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Biomedical subjects

J Neely

Publications and source records attributed to J Neely.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Additional chemotherapy agents improve treatment outcome for children and adults with advanced B-cell lymphomas.

We report the updated results of an intensive treatment protocol for children (< 18 years) and adults (> or = 18 years) with advanced B-cell lymphomas. The protocol consists of two chemotherapy regimens: A, consisting of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and high-dose methotrexate (CODOX-M), and B, consisting of ifosfamide, etoposide, and high-dose cytarabine (IVAC). Both cycles included intrathecal chemotherapy (cytarabine or methotrexate). Patients received a total of four cycles in the following sequence: A, B, A, B. Sixty-six previously untreated patients, enrolled before October 1996, were included in the present analysis. Of these, 55 had Burkitt's or Burkitt's-like lymphoma and 11 had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. There were 53 males ad 13 females; 40 were children and 26 were adults (age range, 3 to 57 years). To date, 61 patients have achieved a complete response to therapy. Two patients subsequently relapsed, but one of these is a long-term survivor after further therapy and a bone marrow transplant. The event-free survival rate is 85% at I year and beyond. The median potential follow-up period is 48 months (range, 12 to 96 months) for patients remaining in complete remission. Neutropenia occurred in 98% of cycles and infection in 46% of A cycles and 50% of B cycles, but the duration was shortened in B cycles by the administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Positive blood cultures were observed in 21% of A cycles and 28% of B cycles, and there have been three toxic deaths. These results are better than those achieved with an earlier version of CODOX-M, suggesting that the addition of the IVAC regimen is responsible for the improved results. The similarity of the outcome in children and adults, however, confirms our previous observation that, at least in adults younger than 60 years with Burkitt's or Burkitt's-like lymphomas, treatment with regimens similar to those used in children is warranted.

Adolescent↗

Beware the left-sided effusion.

A left-sided pleural effusion is an infrequent clinical occurrence compared with bilateral or right-sided effusions. After coronary bypass surgery, a patient presented with dyspnea and an enlarging left pleural effusion erroneously attributed to congestive heart failure and refractory to medical management. Thoracentesis generated a clinical surprise, allowed specific therapy, and produced evidence for a rarely reported complication of coronary artery bypass grafting. The management of chylothorax and the differential diagnosis of left-sided pleural effusions are reviewed.

Chylothorax↗

Adults and children with small non-cleaved-cell lymphoma have a similar excellent outcome when treated with the same chemotherapy regimen.

PURPOSE: We have used identical treatment protocols for adults and children with small non-cleaved-cell lymphoma (SNCL) for many years and report here the results of two successive treatment regimens in these age groups. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-two patients (39 adults and 33 children) were treated with protocol 77-04 between 1977 and 1985. All patients, except those with resected abdominal disease, received 15 cycles of a combination of cyclophosphamide (CTX), doxorubicin (ADR), prednisone (PRED), vincristine (VCR), high-dose methotrexate (MTX), and intrathecal (IT) therapy. Forty-one patients (20 adults and 21 children) were treated with protocol 89-C-41, which has been used since 1989. High-risk patients received four alternating cycles (with a total duration of 12 to 15 weeks) of an intensified version of protocol 77-04 without PRED (CODOX-M), and a new drug combination consisting of ifosfamide, etoposide, high-dose cytarabine (ara-C), and IT MTX (IVAC). Low-risk patients received three cycles of the CODOX-M regimen. High-risk patients were randomized to either receive or not receive granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). RESULTS: Event-free survival (EFS) in protocol 77-04 was 56% at 2 years and beyond. EFS in protocol 89-C-41 was 92% at 2 years and beyond. GM-CSF was associated with increased thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSION: Adults and children with SNCL have a similar prognosis when treated with the same chemotherapy. EFS in high-risk patients has been markedly improved by including IVAC in protocol 89-C-41, and excellent results can be achieved with only four cycles of therapy. In protocol 89-C-41, GM-CSF was not beneficial.

Adolescent↗

Localization of GD2-specific monoclonal antibody 3F8 in human osteosarcoma.

3F8 is a murine IgG3 monoclonal antibody specific for the antigen disialoganglioside GD2. Immunofluorescence staining showed strong binding of 3F8 to 15 of 17 human osteosarcomas, including primary and metastatic tumors. The targeting potentials of the native monoclonal antibody (3F8) and the F(ab')2 fragment (p-3F8) were tested in BALB/c athymic nude mice xenografted with human osteosarcomas. After radiolabeling with iodine using the chloramine T method, both 3F8 and p-3F8 retained immunoreactivities. The irrelevant IgG3 antibody TIB114 and its F(ab')2 fragment were used as negative controls. A Ewing's sarcoma xenograft, which was low in GD2 antigen, was also studied for comparison. Mice were sacrificed 1 day and 4 days after i.v. antibody injection. 3F8 and p-3F8 showed preferential accumulation in osteosarcoma over normal tissues with tumor:nontumor ratios of 2.7-58:1 and 1.4-82:1, respectively, on Day 1. These ratios improved to 10-163:1 and 6.0-75:1 on Day 4. The intact antibody 3F8 showed selective tumor uptake with a much higher percentage of injected dose per g than the fragment p-3F8 and exhibited a longer tissue half-life than p-3F8. These data indicate that anti-GD2 monoclonal antibodies may be useful for imaging and targeted therapy of human osteogenic sarcoma. The F(ab')2 fragment has the advantage of achieving favorable tumor:nontumor ratios sooner after antibody injection while the intact antibody shows better retention by tumor tissues.

