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Biomedical subjects

M T Lin

Publications and source records attributed to M T Lin.

410 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Superoxide dismutase in hepatocellular carcinoma affects patient prognosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The free radicals play an important role in the pathogenesis of neoplastic transformation of the tissues. Superoxide dismutase is a metalloenzyme, protecting the cells from oxygen radical insult. The superoxide dismutase activity may therefore alter the cellular signaling pathways against the insults derived from oxidative stress especially in the tumor tissues. Therefore, it is considered that superoxide dismutase activity is crucial in affecting the survival of the cancer bearing patients. This study aims to investigate the level of superoxide dismutase activity in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and correlate this with patients' survival after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: Thirty-six patients who had hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma at the National Taiwan University Hospital from 1992 to 1993 were included in this study. Superoxide dismutase activity of the tumor tissues was determined. The results were correlated with the patients' survival. The patients were grouped based on their postoperative survival time. Those patients who were deceased less then one year after surgery were in group I. Group II included patients who survived more than one year but less than 3 years after operation. Group III patients survived more than 3 years but less than 5 years. Ten patients who survived longer than 5 years after surgical intervention were in group IV. Data were expressed as mean and analyzed with ANOVA. RESULTS: The demographic and clinical information of patients, such as age, gender, plasma albumin, globulin, alpha-fetoprotein levels, and hepatitis markers were comparable among these groups. The superoxide dismutase levels in the hepatocellular carcinoma were significantly higher in group IV than the other three groups (P < 0.05). Similarly, the superoxide dismutase levels of the hepatocellular carcinoma tissues from group III patients were significantly greater than those tissues from patients of either group I or group II. Tumor superoxide dismutase levels tended to be higher in group II than in group I, although it did not reach a statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with higher superoxide dismutase levels in the hepatocellular carcinoma survived longer after hepatectomy. The superoxide dismutase levels of the tumor tissue may influence the malignancy and the outcome of the patients. It serves as prognostic factor for patients after hepatocellular carcinoma operation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of prognostic factors for submersion accidents in children.

The case histories of 47 consecutive pediatric submersion victims admitted to the Changhua Christian Hospital from 1983 to 1990 were retrospectively reviewed for patient status on arrival and eventual outcome. Age, sex, season, location, estimated submersion time, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the scene, vital signs on arrival, Orlowski score, modified physiologic stability index (PSI) scoring system were analyzed. Patient outcome, based on the status at discharge, was categorized as (1) 22 patients survived intact, with normal findings on neurologic examination; (2) 10 patients had neurologic insults, with abnormal neurologic findings including mental retardation; (3) 15 patients died. The results clearly demonstrated that there were no differences among these three groups in the variables of estimated submersion time, CPR at the scene, referral from local medical clinics. The prominent characteristics of pediatric submersion were male (74%), age below three years (64%), summer season (45%) and fishpool (60%). The favorable prognostic factors were a body temperature greater than thirty-five centigrade, detectable heart beat and respiration on arrival, Orlowski score below two and PSI below seven.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[A survey on weight and height of children (1 month-7 years) and plotting of growth curves (1 month-18 years) in Taiwan, 1987-1988].

From July 1987 to December 1988, 19,625 children in Taiwan were measured for their body weights and heights. They were 9,564 boys and 10,061 girls and were seen either in a well baby clinic of a large community hospital or in the local kindergartens. We divided these children into 64 groups according to their sex and ages. The mean values and standard deviation of body weight and height were tried to correlate with those from children of school age reported for 1987 by the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, body weight and height growth curves were drawn for these children, aged from 1 month to 18 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Treatment of refractory or relapsed adult acute leukemia by using mitoxantrone-containing regimens.

Twenty-eight adult patients with primary refractory or relapsed acute leukemia were treated. The regimens consisted of mitoxantrone plus cytosine arabinoside for 17 patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) and mitoxantrone accompanied with vincristine and prednisolone for 11 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In primary refractory patients, 1 of the 4 (25%) ANLL and 1 of the 3 (33%) ALL attained complete remission (CR). Excluding 2 patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation, 8 of the 13 (62%) relapsed ANLL and 4 of the 8 (50%) relapsed ALL achieved CR with a median duration of remission of 6.2 months and 3.8 months, respectively. Myelosuppression occurred in all treatment courses and was associated with pyrexia due to infections in 84% of the cases. Nausea, vomiting and stomatitis were mild. Abnormal liver function tests were observed in 8 (28%) patients. One patient, pretreated with 550 mg/m2 of doxorubicin, developed congestive heart failure. The results suggest that mitoxantrone is of value in the treatment of Chinese patients with refractory or relapsed acute leukemia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: report of one case.

