Biomedical subjects
H W Herr
Publications and source records attributed to H W Herr.
Preservation of sexual potency in prostatic cancer patients after 125I implantation.
Sexual histories were obtained in 51 men with prostatic cancer and their spouses, before and after pelvic lymphadenectomy and retropubic 125I implantation. The average age of the patients was 64.7 years. Sexual activity was retained in 40 of the 41 patients who were sexually active before operation. Ten patients had been sexually inactive before operation--4 with diminished potency and 6 with complete erectile impotence. Sexual dysfunction was most often pyschogenic. At six months after the operation, 5 of these patients had resumed satisfactory sexual intercourse as a result of reassurance, encouragement and education of the remaining sexual potential. No patient was rendered completely impotent as a result of the procedure. Preservation of sexual potency represents a significant advantage of 125I implantation over other therapeutic modalities in the treatment of localized prostatic carcinoma.
Sexual potency retained with 125I implantation.
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Evaluation of postirradiated prostate biopsy for prostatic carcinoma.
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Immune reactivity of lymph nodes regional to prostatic cancer.
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Use of a caliper to determine dimensions of the volume to be implanted with 125iodine in the treatment of prostatic carcinoma.
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Immunocompetence of patients with transitional cell carcinoma as measured by dinitrochlorobenzene skin tests and in vitro lymphocyte function.
Patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder have a highly significant stepwise decrease in responsiveness to challenge with DNCB with advancing stage of disease. Seventy-five percent of those patients with superficial tumors are skin-test positive versus only 35% for those having tumors that are locally advanced and/or metastatic. MLC response and ability to stimulate in this culture as well as PHA and Con A response of blood leukocytes have been studied in relation to stage of disease and therapy. Recent irradiation appears to inhibit significantly MLC responsiveness, and PHA and Con A blastogenesis. Although responsiveness for this group of patients is decreased from normal, a further decrease occurs in responsiveness to Con A with advancing stage of disease. Blood leukocytes from some patients with urinary bladder carcinoma appear to have a decreased ability to function as stimulator cells in one-way MLC. This ability to stimulate returns to normal levels with tumor removal.
Mixed leukocyte culture reactivity of lymph node cells regional to transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
Regional lymph node cells from some patients with bladder cancer exhibited a suppressive effect on the ability of autologous and allogeneic blood leukocytes to function as stimulator cells in one-way mixed leukocyte culture. The appearance of the suppressor activity was significantly correlated to advancing stage of disease and to the histology of the regional lymph nodes.
Nonspecific suppressor cells in peripheral blood of patients with urologic cancers.
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Poly I:C immunotherapy in patients with papillomas or superficial carcinomas of the bladder.
A randomized prospective therapeutic trial of poly I:C immunotherapy in patients with papillomas or superficial carcinomas of the bladder is presented. Poly I:C had no beneficial effect on the recurrence rate of superficial bladder tumors.
Function of cryopreserved human effector cells in antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
Cells active in an ADCC model were studied for their ability to withstand cryopreservation. For this model, we used the [3H]proline microcytotoxicity assay with fibroblast target cells and a serum containing lymphocyte-dependent antibody reactive with the alloantigens on those target cells. Human blood effector cells active in this system can be successfully cryopreserved with minor dimunition in function with standard techniques and concentrations between 9 and 12% DMSO.
Immunologic reactivity of lymph nodes regional to prostatic cancer: preliminary observations.
Regional pelvic lymph nodes from 9 patients with prostatic carcinoma were investigated for in vitro immunologic reactivity to T and B cell mitogens. Regional lymph node lymphocytes were significantly more reactive when obtained from nodes morphologically displaying T and B lymphocyte hyperplasia than from nodes that histologically appeared normal or depleted the lymphocytes. The data suggest that a morphologic evaluation of lymph nodes regional to prostate cancer may reflect the patient's antitumor immune response.
Rectal invasion by benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Rectal invasion by benign prostatic hyperplasia occurred subsequent to an open transrectal biopsy of the prostate gland. Frequent transrectal resections of the prostate controlled this unusual lesion initially. However, massive intrarectal regrowth of this clinically malignant but histologically proved benign prostatic enlargement required eventual pelvic exenteration.
Suppressor cell activity in lymph nodes regional to bladder carcinoma.
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Immunobiology of human bladder cancer.
The immune destruction of bladder cancer most likely results from an interaction of specific and non-specific cellular and humoral responses evoked by tumor-associated antigens. We are just beginning to comprehend the complex immune mechanisms operating to retard or facilitate tumor growth in patients with this disease. This understanding has led to renewed hope that the immune system may be manipulated for the benefit of the tumor-bearing patient. However, only a thorough understanding of the basic functions of the immune system in man will permit a rational approach to immunotherapy in patients with bladder cancer.
Prognostic significance of regional lymph node histology in cancer of the bladder.
The regional lymph nodes from 47 patients with carcinoma of the bladder who had undergone radical cystectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy were classified into 3 histologic patterns that correlated with immunologic function. Lymph nodes were designated as stimulated if they exhibited prominent germinal centers (B cell proliferation) and expansion of the deep cortex (T cell proliferation), depleted if they appeared markedly hypocellular and fibrotic, and unstimulated if they resembled a normal resting lymph node. Correlation of the histologic pattern with the extent of disease revealed that patients whose nodes appeared stimulated had fewer metastases (p less than 0.05) than those with either unstimulated or unstimulated combined with a depleted pattern. A markedly improved 5-year survival rate was seen in patients with a stimulated pattern (p less than 0.0001) compared to those patients who exhibited a depleted and/or unstimulated lymph node pattern. The survival advantage related to the stimulated pattern was observed primarily among patients with advanced disease. It is suggested that stimulated nodes reflect proliferation of T and B lymphocytes engaged in cell-mediated and humoral immune responses to the bladder tumor and that this favorably influenced survival in those patients. Patients whose lymph nodes showed a depleted pattern fared poorly despite the extent of the disease and those with an unstimulated pattern were intermediate in survival. A depleted pattern may represent a state of local immune paralysis, exhaustion of the draining lymph nodes as a result of exposure to excess tumor-derived products such as antigen or toxic substances or simply an atrophic node incapable of response. In the absence of a local immune response such patients might be expected to do poorly. These results suggest that morphologic evaluation of the lymph nodes regional to bladder cancer may provide a clue to their immunologic function and a more accurate guide to prognosis of patients with this neoplasm.
Decreased ability of blood leukocytes from patients with tumors of the urinary bladder to act as stimulator cells in mixed leukocyte culture.
Blood leukocytes from patients with active neoplasms of the urinary bladder were found to have a decreased ability to stimulate in one-way mixed leukocyte culture (MLC). The ability of the patients' leukocytes to act as stimulator cells in one-way MLC was assessed by simultaneous comparison to the ability of leukocytes from normal individuals to stimulate. In addition, the ability of the patients' leukocytes to act as responder cells in the one-way MLC was evaluated. Cells from 31 (56%) of 55 patients with active disease exhibited subnormal stimulatory activity in the MLC while 26 of these 31 patients (84%) had normal responsiveness. Cells from 9 of the 55 failed to respond normally. Poor stimulation occurred with both early and advanced disease, and the stimulatory activity increased after tumor removal in 12 of 15 patients who had previously shown subnormal stimulation. Six patients without active disease at the time of testing, in addition to the 55, exhibited normal levels of stimulation and responsiveness. This defective stimulatory activity is suggestive of an acquired, disease-related phenomenon and is not necessarily associated with decreased blood leukocyte responsiveness.
Cryopreservation of human effector cells active in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
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