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J E Varhaug

Publications and source records attributed to J E Varhaug.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Serum vitamin D metabolites and calcitriol receptor concentration in parathyroid tissue in primary hyperparathyroidism.

Vitamin D metabolites in serum and calcitriol receptor concentration in parathyroid tissue were examined in 52 patients operated on for primary hyperparathyroidism. The calcitriol receptor levels were not different in parathyroid adenomas (mean 224 fmol/mg of protein, range 29-509, N = 43), normal parathyroid tissue (mean 245, range 31-690, N = 20), and primary parathyroid hyperplasia (mean 172, range 46-477, N = 9). Preoperative serum levels of calcitriol concentration correlated inversely to the calcitriol receptor in normal parathyroid tissue in patients with adenoma (r = -0.57, N = 17, p = 0.017), but no such correlation was found in the corresponding adenomas (r = 0.14, p = 0.59). In 31 patients in whom both pre- and postoperative vitamin D metabolite analyses were carried out, 23 had lower calcitriol postoperative concentrations compared to preoperative values (p = 0.012, sign test). No change was found in the other vitamin D metabolites postoperatively. By multiple regression analysis calcitriol concentration in serum was inversely correlated to the serum concentration of urea and phosphate (p = 0.003). We conclude that calcitriol may influence calcitriol receptor expression in normal parathyroid tissue, but not in adenomatous parathyroid gland. Furthermore, serum calcitriol was correlated to the renal function, and phosphate level, and in most patients the calcitriol concentration was lower after the operation.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1992

Androgen receptors in operable breast cancer: relation to other steroid hormone receptors, correlations to prognostic factors and predictive value for effect of adjuvant tamoxifen treatment.

Steroid hormone receptors have been evaluated as independent prognostic factors as well as predictive factors for endocrine manipulation in the clinical management of breast cancer. The contribution of each receptor or combinations of different receptors remains controversial. In cytosols from 224 patients with operable breast cancer (stages I & II), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) and androgen receptor (AR) content have been measured. An improved AR-assay has been used in order to circumvent some of the problems inherent in other methods. In this study, 91.1% of the patients were classified as AR 'positive' (i.e. greater than or equal to 10 pmol/g). The steroid hormone receptors were significantly correlated (P less than 0.001). Taking the median value of AR as cut-off (50.5 pmol/g), a significantly higher incidence (P = 0.004) of node negative patients was found in the group with a lower AR content. In a multivariate analysis the AR category (median value used as cut-off) was shown to be an independent predictor of the likelihood of axillary metastases (P = 0.001). AR category, however, did not reveal any significant prognostic information concerning relapse free survival. A subpopulation of node positive patients with ER positive tumors, have been included in a randomized trial on the role of tamoxifen as an adjuvant treatment compared with no endocrine treatment. In a multivariate analysis, PgR status was shown to be a single independent prognostic factor (P = 0.016) for relapse free survival in patients with a lower AR content (less than median value). The improved AR assay used in the present study may provide a basis for more correct estimation of the AR content in an individual tumor. The present study suggests that AR analysis and the use of a well-chosen cut-off level may add information about tumor biology to increase our understanding of breast cancer biology and treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Rapid calcium infusion in the diagnosis of hypoglycemia].

The diagnosis of beta cell tumours of the pancreas is a clinical problem. It is also difficult to exclude this diagnosis in patients who are suspected of suffering from recurrent hypoglycemia, but do not have beta cell tumours. The most widely used diagnostic procedure has been suppression of endogenous insulin production with prolonged fasting up to 72 hours. This procedure is troublesome to the patient, time-consuming and expensive, and demands the complete cooperation of the patient. Therefore several diagnostic tests have been developed, but none has been generally accepted. A newly described test involving calcium infusion, 2 mg/kg in one minute, seems to give a diagnostic response in most patients with insulinomas, few false positive results and few side effects. We have used this test for four years and found it safe and easy to perform. It has given diagnostic response in three patients with insulinomas and no false positive results in 27 other patients.

Calcium Gluconate↗
PubMed1991

Infected pseudocyst of adrenal gland. Case report.

A large adrenal pseudocyst was found in a 58-year-old woman presenting with pain in the left hypochondrium and septicemia. Initial blood- and cystic fluid cultures all showed Staphylococcus aureus. After antibiotic therapy the cyst was removed. We have found no previous report of a bacteria-containing infected adrenal cyst in an adult.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗
PubMed1991

Thyroid carcinoma: results from surgical treatment in 211 consecutive patients.

