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Biomedical subjects

J Ranstam

Publications and source records attributed to J Ranstam.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Early oral contraceptive use and premenopausal breast cancer--a review of studies performed in southern Sweden.

In southern Sweden, extensive oral contraceptive use (OC use) among young women was a reality during the 1960s, thus making our region especially suited for studies investigating the hypothesis that early OC use is associated with the development of premenopausal breast cancer after a possible latency time between the exposure and the disease. The results of this study revealed that the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer in women, who during the 1960s used the pill as teenagers, is five times greater than nonusers. The risk for early users is further modified by the duration of use at an early age, implying a dose-response relationship. Later use of OCs is not associated with an increased risk for the disease. Women with breast cancer, who at an early age have used the pill, have larger breast tumors, lower estrogen receptor concentrations of their primary tumor, and a worse prognosis compared with later and nonusers with breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer in Sweden rapidly increased in women 25 to 40 years of age between 1970 and 1984. Conventional risk factors or a change in diagnostic activities of breast cancer cannot explain the increase in incidence which could be due to the OC exposure. Studies on the risk with modern OCs must wait another 20 years because of a too short latency time.

Adolescent↗

The response of the tracheal epithelium to concomitant cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) and radiation. An electron microscopic study in rabbits.

The ciliated epithelium of the rabbit trachea was irradiated with daily fractions of 2 Gy up to an accumulated dose of 20 Gy (total dose: 2, 6, 10, 16, or 20 Gy). Fifteen to forty-five minutes before the start of each irradiation 0.3 mg Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (cis-DDP) was given by intraperitoneal injection to each rabbit. Examinations were carried out 1-10 days after each fractionation schedule, when specimens were taken for morphological investigations. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination showed a gradual development of ciliary damage, from blebs on the cilia to swollen tips, broken and bent cilia and finally an epithelial injury with areas free from cilia, and a surface covered with microvilli-like structures. SEM also showed cell loss, and remnants of dead cells on the surface together with detritus. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ciliary damage, cell death and cell loss of the ciliated cell layer, as well as exfoliation of portions of goblet-like cells on the surface, could be confirmed. Scoring of SEM and TEM micrographs showed that for the tracheal part treated with cis-DDP and radiation, the maximal damage was expressed in the dose group 10 Gy, and above this no further increase in the average reaction occurred. For the part of the trachea only exposed to cis-DDP, the damage increased with the dose. The difference observed speaks for an accelerated proliferation exerted by the radiation.

Animals↗

Intersecting staple lines and blood flow in oesophagojejunal anastomoses.

Total gastrectomy and oesophagojejunostomy with linear stapling devices were performed on 22 pigs to evaluate whether intersecting staple lines reduce the blood flow with an increased risk of anastomotic leakage. The blood flow at intersecting staple lines and single row staple lines of the anastomosis was studied with the reference organ method 24 h after the first operation. The mean blood flow in intersecting staple lines was 0.305 ml min-1 g-1 tissue and 0.307 ml min-1 g-1 tissue for single row staple lines. The confidence interval for the reduction in blood flow for intersecting staple lines compared with non-crossing staple lines was from -16 to +17 per cent. In one animal the reduction in blood flow was 37 per cent; in all other animals there was no reduction in blood flow or a reduction less than 25 per cent. An equivalence test shows that if a reduction in blood flow exists it is most likely to be less than 30 per cent (P less than 0.001). Our data confirm that intersecting staple lines in oesophagojejunal anastomoses do not reduce mean anastomotic blood flow to a dangerous level.

Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y↗

Prediction of survival in patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcoma.

Using the Cox proportional hazards model, and considering tumour necrosis and vascular invasion by tumour as additional factors in assessment, a series of 88 patients with primary Grade III and IV soft tissue sarcomas of the locomotor system was analysed for factors associated with death due to the tumour. Grade IV malignancy, a tumour size larger than 10 cm., tumour necrosis, and vascular invasion by tumour cells were significant risk factors. Patients with 0 or 1 risk factor, one half of the cases, had a 3 year survival rate of more than 90%, whereas the figure was 65% for those with 2 risk factors and 20% for those with 3 or 4 risk factors.

Adult↗

Rising incidence of breast cancer among young women in Sweden.

The national Swedish cancer registry was used to analyse the age-specific time trends in breast cancer incidence in Sweden from 1970 to 1984. The analysis included both a calendar year and a birth cohort approach to estimate time trends in disease occurrence. According to the birth cohort approach there was a statistically significant increase in the incidence with an average annual increase of the incidence of 3.2% (P = 0.0114), 3.4% (P = 0.0002) and 2.2% (P = 0.0264) in the age groups 25-29, 30-34 and 35-39, respectively. Possible causes of the observed increasing incidence are discussed.

Adult↗

Flow cytometry in primary breast cancer: improving the prognostic value of the fraction of cells in the S-phase by optimal categorisation of cut-off levels.

