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Biomedical subjects

O Alfthan

Publications and source records attributed to O Alfthan.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Instillation of mitomycin C and doxorubicin in the prevention of recurrent superficial (Ta-T1) bladder cancer.

Both Mitomycin C (MMC) and doxorubicin (Adriamycin) (ADM) prevent the recurrence of superficial papillary (Ta-T1) urinary bladder cancers and also reduce the rate of progression. MMC appears to be more effective than ADM in buffered instillations. The number of recurrent tumours (RI/m) and the number of recurrence times (RR) before prophylactic instillation were of significant prognostic importance but the prognostic value of the grade was questionable. The buffer solution, together with methyl prednisolone, reduced the incidence of chemical cystitis.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed1987

Unprocessed bran and intermittent thiazide therapy in prevention of recurrent urinary calcium stones.

Both urinary calcium excretion and renal stone episodes are increased during the summer in Finland. Since thiazide and unprocessed bran are known to decrease urinary calcium excretion, we treated 73 patients with recurrent urinary stone formation by giving them unprocessed bran and intermittent thiazide. Of the patients, 32 had absorptive hypercalciuria and 41 had normal urinary calcium values. All patients were on a low-calcium and low-oxalate diet and took 40 g bran daily. Fourteen of the hypercalciuric and 14 of the normocalciuric patients were randomly allocated to use hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg b.i.d. from May to September. Reduction of stone formation was seen in all groups. The combination of thiazide + bran was superior to the bran on its own in inhibition of stone formation. Only 3/11 (27%) stones passed through during the summer in the thiazide + bran group as compared with the 11/17 (65%) in the bran group.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Serum immune complexes and rheumatoid factors in superficial bladder tumours.

Serum immune complex (IC) and rheumatoid factor (RF) levels of 39 patients with a transitional cell tumour of the bladder were analyzed using 4 different IC and 2 RF assays. Elevated serum immune complex and rheumatoid factor levels were observed in the majority of the patients (95%). Conglutinin-binding (KgB), C1q-binding (C1qB), platelet iodinated protein A test (PIPA) and RF-enzyme immunoassay (RF-EIA) gave positive results in 31%, 62%, 23% and 31% of the cases, respectively and separated cancer sera from normal blood donors (p less than 0.001). Elevated titers were also observed with platelet aggregation test (PAT) and latex agglutination for RF in 23% and 67% of the cases, respectively. A negative correlation (p less than 0.01) was observed with the stage of the disease and RF-values. Other IC tests did not correlate significantly with stage, histological grade or progression of the disease. The best prognostic marker was the histological grade of the tumour. Males had more undifferentiated tumours than females. Multivariate analysis was carried out to correlate several laboratory parameters simultaneously with clinical variables and it revealed that elevated IC tests values (KgB, C1qB and PIPA) and low RF-values correlated to stage (p = 0.009) but not to histological grade or progressive course of the disease.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1986

Correlation of pretreatment plasma levels of estradiol and sex-hormone-binding globulin-binding capacity with clinical stage and survival of patients with prostatic cancer.

Pretreatment plasma concentrations of estradiol-17 beta (E2) and the binding capacity of sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in 116 patients with prostatic cancer (PC) categorized into groups according to the UICC classification. By using the SHBG and E2 values, free percentage E2 and free E2 values were calculated. The patients were randomized to orchiectomy or estrogen treatment, and the mean follow-up time was 42 months. Statistically significant higher (P less than .05) pretreatment free E2 and/or E2 values were observed in subjects in which the cancer did not exceed beyond the capsule and was more differentiated and had not metastasized. SHBG values increased significantly (P less than .05) with decreasing differentiation. It was observed in addition that survival was statistically significantly longer (P less than .05) in subjects with high pretreatment E2 values compared to those with low values when the patients were grouped into three groups according to plasma E2 concentration, ie, 125-175, 75-124, and 20-74 pmol/liter. Survival was particularly poor in the group treated by orchiectomy with the lowest E2 values and statistically significantly different (P less than .05) from that of the corresponding group treated by estrogens. However, the overall survival with the two treatments did not differ statistically significantly. Our results support the view that endogenous E2 levels play an inhibitory role in the growth, metastasizing tendency, and differentiation of the tumor and that estrogen treatment may be the treatment of choice for those with low pretreatment E2 levels; for those with medium or high levels orchiectomy seems to be as valuable as estrogen treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Blood circulation in the urethra during hypovolemia--an experimental study.

