Performance related pay for hospital doctors.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Boyce.
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One hundred fifty-six members and candidate members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists responded to a survey concerning the "laparoscopic management of ovarian neoplasms subsequently found to be malignant." Twenty-nine responders (19%) reported a total of 42 cases of ovarian malignancy. The laparoscopic procedure was aborted or the cyst was aspirated in 38% of the cases, and partial or complete excisions were attempted in 33 and 29%, respectively. The characteristics of the masses were as follows: less than 8 cm 67%, cystic 62%, unilocular 48%, and unilateral 81%. All four "benign" characteristics were present in 31% of the cases found to be malignant, and three of four characteristics were present in 24%. Laparotomy was performed at the time of laparoscopy in 17% of cases, after laparoscopy in 71% with an average interval of 4.8 weeks, and not at all in 12%. Fifty-seven percent of the cases were invasive epithelial malignancies, whereas 29% were tumors of low malignant potential. At least 50% of the patients had stages II-IV. We conclude that attempted laparoscopic excisions of adnexal masses that are subsequently found to be malignant are not uncommon, and that the presence of so-called "benign" characteristics does not preclude malignancy. Attempts at partial or complete excision are common, as are delays in subsequent definitive surgery. The stage of disease is often advanced, and all histologic types of malignancy are encountered. We advocate careful evaluation of this practice, with development of strict guidelines to ensure optimal patient care.
To determine the relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and cervical neoplasia, the characteristics of invasive and preinvasive cervical disease in 114 patients of known HIV status were assessed. Seven of thirty-seven patients (19%) under age 50 with invasive cervical carcinoma were HIV-positive, including a 16-year-old with stage IIIB disease. HIV-positive patients had more advanced invasive cancer than HIV-negative patients. Disease persisted or recurred in all HIV-positive patients compared to 37% of HIV-negative patients. In HIV-positive patients, the median times to recurrence and death were 1 and 10 months, respectively. No HIV-positive patient had HIV-related symptoms. The mean T4:T8 cell ratio in HIV-positive patients was 0.49, compared to 1.86 in HIV-negative patients. The mean T4 cell count was 362/mm3 in HIV-positive and 775/mm3 in HIV-negative patients. Colposcopic evaluations of the lower genital tract of 77 patients with abnormal smears revealed higher-grade cytology and histology in 25 HIV-positive than in 52 HIV-negative patients. HIV-positive patients had significantly more multifocal/extensive lesions, multisite involvement, perianal involvement, evidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and associated gynecologic infections than HIV-negative patients. In areas at high risk for HIV infection, we must anticipate a high prevalence of HIV seropositivity in women with invasive cervical cancer. In the HIV-infected, cervical cancer is of advanced stage and responds poorly to therapy. Intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-positive patients may be of higher grade than in HIV-negative patients, with more extensive involvement of the lower genital tract.
Twelve women with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the cervix uteri were followed for 2-15 years after diagnosis. Three patients died within 14 months. All had lymph node metastases and/or vascular involvement and exhibited tumor invasion to a depth of 1.2-3.2 cm. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is defined as a tumor with the appearance of squamous cell carcinoma without any glandular pattern and with demonstrable intracellular mucin. The mucin is best demonstrated by alcian blue and periodic acid-Schiff-diastase. In 265 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, stage IB, lymph node metastases were present in 14%. In the cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma, the prevalence of nodal metastases was 33%. Because mucoepidermoid carcinomas appear to be more aggressive lesions than squamous cell carcinomas are, it may be advisable to stain all cervical squamous carcinomas for mucin if they demonstrate finely vacuolated cytoplasm and lack peripheral palisading. Immunohistochemical studies for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), keratin, and epithelial membrane antigen were positive in all tumors to varying degrees. The detection of CEA may be of additional help in establishing a diagnosis.
