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Biomedical subjects

F Hartveit

Publications and source records attributed to F Hartveit.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

The routine histological investigation of axillary lymph nodes for metastatic breast cancer.

A simple method of preparing axillary nodes from breast cancer patients for routine histology is presented. It is based on appreciation of nodal anatomy and the pathophysiology of tumour growth in them. Current methods assume that the latter is a random process, but this is not so. It has long been known that tumour cells enter via the afferent lymphatics. They may also exit by the efferent. It has not been generally realized that these vessels enter/leave the node in the same plane of section, or that a section in this plane, a hilar section, is theoretically the one of choice for the identification of tumour cells in the node. It is shown here that use of hilar sections alone allows the identification of tumour-free and tumour-bearing nodes, as well as the tumour status of the efferent vessels, with considerable certainty. The use of random sections, in contrast, carries a high risk of false negative reporting.

Axilla↗
PubMed1984

Paranodal tumour in breast cancer: extranodal extension versus vascular spread.

A detailed histological study of the axillary nodes from 98 breast carcinoma patients, in which 5 and 10 year follow-up data was available, has been undertaken. The presence of tumour cells in efferent vessels appears to be the only factor which is a marker of poor prognosis. Contrary to previous reports the direct infiltration of tumour cells through the nodal capsule into perinodal fat and connective tissue is of no prognostic significance. Distinction between site and type of tumour growth within nodes is thus essential for prognostic evaluation.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1984

Heart weight and myocardial rupture.

Many conditions have been shown to be associated with cardiac rupture in acute myocardial infarction, but no common feature, basic to the understanding of the pathology of the condition has hitherto been demonstrated. The ratio of heart to body weight is here shown, on the basis of the findings in 1766 autopsies, to be such a factor; a low ratio predisposing to rupture. The paper further confirms that rupture often occurs within 24 hours of admission and more frequently in patients without previous infarction.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Side and survival in breast cancer.

In recent years changes have occurred in the 5-year survival pattern and relative side distribution of operable breast carcinoma in this district. The 87 cases from 1970 showed the expected pattern; node-negative cases doing better than node-positive, irrespective of side. In 163 cases from the same population given similar treatment in 1975 those with left-sided disease fared better, irrespective of nodal status. No side differences were found at operation in the 1970 group, and little evidence of such changes in 1975, but clear differences were present in a third group of 63 patients from 1980. It is suggested that women in this district are becoming consistently more successful at finding their tumours, particularly on the left. It may thus be advisable to include side as a discriminant in clinical trials.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Occupational asbestos exposure, lung-fiber concentration and latency time in malignant mesothelioma.

Mineral fiber concentration in lung tissue was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy in 73 males with malignant mesothelioma and in 36 referents who died of cardio- or cerebrovascular diseases. The investigation showed apparent differences in the median lung-fiber concentration between occupational groups with different levels of asbestos exposure, as judged from their occupational history. Thus the mineral fiber content in human lung tissue provides a useful indicator of cumulative asbestos exposure. There was also a statistically significant difference between the median lung-fiber concentration among mesothelioma cases with unlikely or unknown occupational asbestos exposure and the reference group. The latency times in 42 of the cases with definite or probable occupational asbestos exposure showed a log-normal distribution with a median of 37 years and a range of 19-68 years. No statistically significant correlation was found between the logarithm of the latency time and the logarithm of the lung-fiber concentration.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Mast cell changes and tumour dissemination in human breast carcinoma.

In breast carcinoma metachromasia on staining the primary tumour with toluidine blue is related to mast cell changes and an infiltrative as opposed to an expansive growth form. In 73 patients the presence of metachromasia in the zone of host-tumour interaction, just beyond the edge of the tumour cells, was associated with poor short-term survival, giving greater discrimination than, for example, axillary nodal status or histological grade. 12 of 19 patients with metachromasia in this zone died within 5 years of operation. This indicates that the reaction is not only related to local infiltrative growth, but may also reflect the tumour potential for metastatic spread. In the absence of metachromasia in this zone death occurred mainly in patients with poorly differentiated tumours. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed. It is stressed that stromal metachromasia is not tumour specific, but that in certain areas, under defined circumstances, it may give information of both prognostic and biological interest.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Do infiltrative and anaplastic growth patterns alternate with season in human breast cancer?

The presence/absence of stromal metachromasia, at the zone of host-tumour interaction, was recorded in 220 primary breast carcinomas. This reaction, which is associated with an infiltrative as opposed to an expansive growth form, was more common in primaries removed in the first half of the year than the second. This adds to previous evidence based on histological grading that growth synchronization has occurred in breast carcinomas in this district.

Anaplasia↗
PubMed1983

Prognosis in breast cancer patients with tumour cells in the efferent vessels of their axillary nodes.