The changes in urethral blood circulation caused by hypovolemia were studied in male piglets to simulate the hemodynamic changes during extracorporeal perfusion used in open-heart surgery. Changes caused by mild pancreatitis were studied which produced a similar reduction in urethral blood flow measured by microspheres comparable to a 34% hemorrhage of the circulating blood volume. According to this study the urethral mucosa is very sensitive to hemodynamic changes. It may be the case that catheter toxicity is more significant when the urethral blood flow is diminished.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Comparison of primary orchiectomy with oestrogen therapy in advanced prostatic cancer. A 2-year follow-up report of a national, prospective prostatic cancer study.

Two hundred and seventy-seven patients with advanced prostatic cancer were treated by either orchiectomy or oestrogen. During the 2-year follow-up period, the response to treatment was considered more favourable in the oestrogen group, and this response was particularly emphasised in patients with poorly differentiated tumour and metastases at the time of diagnosis. Further evaluations included the cardiovascular side effects of oestrogen therapy.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1986

Urinary catheter structure and testing methods in relation to tissue toxicity.

Eluates from 56 latex urinary catheters from seven manufacturers were divided into three categories according to covering material (siliconized, silicone elastomer coated and teflon coated) and tested for tissue toxicity by means of cell cultures based on the inhibition of DNA synthesis. The silicone elastomer coated catheters showed the lowest toxicity. Only 4 of 13 such catheters gave unacceptable toxic values, whereas half of the siliconized catheters were abandoned as toxic. Teflon and elastomer coatings had the best protective properties against toxic substances leaching from the catheter core. The surface contour of the catheters estimated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) did not correlate with toxicity, whereas the cracks seen on the catheters did correlate with toxicity. The simple in vivo test methods used by the manufactures turned out to be insensitive to tissue toxicity testing of urinary catheters. The method used in this study was the most reliable for assessing the safety of latex urinary catheters. Thus manufacturers using multiple and in vitro cell culture tests had products of better quality than those using only a single test or simple in vivo tests.

Cell Survival↗
PubMed1986

T0 carcinoma of the prostate: influence of tumor extent and histologic grade on prognosis of untreated patients.

Eighty-two patients with T0 carcinoma of the prostate represent 20% of the 404 prostatic cancer patients in a Finnish multicenter study. The positive correlation between the poor differentiation grade and increasing tumor volume is presented. Since most of the patients (59/82) are not receiving any treatment, it is possible to evaluate the correlation between the pathologic findings and progression tendency of T0 carcinoma. There is evidence that patients with T0 carcinoma and diffuse involvement exhibit a worse prognosis than patients with a classic solitary intracapsular nodule (stage T1 or B1). A diffuse lesion and poorly or even moderately differentiated tumor requires an individually selected, aggressive therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1986

Effect of mitomycin C and doxorubicin instillation on carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. A Finnish multicenter study.

During long periods of buffered instillations of mitomycin C (MMC) and doxorubicin (adriamycin; ADM) on carcinoma in situ (TIS), the complete response was 82% for MMC and 80% for ADM. Even the frequency of progression was about the same (20% in both groups). The differentiation grade was shown to be of great prognostic value. No progression occurred in grade 1 and 2 contrary to 38% in grade 3 cancers. The cytological primary diagnosis of TIS was equally able to predict the prognosis as the histological verification. An interesting phenomenon was the fluctuation to the cytological picture during the treatment. The change of instillation drug might be useful in cases of stable disease, though not in chemical cystitis. The addition of methylprednisolone can relieve bladder irritation.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1985

Intravesical cytostatics: pH-dependence of antitumour activity.

The effects of pH on the antitumour activity of six cytostatics--cisplatin, doxorubicin, ethoglucid, mitomycin C, thiotepa and VM-26--used in intravesical instillations were tested in vitro. The activity of cytostatics was determined on the Walker 256 carcinosarcoma cell line by using ATP-bioluminescence method. Cytostatics were incubated at different pH's (5.0-7.4) for 2 and 4 h. The activity of most of the cytostatics was not affected by pH, but mitomycin C had somewhat lower activity at pH 5.0 at 4 h and cisplatin at pH 6-7 at 2 and 4 h. Because the pH of normal urine is within the range used in this test, the use of a buffer solution during the intravesical instillation therapy is not necessary. However, according to our clinical experience, buffering is recommended to avoid chemical cystitis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1985

Methodologies for quantifying the results of intravesical chemotherapy of superficial tumors of the bladder.

