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Biomedical subjects

Y Hirshaut

Publications and source records attributed to Y Hirshaut.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Effects of transfer factor in patients with advanced cancer.

Eighteen patients with advanced cancer were given subcutaneous injections of pooled dialyzable transfer factor (TFd) from normal donors for periods of from 9 days to 6.5 months. Minor tumor regression was observed in only two patients, an effect of no therapeutic significance. However, treatment with TFd was associated with at least a temporary increase in delayed hypersensitivity reactions in 12 of 17 patients tested, including four patients who became responsive to 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene. In general, in vitro tests of immune function were not changed after treatment with TFd except for levels of C1q, and/or C3, which were increased in 6 of 10 patients tested. We conclude that TFd may augment delayed hypersensitivity in patients with advanced cancer, and that its effects are, at least in part, immunologically nonsepcific.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Randomized trial of levamisole in patients with squamous cancer of the head and neck: a preliminary report.

This is a preliminary report of a randomized double-blind study comparing levamisole with placebo as surgical adjuvant treatment of patients with squamous cancer of the head and neck. The study groups were comparable according to the prognostic factors of type (primary or recurrent), site (oral cavity, pharynx, or larynx), and stage of disease and were also similar in pretreatment immune function and in radiation exposure. Of 65 evaluable patients, 31 received levamisole and 34 received placebo. Although there was no difference in the distribution of the time to recurrence of the overall treatment group, there was a difference of borderline significance in favor of levamisole in the primary disease patients (P less than 0.06). Further analysis of subgroups in the primary disease category showed decreased recurrence rates in patients receiving levamisole who had cancer of the oral cavity (P less than 0.01) or who had stage II disease (P less than 0.02). Considering site and stage simultaneously, the only significant difference was in stage II patients with oral cancer. The above results, although encouraging, must be viewed with caution due to small sample sizes and the relatively short followup of most patients.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed1978

Levamisole as an immunoadjuvant: phase I study and application in breast cancer.

A phase I study of levamisole in patients with cancer was undertaken to determine its therapeutic dose range, side effects, limiting toxicity, and influence on immune function. Simultaneously, a group of patients receiving adjuvant combination chemotherapy for carcinoma of the breast were entered in a randomized study to observe whether levamisole was capable of overcoming the immunodepressive effects of cytotoxic drugs. In the phase I trial the doses used ranged from 65 to 410 mg/m2. The maximum tolerated dose was 358 mg/m2. Side effects were generally low in intensity and related to the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems; the limiting toxic effect was intractable nausea. Significant changes in immune test values were noted in both acute and chronic trials. Alterations in immunoglobulin levels, complemented values, and numbers and types of lymphocytes and mitogenic responses to concanavalin A as well as specific mitogens were observed. In the randomized trial there was no difference between the chemoimmunotherapy and chemotherapy-alone groups.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1977

Growing human sarcomas in culture.

Efforts to establish human soft tissue and bone sarcomas in long-term cultures are described. Of 49 attempts 22 (45%) were successful, yielding cells that proliferated in vitro for 6 months or longer. Infrequent medium changes, maintenance of pH in physiologic range and avoidance of early trypsinization all appear to be important for survival of explanted cells and their initial growth under culture conditions. Cytologic criteria can be used to confirm that cells in established lines derive from malignant mesenchymal cells present in the tumors of origin.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Complement-fixing antigen of human sarcomas.

Further investigation of the humoral immune responses of patients with sarcoma to their tumors revealed a sarcoma-associated antigen that was readily detected by complement fixation. Circulating levels of antibody to this antigen, tentatively labeled S3, rose markedly after surgical removal of the tumor. Antibody to S3, as to S1 and S2, was highly prevalent in patients with various malignant tumors other than sarcoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Virus antibody levels and delayed hypersensitivity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus antibody levels were not higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to matched controls. Delayed hypersensitivity, measured by skin test reactivity, was depressed in rheumatoid arthritis. There was no correlation between virus antibody titres and delayed hypersensitivity.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

In vitro combination chemotherapy demonstrating potentiation of vincristine cytotoxicity by prednisolone.

Human lymphoid cells grown in long-term tissue culture have been used to study the cytotoxic effects of the combination of vincristine and prednisolone. The potentiating effects of this drug combination in vitro cannot be consistently shown if the drugs are addeded without attention to the growth rate of the cultured population. If the cultured cells have achieved maximum density and have remained at this density for more than 24hr, they are readily killed by vincristine alone and no further kill is achieved by adding prednisolone. Rapidly growing cell cultures, however, are relatively ristant to vincristine. The addition of prednisolone to such cultures restores their sensitivity to vincriestine, but the combination is no more effective than is vincristine alone in stable cell populations. These findings indicate that the effects of vincristine on the mitotic spindle, which produce metaphase arrest, do not account entirely for its ability to destroy cells. A second mechanism of action of vincristine at low concentrations is proposed.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1973

Evidence for fetal antigen in human sarcoma.

A common antigen (S(2)), initially thought to be uniquely associated with human sarcomas, has been found to be widely distributed in patients with other tumors as well. Absorption studies with human embryonic tissues suggest that S(2) may be a fetal antigen. The presence of antibody to S(2) in patients with tumors and in their relatives implies a propensity in these individuals for cellular dedifferentiation which may be a prerequisite for malignant transformation.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