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a complex stem cell disorder and its occurrence in childhood is quite uncommon. A 6-year-old girl with pancytopenia was presented. There is no nocturnal hemoglobinuria or other symptoms of chronic hemolysis. Bone marrow examination revealed mild hypocellularity initially, and a tentative diagnosis of aplastic anemia was made. This patient received conventional therapy with uneventful course. Two consecutive episodes of hemolytic transfusion reaction were noted and positive sugar water test and Ham,s test lead the clue of PNH. The literature on the clinical manifestation, pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of PNH is reviewed briefly.

Bone Marrow↗
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Effects of stellate ganglionectomy on the cat cardiovascular function.

The effects of stellate ganglionectomy on cardiovascular function were assessed in pentobarbital-anesthetized cats. A right stellectomy produced much more profound bradycardiac effects than a left stellectomy. This finding demonstrated that the stellate ganglion exerted a lateralized influence on heart beat in the cat. The cardiovascular response of intact cats to phase 4 (overshoot) of the Valsalva-like maneuver (VM) was reflex bradycardia. In response to VM, however, reflex bradycardia was completely abolished by a right or bilateral stellectomy, or by pretreatment with propranolol, but not by a left stellectomy alone or with phentolamine. The data indicated that the right stellate ganglion in cats makes a major contribution to cardiovascular control, especially over reflex bradycardia mechanisms.

Animals↗
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Liver function in patients with vitamin K deficiency in infancy.

Liver chemistry was studied in fifteen patients with vitamin K deficiency in infancy (VKDI). All except 2 were exclusively breast fed and 4 of the 15 infants had received intramuscular vitamin K prophylaxis. A high incidence of hepatic dysfunction was found during long term follow-up in patients with VKDI. Abnormal aminotransferase was noted either at the time of onset (n = 6) or during the ensuing few weeks (n = 6). Cholestasis was documented in six cases at onset and another two in a later period. Most cases had increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), or bile acid levels regardless of hepatic enzymes and bilirubin levels. The abnormal enzymes returned to normal after 5 weeks to 23 months. This study demonstrates a close relationship between hepatic dysfunction and VKDI. Liver function impairment other than cholestasis may play some role in the pathogenesis of VKDI, but the cause of hepatic dysfunction can not be defined. Follow-up of liver chemistry is recommended in patients with VKDI. Parenteral vitamin K prophylaxis at birth may not give sustained protection against VKDI, especially in those with underlying liver disease.

Female↗
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Prognostic significance of immunophenotypes in adult lymphoblastic lymphomas.

Adult lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) can be of T-cell or B-cell lineage. However, the clinical significance of immunophenotypes is largely unknown. We conducted a retrospective study to compare T-cell LBL with its B-cell counterpart. Between 1983 and 1995, 50 adult patients were diagnosed as LBL at National Taiwan University Hospital. Twenty-seven patients (T-LBL:20 and B-LBL:7) had adequate clinical information and formed the basis of final analysis. Pertinent characteristics, including sex, age, and lymphoma stages of these two groups of patients were identical. Detailed clinical features were compared. Systemic involvements of lymphoma were similar except that T-cell LBL had significantly more mediastinal involvement (T:B = 70%:14.3%, p = 0.011). CNS involvement was high in both groups (T:B = 50%:28.6%, p = NS). B-cell LBL had a better overall survival than T-cell LBL, although the survival benefit became less significant after 30 months. The median survival of T- and B-cell LBL was 8 and 31 months, respectively. Both groups taken together, patients who had received prophylactic cranial irradiation had a better overall survival (p < 0.01). We suggest that: a) B-cell LBL has a relatively favorable prognosis than T-cell LBL, at least in the initial 2 to 3 years; b) except for mediastinal involvement, the clinical presentation of T- and B-cell LBL appears to be similar; c) treatment policy, such as the need of prophylactic cranial irradiation, of these two groups may also be similar.

