Comparison of autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for neuroblastoma.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R E Harris.
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PURPOSE: Malignancy of the sphenoid sinus, especially metastatic involvement, is an extremely rare event at any age and is usually associated with a poor prognosis. We present a case of a 5-year-old boy who underwent allogenic bone marrow transplantation for stage IV neuroblastoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three years later, he presented with an isolated lesion, histologically proven to be neuroblastoma, in the sphenoid sinus. RESULTS: Partial excision of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, achieved a remission for 3 years.
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We examined trends in caller queries on tobacco, mammography, Pap tests, and clinical trials to the NCI-sponsored Cancer Information Service (CIS) of Ohio via its toll free telephone number (1-800-4-CANCER) during 1986-1991. Calls on NCI-approved clinical trials and treatment protocols tripled during the study period (from 6% in 1986 to 20% in 1991, p < 0.01) primarily due to counselor-initiated (proactive) recommendations and actions. Calls on breast cancer showed a significant increase whereas calls on respiratory system cancers showed a decline over the time period. There was also a dramatic increase in calls on mammography, reflecting the impact of national and local promotion of breast screening. Queries on tobacco use and Pap tests declined, perhaps due to a perceived saturation effect of public education on these two topics. Our results support the use of CIS as a technology transfer system.
Despite the extreme differences in the incidence of lung cancer between black and white Americans of each sex, little information is available on the sex-race-specific lung cancer risk due to tobacco use. In the current study, case-control data were examined for sex-race differences in the lung cancer risk associated with cigarette smoking. Results indicate that Kreyberg I lung cancers (squamous cell and oat cell carcinomas) are associated with heavier intensity of smoking than Kreyberg II lung cancer (adenocarcinomas and alveolar cell carcinomas); blacks are at higher risk than whites (relative risk = 1.8), and women are at higher risk than men for a given level of smoking (RR = 1.7). Our findings indicate the existence of important differences in the smoking-associated risk for lung cancer which depend upon sex, race, and histology.
There have only been a few reports documenting the use of umbilical cord blood as a source of stem cells for haemopoietic reconstitution. We report our experience with a child with Fanconi anaemia (FA) who underwent a stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood cells from his HLA matched sibling. Although the engraftment was somewhat slow, it was complete and comparable to other transplants performed in FA patients using HLA matched sibling marrow. There was no graft-versus-host disease. The post-transplant period was uncomplicated and, at a follow-up of 36 months, this child is well with normal blood counts and immune function.
PURPOSE: This trial was undertaken to determine if a continuous infusion format with increased dose-intensity had antitumor activity with tolerable toxicity in patients with advanced neuroblastoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty heavily pretreated patients with refractory or progressive neuroblastoma received continuous infusion doxorubicin, cisplatin, and etoposide along with bolus ifosfamide in a dose-escalation format. A total of 79 courses of chemotherapy were administered at five different dose levels. RESULTS: Fifteen of 35 assessable patients (43%) achieved either a partial response (PR) or complete response (CR), including five patients with a CR, three with a very good PR (VGPR), and seven with a PR. Hematologic toxicity was severe, but reversible, and other toxicities, although significant, were tolerable and much less than that accepted in a bone marrow transplantation (BMT) setting. CONCLUSION: This investigation illustrates that response is possible even in an extremely poor-prognosis group of patients, and it suggests that such a regimen may be effective if given before disease progression occurs.
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies have focused on the association between breast cancer risk and a variety of lifestyle and exogenous factors. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, oral contraceptive (OC) use, estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), and body mass on risk of breast cancer. METHODS: These variables were examined in a case-control study of 604 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer and 520 control subjects who did not have breast cancer and were frequency matched for age, hospital, and time of diagnosis. These case patients and control subjects were part of an ongoing study of breast cancer by the American Health Foundation and were selected for interview from hospitals in the New York City area from January 1987 through December 1989. The data were analyzed by computation of odds ratios (ORs) for potential risk factors, with adjustment for age at diagnosis and other potential confounding variables and with stratification by menopausal status. RESULTS: We observed positive effects of ERT and high body mass on the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, particularly when each factor was examined in the absence of the other factor. In lean postmenopausal women, the adjusted summary OR associated with ERT was significantly elevated (OR = 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-3.5; P < .01), and there was a statistically significant dose response of breast cancer risk with ERT duration (adjusted ORs = 2.0 for < 5 years and 2.2 for > or = 5 years; positive trend, P < .02). Reciprocally, in women who did not receive ERT, high body mass (Quetelet index > 27) was a significant risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.3-3.3; P < .02), and the linear trend in risk with increasing body mass was significant (positive trend, P < .02). The strongest effect of body mass occurred in women who were lean at age 18 and gained enough weight to place them in the upper tertile of body mass at the time of diagnosis (OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.5-4.6; P < .01). There was no evidence of significant positive associations between breast cancer risk and cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, or OC use in any subgroup of these women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that excess adipose deposition heightens breast cancer risk in the postmenopausal years. Furthermore, they underscore the need for continuing investigation of the effects of exogenous estrogens on the development of this malignancy, particularly in lean postmenopausal women.