Various evaluation methods exist to report results of installation therapy on superficial urinary bladder cancer. The following three, based on material previously gathered from 30 patients treated with adriamycin instillations, are analysed in this study: (1) The graphic expression method which covers the most necessary details, but demands space and does not permit adequate statistical analysis. (2) Evaluating the terms usually used in oncology, i.e. complete response (CR), partial response (PR), total response (TR), no change and progression. These are suitable for statistical analysis and are of crucial relevance in the study of carcinoma in situ TIS. In Ta-1 cancers however, these terms (CR, etc.) are not descriptive of time, and since their results depend completely on the choice of endpoints they do not permit realistic statistical analysis. (3) Determining indices (Ri/m, Ri/c) and recurrence rates (RR, MARR, MTBR) in Ta-1 cancers. These factors take into consideration both the time variable and multicentricity in space and time, making rigorous statistical analysis possible. In our opinion Ri/c states most accurately a patient's clinical course.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1985

Toxicity testing of urinary catheters.

The tissue toxicity of 23 urinary catheter batches (6 latex and 2 non-latex brands) was tested in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, a human T-cell leukemia line (JM) was cultured in the presence of different concentrations of eluates made from the catheters. The cytotoxicity of the eluates was assessed from their ability to inhibit DNA synthesis measured by incorporation of 3H-thymidine. In vivo, two methods were used. Strips of catheters were implanted into the rabbit dorsal muscle and pieces of catheters were implanted into the rat peritoneal cavity. After four days, the foreign body reaction, type of inflammation and necrosis were quantified macroscopically and by light microscopy. The results of the in vitro cytotoxicity test were correlated with those of in vivo methods. The rat peritoneal implantation test correlated better with the cell culture test (P less than 0.01) than with the rabbit muscle implantation test (P less than 0.05). Based on the clinical experience of urethral stricture complications caused by urinary catheters, catheters yielding eluate which at 30% dilution inhibited 50% DNA synthesis were regarded as toxic. According to this, the rabbit muscle implantation test was not reliable in testing the tissue toxicity of urinary catheters, while the cell culture test was quantitative and seemed to correlate with both the rat peritoneal implantation test and with the clinical complications observed.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Cytotoxicity of latex urinary catheters.

After an epidemic of severe urethral strictures in cardiac surgery patients, all brand latex catheters marketed in Finland were investigated for cellular toxicity with eluates made from the catheters. Four of the seven brands, including the one involved in the stricture cases, showed marked cytotoxicity and inhibited almost all cell growth in various human cell cultures when a 30% catheter eluate was used. DNA histograms of cells cultured with toxic catheter eluate showed inhibition of DNA synthesis. Silicone catheters did not influence cell growth, which correlates with the finding that no new stricture cases were seen after the latex catheters were replaced with silicone ones. Attention is paid to the facts that international standards regarding urethral catheter toxicity are lacking and that catheter quality control is insufficient.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Extremely high concentration of serum prostate-specific acid phosphatase in an untreated prostatic cancer patient.

We report a patient having advanced prostatic cancer and serum immunoreactive prostate-specific acid phosphatase concentrations of up to 8.9 mg/l, which is more than 3000 times the upper limit of our health-associated reference interval. following orchiectomy, the enzyme concentration decreased to 1.5 mg/l in 5 days, and to 3.6 micrograms/l within 1.5 months and to 1.4 micrograms/l within 6 months.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1984

Bone scintigraphy and serum phosphatases in the detection and follow-up of bone metastases in prostatic cancer.

Bone scintigraphy, serum acid phosphatase activity (ACP), prostatic acid phosphatase by radioimmunoassay (PAP) and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) were studied in 117 consecutive patients with prostatic cancer. Serum PAP was more sensitive than ACP in indicating prostatic cancer in the 63 patients with normal bone scans: 28% had positive PAP tests and 15% positive ACP tests. In the 54 patients with bone metastases no difference in the frequency of positive PAP (84%) and ACP (85%) test was observed. Serum PAP and ACP, but not ALP, were useful for the assessment of the response to therapy particularly in patients without bone metastases. In the follow-up of patients with bone metastases the scan was more informative than any of the phosphatase assays studied.

Acid Phosphatase↗