Adult↗
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A phase II study of weekly 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (HDFL) in the treatment of recurrent or metastatic colorectal cancers.

Previous report suggested that weekly 24-hour infusion of high-dose 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin is a highly active and relatively low toxic regimen for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma (J Clin Oncol 9: 625-30, 1991). This phase II study was conducted to test this important observation by a slightly modified regimen in a larger group of patients. The weekly HDFL regimen consisted of 5-FU 2600 mg/m2/week and leucovorin 300 mg/m2/week (maximum 500 mg) in a 24-hour intravenous infusion. Between February 1992 and December 1995, a total of 42 patients with non-resectable, recurrent or metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled onto the study. Twenty-nine (69.0%) patients had prior exposure to lower-dose 5-FU. There were 22 men and 20 women with median age of 60 (20-75) years. They received a total of 855 and an average of 20.4 (4 to 65) courses of HDFL chemotherapy. Most patients were treated at outpatient clinics and the drugs were infused by an ambulatory pump system via a Port-A catheter. The median duration of follow-up was 22 months. ECOG Gr 2-3 stomatitis, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting developed in 6 (14.3%), 6 (14.3%), 5 (11.9%), and 5 (11.9%) patients, respectively. Twenty (47.6%) patients had developed hand-foot syndrome. There was no hematological toxicities except 3 (7.1%) patients developed ECOG Gr 1-2 leucopenia. The overall response rate was 42.9% (28%-59%, 95% C.I.) with 2 complete responses and 16 partial responses. Eight (61.5%; 31%-86%, 95% C.I.) of 13 patients, who had no previous 5-FU exposure, responded (1 complete response, 7 partial responses). Ten (34.5%, 17%-54%, 95% C.I.) of 29 patients, who had had previous lower-dose 5-FU exposure, responded (1 complete response and 9 partial responses). The median duration of response was 5 months (1+ to 23+ months). The median overall survival of the whole group of 42 patients and the 18 responders was 10 and 22 months, respectively. Our data supported the original results of HDFL regimen in the treatment of colorectal cancers. HDFL regimen can be used either as first-line or second-line treatment for non-resectable, recurrent or metastatic colorectal cancers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Frequent p53 mutation in relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia with cytogenetic instability: a longitudinal analysis.

P53 mutation, through defects in repairing DNA damages, is associated with genomic instability. In 24 adult patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the status of the p53 gene at different stages was serially followed by cytogenetic and polymerase-chain reaction/single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR/SSCP) analysis. P53 mutation was detected in 6 patients (25%) and all were at relapsed stages: 3 at first relapse, 2 at second relapse and one at refractory phase. Loss of the remaining p53 allele was demonstrated in 5 of them by cytogenetic and SSCP analysis. Furthermore, all of the p53 mutations were associated with appearance of complex cytogenetic changes (CCG), suggesting of cytogenetic instability (CGI). The frequency of acquiring p53 mutation during leukemic progression is significantly higher in patients with CGI than in patients without CGI (6/11 v 0/13, p = 0.003). P53 mutation was detected either concurrently (n = 2) or after (n = 4, 2(+)-18 months) appearance of CCG. The results suggest that p53 mutation is frequently involved during ALL relapse and is closely linked with cytogenetic instability.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

P53 mutation in advanced stage of primary myelodysplastic syndrome.

Polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis of the p53 tumor suppressor gene (from exon 2 to 9) was performed on samples from 47 adult patients with primary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Point mutation was found in 5 (11%) patients: exon 7 in 3, exon 4 in 1 and intron 5 in 1. The frequency of p53 mutation was significantly higher at advanced stages (p = 0.048) and higher in patients with abnormal karyotypes (p = 0.023). Although all of the p53 mutations were detected at advanced stages, four of them were detected at initial diagnosis with very short survival. Sequential SSCP analysis in 20 transformed MDS patients revealed only one new p53 mutation during progression from early MDS phases. The results suggest that p53 mutation might occur as an early genetic event and is probably associated with rapid progression and poor survival in some MDS patients.

Adult↗