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Biomedical subjects

R Burkhardt

Publications and source records attributed to R Burkhardt.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Detection of haematologic and nonhaematologic cancer by bone biopsy.

A retrospective study was carried out to test the efficacy of routine bone marrow biopsies for the diagnosis, classification, and prognosis of different forms of neoplastic involvement. Trephine and needle biopsies of the iliac crest of 3,626 patients with haematologic and 838 patients with nonhaematologic neoplasias were embedded without prior decalcification. 43 histologic variables were evaluated in 3-millimicrons sections of each biopsy, stained by five different techniques. The incidence of bone marrow involvement, in decreasing order of frequency, was as follows: plasmacytoma 55% and 95% of 428 cases, malignant lymphoma 37% and 79% of 1.112 cases, metastatic carcinoma 20% and 63% of 838 cases, and Hodgkin disease 3% and 28% of 772 cases each without and with manifest systemic dissemination. In the group of the metastatic carcinomas, there was a striking incidence of bone marrow involvement--82%--due to occult primary tumours. From a comparison of these figures with those reported in the literature, it is concluded that the large variations in positive and negative results are due to 1) differences in the size and the preparation of the specimens, 2) extent of the neoplastic dissemination at the time of the biopsy, and 3) the incidence of bone marrow involvement characteristic for a particular type of neoplasia. In addition, a subclassification of the chronic myeloproliferative disorders is proposed; it is based on histologic criteria whose prognostic relevance was tested and demonstrated by statistical analysis of the survival rates. The high incidence of detection reported in this study in patients without other evidence of systemic spread, or even in patients with occult neoplasias, provides a strong justification for the use of bone marrow biopsy as a primary diagnostic tool as well as a staging procedure, in both haematologic and nonhaematologic cancer.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1980

The clinical study of micro-metastatic cancer by bone biopsy.

Bone marrow biopsies were investigated for the presence of neoplastic cells in 3150 patients with known or suspected malignancies. Marrow involvement was found in 42 per cent (359 of 838) cases of carcinomas, 15 per cent of 772 cases of Hodgkin's disease, 55 per cent of 1125 cases of malignant lymphoma, 75 per cent of 428 cases of multiple myeloma. In 139 cases of occult primaries the incidence of marrow involvement was 82 per cent. Micrometastases were found in 18 per cent of 359 positive biopsies from patients with solid tum ours. In this group no correlation was established between haematological findings in the peripheral blood and the size of the metastases. There was a striking variability in the type and components of the marginal zone at the interface between metastases and hematopoietic tissue, most probably due to differences in characteristics of the neoplastic cells. The high percentage of marrow involvement by metastatic carcinoma indicates that bone marrow biopsy could profitably be included in the initial investigation of patients with solid tumours.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1979

[What prospects of success does Iscador therapy offer in advanced ovarian cancer?].

Having established the hypothesis that the carcinostatic effect of Iscador described in the literature and ascertained by own observations should also show in the treatment of carcinoma of the ovary, we compiled all respective cases treated since November 1969 in the Gynecological Ward of the Gemeinnütziges Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Herdecke. The collective consisted of 25 patients with primary neoplasms of the ovary who received post-operative treatment with Iscador. The average age was 50.96 years. 20 women were in the advanced stages III and IV according to FIGO. Five-year survival rates were 100% in stages I and II, 23% in stage III and 0% in stage IV. After establishing best possible congruence, our group of patients was compared with a collective of 22 women with neoplasms of the ovary who had received post-operative treatment with Cytoval. Inspite of less favorable prognostic indicators for the Iscador patients, the latter reached an average survival rate of 16.2 months as compared to 5.2 months in the group treated with Cytoval (ratio 3.1:1). The survival period of Iscador patients in stage III was 4.2 times longer, in stage IV 1.6 times longer than that of the Cytoval patients. The difference is statistically significant (alpha less than 0.018). A comparison of the results of the two collectives shows that Iscador a special preparation of viscum album, is a useful and effective treatment of carcinoma of the ovary, particularly since it usually does not cause serious and undesired side effects. Thus the original working hypothesis was confirmed.

Acrylates↗
PubMed1978

[Rational use of bone marrow biopsy. longitudinal hemisection of samples, for simultaneous adaption of various histological preparations without loss of material (author's transl)].

Unfortunately, the combination of the superior histologic embedding technique for semi-thin sectioning of undecalcified bone in methacrylate with special methods in enzyme or immune histochemistry did not prove to be very successful up to now. These shortcomings are attributed to the influence of the embedding medium itself. They can be overcome by processing one part of a biopsy specimen after embedding in methacrylate, the other one after freezing. Optimal and comparable results have been obtained by a simple instrument for longitudinal hemi-sectioning of a cylindrical biopsy specimen of cancellous bone of adequate size, and by developing a suitable technique for the cutting of frozen sections of undecalcified bone. These methods are presented. Examples are given of the benefits of the simultaneous evaluation of one and the same biopsy-specimen with light-microscopic, ultramicroscopic, enzyme- and immun-histochemic technique.

Biopsy↗