The presence of tumour cells in the efferent vessels of the axillary nodes of breast cancer patients is termed efferent vascular invasion (EVI). The EVI status had been recorded in 112 cases which have now been followed for a mean of 120 +/- 8 months. At the start of the 10th year 17 per cent. of the EVI positives cases were alive, compared to 54 per cent. of the EVI negative. The EVI status has thus strong prognostic implications. It can be recorded in association with primary treatment on routine histological examination. No special equipment is required.

Axilla↗
PubMed1983

Sinus catarrh and histological grade in breast cancer.

Histological grading of 52 primary breast carcinomas and analysis of the findings in the corresponding axillary nodes showed that primaries of high grade tend to have more nodes showing sinus catarrh than those of low grade. This is in keeping with previous reports linking sinus cararrh to aggressive tumour growth.

Axilla↗
PubMed1983

The changing pattern of recurrence in oestrogen positive and negative breast cancer with nodal spread, related to efferent vascular invasion.

In a series of 50 cases of node-positive breast carcinoma, 11 of 26 of those with efferent vascular invasion (EVI) in the axillary nodes at the time of operation were dead 3 years later, in contrast to 1 of 24 EVI-negative. Recurrence within the 1st year was more common in the cases with an oestrogen receptor (ER) negative primary, but by the 3rd year this trend had reversed, and there were more recurrences in the ER-positive. While recurrence and death came earlier in EVI + ER - cases, the EVI + ER + followed soon after. Next came recurrence and death in the EVI - ER +, while there have been no deaths to date in the EVI - ER -. A model is proposed to explain the timing of recurrence in these different groups.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Sinophobic growth in oestrogen receptor-negative metastatic breast cancer.

The mode of growth of tumour cells from primary breast carcinoma in the axillary nodes is shown to be related to the oestrogen receptor (ER) status of the primary tumour. ER-positive primaries are described as tending to show sinophilic growth, the tumour cells spreading along the nodal sinuses; while the ER-negative are sinophobic, spreading more diffusely in the lymphoid tissue.

Axilla↗
PubMed1983

On the progressive nature of tumour growth in the axillary nodes in breast cancer.

Tumour cells enter the axillary nodes by the afferent lymphatics, but little is known about their subsequent behaviour. Quantitation and localization of tumour growth in 156 nodes suggest that the establishment of tumour growth in them is not haphazard. It starts in the cortex, extending later through the medulla, and finally into the efferent nodal vessels. This systematic growth pattern is in keeping with the unfavourable prognosis in cases with efferent vascular invasion in which both cortex and medulla are involved.

Axilla↗
PubMed1983

Variation in histology and oestrogen receptor content in breast carcinoma related to tumour size and time of presentation.

Evidence is presented that the growth rate of breast carcinomas in a defined population was lower in January and June than in the later months of the year. The tumours presenting later were on average larger and of higher histological grade. While there was no difference in the distribution of oestrogen receptor (ER) status, the receptor positive showed higher values later in the year. These high values were accompanied by a lack of tubular differentiation, again in keeping with a more rapid growth rate. Grading factor 1 is thus associated with the level of receptor positivity, in contrast to receptor status which is linked to factor 2. This indicates that ER- and ER+ tumours are derived from two distinct populations, and that a continuous scale is not involved.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1983

Is the growth of breast carcinoma regulated by the axillary nodes?

The morphology of the axillary lymph nodes removed in connection with primary surgical treatment of 60 patients with infiltrating breast carcinoma is reported. The reactions in the nodes from patients presenting in the first 6 months of the year are shown to differ from those presenting later. The mean tumour diameters were also greater in the second period. The nodal changes at this time were characterized, in the node-negative, by germinal centre proliferation and a mixed sinus reaction or sinus catarrh. These reactions were less marked in node-positive cases. The morphological changes described indicate that immunological mechanisms are involved. It is suggested that they may regulate the growth of the primary. The possibility that they are subject to seasonal variation is discussed.

Axilla↗
PubMed1983

The side and size of breast tumours.

A small series of breast carcinomas in which more node-negative cases presented in the left breast and more node-positive in the right has been extended to include 161 cases, 96% of all presenting in the district over a 12 month period. The previous finding was confirmed. The idea that this might be due to women finding it easier to palpate a small tumour in the left breast is substantiated, as smaller benign lesions presented in the same population on the left, except in the summer months, when the smallest benign lesions were found on both sides. It does not, however, seem possible to explain, on a behavioural basis, the further finding that few cancers under 2 cm in diameter presented in the second part of the year. This raises the possibility that a biological mechanism may be responsible, especially as there was no dearth of small benign lesions at this time.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1982

Concomitant neoplasia in pancreatic cancer.

An association is reported between endocrine tumors and adenocarcinoma of the exocrine pancreas. This became apparent in autopsy material from Hordaland County, Norway, between 1972-1976, but had not been seen in the preceding 15 years. It was accompanied by an increase in multiple primary cancers. On the basis of the findings in the case-matched controls, it is concluded that the increases recorded in this autopsy material are real.

Adult↗