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Molecular diagnostic detection of free cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity of patients with gastrointestinal and gynecologic malignancies.

Free cancer cells exfoliated from cancer-invaded serosa contribute to peritoneal dissemination, the most frequent pattern of recurrence in patients with gastric and ovarian cancers. This study was designed to evaluate the prognostic significance of free cancer cells in peritoneal washes detected using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and cytology. RT-PCR analysis with primers specific for the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene was found to be more sensitive than cytology for detection of free tumor cells in the peritoneal washes, collected at laparotomy from 199 gastric carcinoma patients, with higher detection rates for each of the T-categories in the TNM classification. Six patients with synchronous and 5 with recurrent peritoneal dissemination were found among 25 advanced cancer patients with positive PCR and negative cytology results. Positive PCR results were significantly associated with poor survival of curatively resected advanced gastric carcinoma patients (P < 0.001). A rapid method for detecting CEA mRNA using the LightCycler and the dsDNA binding dye SYBR green I was also developed. The results obtained using this technique were essentially the same as those obtained using the conventional RT-PCR method. Furthermore, RT-PCR analysis with primers specific for MUC1 epithelial mucin were performed on peritoneal washes from patients with ovarian cancer. Peritoneal washes from 21 of 25 ovarian carcinoma patients, including all 17 with positive cytology results, were positive for MUC1 mRNA, again indicating a higher sensitivity using this method than conventional cytology. Highly sensitive and rapid detection of free cancer cells in peritoneal washes, most reliably by RT-PCR, is a powerful technique to predict peritoneal dissemination in patients with gastric and ovarian cancers.

Animals↗

Diagnostic discriminants of thyroid cancer.

One hundred ten consecutive patients with histologically proved thyroid carcinoma were studied in relation to cell type, age, sex, presence of metastases, and results of thyroid scintiscanning and ultrasonography. Forty-four percent of these patients presented with a normally functioning, or warm, nodule on scintiscan. Nineteen percent presented with ultrasonographic findings of a cystic lesion. The physiologic circumstances that explain these findings have been discussed. On the basis of this study, as well as other reported series, it is concluded that both scintiscanning and ultrasonography are not reliable discriminants in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

Pleomorphic microvilli and low-grade human urothelial cancer: need to correlate diagnostic modalities.

It is technically feasible to examine human urothelial biopsy specimens by light microscopy after the same specimen has been examined by scanning electron microscopy. This combined microscopic procedure demonstrates that surface microfeatures of human urothelial cells, including pleomorphic microvilli, are variably present in atypical and in malignant vesical tissues. Scanning electron microscopy of a urothelial specimen requires direct light microscopic correlation of the pathologic disorder which is present in a particular area of the specimen which has been examined by scanning electron microscopy.

Adult↗

Fluorescent diagnostics of human gastric cancer and sodium fluorescein accumulation in experimental gastric cancer in rats.

Patients (459) with chronic gastritis, ulcers, polyposis and different types of gastric cancers were examined by endoscopic fluorescent technique using a special drug based on the sodium salt of fluorescein (F1). Eighty-five percent of gastric cancers showed positive fluorescence. The F1 distribution in the stomach of the rat with induced gastric cancer was examined. In all cases the level of F1 fluorescence in the tumor was higher than in the adjacent normal tissues of the stomach. Thus, all the obtained results confirm the selective accumulation of F1 in tumors of the stomach.

Animals↗

The hospital costs of diagnostic procedures for colorectal cancer.

Diagnosis for colorectal cancer is commonly made using either colonoscopy or double contrast barium enema techniques. To data, little attention has been paid to the comparative costs of these two procedures and the paper presents estimates of hospital costs for each, using data from the colorectal study being undertaken in Nottingham, U.K. Consideration is also given to procedure sensitivity and the frequency of referral to the alternative technique in cases of incomplete diagnosis. The paper presents the conditions under which a given technique may be considered cost-superior to its alternative but concludes that the absence of conclusive clinical trial data and other considerations precludes the identification of a definitively optimum technique from the economic point of view.

Barium Sulfate↗

Serum diagnostic tests for pancreatic cancer.

Serological tests for pancreatic cancer have been criticized too harshly as a result of being tested in inappropriate roles. They are never likely to become sufficiently specific for screening an asymptomatic population unless some way can be found of defining a population with a particularly high risk for the disease. Nor are they appropriate in the investigation of the jaundiced patient. The markers that are carried by secreted mucins seem the most promising and in view of the marked heterogeneity of carbohydrate expression on mucins a combination of tests for two or three carefully selected markers is likely to be better than one. The high cost per test that results from using commercially available radioimmunoassay kits with a short shelf-life can be reduced by using enzyme-linked assays which have a much longer shelf-life. These tests are likely to be of most help in the investigation of non-jaundiced patients with unexplained abdominal pain or weight loss. In this group of patients it seems probable that serological tests will compliment scanning techniques but further studies are needed to assess this.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Magnetic resonance imaging as a diagnostic tool for breast cancer in premenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Screening mammography has led to earlier diagnosis of breast cancer; however, the increased tissue density of young women can complicate mammographic interpretation. We hypothesized that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has value in detection of mammographically occult breast cancers, particularly in premenopausal women for whom the sensitivity of mammography is compromised. METHODS: Data were available for 89 women with biopsy-proven breast cancer who had undergone both mammography and breast MRI. Variables evaluated included menopausal status and radiographic findings. Data were analyzed using Fisher's Exact test; P < .05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Of the 89 women in our study, 69 were perimenopausal or postmenopausal and 20 were premenopausal at the time of diagnosis. The malignant lesion was identified on mammography and MRI for a majority of patients. One third of premenopausal women had negative mammography but positive MRI findings. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a role for breast MRI in supplementing conventional mammography for early detection of breast cancer in premenopausal women.

Adult↗

Quantification of free RNA in serum and bronchial lavage: a new diagnostic tool in lung cancer detection?

Circulating cell-free nucleic acids have been detected in serum. In cancer patients levels of free DNA seem to be higher than in non-tumor controls and the detectable nucleic acids are partly of tumor origin. We asked whether free RNA can be detected as well in cell-free bronchial lavage fluid (BLF) supernatant, and whether quantification of free RNA allows to discriminate between tumor and non-tumor patients. 73 patients with lung cancer (NSCLC n=62, SCLC n=11) and 56 patients with non-malignant lung diseases were included. The RNA was isolated from 1 mL serum and lavage, respectively with the Quiamp MinElute Virus Vacuum Kit (Qiagen, Germany). A real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay was used for transcript quantification of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene. Intact RNA was detectable in cell-free supernatants of BLF from 126/129 patients and was investigated in all 64 serum samples. RNA levels were higher in the cell-free supernatant of BLF than in serum. RNA concentration in the BLF from tumor patients was higher than in patients with a benign lung disease (p=0.009). In conclusion, quantification of intact RNA isolated from BLF supernatant and from serum might become a valuable tool for differentiation between tumor and non-tumor patients.

Adult↗

Papillary cystic cancer of the pancreas: diagnostic difficulties.

Pancreatic tumors rarely present in childhood. Diagnostic difficulty and inappropriate treatment may result especially when the lesions have a cystic component. Two cases of papillary cystic carcinoma of the pancreas in teenage girls are presented. Optimal treatment of such lesions in the head of pancreas consists of partial pancreaticoduodenectomy preserving the pylorus when possible.

Adolescent↗