Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I D Bross

Publications and source records attributed to I D Bross.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The metastatic spread of kidney and prostate cancers in man.

This research was performed on 66 autopsy reports of kidney cancers and 58 autopsy reports of prostate cancers. Two alternative hypotheses were tested, i.e. whether metastases spread at random from the primary tumor throughout the body or whether the metastatic spread occurs in steps, referred to as a cascade spread, requiring one or more disseminating sites. It was found that in cancer of the prostate two disseminating sites exist, i.e. bones and lungs. Metastases from the primary tumor appear first in the skeleton and then in the lungs, not vice versa. In cancer of the kidney, the lungs are the major disseminating site. The lymphatic areas did not seem to play a major role in the dissemination of both cancers; on the contrary, the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes seem to depend on the presence of carcinomatous cells in key sites, i.e. the skeleton and the lungs. These results, however, should be interpreted with caution, as explained in the text. Considerations were proposed for future research.

Bone Neoplasms↗

A possible mechanism for enhancement of increased production of tumor angiogenic factor.

It is suggested that anoxic conditions may enhance the transformation of tumor cells to increase production of tumor angiogenic factor. The theory of oxygen diffusion into a spherical mass is used to calculate an upper bound for the critical size at which anoxia begins to develop in the center of an avascular clone of tumor cells. The predicted size is in line with experimental observations of the maximum size of avascular tumors.

Angiogenesis Inducing Agents↗

The relationship of histology to the spread of cancer.

This paper investigates the question of whether different types of histology at the same site can affect the spread of metastases - that is, producing a greater or fewer number of metastases depending on the histological diagnosis. Autopsy records were the source of the data analyzed in this paper. The metastases were subdivided into four categories - central nervous metastases, endocrine metastases, metastases at various lymphatic areas, and a miscellaneous group of metastases called the "remainder" group. It was found that adenocarcinoma and oat-cell carcinoma of the lungs are more aggressive in their metastatic spread than squamous cell carcinoma at the same site. Adenocarcinoma of the cervix uteri had more widespread metastases than squamous cell carcinoma at the same site. No difference at all was detectable in the number of metastases, in men or in women, between transitional cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the bladder and kidney. Cystadenocarcinoma of the ovaries appeared to be less widespread than adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified) of the same site.

Adenocarcinoma↗

A computerized tumor-registry system for persons who do not love computers.

A new simplified system for updating a cancer registry has been developed in the Biostatistics Department of Roswell Park Memorial Institute. It was designed to serve the needs of maintaining a registry for a cooperative cancer research group. The Data-Update Procedure at a Remote Terminal (DUPART) system has general value for registry applications.

Computers↗

The metastatic spread of myeloma and leukemias in men.

This investigation was based on the analysis of 580 autopsy records of patients with plasma cell myeloma or any type of leukemia. The data were collected by the Department of Pathology at Roswell Park Memorial Institute between 1956 and 1965. The primary purpose of this paper was to elucidate the metastatic process in myelomas and different types of leukemia. Two mutually exclusive hypotheses were tested, i.e. whether the spread of a cancer from the primary tumor throughout the body was due to a simple diffusion or if a cascade process took place. The basic definition of the "cascade or multistep" diffusion of cancer is that it takes place in steps; that is, at least one intermediate step is usually required for the disease to progress from the primary tumor to generalized dissemination throughout the body. It appeared that either the liver or spleen are the two major diffusing sites; that is, no generalized metastasis occurs unless the spleen and/or liver are seeded first.

Autopsy↗

The influence of site of metastasis on tumour growth and response to chemotherapy.

Drug screening trials and general treatment of solid tumours in advanced cancer patients have been concerned only with the site of primary origin, regardless of where metastases might have seeded. Since the environment for tumour growth can differ appreciably at various anatomical sites, an investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of metastatic site on response to chemotherapy. Data from 1961 to 1965 of the screening trials of the Eastern Clinical Drug Evaluation Program were utilized. Response and location data extensive enough for analysis represented 6 sites of primary origin and 6 metastatic site groups, totalling 1687 lesions. Analysis of percentage reduction in tumour size after chemotherapy regimens of up to 60 days revealed a significant amount of variation associated with metastatic sites and a non-significant amount associated with sites of primary origin. Advanced primary tumours showed marked variation in responsiveness and some showed a difference in response to different drug groups. Generally, metastases responded better than the advanced primaries from which they were derived, except for those from breast tumours.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Studies on the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome of infants due to hyaline membrane disease with plasminogen.

