Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Serrou

Publications and source records attributed to B Serrou.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Phase II study of 3 new nitrosoureas, 1 American (chlorozotocin) and 2 French (RFCNU and RPCNU)].

The results of three phase II clinical trials with three new analogues belonging to the family of nitrosoureas are reported. One of the studied agents, chlorozotocine (CZT) is American, while the other two, RFCNU and RPCNU, are French. All three drugs have a sugar radical. CZT proved effective mainly in a few cases of leukemia and in one case of blastic transformation of chronic myelocytic leukemia. RFCNU was shown to be effective in 8% of digestive tumors, in 1 out of 7 pancreatic cancers and in 3 out of 10 hepatic and pulmonary metastases from an undiscovered primary adenocarcinoma. As for RPCNU, it's action resembles that of RFCNU: tumor regression lasting for over three years was obtained in a patient with hepatic metastases from a digestive carcinoma; in another patient a regression rate exceeding 50% was seen in pulmonary metastases from a rectal tumor. One of the significant results of our study is the apparent tissular specificity of responses according to the agent given: CZT is more often efficient on the lymphatic localizations of the studied tumors (4/5 responses); RFCNU and RPCNU often proved active on hepatic metastases (17% responses). Digestive tolerance was excellent with CZT and RFCNU and not quite as satisfactory for RPCNU. As predicted by our experimental study, platelet toxicity is both less common and less severe with RFCNU than with CZT and RPCNU.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

[Evaluation of a new antiemetic, alizapride, in cancerology (author's transl)].

The antiemetic effect of alizapride was evaluated in 50 patients with advanced cancer undergoing chemotherapy with cis-platinum. Our results suggest that alizapride, in a dose of 800 or 900 mg, significantly alleviates nausea and emesis. In a preliminary study, we had established that, without antiemetic therapy, the same patients all suffered from emesis. On the whole, alizapride was well tolerated ; no major side-effects were recorded.

Adult↗

Follow-up results from a randomized trial for T3 and T4 breast cancer patients: previous BCG immunotherapy improves response to chemotherapy in the relapse patient.

Following locoregional treatment, patients were randomized into three groups: The first groups received no complementary treatment; the second group received adjuvant chemotherapy (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil once a month for 12 months); and the third group was treated by immunotherapy (150 mg BCG once a week for 1 year). Sixty-two of the 82 patients studied were menopausal. No significant difference was observed between the three groups. All patients were followed-up for at least 18 months. The disease-free interval difference between the chemotherapy group and the control and immunotherapy groups is not significant. But it should be noted that only 21.8% of the control group did not relapse compared to 57% in the chemotherapy group. BCG immunotherapy in such patients must be considered ineffective. However, our results suggest that patients first treated with BCG respond better to chemotherapy than patients not receiving any previous therapy.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Follow-up of a randomized trial for oat cell carcinoma evaluating the efficacy of peripheral intravenous nutrition (PIVN) as adjunct treatment.

A randomized trial was initiated to compare the effects of peripheral i.v. nutrition (PIVN)-associated chemotherapy (adriamycin, vincristine, VP-16-213, and cyclophosphamide) versus a chemotherapy control group in patients with oat cell lung carcinoma. Thirty-nine evaluable patients were randomized. The test group included 19 patients, whereas 20 were followed in the control group. PIVN was scheduled each day the patient underwent chemotherapy. Each patient received 1,550 kcal day which included 10% glucose, 20% lipids, and amino acids which may or may not have been mixed in the same infusion bottle. The results show ten PIVN patients presently in complete remission at the end of three courses of treatment, compared to nine over the same time period in the chemotherapy control group. Thirty-three percent of patients are still alive after 15 months after the beginning of treatment. There was no significant difference in either general health or side effects, frequency or duration of complete remission, or survival time. After 1 year of treatment, 8 of 19 PIVN patients are still in complete remission, compared to 7 of 20 patients in the control groups.

Carcinoma, Small Cell↗

Amplification of the polyclonal activation of human T cells. I. Null-cell products promote the polyclonal proliferation of T cells.

Synergy can be observed in the proliferative response to mitogens of cultures containing human T and Null cells when compared with those containing only highly purified cells of those two types. This synergy was analysed (i) by evaluation of the proliferative response at each step of the purification process leading to separation of T and Null cells; (ii) by back-mixing T and Nul cells at different rations; and (iii) by evaluation of the proliferative response of free suspension cultures of T cells overlaying a semi-solid layer containing Null cells, or of free suspension cultures of Null cells over a semi-solid culture layer of T cells. The following conclusions were reached: (i) purified Null cells are unresponsive to mitogen when cultured alone or in the presence of diffusible T-cell products; (ii) the T cells are less responsive when cultured alone than in the presence of Null cells or diffusible Null cell products. Thus the synergistic effect observed between T and Null cells is not due to the promotion of Null-cell proliferation by T -cell products but can be accounted for by diffusible Null-cell products enhancing the process of T lymphocyte activation by mitogens.

