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Biomedical subjects

P Coccia

Publications and source records attributed to P Coccia.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia: a pilot study.

The objective of the current study, initiated in 1976, was to improve upon the high relapse rate and subsequent mortality in children and young adults with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). Seventeen patients, ages 6--28, with ANLL in first bone marrow remission, received cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation using a radiation scheme of 750 rad (7.5 Gy) total dose, delivered at a dose rate of 26 rad (26 cGy) per minute. Allogeneic marrow from HLA-matched sibling donors was followed by prophylactic therapy or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Median follow-up of the entire group is 20+ mo; survivors have been followed for a minimum of 14+ mo. Interstitial pneumonitis was observed in 6% of patients, and GVHD was observed in 29%. Seventy percent of patients are alive and in complete continuous remission. Two patients have relapsed (at 7 and 24 mo). Actuarial relapse-free survival is 76% at 1 yr and 64% at 5 yr. Quality of life in this disease-free survivors is excellent; all patients are free of active GVHD, receive no maintenance chemotherapy, and have high Karnofsky performances scores. High dose rate total body irradiation plus cyclophosphamide followed by allogeneic BMT may provide an opportunity for long-term complication-free survival in a substantial proportion of children and young adults with ANLL.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Disappearance of the predictive value of prognostic variables in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from Childrens Cancer Study Group.

The identification of important prognostic factors at diagnosis of childhood leukemia has been very useful in explaining the marked differences in disease outcome. After a complete remission is achieved, it is interesting to determine whether the ability to maintain a complete remission and the patient's survival continue to be influenced by the prognostic factors identified at diagnosis. If the maintenance of complete remission and survival continue to be influenced, it is important to determine the magnitude of this effect and its variations with time. Data from a study population of 936 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia were analyzed to determine the duration of effect for three variables showing strong prognostic influence: WBC, age at diagnosis, and sex. The strongest of these, WBC, showed a gradual attenuation of effect for children in progressively longer periods of complete continuous remission to a virtual disappearance at 24 months. Age and sex showed a similar reduction in prognostic effect with a negligible contribution at 15 months of continuous complete remission. However, sex becomes an important variables again with a late effect on recurrence results in patients who experience long periods of remission.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

A new therapy schedule for pediatric non-Hodgkin lymphoma toxicity with preliminary results.

A pilot study of the toxicity and efficacy of a new treatment schedule for childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was conducted by members of the Children's Cancer Study Group (CCSG) prior to its use in a randomized phase III trial. Chemotherapeutic agents used were cyclophosphamide (CPM), vincristine (VCR), and prednisone, together with intravenous (IV) and intrathecal methotrexate (IT MTS). Radiation therapy was also employed. From September 1976 to April 1977, 27 eligible, newly diagnosed patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were entered onto this pilot study. Toxicity was acceptable with minor adjustments in dosage and timing of the myelosuppressive agents. Fourteen of the 22 patients entered onto maintenance remain entirely disease-free, and all have completed the prescribed course of chemotherapy. None of the 12 patients characterized as having a "favorable" prognosis has relapsed, with a median follow-up of 27 months from on study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

L-asparaginase-induced hypocomplementemia in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) of childhood.

Serum complement studies were carried out in five children with acute lymphocytic leukemia. During therapy with L-asparaginase, prednisone and vincristine, hypocomplementemia developed in all patients, and disappeared within 2 weeks after the discontinuation of L-asparaginase. Complement breakdown products were not present in plasma. The changes of serum complement levels paralleled those of plasma fibrinogen. These findings suggest that the hypocomplementemia observed in these patients may be related to impaired protein synthesis induced by L-asparaginase.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Subcellular distribution of etorphine in rat brain and evidence for in vitro stereospecific binding.

