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Biomedical subjects

B N Gray

Publications and source records attributed to B N Gray.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Value of serial carcinoembryonic antigen determinations for early detection of recurrent cancer.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been monitored at intervals of approximately three months in patients who had undergone potentially curative surgery for breast cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer, but who were considered to be at high risk of recurrence. Monitoring of CEA in patients' serum was of no value for the early detection of tumour recurrence in either breast or head and neck cancer patients. It was of value for the early detection of lung cancer recurrence, but these patients were always beyond the scope of cure. In colorectal cancer patients, two-thirds of recurrences were heralded by a rising CEA, but only one of 15 patients had disease confined to local tissues which could be totally excised, although a further three patients had liver metastases which were apparently localized to one lobe of the liver. For colorectal cancer patients, serial CEA estimations are an effective method for the early diagnosis of recurrence, although this seldom translates into improved patient benefit.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1981

Serum glycoproteins in diagnosis and monitoring of patients with large-bowel cancer.

The profile of serum glycoproteins is altered in malignancy with a relative increase in acute phase reactant proteins. A prospective study has been performed to investigate three sugar moieties (hexose, hexosamine and sialic acid) of these glycoproteins in the serum of large-bowel cancer patients as a possible guide to recurrence, and to compare these three variables with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The three variables indicated the presence of colorectal cancer in over 65 per cent of 107 cancer-bearing subjects. Furthermore, the appearance of metastatic disease was associated with abnormalities in these variables in 10 of 11 patients, and appears more accurately reflected than with CEA. However, the three variables and CEA are cumulative in their value for predicting recurrent cancer. Monitoring of acute phase reactant proteins may therefore be of potential clinical benefit for monitoring of colorectal cancer patients at high risk of recurrence.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed1980

Surgeon accuracy in the diagnosis of liver metastases at laparotomy.

An analysis has been performed of 116 patients with gastrointestinal cancer submitted to laparotomy. The chance of the operating surgeon wrongly assessing the liver as containing metastatic cancer was found to be of the order of 8%. Conversely, the chance of the surgeon wrongly assessing the liver as being free of macroscopic cancer was of the order of 6%, although in less than 3% of cases were there residual macroscopic liver metastases left behind after the surgeon had assessed the patient as being rendered cancer-free by radical surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Colorectal cancer: the natural history of disseminated disease - a review.

The natural history of disseminated colorectal cancer has been reviewed with reference to its dissemination to the liver. The overall median survival rate of patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal primary cancer has been shown to vary from three to 11 months, with an average median survival of 7 months. Many patients survive for three years and some patients for more than ten years without any specific treatment. This may therefore form a basis for comparison of uncontrolled reports of prolongation of survival due to treatment.

Colonic Neoplasms↗
PubMed1980

Colorectal cancer: the modern treatment of disseminated disease - a review.

Most patients who develop cancer of the large bowel will eventually develop recurrence and will therefore be considered for treatment of that recurrence. There exists very great confusion as to the efficacy of the various treatment options available. This review has attempted to evaluate critically the claim for therapeutic efficacy of the various treatment options, with particular regard to patients with liver metastases from primary tumours of the large bowel. A case can be made out for surgical removal of recurrent or disseminated colorectal cancer, but there is no evidence that any form of treatment other than total surgical excision will result in prolonged patient survival. All forms of treatment can be effective in palliating symptomatic patients. Therefore, with the exception of total surgical excision of recurrent tumour, treatment should be reserved for those patients with symptoms, and the choice of treatment offered should be weighed against possible side-effects.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1979

Insulin and glucagon responses of transplanted intrasplenic pancreatic islets.

Two transplant procedures have been investigated in which one third of the pancreas was autotransplanted into the splenic pulp of dogs. The two procedures consist of simple mechanical dissociation of the pancreas or mechanical dissociation followed by collagenase digestion. The ability of the endocrine segment of the transplant to survive and function was assessed by stimulation with arginine and measurement of insulin and glucagon response. The results demonstrate that both transplant procedures result in functioning beta and alpha cells that rapidly secrete both insulin and glucagon in response to arginine stimulation. However, greater insulin responses were obtained when mechanically dissociated but nonenzyme digested pancreatic tissue was used for transplantation. The spleen appears to be an excellent transplant site for the reception of endocrine pancreatic tissue and allowed both beta and alpha cells to survive following transplantation.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Augmentation of lymphocyte surface immunogenicity following treatment with dimethyl-sulphoxide.