Adult↗

Cell-mediated immune response to syngeneic tumour growth and its inhibition by low doses of radiation in mice.

A T-cytotoxic response was demonstrated in a non-productive, viral-induced syngeneic tumoural system in vitro, but it did not result in tumour rejection: When tumour cell inoculum was removed surgically early after transplantation and processed, a specific T-cell-mediated cytotoxic response was observed in vitro and in the Winn assay; however, a tumour-cell challenge was rejected, showing that under certain conditions, the immune response can modify tumour evolution. Localized irradiation was administered according to one of two protocols (7 Gy X 3 over a week and 4 Gy X 3 over 3 weeks). The cumulative dose of the latter regimen was nearly 20% greater than that of the former; however, the outcomes of the two therapies were dramatically different: 50% survival in group 2, and a short delay in tumour growth in group 1. The scattered dose (of around 0.15 Gy) delivered to the spleen in the first group decreased the T-cytotoxic response, but that in the second group (scattering inferior to 0.07 Gy) did not. The similarity in therapeutic results in the two groups when the irradiation regimens were preceded by immunosuppression suggests that this failure of the immune response could influence the outcome of radiotherapy. The effect of low doses of irradiation on tumour rejection was also studied in an allogeneic system.

Animals↗

Decrease of tumor growth in mice after intravenous thymosin-treated bone marrow cell injection.

The effect of iv injection in C57BL/6 mice of 3X10(7) bone marrow cells preincubated in either thymosin fraction V or thymosin alpha-1 was evaluated on the growth of a 3-methylcholanthrene-induced transplantable tumor in a syngeneic system. The effect was then compared to that elicited by theophylline or levamisole, which both demonstrated thymosin-like action in vitro. The results showed significantly retarded tumor growth (P less than 0.001) and prolonged survival time (P less than 0.001) when thymosin fraction V was used. The same results were obtained with thymosin alpha-1 with use of the same protocol but only one-twentieth of the concentration of fraction V. Theophylline and levamisole demonstrated no antitumor effect.

Animals↗

Prognostic evaluation of human tumor cell in vitro cloning assay.

In vitro cloning of human tumor cells were carried out for 19 patients: 13 breast cancers (4 metastatic effusions and 9 primary tumors), 3 ovarian cancers, 2 glioblastomas and 1 meningioma. Cloning efficiency varied from 1 X 10(-5) to 2.8 X 10(-3). Tumor cells with the highest cloning rates were provided by patients with rapidly evolving tumors. 7 drug assays were performed: in vitro-in vivo correlation was observed in all cases (drug resistance in 5 cases: drug sensitivity in 2).

Cell Count↗

[Cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity in a French reference population using the cell-mediated immunity multitest device].

The authors present a disposable device which may be used for skin tests studying delayed cellular hypersensitivity with 7 antigens and a glycerin control. With the aim of more objective evaluation of the results, they suggest the establishment of a score taking into account the number of positive reactions and the degree of the reactions. Finally, they describe the results of a large multicentre study involving 830 subjects considered to be healthy and divided into 4 groups according to the response to the tests.

Adolescent↗

Slower step of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolism: kinetic data from microspectrofluorometric techniques.

A microspectrofluorometer has been used for kinetic studies of the decrease of benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(k)fluoranthene fluorescence. This decrease is observed for single living cells: L cells and human peripheral blood monocytes, after their incubation which culture medium containing these compounds and washing the petri dish with fresh medium. The entire fluorescence spectra is recorded at given time intervals in order to watch at some eventual spectral modification. The fluorescence decrease is monoexponential and its parameters are computed with a program based on the least squares fit method. Such determination shows no difference between the calculated rate constants of metabolisation for B(a)P and B(k)F and, as long as we consider L cells with a similar morphological shape, only statistical fluctuations of the rate constants of metabolism are observed. As compared, monocytes show faster kinetics of the decrease of the B(a)P intracellular fluorescence due to B(a)P metabolism, and also a more reached dispersion of the values of the rate constant than the one observed for L cells indicating some heterogeneity in the monocyte population of each donor.

Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases↗