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Biomedical subjects

S Chaitchik

Publications and source records attributed to S Chaitchik.

123 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Population differences in ovarian cancer in Israel.

One hundred and seven patients with epithelial carcinoma of the ovaries were studied in an Israeli population in the Tel Aviv area. The women under study belonged mainly to two ethnic groups: European and North American (Ashkenazi) and Afro-Asian immigrants. The highest incidence of this neoplasm was found in the Ashkenazi group and the lowest in the Afro-Asian (less than 50%). It has been found that there is an age variation in the onset of the disease between the two ethnic groups. The average age of all the patients was 57 years, but in the Afro-Asian group of patients, the malignancy was more commonly found in the 45-54 age group (P less than 0.05). A tendency of a shorter survival rate due to more aggressive disease in the Afro-Asian group was observed. Survival rate for patients with FIGO stages I and II was lower in the Afro-Asian group. These conclusions were supported by the statistical significance of the data.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Tumour specificity of the SCM test for cancer diagnosis.

Phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), a well-known mitogen, and encephalitogenic factor (EF) are recognized by lymphocytes of patients with different malignant diseases as non-specific antigens. Utilizing these two antigens, the SCM (structuredness of the cytoplasmatic matrix) test offers a means of discrimination between malignant and non-malignant diseases. The SCM test can also be used as a specificity test since lymphocytes from donors with a given malignant disease react exclusively with the tumour-associated antigen (TAA) of that disease. Results from 73 donors (15 healthy patients, 38 patients with different types of malignant disorders and 20 patients with autoimmune diseases) indicate the predictive value of the test. First, the non-specific test was applied in order to establish whether the patients suffered from an active malignant disease. The lymphocytes of those patients which were found to suffer from an active malignant disorder were then exposed to different types of tumour tissues. Twenty-five out of the 38 patients with malignant disorders were found by the SCM test to have an active disease. The lymphocytes of 24 out of these 25 patients showed a positive reaction when exposed to tumour tissue of the same type of cancer of which they were found to suffer by other clinical tests, and displayed no reaction with any other tumour tissues for which they were tested. One patient, with an inconclusive value of the SCM test, showed no reaction with any type of tumour to which he was exposed. The remaining 13 patients, who were diagnosed by the test as non-cancerous, did not show any clinical evidence of malignancy at the time of the test, after their tumours had been excised. Eighteen out of 20 patients with autoimmune diseases showed negative results when tested by the general test and by the various specificity tests.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

Computerized tomography in ovarian cancer.

Sixteen women suffering from ovarian cancer were staged by clinical and pathological means and concomitantly scanned by computed tomographic means. Computed tomography (CT) was found accurate in nine patients. The staging of the disease was upgraded in three patients following the CT examination. CT examination in four patients was equivocal or failed to detect the true extent of the disease. It was not possible to accurately assess the true nature of the pelvic mass on CT following a partial debulking pelvic procedure, as the remnant pelvic bed tissue could be misinterpreted as recurrent cancer. Small peritoneal cancer seedings were not detected on CT. CT scanning despite certain limitations is a valuable noninvasive adjunct in the assessment of carcinoma of the ovary and its response to treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Adjuvant therapy for Dukes C adenocarcinoma of colon.

Forty-two patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon, who received surgery between 1975 and 1978 and were to found to have pericolonic fat infiltration and lymph node metastases, were analyzed for disease free period and overall survival. Twenty-one patients had received post-operative X ray therapy, and post-X ray therapy intravenous 5-Fluorouracil adjuvant therapy. Twenty-one patients, matched by age, sex, ethnic origin and site of disease were untreated. The 5 year survival rate for the treated group was 65% compared with 36% for the control group (P greater than 0.2). At 5 years 55% of the treated group were disease free but only 12% of the control group remained disease free (P = 0.04). The significance of this work needs to be established by a randomized and prospectively controlled clinical trial.

Abdomen↗

Survival data of Israeli Jewish patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix treated by irradiation.

During a 9-year period 61 Israeli Jewish Patients with histologically confirmed invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (SUC) were treated by irradiation alone. A large proportion of the patients (44.2%) were more than 60 years old and only 27.9% were diagnosed as having stage IB disease. This is attributed to low awareness and infrequent cytologic screening. There is a trend for a large proportion of stage IB patients among those younger than 59 compared to those older than 60 years. The overall 5-year survival rate was 52.2% and the survival of patients with stage IB (72.6%) was significantly higher than in more advanced stages. In addition to clinical stage, age at diagnosis and method of irradiation also influenced survival rates.

Adult↗

A viral antigen as a marker for the prognosis of human breast cancer.

An antigen present in human breast tumor cells, and which is immunologically related to the envelope protein (gp52) of murine mammary tumor virus, was used as a marker for the detection of breast cancer in an Israeli population. The results show that the antigen was detectable in 128 of 204 breast carcinomas tested (62.7%). The immunological reaction was not detected in normal breast tissue, benign breast tumors, ductal hyperplasia or in primary malignancies in other organs. A significantly higher percentage of cases with demonstrable antigen was found in Israeli women born in North Africa (78%) as compared to women of European origin (60.6%). The frequency of detection of the antigen was higher in stage IV (80%) as compared to stage I (15%), suggesting that the gp52 cross-reacting antigen is a marker for the severity of the disease. Moreover, a retrospective study of 97 cases of stage II breast cancer shows that if the antigen is detected at the time of mastectomy, one can usually predict an unfavorable prognosis. Survival data analysis indicates that patients without detectable antigen survived significantly longer than those with a detectable antigen.

