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Biomedical subjects

R Abe

Publications and source records attributed to R Abe.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[A study of anemia and life activity in the elderly].

One hundred senior citizens aged 80 years and over in homes for the aged were evaluated for the incidence of anemia (hemoglobin under 11.0 g/dl), Hb concentration, serum iron, and total iron binding capacity (TIBC). The subjects were classified into different groups according to age distribution (80-84, 85-89, over 90), as well as sex and life activity levels. In the 80-84 year age group, the Hb concentration was 0.5 g/dl higher than that in the other age groups. The Hb values of the male subjects were 1 g/dl higher than the corresponding values for female subjects. Subjects classified as bedridden had Hb values 1.2 g/dl lower than those in the groups that had higher activity levels (p < 0.001). The incidence of anemia was independent of sex and age differences; however, differences in activity levels were significant (p < 0.001). There are 53 patients with some diseases, urinary tract infections, bed sores (over 3 cm diameter), chronic bronchitis, progressive cancers and chronic rheumatoid arthritis, which may be origins of anemia. Seventy six percent of bedridden patients have one or two of the above diseases and 30% of non-bedridden patients have these diseases. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). In the bedridden group, the differences of the mean Hb levels and the rates of anemia in patients with and without disease were not statistically significant (p > 0.1 in both factors). These facts indicate that the bedridden elderly have a high risk of anemia which is independent of some infectious and malignant diseases.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

[Cytological diagnosis from random mucosal biopsies using implant technique during operation].

A purpose of mucosal random biopsy of urinary bladder is to get informations about the extent of cancerous lesion and the existence of rest of cancer. For the purpose of determining the care range of the operation and postoperative treatments by getting these informations during the operation, we drew up stamp cytological preparations for mucosal random biopsy of urinary bladder performed during TUR-Bt, and examined potency of application of this method to quick diagnostics. First of all, 15 times of transurethral resections of bladder cancers were performed on 14 cases, and 19 of imprint preparations were made from the excised tumor materials during operation. Then the accuracy rate of the rapid cytology was evaluated based on permanent preparations that were made simultaneously. The accuracy rate of the intraoperative rapid cytology was 84.2%. Next, a similar procedure was performed on 68 materials of random biopsy during the above-mentioned operation. The accuracy rate of imprint cytology was 73.5%. The relatively low accuracy rate of rapid cytology must be attributed to diagnostic difficulty noted when dealing with Papanicoloau class 3. For all above, it was suggested that rapid implant cytology during operation must be applicable to quick diagnostics.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Six cases of heterochronous gastrointestinal cancer preceded by breast cancer.

Among 432 women with primary breast cancer, six (1.4%) were diagnosed as having gastrointestinal cancer more than six months after operation for the breast cancer. This paper presents these six cases. The patients ranged from 56 to 78 years of age at the time of breast cancer surgery, and the interval after surgery until diagnosis of the second cancer ranged from 7 months to 5 years 1 month. The second cancer was gastric cancer in 3, esophageal cancer in 2, and hepatic cancer in 1. All of the 6 patients had received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. The most frequent histological type of breast cancer was solid-tubular carcinoma (3 patients). Three patients died, due to the second cancer, 4 days, 2 months, and 6 months, respectively, after diagnosis of the second cancer, and the other patients are alive 2, 3, and 4 years after diagnosis. The Japanese literature regarding multiple cancer among breast cancer patients is reviewed. It is concluded that care should be taken to examine breast cancer patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, which are likely to be dismissed as a side effect of postoperative chemotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[An experimental study of the efficacy of platelet aggregating inhibitor on hepatic metastasis].

