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Biomedical subjects

M K Wallack

Publications and source records attributed to M K Wallack.

80 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Bilateral adrenalectomy in treatment of disseminated breast cancer.

Forty-three patients underwent bilateral adrenalectomy for advanced breast cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from 1960 to 1974. Fourteen patients (32 per cent) experienced an objective remission. There was no difference in the initial free interval between the responders and nonresponders. Premenopausal patients who improved after surgical castration or androgen therapy and postmenopausal patients who responded to estrogen therapy and its subsequent withdrawal had a greater response to adrenalectomy. Twenty-three of the forty-three patients who underwent bilateral adrenalectomy had evidence of metastatic involvement in at least one of the excised adrenal glands. Results show that patients who responded to previous therapy had a longer survival after adrenalectomy.

Adrenalectomy↗

Pyogenic liver abscess secondary to asymptomatic sigmoid diverticulitis.

A patient with multiple pyogenic abscesses in both lobes of the liver secondary to asymptomatic sigmoid diverticulitis is presented. The rarity of this illness is noted. It is suggested that barium enema be performed in patients who present with pyogenic liver abscess of unknown etiology because of the association with asymptomatic sigmoid diverticulitis.

Colon, Sigmoid↗

Cancer of the colon and rectum. A review.

Colonic cancer remains a major cause of death because diagnosis is usually delayed. Improved methods for earlier detection will maximize the patient's chances for survival. At present, surgery offers the greatest possibility of cure, but even in those instances where less than definitive resection is possible, there is much in the way of adjunctive and palliative therapy to offer the patient.

Barium Sulfate↗

Overview analysis of adjuvant therapies for melanoma--a special reference to results from vaccinia melanoma oncolysate adjuvant therapy trials.

A phase III, randomized, double-blind, multi-institutional vaccinia melanoma oncolysate (VMO) trial was performed for patients with stage III (AJCC) melanoma. When compared with the control vaccinia virus (V) therapy, VMO therapy did not show clinical efficacy in the final analysis of data from this trial. However, the data did allude to significant therapeutic efficacy with VMO therapy if it had been compared with an observation arm. Therefore, a comparative overview statistical analysis was performed to identify the therapeutic efficacy of VMO. This review compares VMO results with data from the treatment and observation arms of other prominent randomized anti-melanoma biologic trials (i.e., ECOG EST 1684; SWOG, IFN-gamma (J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 87 (1995) 1710); WHO IFN-alfa-2a (ASCO 14 (1995) 410); Mayo IFN-alfa-2a (J. Clin. Oncol. 13 (1995) 2776); French IFN-alfa-2a (ASCO 15 (1996) 437). The analysis was carried out comparing the disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS). The analysis shows that the VMO results are fairly comparable to the results of the treatment arms from the ECOG and Mayo trials at the 5-year mark; percent DFI 0.37, 0.37, and 0.4, percent OS 0.48, 0.46, 0.47, respectively. In some cases, VMO DFI is superior to the observation arms from other studies; ECOG, Mayo, and WHO; 0.37 versus 0.26, 0.3, 0.27 (4 years), respectively. These comparative results suggest that the vaccinia arm is not a true observation arm in the VMO trial, and the VMO could have shown an enhanced efficacy had the trial included a no-treatment observation control arm.

Chemotherapy, Adjuvant↗

Carcinoma of the breast during pregnancy: a review and update on treatment options.

Gestational breast cancer is occurring with increasing incidence because more women are delaying childbirth into their thirties and forties. Although breast cancer during pregnancy or within the first year postpartum is occurring more often, there is still some confusion regarding its treatment. Although breast conservation therapy has evolved as the major treatment in breast cancer, it has been thought that pregnancy was a contraindication for this type of breast cancer therapy due to risks imposed on the fetus by chemotherapy and radiation. However, recent studies have shown that the use of chemotherapeutics during the second and third trimesters is possible. Also, if chemotherapy is initiated after a lumpectomy, radiation can be withheld until after the birth of the baby when the cancer is detected in the second or third trimester.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with human immunodeficiency virus.

The role of surgery in the natural history of HIV disease is in evolution. A review was conducted of 2980 CABG operations taking place between January 1992 and January 1996 at St. Vincents Hospital; four of these patients were known to be HIV-positive prior to the operation. Preoperative work-up, operative course, and postoperative events were largely unremarkable. Only 1 of the 4 patients required rehospitalization within 30 days. Follow-up averaged 28 months (range 7-49 months). Three of four patients were in NYHA Class II or better at follow-up. Other reviews of CABG performed on HIV+ patients also indicate that, although CPB can be linked with immune suppression, there is no conclusive evidence of the acceleration of HIV into AIDS associated with CPB. In conclusion, due to the lack of controlled trials and large patient reviews, no firm recommendations about the effect of CPB on immunocompromized patients can be generated.

Adult↗