A retrospective study was undertaken of 211 patients who were operated on for thyroid carcinoma. The revised histological diagnoses were papillary (n = 167), follicular (n = 26), medullary (n = 9) and undifferentiated (n = 9). No patient was lost to follow up (mean 10 years). In 162 patients a palpable neck mass was the only clinical presentation of disease (76%). Fine needle aspiration cytology was increasingly used throughout the period. Total thyroidectomy was done in 167 (79%), hemi or subtotal thyroidectomy in 22 (10%), the remaining received palliative treatment. Accidental unilateral vocal cord paralysis occurred in 3 (1.4%). Total thyroidectomy was followed by permanent hypoparathyroidism in 19 (11%). The tumour recurred in 37 (19%), and 23 of the patients died thyroid cancer (11%). The disease specific mortality for patients with undifferentiated tumours was 77% compared with 8% for patients with differentiated tumours. In the latter group, death of cancer was correlated significantly with age, sex, tumour size, presence of regional metastases, and palliative treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1990

Co-expression of the genes encoding transforming growth factor-alpha and its receptor in papillary carcinomas of the thyroid.

Transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) is frequently coexpressed with its receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), in several types of carcinoma and sarcoma. It is believed that this results in an autocrine stimulation of tumor growth in these tumors. We have found that TGF-alpha and EGF-R/c-erbB RNAs were co-expressed at significantly higher levels in papillary thyroid carcinomas and their lymph-node metastases than in non-neoplastic thyroid tissues. We also observed a low level of expression of RNA specific for insulin-like growth factor I in these tumors, which was highest in a lymph-node metastasis. Autocrine stimulation by TGF-alpha may thus be a common feature of papillary carcinomas of the thyroid. Since EGF is known to induce proliferation and dedifferentiation of normal thyroid cells in culture, TGF-alpha and its receptor may play an important role in thyroid carcinogenesis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Breast conserving surgery in breast cancer. Experiences from the Haukeland Hospital 1983-88].

From 1983-88, 97 breast cancers in 94 women were treated with breast conserving surgery at Haukeland University Hospital. 71% of the tumours were less than 2 cm in diameter and 94% less than 3 cm. 65% had negative axillary nodal status. 90 patients had ductal carcinoma, three of whom also had extensive intraductal carcinoma. Pathological findings in the resection margins (invasive carcinoma, intraductal carcinoma or atypical epithelial hyperplasia) were reasons for reoperation in 14 patients, eight of them by mastectomy. Thus, after completion of initial treatment the breast was preserved in 89 patients. Postoperative irradiation to the breast was given as a routine. Three elderly patients were excepted. Two patients developed ipsilateral breast recurrences after six and 24 months respectively. The first was treated by re-resection and the second by mastectomy. Neither of these showed evidence of distant metastases. Distant metastases were discovered in five patients, two of these have since died.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Absence of abnormalities of the c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 proto-oncogenes in human thyroid neoplasia.

The c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 proto-oncogenes are frequently activated by gene amplification and overexpression in a variety of human cancers. In an analysis of a large series of benign and malignant thyroid tumours, no abnormalities of structure or expression of either of c-erbB-1 or c-erbB-2 were found. Activation of these oncogenes is not a necessary event in neoplasia of this epithelial system.

DNA, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1990

Thyroid carcinoma with mixed tall-cell and columnar-cell features.

Tall-cell and columnar-cell carcinomas have been regarded as aggressive variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma. In the present case report the authors describe a composite tumor where these forms of differentiation coexisted, with transitional changes occurring within single follicular structures. This finding indicates that the two variants are closely related. In local recurrences, one or the other feature appeared in separate lesions. Lung metastases developed, and the patient died 5 1/2 years after diagnosis and primary treatment.

Carcinoma, Papillary↗
PubMed1990

[Breast-preserving surgery in breast cancer. Experiences from Haukeland Hospital 1983-1988].

From 1983-88, 97 breast cancers in 94 women were treated with breast-conserving surgery at Haukeland University Hospital. 71 per cent of the tumours were less than 2 cm in diameter and 94 per cent less than 3 cm. 65 had negative axillary nodal status. 90 patients had ductal carcinoma, three of whom also had extensive intraductal carcinoma. Pathological findings in the resection margins (invasive carcinoma, intraductal carcinoma or atypical epithelial hyperplasia) were reasons for reoperation in 14 patients, eight of them by mastectomy. Thus, after completion of initial treatment the breast was preserved in 89 patients. Postoperative irradiation to the breast was given as a routine. Three elderly patients were excepted. Two patients developed ipsilateral breast recurrences after six and 24 months respectively. The first was treated by re-resection and the second by mastectomy. Neither of these showed evidence of distant metastases. Distant metastases were discovered in five patients, two of these have since died.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Fine needle aspiration cytology of the breast. A simple method?].

During the period 1981-85, 3,743 fine-needle aspiration cytologies of breast tissue from 3,188 patients were reported by the Gade Institute, Department of pathology. Subsequent histologic examination was performed in the case of 798 patients. Among 421 histologically proven carcinomas after previous fine-needle aspiration, there were no false positive and 13 false negative cytological diagnoses. The specificity was 100% and, depending on the criteria used, the sensitivity 77.9 or 96.4%. Altogether 223 doctors performed the aspirations. This high number was probably the main reason for an unacceptably high proportion of inadequate smears. In experienced hands the proportion of inadequate smears was less than 4-7% in patients with carcinomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Breast sarcoma. Diagnostic and therapeutic problems].