An escalating-dose trial of idarubicin, used weekly for 3 doses in combination with vincristine, prednisone, and L-asparaginase (VPLI), to reinduce remission of childhood ALL at first bone marrow relapse was conducted by the Childrens Cancer Study Group (CCSG). The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of idarubicin, used in the manner, was determined to be 12.5 mg/m2/dose. Twelve of 16 (75%) evaluable patients in first marrow relapse of ALL treated at a dose of 10 or 12.5 mg/m2 entered a second complete remission, compared to 41 of 69 evaluable patients (59%) treated in a comparable way with daunorubicin (30 mg/m2) (VPLD). Prolonged myelosuppression was observed in both groups, but the frequency of documented bacterial sepsis and the duration of required hospitalization were greater among patients treated with idarubicin. No additional toxicity, specifically attributable to idarubicin, was observed at these doses.
Thirty-one children with stage III and IV neuroblastoma were studied with iodine-131 metaiodobenzyl-guanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, technetium-99m medronate scintigraphy, skeletal plain radiography, and computed tomography (CT) before and after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Twenty-six pre-BMT and 90 post-BMT studies were reviewed. Fourteen patients were alive without tumor, and one patient died at 4 months while free of tumor. I-131 MIBG scans obtained before and after BMT were negative in eight of the 15 patients. Seven had positive I-131 MIBG scans obtained before BMT that became negative after BMT. Six of 15 patients had small, questionable lesions on CT scans of the chest or abdomen that never increased in size, and the I-131 MIBG scans remained negative. Sixteen children had progressive disease or relapse, including four in whom I-131 MIBG scans showed new abnormalities, four with persistently positive I-131 MIBG scans, and three who had negative I-131 MIBG scans at relapse. Two of the 16 patients initially had small lesions seen on abdominal CT scans that were not seen on I-131 MIBG scans; mass lesions were later seen at CT in these locations. Detectable I-131 MIBG uptake in abdominal and thoracic lesions was related to the diameter of the lesion. Both I-131 MIBG scintigraphy and CT should be used to evaluate patients with neuroblastoma who have undergone BMT.
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This study was undertaken to evaluate the association between red blood cell transfusions and infections in an easily stratified, homogenous group of injured adults. All received their initial transfusions upon arrival to the emergency department. Over 5 years, 390 uncross-matched trauma patients received type "O" red blood cells (RBCs) during initial resuscitation. One hundred fifty-four (39%) died within 7 days because of injuries sustained: 236 (61%) survived at least 7 days. Of these 236, clear differences could be seen between those receiving 6 or fewer or 7 or more units of RBCs. When adjusted for age, sex, and severity of injury (Champion Trauma Score, Injury Severity Score, TRISS), the risk of infection was higher in those receiving 7 or more units of RBCs. Similarly, risk of infection was related to units of RBCs transfused in a dose-related fashion. Blood transfusions should be avoided, if possible. Arbitrary "trigger points" for transfusions should be abandoned.
A competition was conducted between Jackson, MS and Lansing, MI to reduce blood cholesterol levels among self-selected individuals who were generally at high risk for elevated coronary heart disease. Baseline plasma cholesterol levels were measured and risk factor data were recorded for 13,710 participants in Jackson and 6,719 in Lansing (6.8% and 5.1% of the total populations, respectively). A six month educational campaign was conducted in both cities which included nutritional seminars, television shows, newspaper advertisements etc. From Jackson, 6,244 participants returned for the follow-up screening, and 2,404 from Lansing (46% and 36%). Subjects who reported changes in their diets had an average cholesterol reduction of 19 mg/dl (9%) in Jackson, and 2 mg/dl (1%) in Lansing (after adjustment for sex, baseline level, and age, P less than 0.01). In Lansing, participants were less likely to have college degrees, and were more likely to have participated because of concern with previously determined elevated cholesterol levels than Jackson participants.