To investigate whether OKY-046 (an inhibitor of thromboxane A2 synthetase) and TCV-309 (an antagonist of platelet activating factor) can inhibit VX-2 tumor metastasis, the following studies were performed. Study 1 animal experiment: VX-2 tumors were inoculated and OKY-046 or TCV-309 was administered into the portal vein with or without combination of adriamycin (ADR). The number of tumor nodules on the whole liver surface were counted at three weeks after tumor cells inoculation. The combination of OKY-046 and ADR significantly reduced the number of tumor nodules compared to control and TCV-309. Study 2 in vitro experiment: Human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) overlayed confluently cultured human endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro with or without OKY-046 and TCV-309 for 3 days; MCF-7 cells invaded the endothelial cells and built-up colonies. The number of colonies built up were counted. OKY-046 significantly decreased the number of colony formations, but TCV-309 did not. These results suggest that OKY-046 has an inhibitory effect on extravasation of tumor cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

[Efficacy of intrahepatic arterial chemotherapy to prevent recurrence of residual liver in metastatic liver cancer patients after hepatectomy].

Five-year overall survival rates in 17 cases who underwent the hepatectomy for metastatic liver cancer from digestive tract averaged 43%. Postoperative intrahepatic arterial infusion in combination with Farmorubicin and 5-FU was performed in 9 cases (i.a group). Survival and recurrence rate on cases (i.a group) were compared with that of 8 cases without chemotherapy (control group). The 5-year survival rate was superior in the i.a group to that in the control group. There was no residual liver recurrence in the i.a group, but two cases had recurrence in the residual liver in the control group. These results suggest that the post-hepatectomized intrahepatic arterial infusion of anticancer drugs is useful to prevent recurrence in the residual liver and may prolong the survival time of patients with metastatic liver cancer from GI tract.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[Efficacy of combination therapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, UFT and oophorectomy/tamoxifen for advanced or recurrent breast cancer].

Combination therapy consisting of cyclophosphamide (CPA), adriamycin (ADR), UFT and endocrine therapy of oophorectomy or tamoxifen (TAM) was given female patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer. Premenopausal patients initially underwent oophorectomy, then were administered 300 mg/day of CPA and 30 mg/day of ADR intravenous injection every 2 weeks, and 300 mg/day of UFT orally every day. Postmenopausal patients, on the other hand, were administered the same three chemotherapeutic drugs and 30 mg/day of TAM orally every day instead of receiving castration. A total of 10 patients were registered, and nine of them were eligible. Premenopausal cases were six, and postmenopausal cases were three. The objective response rates were 50% (3/6) for premenopausal women and 33% (1/3) for postmenopausal women. Complete response was observed in one patient and partial response in three patients. The therapy was effective for lymph nodes (2/2), lung (3/4), breast (2/3), skin or subcutis (1/2), but it showed no effect on bone, pleural effusion or ascites. The overall 5-year survival rate was 53.3%. The main side effects of more than Grade 1 were leucopenia 33% (3/9), anorexia 22% (2/9) and malaise 22% (2/9). They were relatively mild for therapy involving ADR. This therapy was considered useful for advanced or recurrent breast cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1994

[Late phase II clinical study of RP56976 (docetaxel) in patients with advanced/recurrent breast cancer].

A late phase II clinical study of RP56976 (Docetaxel), a new semisynthetic anticancer agent, was conducted in patients with advanced/recurrent breast cancer. RP56976 (Docetaxel) was in general administered at an intravenous dose of 60 mg/m2 with dose-free intervals of 3-4 weeks. Of the 74 patients enrolled, 64 patients completed the scheduled course of treatment. Three patients showed complete response (CR), 32 patients partial response (PR), 3 patients minor response (MR), 18 patients no change (NC), and 8 patients had progressive disease (PD). The overall response rate was 54.7%. The response rate in patients who previously had received chemotherapy was 55.7%, and the response rate in patients who had resistance to anthracycline agents or who did not respond to previous treatment was 58.7%. Adverse reactions included nausea/vomiting in 38 patients (57.6%), fatigue in 46 patients (69.7%), anorexia in 46 patients (69.7%), fever in 26 patients (39.4%), and alopecia in 60 patients (90.9%), all of which were tolerable. Abnormal laboratory findings included leukopenia (Grade III or more) in 57 patients (86.4%) and neutropenia (Grade III or more) in 56 patients (86.2%). The results show that RP56976 (Docetaxel) is an excellent agent with high antitumor effect for the treatment of advanced/recurrent breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Reappraisal of preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen levels as a prognostic factor in resectable colorectal cancer.

Preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen levels in sera were measured in 124 cases of primary colorectal cancer, and their usefulness as a prognostic factor were evaluated. There were no significant differences in the CEA levels with regard to age, sex, size of the primary tumor, histological differentiation, peritoneal dissemination or DNA ploidy, but CEA levels were significantly higher in patients with liver metastasis. By using Cox proportional hazard model, the most significant discriminant in prognosis was liver metastasis, followed by preoperative CEA level, depth of invasion and DNA ploidy pattern. Preoperative CEA measurements were applied as a parameter of biological behavior of colorectal cancer in the follow-up course.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer].

Various kinds of modalities have been used to detect and diagnose breast cancer. In order to detect early breast cancer, mass screening has been widely performed with physical examinations in Japan and mammography in the U. S and European countries. After detecting some abnormalities within the breast under basic screening, further examinations are required for a precise diagnosis. For this purpose, ultrasonography and/or thermography are used as a noninvasive image examination, and aspiration biopsy cytology and/or surgical biopsy are employed for the final diagnosis. Mammography with highly qualified equipment and its adequate performance is thought to be the most useful modality in basic screening for detecting nonpalpable breast cancer. Ultrasonography is valuable for differentiating whether the lesions detected on screening are malignant or benign. Thermography seems better in analysing the malignant potential of the lesions detected by other examinations. Aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) is employed for final diagnosis. Fine needle ABC has the highest sensitivity (90.8%) compared to other modalities in this department of Fukushima Medical College Hospital. Positive diagnosis on ABC is not needed for surgical biopsy. However, suspected or negative findings on ABC are required for two-step surgical biopsy which should be performed at the outpatient clinic to obtain detailed information about the biological characteristics as well as pathological diagnosis.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1994

[Diagnosis in early breast cancer].

To improve the survival in breast cancer, it is important to detect and treat breast cancer early. Physical examination (PE), mammography (MMG), ultrasonography (US), and aspiration biopsy cytology (ABC) are routinely assessed in the diagnosis of breast cancer. When three procedures including ABC are positive in a diagnosis of breast cancer, it is an absolute indication for surgery. Of all 238 breast cancers between 1987 and 1992, 86 cases were T1. The sensitivity of each procedure was PE 58.9%, MMG 70.0%, US 74.4% and ABC 86.2%, indicating that PE was less sensitive for small cancer. The recent accuracy of ABC in our series was satisfactory, and the combination diagnosis had a good result for T1 tumor because the findings from these procedures were complimentary. The high accuracy of ABC therefore suggests that lumpectomy has two aspects, definite diagnosis, and therapy as conservative surgery for breast cancer. The nineteen cases of T0 cancer encountered were almost entirely detected by nipple discharge or MMG. In conclusion, the combination diagnosis including ABC was very effective, and it is very important to detect and diagnose clinically small or non-palpable breast cancer.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1994

[Phase II study of CGS16949A, a new aromatase inhibitor--a dose finding study].

