malignant melanoma and 640 healthy controls aged 15-75 years answered a comprehensive questionnaire including questions regarding ultraviolet radiation exposure. In addition, a literature review was performed. The average number of episodes of sunburn per year was significantly associated with malignant melanoma (relative risk, RR = 1.9 for ≥ three episodes per year versus never). Outdoor employment during the summer was associated with a decreased risk for the development of malignant melanoma (RR = 0.8). Data from case-control studies and migration studies concerning age relationship between sunburns and melanom are inconsistent. From our own data, we did not find a higher risk of melanoma developed in individuals who had experienced severe sunburns in childhood. Instead, a significantly increased risk was associated with sunburns after age 19 years, RR = 2.2 for a history of more than five times versus never. Even if the hypothesis is biologically plausible, that episodes of sunburn early in life are associated with a higher risk of melanoma, so far epidemiological evidence is scarce. There is a need for better prospective epidemiological studies addressing this issue.
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7. |
- Fernö, Mårten, et al.
(author)
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Cathepsin D, both a prognostic factor and a predictive factor for the effect of adjuvant tamoxifen in breast cancer. South Sweden Breast Cancer Group
- 1994
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 1879-0852. ; 30a:14, s. 2042-2048
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cathepsin D is a lysosomal protease implicated in cancer metastasis. Its concentration in breast tumours has also been shown to be of prognostic importance, although to what extent this is subject to lymph node status, the use of adjuvant therapy and menopausal status has not been clearly evaluated. At a cut-off level of 45 pmol/mg protein (61% of the 623 samples were classified as high cathepsin D tumours; immunoradiometric assay), we found cathepsin D to be of prognostic importance only among breast cancer patients with lymph node-positive (N+) disease not treated with adjuvant tamoxifen. When the series was stratified according to cathepsin D content of their tumours, progesterone receptor (PgR) status and lymph node involvement, adjuvant tamoxifen was found to have a significant beneficial effect only among patients with N+ and PgR-positive breast cancer whose tumours had a high cathepsin D content.
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9. |
- Imreh, S, et al.
(author)
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Hypersomy of chromosome 15 with retrovirally rearranged c-myc, loss of germline c-myc and IgK/c-myc juxtaposition in a macrophage-monocytic tumour line
- 1994
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - 0959-8049. ; 30A:7, s. 994-1002
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- From a lymphoid tumour induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz-[a]-anthracene (DMBA) + methyl-N-nitrose-N-urea (MNU) in an [AKR Rb(6.15) x CBAT6T6]F1 mouse, a macrophage- monocyte line (KT-10) was isolated. Following ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment, a bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) resistant subline was selected. Serial propagation of this line in vitro in the presence of BUdR (28 months) with periodic cytogenetic and molecular examinations, has led to the definition of four successive stages. During stage I, the cells were trisomic for chromosome 15. They contained Rb(6.15) and Rb(del6.15) of AKR and T(14;15) of CBA origin. Southern blotting showed the presence of both germline (G) and rearranged (R) c-myc. At stage II, Rb(del6.15) has duplicated. Both Rb(6.15) and T(14;15) persisted together with G-myc and R-myc. In stage III, the CBA-derived T(14;15) was lost, in parallel with G-myc. At this stage, a Dic.In(6.15) was detected. One of its arms was cytogenetically identical with the long arm of In(6.15) in the variant IgK/myc translocations. This chromosome carried R-myc and IgK in juxtaposition, as indicated by comigration on pulsed field electrophoresis (PFGE). At stage IV, the R-myc carrying AKR-derived chromosome 15s were present in six copies. Possible relationships between the increasing R/G myc ratio and changed growth characteristics in vivo and in vitro are discussed.
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