Adult↗

Viroimmunoassay utilizing a synthetic peptide: a test equivalent to the carcinoembryonic antigen radioimmunoassay.

A recently developed immunoassay which utilizes the synthetic fragment CEA(1-11), corresponding to the N-terminal segment of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), was used for the evaluation of human sera. The various sera were tested for their capacity to inhibit the inactivation of the modified bacteriophage preparation CEA(1-11)-T4 by antiserum prepared against the bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate CEA(1-11)-BSA. In this immunological system both the free synthetic peptide and a semipurified preparation of intact CEA serve as inhibitors. Sera from a large proportion (85%) of patients with adenocarcinomas of the digestive tract, including the pancrease, gave 50 to 88% inhibition. Sera from patients with other cancers, particularly of breast and ovary, also caused inhibition, although it was less marked in both incidence and level. Most normal sera gave less than 40% inhibition, which was considered as the cutoff point. This assay, like the CEA radioimmunoassay, is not suitable for mass screening nor can it be the primary criterion for diagnosis of cancer, but it might be of value as a follow-up procedure for postoperative diagnosis and prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Immunological cross-reactivity of antibodies to a synthetic undecapeptide analogous to the amino terminal segment of carcinoembryonic antigen, with the intact protein and with human sera.

A peptide corresponding to the 11 amino acid residues of the NH2-terminal portion in the sequence of carcinoembryonic antigen(CNTHETIC CEA(1-11) peptide was attached by means of a water-soluble carbodiimide reagent to multichain poly(DL-alanine( as well as to bovine serum albumin. Both macromolecular conjugates provoked in rabbit anti-CEA(1-11) peptide antibodies. The specificity of this immunological system and the crossreactivity between the peptide and intact CEA were investigated by two methods--passive hemagglutination and modified bacteriophage inactivation. Hemmagglutination experiments showed that not only anti-CEA(1-11) sera, but also anti-CEA sera, agglutinated CEA(1-11)-coated sheep erythrocytes, and both these reactions were inhibited with CEA(1-11) peptide. In experiments with the chemically modified bacteriophage technique CEA(1-11)-coated phase was efficiently inactivated with antisera against the CEA(1-11) conjugates, and the inactivation reaction could be totally inhibited with the free peptide. The semipure CEA, but not the pure protein, could also inhibit the phage inactivation, even though less efficiently. On the basis of the above results, sera of some cancer patients were tested for their capacity to inhibit the inactivation of CEA(1-11)-coated phage by means of anti-CEA(1-11) antiserum. The results indicate that sera from a large proportion of patients with adenocarcinomas of the digestive tract, pancreas, and breast are capable of inhibiting the above inactivation, whereas most normal sera do not inhibit.

Adult↗

The distribution of selenium in human blood samples of Israeli population--comparison between normal and breast cancer cases.

A preliminary study was carried out in order to compare the selenium concentration in breast cancer patients and healthy subjects (controls) in Israel. Blood serum samples were obtained from 32 breast cancer patients and 36 controls and were analyzed for selenium by the XRF method. A weighted mean of 0.076 +/- 0.014 ppm Se in the blood serum of breast cancer patients, as compared to 0.119 +/- 0.023 ppm Se for controls, was obtained. These results indicate that the concentration of selenium in breast cancer patients is significantly lower than in controls. The relationship between selenium concentration and malignancy stage shows an inverse dependence, i.e., the concentration decreases with stage number.

Adult↗

Prognostic importance of advanced age in aggressive non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma.

The importance of age as a prognostic factor in aggressive non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma (NHL) remains controversial. It is not clear whether age is an independent factor, reflecting the limited physiologic reserves of the patient, and leading in any treatment conditions to the poorer treatment outcome. This study was aimed at assessing the influence of age on treatment results in NHL patients. Therefore, the records of 40 patients with histologically confirmed NHL of intermediate and high-grade malignancy, according to the Working Formulation, who were treated by Adriamycin-containing chemotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed. There were 25 patients above 60 years of age and 15 patients below this age. Myelotoxicity was observed in 60% of the patients in the younger and in 48% patients in the older age group. The median time to dose-limiting toxicity, average percentage of projected dose intensity for all drugs, and percentage of projected dose intensity did not differ significantly in the two groups. Complete remissions (CR) were obtained in 67 and 64% of the younger and older groups, respectively. Progressive disease was observed during the treatment in 20% of the patients in each age group. Median survival was 36.5 and 32 months in the younger and older group, respectively. In conclusion, age alone is not an absolute predictor of survival of treated elderly patients with aggressive NHL. Dose rate, tolerance of treatment and achievement of CR are additional important prognostic factors. Dose intensity should not be automatically reduced at the beginning of the treatment, especially now that growth factors are available.

Adult↗