A dose finding phase II study of a novel aromatase inhibitor CGS16949A was performed in postmenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer. The daily dose of 1 mg (0.5 mg b.i.d.), 2 mg (1 mg b.i.d.) or 4 mg (2 mg b.i.d.) CGS16949A was administered orally for 8 weeks or more on dose escalation schedule. The response rates (CR+PR) in the evaluable cases were 13.6%, 22.0% and 13.3% in 1 mg/day group (1 mg group), 2 mg/day group (2 mg group) and 4 mg/day group (4 mg group), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the response rates among the three treatment groups. Median time to the onset of PR was 99, 113 and 114 days in 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg group, respectively, and the median duration of response was 276 days, 391 days and 277 days in 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg group, respectively. Five patients in each treatment group showed prolonged stabilization of disease ("long NC", lasting > or = 6 months). Median durations of stabilization were 223 and 241 days in 2 and 4 mg group respectively. The incidence of adverse effects were 11.9%, 7.5% and 13.0% in 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg group respectively, and 30 out of 33 symptoms (90.9%) were of mild. Laboratory abnormalities were observed in 12.2%, 22.9% and 23.8% in the respective groups of 1, 2 and 4 mg, and no patient experienced clinical symptoms related to these changes. Plasma estradiol concentration at one month after initiation of the treatment decreased significantly in comparison with pretreatment levels, and was slightly exceeding the limit of detection. Plasma cortisol was not changed. As shown in this results, CGS16949A showed sufficient efficacy and good tolerability in postmenopausal patients with advanced breast cancer. It was considered that the optimal dose in clinical use judged as 2 mg/day.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

[Clinical evaluation of CGS16949A in advanced or recurrent breast cancer--a multi-institutional late phase II clinical trial].

A multi-institutional late-phase II clinical trial of CGS 16949A was conducted at the dose of 1 mg twice daily in postmenopausal patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer. Seventy patients entered into the study; 65 were eligible and 53 were complete cases. There were 3 CR, 11 PR, 10 long-NC, 14 NC and 25 PD with an overall response rate of 22.2% in 63 evaluable cases. The median period of overall duration of responses was 327.5 days. There were 22 cases that drug was found useful or better, and global usefulness rate was 33.8%. Forty six (76.7%) of patients experienced no side effects in this therapy. Grade 2 toxicities included anorexia (1 pt.), feeling of distension of abdomen (1 pt.), vomiting (1 pt.), fatigue (1 pt.), and only one patient experienced Grade 3 toxicity (anorexia). Grade 2 laboratory abnormalities were confirmed in two patients; one with elevated gamma-GTP and another with elevated LDH, and both were in the absence of liver metastasis. From these results, it is concluded that CGS16949A seemed to be a useful hormonal agent in the treatment of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

[Clinical significance of flow cytometric DNA analysis in metastatic lymph node of colorectal cancer].

Significance of flow cytometric DNA analysis in metastatic lymph nodes for assessing malignant potential of colorectal cancer was investigated using paraffin-embedded materials of primary lesions and metastatic lymph nodes from 65 patients who had been treated between 1975 and 1990. The DNA ploidy patterns of metastatic nodes were identical in 61.5% with those of primary lesions. Diploid cancers were significantly more frequent in metastatic nodes than in primary lesions. There were significantly more aneuploid cancers in proximal nodes than in distant nodes. There was no relation between ploidy patterns in primary lesions and survival. However, a significant relation was found between ploidy patterns in metastatic nodes and survival. Diploid cancer in metastatic nodes had a significantly better survival than aneuploid cancer, in all patients as well as those with curative resection. In patients with stage III and in those with the same depth of invasion, the survival rate of diploid cancer in metastatic nodes was significantly higher. There was no correlation between ploidy patterns in metastatic nodes and clinicopathological variables in primary lesions, such as histological type, depth of invasion, nodal involvement, peritoneal or hepatic involvement and stage. These results suggest that nuclear DNA content in metastatic lymph nodes may be a prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer with nodal involvement.

Colorectal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1993

Two separate mechanisms of T cell clonal anergy to Mls-1.

