Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M H Stevens.
Forty hamsters received weekly installations of benzopyrene into the larynx. Twenty of these also had 10% alcohol as their total liquid intake. Carcinoma of the larynx was seen in seven alcoholic vs two nonalcoholic hamsters, supporting the evidence in humans that alcohol is a factor in epidermoid carcinogenesis of the larynx.
A 28-year-old white man with a neck mass is described. A diagnosis of amelanotic melanoma was made by L-dopa reaction and electron microscopy. This tumor could represent a metastasis from an unknown primary or a primary that had undergone spontaneous regression. It could also be a rare primary tumor of the cervical sympathetic chain. Electron microscopy and the L-dopa reaction are emphasized as important adjuncts in the diagnoses of amelanotic melanoma.
A Mexican migrant farm worker whose condition was previously undiagnosed was examined at the University of Utah Medical Center. He had an unusual peripheral neuropathy, ulcerative and nodular skin lesions, and multiple head and neck complaints. Results of the history, physical examination, and multiple biopsies led to the diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy. Although an uncommon disease in the United States, leprosy remains a common cause of head and neck pathologic conditions in many parts of the world and must be considered in the appropriate clinical setting.