Hematopoietic and lymphoproliferative cancer risk among the 3.7 million United States male veterans who use the Veterans Administration (VA) medical system annually was assessed using age-specific incidence curves and cumulative incidence rates. Relative risk comparing the VA with general population risk estimates from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data were increased significantly for all malignancies examined. The VA sample showed risk increases of 93% for Hodgkin's disease, 20% for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, 51% for multiple myelomas, and 40% for all leukemias. Among the leukemia subtypes, the observed risk increases were 54%, 23%, 80%, and 46% for lymphocytic, granulocytic, monocytic, and other forms of leukemia, respectively. The large size of the sample and the consistency of risk estimates with two different methods confer validity and strength to these findings. The possible relevance of the high prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use in this population sample to the current findings is discussed and the need for further analytic investigations to explain the increases in risk is emphasized.
Vital statistics were examined for the years 1955 through 1985 for Japanese natives and United States whites to elucidate changes in cancer mortality and related antecedent patterns of life-style in these two populations. Results show that lung cancer rates are rapidly accelerating among Japanese males as a consequence of their prior history of heavy cigarette smoking. Oropharyngeal cancer rates are also rising in Japan paralleling increases in alcohol and tobacco utilization. As the Japanese life-style and diet continue to become more "westernized," the rates of malignancies of the breast, ovary, corpus uteri, prostate, pancreas, and colon also continue to rise. Nevertheless, the mortality patterns of certain malignancies, viz., laryngeal, esophageal, and urinary bladder cancer, are discrepant with their established risk factor associations, suggesting the existence of other differences in risk factor exposure between the two countries. Epidemiologists and health educators need to develop innovative international programs of investigation and health promotion with preventive impact on common malignancies associated with risk factors of life-style.
Plasma cholesterol levels were determined for 51,723 participants of community-based cholesterol screenings in 10 United States cities during 1988. Among white adult men and women under the age of 60 without other cardiovascular disease risk factors, a dose-response relationship was found between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and increasing levels of plasma cholesterol. In men aged 18 to 60 years, average plasma cholesterol increased by 0.33 mg/dl for each cigarette smoked (p less than 0.001); in women aged 31 to 50 years, average plasma cholesterol increased by 0.48 mg/dl for each cigarette smoked (p less than 0.001). Plasma cholesterol levels among ex-smokers were found to be similar to those of nonsmokers. No association between cigarette smoking and levels of plasma cholesterol was observed in men and women over age 60. Possible mechanisms for this observed relationship include an antiestrogenic effect of cigarette smoking that makes the observation more noticeable in younger female cohorts, enhanced lipolysis that increases levels of plasma free fatty acids, or differences in dietary intake between smokers and nonsmokers.
In a hospital-based case-control study, consumption of lactose-containing (dairy) foods and foods containing beta-carotene by 71 women with epithelial cancer of the ovary and 141 matched controls was investigated. No significant differences were found between cases and controls in the frequency of consumption of dairy foods or in the amount of lactose consumed. Consumption of carrots was found to decrease risk. Logistic regression analyses indicated a protective effect of high beta-carotene intake (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval = 0.1-0.8), after adjusting for body mass, smoking, and lactose consumption.
Incidence rates of cancers of the colon, rectum, female breast, and prostate were compared among native Chinese (Shanghai), Chinese-American, and American populations. Americans had fourfold higher age-adjusted rates of colon cancer, and twofold higher rates of rectal cancer than Chinese, which is consistent with elevated per capita intake of fat and lower intake of cereals and vegetables in the US. Incidence rates of colon and rectal cancers in Chinese-Americans were nearly equal to the American rates, suggesting that the risk for tumour development in the lower intestinal tract is rapidly increased with transition to the US diet. Rates of prostate cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer were 26-fold and tenfold higher in Americans than in Chinese, whereas the rates for Chinese-Americans were intermediate. Environmental factors such as dietary fat apparently had a more gradual effect in promoting cancers of the breast and prostate relative to their influence on neoplasms of the lower intestinal tract.