Hyaline membrane disease (HMD) is leading single cause of death of newborn, premature infants. The "hyaline membranes" consist chiefly of fibrin. The clinical manifestation of HMD is the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Infants with RDS were treated with urokinase-activated human plasmin in a previous clinical trial. Survival rate was increased in the plasmin treated group as compared to the placebo recipients. However, cost and difficulty in the preparation of the enzyme made this treatment impractical. We, as well as others, have shown the premature infants lack serum plasminogen; thus they are unable to develop effective fibrinolysis and are defenseless against pulmonary fibrin deposition. Therefore, plamsinogen was tested as a possible preventive agent in RDS due to HMD. In a double blind, randomized study, infants between 1 and 2.5 kg birth weight received plasminogen or placebo shortly after birth, and were then followed for development of RDS. After 100 infants were entered into the study, the code was broken and results were evaluated to assure safety of the procedure. Among the 100 infants, 51 received placebo, 49 received plasminogen. Among the infants who received placebo, seven developed mild, and ten developed severe respiratory distress; of these ten, five died with histopathologically documented HMD. Two infants died from causes other than HMD. Among the 49 infants treated with plasminogen, 13 developed mild and three developed severe respiratory distress. There was no death due to HMD. Two deaths were due to other causes. Factors placing the infant at risk from HMD (degree of prematurity, sex, cesarean section, bleeding episodes during pregnancy, maternal diabetes) were found to be evenly distributed between control and treated groups. Since completing the first phase of the study, data of an additional 277 infants has become available. Although the code was not broken in this series, a preliminary look at mortality data in comparison with mortality data of the first series of 100 (in which the code was broken) suggests that preventive activity of plasminogen has been maintained in the second phase of the study.

Birth Weight↗

Epidemiologic characteristics of patients with prostatic neoplasms.

A case-control study was conducted between 1957 and 1965 on 128 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), 256 age-matched controls, 290 prostate cancer patients and 290 age-matched controls for the prostate cancer patients, all of whom had completed the Roswell Park Memorial Institute epidemiology questionnaire and were interviewed on admission to the Institute. Compared to the control groups a higher proportion of both case groups were Protestants and residents of smaller towns. The major finding in this case-control study was a significantly higher risk for prostate cancer in fertile males compared to both married and non-married, but infertile males. This finding was confirmed when fertility was used as a variable for the classification of study groups in an earlier prospective study reporting the follow-up of patients with BPH and non-neoplastic controls. In this study, patients with children were found to have a relative risk of 2.69 for prostate cancer compared to the married patients with no children. Fertility may be a manifestation of constitutional-hormonal factors that increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Adult↗

Marital and reproductive experience in a community-wide epidemiological study of breast cancer.

The relationship of marital and reproductive experience to human breast cancer was studied using data collected during 1956-1962 by the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. Information of epidemiological interest was obtained from all women with cancers of the reporductive organs in Buffalo, New York, and the adjoining township of Kenmore. For comparison, a probability sample of the same population was selected. During 1965-1967, an International Collaborative Study with similar objectives found a striking positive relationship between age at first birth and breast cancer risk. This finding can be interpreted as either indicating that an event associated with first birth at an early age protects against the development of breast cancer or that the hormonal status of a women both produces a delay in a woman becoming pregnant and increases the risk of developing breast cancer. The analysis of marital and reproductive histories in the Buffalo population study confirms previous reports of an increasing risk of breast cancer with increasing age at first birth. Attempts to distinguish the two interpretations mentioned by analyzing the interval between first marriage and time of birth in addition to age at first birth were not conclusive. This necessitated a similar analysis of data available in a larger series of 1164 breast cancer patients and 1200 non-neoplastic controls hospitalized at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute during 1957-1965. The results do not show an influence of interval between first marriage and first birth but do show an increased risk of breast cancer with increasing age at first birth. The results are thus consistent with a protective effect of an earyl age at first birth. These findings also have a bearing on recent suggestions that ovulatory failure predisposes to development of breast cancer.

Adult↗