T cell tolerance to superantigen can be mediated by clonal anergy in which Ag-specific mature T cells are physically present but are not able to mount an immune response. We induced T cell unresponsiveness to minor lymphocyte stimulations locus antigen (Mls)-1a in mice transgenic for TCR V beta 8.1 in three different systems: 1) injection of Mls-1a spleen cells, 2) mating with Mls-1a mice, and 3) bone marrow (BM) chimeras in which Mls-1a is present only on nonhematopoietic cells. CD4+8-V beta 8.1+ cells from all these groups did not proliferate in response to irradiated spleen cells from Mls-1a mice. We compared the response of these cells by T cell/stimulator cell conjugate formation, Ca2+ mobilization, and proliferation assays. The mechanisms underlying the unresponsiveness of these T cells appear to differ. CD4+8-V beta 8.1+ cells from Mls-1a spleen cell-injected mice mobilized cytoplasmic Ca2+ but proliferated at a reduced level in response to cross-linking with anti-TCR mAb. However, these cells formed conjugates, mobilized Ca2+, and proliferated in response to Mls-1a when activated B cells were used as stimulators, although they produced reduced levels of IL-2. In Mls-1a/b V beta 8.1 transgenic mice, a subset in CD4+8-V beta 8.1+ cells did not mobilize cytoplasmic Ca2+ after TCR cross-linking. Their conjugate formation, Ca2+ mobilization, or proliferation in response to Mls-1a on activated B cells was undetectable. Finally, CD4+8-V beta 8.1+ cells from the BM chimeras proliferated to TCR cross-linking at a partially reduced level and formed conjugates, mobilized Ca2+, and proliferated in response to Mls-1a on activated B cells. These features suggest that the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of anergy in Mls-1a spleen cell-injected mice are distinct from those in Mls-1a mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Involvement of multiple factors in the clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells.

Self-tolerance is primarily induced by the elimination of potentially self-reactive T cells during early development of the T cell repertoire. In the mouse, endogenous mouse mammary tumor viruses (MMTV), including minor lymphocyte-stimulating antigens and milk-transmitted exogenous MMTV, have been known to function as self-antigens inducing the clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells in a V beta-specific manner. We investigated the factors involved in the deletion of V beta 17a-bearing T cells. The results indicated that in addition to the previously reported V beta 17a deletion ligand, Mtv-3, there is a nonmilkborne gene product which progressively deletes V beta 17a (and V beta 3)-bearing T cells during aging. This suggests that clonal deletion is mediated by multiple factors and that a clonal deletion element associated with aging may play a significant role in shaping the T cell repertoire.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Unassigned or nonsense codons in Micrococcus luteus.

We previously reported that in Micrococcus luteus, a Gram-positive eubacterium with high genomic G + C content, certain codons ending with A did not appear in coding frames, including termination sites, and tRNAs that translate these codons were not detected. These facts suggest that at least some of them are unassigned (nonsense) codons, i.e. not assigned to any amino acid or to any stop signal. We have investigated whether AGA and AUA, universal Arg and Ile codons, respectively, are really unassigned codons by using a cell-free extract prepared from M. luteus and synthetic messenger RNAs. Translation of synthetic mRNA containing in-frame AGA codons does not result in "read-through" to codons beyond the AGA codons, i.e. translation ceases at codon AGA. Essentially the same result was obtained with mRNA containing AUA in-frame. A sucrose-gradient centrifugation profile of the reaction mixture has shown that practically all of the peptides that have been synthesized are attached to 70 S ribosomes. When in-frame AGA or AUA codons are replaced by UGA codons in mRNA, no read-through occurs beyond UGA, just as in the case of AGA or AUA. However, the synthesized peptide is released from the 70 S ribosomes. These data suggest that AGA and AUA are unassigned codons and differ from UGA in that they are not used for termination.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1993

Giant adenoma of the parathyroid: report of a case.

We report herein the case of a 56-year-old woman who was diagnosed as having a parathyroid tumor after she presented with hip joint pain and gait disturbance. She underwent surgery and the resected tumor, which weighed approximately 70 g, was found to be an unusually large adenoma of the parathyroid, detected on the basis of clinical findings and dual-tracer parathyroid and CT images.

Adenoma↗