From 1981 to 1988 six patients, five females and one male, with breast sarcoma were treated in the Department of Surgery, University Hospital, Bergen. Four of them had phyllodes tumour, one a malignant myoepithelioma and one a liposarcoma. Metastases to axillary lymph nodes or distant metastases were not observed. Sarcomas account for about 1% of malignant breast tumours in our department. The cases demonstrate diagnostic and therapeutical problems in dealing with breast sarcomas.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Restituted gastric mucosa: tolerance against low luminal pH and restricted mucosal blood flow in the cat.

This study examined the tolerance of gastric surface epithelium allowed to restitute for 90 min after damage produced by mucosal exposure to 2 M NaCl for 10 min. Cats were subjected to gastric luminal perfusion with saline at pH = 1.0 and reduction of celiac artery blood flow for 90 min. A flow reduction of 55%, as assessed by Doppler ultrasound flowmetry, was obtained by constriction of the celiac artery. These interventions alone did not produce lesions in nondamaged control cats, whereas exposure to 2 M NaCl immediately before flow reduction evoked extensive erosions as judged by gross examination and microscopy. Stomachs exposed to 2 M NaCl 90 min before flow reduction showed lesions that were clearly less in extent and number than in animals in which an intervening restitution period was not allowed. Topical dimethyl-prostaglandin E2 (50 micrograms/kg) increased the rate by which restituted surface cells were transformed to apparently normal cells. This study shows that the restituted gastric mucosa possesses a remarkably high tolerance against lowered blood flow in the presence of high luminal acidity.

16,16-Dimethylprostaglandin E2↗
PubMed1988

Palpation of the axillary nodes in breast cancer: what does the surgeon feel?

The findings on routine pre-operative palpation of the axilla in patients with infiltrative breast carcinoma are compared to the results of histological quantitation of the nodal lymphoid tissue and its tumour deposits in 91 consecutive cases in which a standardized axillary dissection had been carried out. The study demonstrates that lymphoid tissue, even when present in large amounts (up to 6 cm2 on histology), is seldom palpable. What the clinician identifies in favourable cases is the tumour deposit itself. When little lymphoid tissue is present very small tumour deposits (0.2 cm2) may be found on palpation, but large deposits (1 cm2) may be missed when surrounded by sufficient lymphoid tissue. These findings go far to explain the well documented unreliability of the nodal findings on axillary palpation in breast cancer.

Axilla↗
PubMed1988

Gastric mucosal repair in the cat: role of the hyperemic response to mucosal damage.

This study concerns the significance for the mucosal repair process of the gastric mucosal hyperemic response after mucosal damage caused by 2 M NaCl. Celiac artery blood flow was measured by Doppler ultrasound and stomach arterial inflow was either left undisturbed or reduced in a controllable fashion by tightening a vessel loop around the celiac artery immediately after mucosal exposure to 2 M NaCl or 150 mM NaCl. The stomach lumen was perfused with saline at pH 1.00 before and after exposure to 2 M NaCl. Gastric mucosal blood flow increased after exposure to 2 M NaCl, and 90 min after mucosal exposure to 2 M NaCl the mucosal surface showed nearly complete restitution of the surface epithelium. In all animals in which mucosal hyperemia was restricted by reducing celiac artery blood flow by 60% after mucosal damage, extensive gastric erosions were present. Similar reduction of celiac artery blood flow in control animals without mucosal damage did not produce visible lesions, and the stomachs proved to be normal by microscopy. These findings show that the gastric mucosal hyperemic response after damage is important for protection of the damaged mucosa during restitution of the gastric surface epithelium.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Expression of oncogenes in thyroid tumours: coexpression of c-erbB2/neu and c-erbB.

The receptor-type oncogenes c-erbB2/neu and c-erbB have been found amplified and/or overexpressed in a number of tumours of epithelial origin. We have studied the expression of oncogenes in biopsies from human thyroid tumours. The c-erbB2/neu and c-erbB oncogenes showed two- to three-fold higher levels of RNA in papillary carcinomas and lymph node metastases as well as in one adenoma when compared to non-tumour tissue. The nuclear oncogenes c-myc and c-fos were found to be expressed at varying levels in both non-tumour and tumour tissue. RNA transcripts specific for the platelet-derived growth factor A and B chains and the N-ras oncogene were detected in one anaplastic carcinoma. Neither rearrangements nor amplifications of oncogenes were observed in the thyroid tumours. These data are particularly interesting in light of the recent findings that epidermal growth factor induces proliferation and dedifferentiation of normal thyroid epithelial cells in vitro. We suggest that the epidermal growth factor or other ligands for the c-erbB and c-erbB2/neu receptors may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of the malignant phenotype of papillary carcinomas of the thyroid.

Adenoma↗