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Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen (Ag) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 64 patients with invasive squamous cell cervical carcinoma and 9 patients with nonsquamous carcinoma before the initiation of treatment. The mean antigen level in the squamous group was 10.5 ng/ml compared with 1.3 ng/ml in the nonsquamous group. In the patients with squamous cell carcinoma, mean SCC Ag level correlated well with stage, except for bulky stage IB tumors (P less than 0.05), where mean level was much higher than expected. Patients with exophytic tumors had significantly higher SCC Ag levels than those with nonexophytic tumors. Follow-up on 62 evaluable patients ranged from 20 to 40 months. The mean pretreatment SCC Ag level for patients free of disease at last contact was 5.6 ng/ml, in contrast to 16.1 ng/ml for those with recurrent disease. Only 32% of patients free of disease had pretreatment levels of 4.0 ng/ml or greater, while 86% of those with recurrent disease had such values (P less than 0.05). Forty patients had follow-up samples drawn 1 to 14 months after treatment. Mean post-treatment SCC Ag levels dropped to 1.8 ng/ml in 21 patients free of disease (73% decrease), but remained elevated at 13.4 ng/ml (17% decrease) in 19 patients with recurrences. The specificity of follow-up SCC Ag levels as a predictive test for outcome was 90%, with a sensitivity of 63%. We conclude that pretreatment SCC Ag levels correlate well with tumor stage, lesion morphology, and extent of disease. SCC antigen levels may be used to follow patients to determine effectiveness of treatment.
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In aqueous solution at low concentrations, the neutral polymers dextran and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) rapidly form a two-phase system consisting of a PEG-rich phase floating on top of a dextran-rich phase. Biological particles and macromolecules tend to partition differentially between the phases and the liquid-liquid phase interface in these systems. Bioparticle partitioning has been shown to be related to physiologically important surface properties such as membrane charge or lipid composition. Affinity partitioning into the PEG-rich phase can be accomplished by coupling PEG to a ligand having affinity for specific cells or macromolecules. Subpopulations can be identified or separated using multi-step countercurrent distribution (CCD). Incomplete understanding of the influence of gravity on the efficiency and quality of the impressive separations achievable by partitioning, and appreciation for the versatility of this efficient technique, have led to its study for low-gravity biomaterials processing. On Earth, two-phase systems rapidly demix because of density differences between the phases. In low-gravity, demixing has been shown to occur primarily by coalescence. Polymer surface coatings, developed to control localization of demixed phases in low-g, have been found to control electroosmosis which adversely affects electrophoretic separation processes on Earth and in space. In addition PEG-derivatized antibodies have been synthesized for use in immunoaffinity cell partitioning.
Long-term gastrointestinal (GI) and urinary tract (UT) complications were evaluated in 133 women with carcinoma of the endometrium who were treated by both radiotherapy and hysterectomy. Major complications developed in 8% of patients who received external pelvic radiation but in none with intracavitary radiation. GI complications were more frequent and more severe in patients receiving external pelvic radiation than in those who received only intracavitary radiotherapy, irrespective of the sequence of treatment. UT complications were more frequent with prehysterectomy external radiotherapy (N = 39) than with posthysterectomy external radiotherapy (N = 21).
Clinicopathologic studies of 16 homologous and 19 heterologous malignant mesodermal (Mullerian) mixed tumors of the corpora uteri showed that homologous tumors were more common in black women than in white women; in the former, tumors were diagnosed at a younger age and in more advanced stages than in the latter. Fifty-five percent of women with clinical stage I disease had a higher surgicopathologic stage. The most significant prognostic factors were pathologic extent of disease and vascular invasion in the myometrium. There was no difference in outcome between homologous and heterologous tumors. Initial surgery for staging is essential for the adequate evaluation and treatment of these patients.
One hundred and four patients with Stages II and III of cervical carcinoma underwent para-aortic node biopsies. Of these, 12.5 per cent of patients with Stage IIA, 14.9 per cent of patients with Stage IIB, and 38.4 per cent of patients with Stage III carcinoma of the cervix had positive para-aortic nodes. They subsequently recieve 6,000 rads to the para-aortic area. The radiotherapy complication rate was high. Within four years, 50 per cent of the patients with positive para-aortic nodes had other distant metastases. The two- and four-year follow-up is presented. Only one of 13 patients with positive para-aortic nodes was alive at the end of four years.
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