1 Control experiments were carried out by homogenizing rat brain at 0 degrees C with sucrose containing various concentrations of [3H]-etorphine. Subcellular fractionation of this homogenate showed that the distribution of the labelled drug amongst the primary fractions was dependent on the concentration of etorphine in the homogenate. 2 Rats were injected intravenously with 0.2 and 20 microgram/kg of [3H]-etorphine. The brains were homogenized and fractionated in sucrose containing 4.2 x 10(-5) M unlabelled etorphine in order to control redistribution artifacts. Different distribution profiles in the subcellular fractions were observed at these two dose levels. 3 Concurrent administration of either cyprenorphine or naloxone with intravenous etorphine, caused a shift of the labelled drug from the P3 fraction to the supernatant fraction. 4 The subcellular distribution of intravenously administered [3H]-etorphine was also studied by homogenizing brains in etorphine-free sucrose, and sucrose containing either levorphanol or dextrorphan. From these experiments it was concluded that the P3 microsomal fraction is a major site to which in vivo etorphine is stereospecifically bound in the rat brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Bone marrow involvement in Burkitt's lymphoma.

Thirteen patients with a malignant lymphoma exhibiting the cytologic characteristics of Burkitt's lymphoma manifested marrow involvement at the time of initial diagnosis (11 patients) or later in the course of the disease (two patients). Eleven patients were 16 years of age or younger. Eight had evidence of abdominal disease, five in the ileocecal area. Despite extensive marrow involvement in most of these patients, frankly leukemic blood pictures were uncommon. Platelet counts and absolute neutrophil counts were frequently normal. Membrane surface markers were studied in four patients. The malignant cells from three exhibited mulambda surface immunoglobulin; the cells from the other manifested muk surface immunoglobulin. All of the patients had a rapid clinical course in spite of intensive chemotherapy. The median survival from detection of marrow involvement was 2.5 months.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computer-aided semen analysis: sperm concentration assessment by the Strömberg-Mika system.

The scope of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, precision and specificity of the sperm concentration measurements by the Strömberg-Mika Cell Motion Analyser (SM-CMA). Our data show that the instrument generally underscores the sperm concentration and therefore the uncorrected measurements must be corrected by the operator using the 'mouse'-driven option. In terms of precision, the system appears to have an excellent internal precision whereas its repeatability is influenced by the sperm concentration, the sample's homogeneity and the correction of the raw data. In order to increase the system's repeatability, we suggest that sperm counts should be carried out in various fields of the counting chamber, and the mean of the corrected values be taken as representative of the sperm concentration in the ejaculate if the various measurements show a homogeneous (poissonian) distribution. The correction of the raw data with the 'mouse'-driven correction option was also shown to improve the system's reproducibility. Concerning specificity, our data evidenced that, without technical correction, the instrument failed to correctly classify certain spermatozoa as such, thereby grossly underscoring sperm counts. This finding was more evident at low sperm counts. Overall, the SM-CMA requires additional laboratory time but the corrected sperm counts are comparable to manual counts and semi-automated counts with the added option that it provides the andrologists with various motility characteristics not possible with the latter methodologies.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of prognostic factors in improving the design and efficiency of clinical trials in childhood leukemia: Children's Cancer Study Group Report.

Prognostic factors are exerting an increasingly apparent and important influence on the results of comparative treatment regimens in childhood leukemia. Since February 1975, 883 previously untreated children with acute lymphocytic leukemia were entered in a protocol designed to evaluate prognostic factors that influence induction rate, remission duration, and survival and to identify subsets of patients with a high risk of early failure. Stratification was based upon the initial wbc count, and standard and more intensive induction and maintenance therapy programs were compared. The combination of older age (> 10 years), high initial wbc counts (greater than or equal to 20 x 10(9)/liter), and low serum IgG is associated with a significantly lower rate of induction of complete remission. The following factors were associated with an unfavorable prognosis with regard to bone marrow relapse and death: wbc count of greater than or equal to 20 x 10(9)/liter; age > 7 years old; CNS disease at diagnosis; L2 lymphoblasts; hemoglobin level greater than or equal to 11 g/dl; decreased concentration of serum immunoglobulin; and M3 marrow on Day 14 of induction. None of the 41 patients in the low-risk prognostic group (3-7 years old with an initial wbc count of < 10 x 10(9)/liter) with L1 blast cells, normal Ig, and M1 marrow on Day 14 has sustained an adverse event. Identification of prognostic factors should permit more efficient and effective design of future protocols by refining the classification of acute lymphocytic leukemia, decreasing the toxic risk to patients with a better prognosis, and improving the relatively poor remission duration and survival for patients with a poor prognosis.

Age Factors↗