Although the experts acknowledge that there is no conclusive evidence linking secondhand smoke to head and neck cancer, a recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a group A carcinogen. There is strong evidence linking it to carcinoma of the lung. Whereas you may not be able to tell your patient that the same cause and effect is present for head and neck cancer, it is the editor's belief that this will one day be proven. Three experts agreed to treat this patient with surgery followed by full-course radiotherapy, although the surgical approaches differed. They included a marginal mandibulectomy, radical neck dissection, and plating of the remaining mandible (Dr. Strome) and a composite resection (Drs. Ward and Johnson). For reconstruction, options included a modified FAMM flap or a split-thickness skin graft (Dr. Strome), tongue flap or pectoralis major myocutaneous flap (Dr. Ward), or a split-thickness skin graft (Dr. Johnson). One consultant suggested resecting the neck mass and treating the primary tumor and neck with radiotherapy. A dental consultation is in order prior to radiotherapy (Dr. Goepfert). With regard to this woman's mental status, all the experts called for counseling. The husband should be included in the discussions (Dr. Strome and Ward) and consideration should be given to the Women's Right Advocacy Group (Dr. Johnson).

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of submaxillary gland.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Recombinant interleukin-2 directly augments the cytotoxicity of human monocytes.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2), originally described as a growth factor required for sustained proliferation of T cells in vitro is a glycoprotein hormone of known structure which appears to be important for the generation of immune responses in vivo. As well as T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and large granular lymphocytes with natural killer activity (NK cells) can also respond to IL-2. The action of IL-2 seemed to be limited specifically to lymphocytes, however, and the term 'T-lymphocytotrophic hormone' was used. Here we provide evidence that human monocytes display a substantially increased cytotoxic activity as a direct and rapid response to human recombinant IL-2 but not to human recombinant glycosylated interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) or lipopolysaccharide. Our results reveal a previously unknown function of IL-2 and suggest its possible involvement in monocyte-T cell interactions.

Cell Division↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Immunogenetic studies of multiple sclerosis patients in Caithness County, Scotland.

The present report indicates that there is an increased frequency of HLA-B7 in multiple sclerosis patients compared to unrelated controls and unaffected siblings. HLA-A3 was not significantly increased. The increased frequency of certain HLA antigens was not reflected in increased titres of serum measles antibodies in this group. In contrast to our previous studies, there were only minimal differences in the cellular response to measles antigen in multiple sclerosis patients as compared to siblings and unrelated controls.

Adult↗