The use of continuous prognostic variables is clinically impractical, and arbitrarily chosen cut-off points can result in a loss of prognostic information. Here we report findings from a study of primary breast cancer, showing how the prognostic value of the fraction of cells in the S-phase of the cell cycle (SPF), as measured by flow cytometry, can be affected by the SPF cut-off level(s) adopted. It was possible to evaluate the SPF in 566 (94%) of 603 consecutive cases where fresh frozen specimens were available in a tumour bank at our department. Clinically, all patients were without distant spread at the time of diagnosis, and the median duration of follow-up was 4 years. Using different survival end-points and chi 2 values for each cut-off level, two optimal cut-off points, at the 7% and 12% levels, were consistently obtained for the SPF. Furthermore, both disease-free survival and the relative risk of recurrence exhibited a non-linear relationship with SPF values; the curves implied that the prognosis was better among patients with SPF values about 2-5% than in patients with lower SPF values (parabolic shape), though the relationship with higher SPF values approached linearity. The non-linearity of the curves is incompatible with the general use of the median SPF as a prognostic cut-off value. An alternative procedure might be to use two cut-off levels, one to distinguish patients with the lowest SPF values (i.e. within the parabolic survival curve) from those with higher values (i.e. with a survival curve approaching linearity), the other to distinguish between patients with intermediate SPF values and those with high values (i.e. within the almost linear part of the survival curve). The 7% and 12% obtained here would be suitable for this purpose. We conclude that prognostic information can be gained by dividing the SPF into three prognostic categories (less than 7.0%, 7.0-11.9% and greater than or equal to 12%), instead of using the median SPF level.

Adult↗

Reduced stroke incidence with structured hypertension care: the Skaraborg Hypertension Project.

The Skaraborg Hypertension Project is a 5-year trial testing the impact of structured hypertension care implemented in half of the country, the other half serving as control. Population investigations revealed improved blood pressure control in all treated hypertensives in the study area, blood pressure reduction averaging 2-5 mmHg. The primary trial hypothesis of a possible impact on stroke incidence in the community was tested in this study. Cases of fatal and non-fatal stroke were identified from local and national mortality and morbidity registers, and diagnoses were validated against medical records. Of an initial 1169 reported cases, 1097 proved to be true stroke after validation. A statistically significant difference in stroke incidence trends (fatal and non-fatal) between the study and control populations was identified (P = 0.0251). Improved hypertension control in the study area seems the most plausible explanation for the relative decline in stroke incidence in the study area.

Adult↗

Cellular DNA content and prognosis of high-grade soft tissue sarcoma: the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group experience.

The nuclear DNA content of 148 high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk was determined by flow cytometry, using tumor material from paraffin-embedded tissue. The patients were part of a prospective randomized clinical trial on the efficacy of adjuvant single-agent chemotherapy with doxorubicin. Chemotherapy did not improve the metastasis-free survival (MFS). After a median follow-up time of 48 months (range, 2 to 97), a multivariate analysis of prognostic factors for developing metastatic disease was performed. DNA aneuploidy was found to be an independent prognostic risk factor in addition to histologic malignancy grade IV, intratumoral vascular invasion, tumor size over 10 cm, and male sex. Patients with none or one risk factor had a 5-year MFS of 79%, with two risk factors 65%, with three risk factors 43%, and with four and five risk factors 0%. About one half (78 of 148) of the patients with three factors or less belonged to a group with a MFS over 60%. The combination of different risk factors, including DNA aneuploidy, seems to be a useful prognostic model for soft tissue sarcomas, which could be of value to select high-risk patients for further trials with adjunctive therapy.

Adolescent↗

Late age at first full-term pregnancy as a risk factor for women with malignant lymphoma.

Women with malignant lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease were of a significantly later age at first full-term pregnancy (AFFP) than controls without malignant disorders. The odds ratio (OR) of having the first pregnancy at 30 years of fertility was 6.4 for women with malignant lymphoma. This ratio was higher than the ratio of 3.9 in a group of breast cancer patients. A low parity in the lymphoma group enhanced the risk associated with a late AFFP.

Adolescent↗

Early oral contraceptive use and breast cancer among premenopausal women: final report from a study in southern Sweden.

In southern Sweden during the 1960s, women began to use oral contraceptives (OCs) extensively at a young age. This case-control study investigates the relationship between the use of OCs and breast cancer development in women in southern Sweden diagnosed in the early 1980s. The risk for breast cancer after OC use among premenopausal women was modeled, after adjustment was made for age, age at menarche, and age at first full-term pregnancy or parity. Both the duration of OC use before 25 years of age and commencement of OC use at a young age were associated with a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer as well as a significant trend. The duration of OC use before the first full-term pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, but it did not show a significant trend. The total duration of OC use was weakly, but not significantly, associated with breast cancer development. The odds ratio for women starting OC use before 20 years of age was 5.8 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.6-12.8]; for women using OCs for greater than 5 years before age 25, it was 5.3 (95% CI, 2.1-13.2); and for women using OCs for greater than or equal to 8 years before first full-term pregnancy, it was 2.0 (95% CI, 0.8-4.7). In multivariate analyses including the different measurements of OC use, only starting age of OC use was significantly associated with breast cancer. The exposure-response relationship between duration of OC use and risk of breast cancer depended on the age at first use of OCs. Given a fixed duration of OC use, the risk increased with younger starting age of OC use. The findings point to the importance of the early reproductive years as risk determinants for breast cancer after OC use.