Animals↗

Complete tumor ablation with iodine 131-radiolabeled disialoganglioside GD2-specific monoclonal antibody against human neuroblastoma xenografted in nude mice.

The antibody 3F8, an IgG3 murine monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against disialoganglioside GD2, could target iodine-131 (131I) to established subcutaneous human neuroblastoma (NB) xenografts in BALB/c nude mice. 131I-radiolabeled MoAb (0.125-1 mCi) was injected iv. Tumor radioactivity over time was calculated from scintigraphy, and radiation dose to individual tumors was calculated. Tumor shrinkage occurred only with 131I-labeled 3F8, but not with nonradioactive 3F8 or radiolabeled irrelevant antibody. While the tumor of the control mice enlarged by tenfold, the treated tumor showed over 95% shrinkage by 12 days. Both the rate of shrinkage and duration of tumor response were dose dependent. Calculated doses of more than 10,000 rad could be achieved. Only those tumors that received more than 4,200 rad were completely ablated without recurrence. Recurrent tumors were not antigen negative or radioresistant. These results confirmed the prediction based on imaging studies that human NB xenografts could be effectively eradicated with the use of 131I-labeled MoAb 3F8 with tolerable toxicities.

Animals↗

Changing knives a wasteful and unnecessary ritual.

The use of two knives for making a surgical incision is a deeply ingrained practice of British surgery and a postal survey of the theatre superintendents in the South-West Thames Region revealed that out of 143 surgeons all but one use this technique. Therefore we undertook a bacteriological study of the knife blades used on a general surgical unit. This showed that under normal conditions pathogenic organisms do not contaminate the knife blade and are not carried into the wound by it. The use of only one knife to make an incision does not increase the incidence of wound infection. A survey of the world literature confirms these findings. The wasteful and unnecessary ritual of using two knives to make an incision through normal skin has no theoretical, scientific or clinical basis and can be discontinued.

Bacteria↗

beta-Adrenergic receptors in pediatric tumors: uncoupled beta 1-adrenergic receptor in Ewing's sarcoma.

beta-Adrenergic receptors were demonstrated in membrane preparations from 6 human Ewing's sarcomas and compared to those from 46 other pediatric cancers with the use of the beta-adrenergic antagonist (-)-(3H)dihydroalprenolol [(-)[3H]DHA]. In contrast to the high numbers of receptor sites found in Ewing's sarcomas (55-640 fmol x mg-1 protein; dissociation constant Kd, 1-2 nM), other childhood cancers (neuroblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, brain tumors, lymphoma, osteosarcoma, hepatoblastoma, yolk sac, and Wilms' tumor) contained in general fewer beta-adrenergic receptor sites. Characteristics of (-)-[3H]DHA binding were therefore more fully characterized in the Ewing's tumors. Competition of (-)-[3H]DHA binding by classical catecholamine agonists, as well as by subtype selective agents metoprolol and zinterol, demonstrated the presence of a homogeneous population of beta 1-adrenergic sites in several Ewing's tumors. Adenylate cyclase activity in all Ewing's sarcomas was enhanced by GTP and NaF. However, in spite of high numbers of beta-adrenergic receptors, (-)-isoproterenol was not very effective in the activation of adenylate cyclase activity in several of the Ewing's tumors tested. Neither guanyl-5'-yl-imidophosphate nor GTP altered agonist potency for the receptor site in these catecholamine-insensitive tumors. Hill coefficients obtained from the competition experiments with (-)-isoproterenol (in the presence or absence of guanine nucleotide) were approximately 1.0. These uncoupled receptors were resistant to N-ethylmaleimide denaturation and were densensitized only 50% during culture in the presence of (-)-isoproterenol. Thus Ewing's sarcomas are relatively rich in beta-adrenergic sites, and several tumors appear to have a coupling lesion involving guanine nucleotide-dependent regulatory protein interaction with beta-adrenergic receptors and adenylate cyclase, similar in phenotype to that described in the (unc) variant of S49 mouse lymphoma.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Starch granulomatosis of the peritoneum.

Starch glove powder is used extensively by surgeons in Britain and is generally considered innocuous so that precautions to prevent granuloma formation, previously taken when talc glove powder was in use, are now neglected. Reported here are five cases of starch granulomatosis of the peritoneum occurring over a period of a few months. This condition requires reoperation within a limited time for its diagnosis and may be confused macroscopically with disseminated malignant disease or tuberculosis or may simply cause adhesions. Recognition is dependent on a high degree of suspicion by both surgeon and histopathologist, as special histological techniques may be necessary. Consequently, it is only in a minority of the florid cases that a diagnosis is made, and the condition would appear to be much more common than is generally realized. A plea is made for scrupulous care to avoid starch powder contamination of the operative field.

Adult↗