A mixed leucocyte culture is an in vitro tool for assessing differences in cell surface antigenicity between two cell populations. The MLC technique has been used to assess alterations in immunogenicity of rat lymphocytes, when exposed to the agent dimethyl-sulphoxide. Using four different rat strains, DMSO has been shown to be a surface-active agent that significantly increases the immunogenicity of both splenic and peripheral blood rat lymphocytes, as assessed by an increase in MLC reactivity. No augmentation of MLC reactivity is seen when syngeneic lymphocytes are used in the culture system as both effector and stimulator lymphocytes, thus confirming the immunological nature of the enhancement seen in allogeneic cultures.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Considerations that lower pancreatoduodenectomy mortality.

To aid in case selection for pancreatoduodencetomy and to gain information on the technical management of this operation and its complications, records of 279 patients who were treated for neoplasm or pancreatitis by this procedure between the years 1957 and 1975 were reviewed. The overall operative mortality was 12.5 per cent and was 10.7 per cent for the years 1969 throught 1974. The use of vagotomy did not prevent postoperative bleeding from the stomach, and the use of a stent did not make a statistically significant difference in morbidity or mortality. Postoperative hemorrhage is an ominous complication and is best treated conservatively until blood loss cannot be replaced. Preoperative serum bilirubin levels above 20 mg/100 ml indicate a two-stage operative procedure as does the presence of right upper quadrant sepsis. The resection of malignant disease of the duodenum and lower bile duct is followed by a high mortality and requires total pancreatectomy if a satisfactory pancreatojejunostomy cannot be constructed.

Ampulla of Vater↗
PubMed1977

The monitoring of serum factors in patients with cancer.

Numerous changes occur in the sera of patients bearing malignant neoplasms. These changes may take the form of appearance of oncofetal proteins that are normally not detectable in non-cancer-bearing patients, or an alteration in the normally present serum constituents such as the serum proteins. Monitoring of these serum factors may be of considerable value in assessing the progress of cancer patients following treatment of their primary tumour. This paper reviews progress in this area to date and documents our early results with six non-specific serum factors (total protein, total protein hexose, total protein hexosamine, ceruloplasmin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, and haptoglobin), in 64 patients bearing a variety of malignant neoplasms in various stages of the disease. Present methods of postoperative assessment of cancer patients are inadequate for detecting early recurrence. Preliminary results indicate that the nonspecific serum factors that we are studying may be of considerable value for monitoring of cancer patients, and may also possibly serve as a diagnostic screen in high-risk groups.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1976

Prevention of vascular complications of diabetes by pancreatic islet transplantation.

Isolated pancreatic islets from Wistar-Lewis rats were transplanted into the liver of diabetic allogeneic recipients to assess ability to prevent diabetic renal and ophthalmic complications. At nine months, the diabetic animals without transplants showed significant increase in PAS-positive material in the renal glomerular mesangium and thickening of glomerular arterioles as compared with normal nondiabetic animals. New vessel formation was also significant in the retina and retinal capillary dilation. Animals in which diabetes had been corrected by early pancreatic islet transplantation were completely protected from these changes, showing no significant pathologic change when compared with normal animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Isolated islet transplantation in experimental diabetes.

Pancreatic islets have been isolated from the exocrine pancreas of inbred rats by the collagenase digestion method. Transplantation of isolated islets into the portal venous system of streptozotocin diabetic recipients resulted in complete abrogation of the diabetic state as measured by non-fasting serum glucose level, 24 h urinary output, rate of weight gain and glucose tolerance test. Transplantation to other sites resulted in less than optimal survival and function of islets. Allogeneic islets, transplanted across weak histocompatibility barriers, can survive and function for prolonged periods of time when transplanted recipients are immunosuppressed with antilymphocyte serum (ALS). Recipients of allogeneic islets, after a period of immunosuppression with ALS, become permanently tolerant to the allografted islets and to subsequent skin grafts from similar allogeneic donors. Allografted islets are able to prevent the occurrence of diabetic renal and ophthalmic changes that occur in control diabetic animals which had not undergone transplantation.

Animals↗