Adult↗

Evaluation of the palliative effect of radiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma.

149 patients with carcinoma of the esophagus treated with radiotherapy were evaluated. Eighty-one patients had treatment with palliative intent and 68 with curative intent. The 4-year actuarial survival was 1 and 5% respectively. The tumor size, Karnofsky index (KI) and radiation dose were prognostic factors. The duration of palliation of the patients dysphagia was dose-dependent.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Surgical margin in soft tissue sarcoma. The Scandinavian Sarcoma Group experience.

Two-hundred and forty adult patients with a high-grade soft tissue sarcoma were treated surgically in 18 hospitals participating in the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group Protocol I. The patients were randomized to either postoperative doxorubicin or control; patients whose surgical margin was judged marginal also received radiotherapy. The outcome after different surgical margins was analyzed in 185 tumors of Grades III or IV in the extremities. The total cumulative local tumor control was 91 percent (168 of 185) after a median of 47 months. The cumulative local control rates in the surgical groups were: compartmental or wide amputation--37/37 (100 percent), compartmental local excision--23/24 (96 percent), wide local excision--77/84 (92 percent), marginal excision and radiotherapy--19/21 (90 percent), and marginal excision alone (reevaluated margin)--12/19 (63 percent, significantly lower than others). The risk of local recurrence was 13 times higher after marginal than after compartmental surgery (P = 0.02) and 3 times higher if the tumor was larger than 10 cm (P = 0.05). The treatment with doxorubicin did not influence the risk of local recurrence. The survival rates did not differ significantly in the groups.

Combined Modality Therapy↗

Prognosis in high-grade soft tissue sarcomas. The Scandinavian Sarcoma Group experience in a randomized adjuvant chemotherapy trial.

From 1981 to 1986, 240 patients with primary, malignancy grade III or IV soft-tissue sarcoma were entered into a randomized adjuvant chemotherapy multicenter trial, conducted by the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group. After a median follow-up time of 46 (2-97) months, a multivariate analysis of risk factors for metastases was performed in 138 radically operated on patients with tumors of the extremities. Adjuvant single-agent doxorubicin did not improve the metastasis-free survival. Histologic malignancy grade IV, tumor size greater than 10 cm, vascular invasion by tumor, and male sex were identified as risk factors. Patients with no or one risk factor had a 5-year metastasis-free survival of 0.7, with two risk factors 0.5, and with three or four risk factors 0.2. The combination of different risk factors provides a prognostic model for soft tissue sarcomas, which could be a basis for therapeutic trials.

Adolescent↗

Mammographic screening and mortality from breast cancer: the Malmö mammographic screening trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine whether mortality from breast cancer could be reduced by repeated mammographic screening. DESIGN: Birth year cohorts of city population separately randomised into study and control groups. SETTING: Screening clinic outside main hospital. PATIENTS: Women aged over 45; 21,088 invited for screening and 21,195 in control group. INTERVENTIONS: Women in the study group were invited to attend for mammographic screening at intervals of 18-24 months. Five rounds of screening were completed. Breast cancer was treated according to stage at diagnosis. END POINT: Mortality from breast cancer. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: All women were followed up and classed at end point as alive without breast cancer, alive with breast cancer, dead from breast cancer, or dead from other causes. Cause of death was taken from national mortality registry and for patients with breast cancer was validated independently. Mean follow up was 8.8 years. Altogether 588 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the study group and 447 in the control group; 99 v 94 women died of all causes and 63 v 66 women died of breast cancer (no significant difference; relative risk 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.68 to 1.35)). In the study group 29% more women aged less than 55 died of breast cancer (28 v 22; relative risk 1.29 (0.74 to 2.25)). More women in the study group died from breast cancer in the first seven years; after that the trend reversed, especially in women aged greater than or equal to 55 at entry. Overall, women in the study group aged greater than or equal to 55 had a 20% reduction in mortality from breast cancer (35 v 44; relative risk 0.79 (0.51 to 1.24)). OTHER FINDINGS: In the study group 100 (17%) cancers appeared in intervals between screenings and 107 (18%) in non-attenders; 51 of these women died from breast cancer. Cancers classed as stages II-IV comprised 33% (190/579) of cancers in the study group and 52% (231/443) in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Invitation to mammographic screening may lead to reduced mortality from breast cancer, at least in women aged 55 or over.

Age Factors↗