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Biomedical subjects

C C Yuan

Publications and source records attributed to C C Yuan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Successful management of a solitary peritoneal metastasis of unknown origin. Report of a case.

A solitary peritoneal metastasis from a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of unknown origin in a 38-year-old female is described. The patient presented with a left ovarian tumor and elevated cancer antigen 125. She underwent complete excision of tumor and received six courses of postoperatively adjuvant cisplatin-based combination plus radiation therapy simultaneously. Second-look operation was done later and complete surgicopathologic remission was demonstrated. Two further courses of consolidation chemotherapy were given. She has been followed up for 25 months, and is living and well. We suggest that the combination of aggressive surgery, cisplatin-based chemotherapy and an open-field technique of abdominopelvic irradiation (concurrent chemoradiation) may be an appropriate approach to manage solitary peritoneal metastases from poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of unknown origin.

Adenocarcinoma

Primary malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: a report of two cases.

Two cases of primary malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a rather rare neoplasm, are reported. It is often mistaken by gynecologists for other, more common neoplasms such as ovarian cancer. The diagnosis is mainly established by laparotomy for tissue proof. There is no uniform agreement on the most appropriate therapeutic modalities to manage this tumor. Surgical resection is too technically difficult to achieve a satisfactory result. The response rate to chemotherapy or radiation is poor. The prognosis for primary malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is poor, with median survival from the time of diagnosis of less than 1 year, despite of aggressive treatment. A review of the literature is also presented.

Adult

The Gag-Myb-Ets fusion oncogene alters the apoptotic response and growth factor dependence of interleukin-3 dependent murine cells.

Expression of the avian E26-derived Gag-Myb-Ets fusion oncogene in interleukin-3(IL3)-dependent murine hematopoietic cell lines results in a pattern of cell line dependent changes in growth factor-induced proliferation and apoptosis. A drug-selectable retrovirus expressing p135Gag-Myb-Ets induced an erythropoietin(Epo)-responsive phenotype in the cell lines FDC-P2, BaF3 and 32Dc123. Gag-Myb-Ets expression alone did not increase expression of GATA-1 or the Epo receptor(EpoR) in the presence of IL3, and infected cell lines express increased GATA-1 and EpoR only when IL3 was replaced by Epo in the culture media. Indicative of Epo-induced erythroid differentiation, these cells also began to express beta-globin after 3-5 days growth in Epo. Unlike control cells, infected FDC-P2 cells failed to undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis) when transferred from IL3- to Epo-containing media, although a fraction of the cells failed to proliferate following the media shift. Three other IL3-dependent cell lines showed no changes in growth behavior when induced to express the fusion oncogene. Our data shows that Gag-Myb-Ets can have different affects on growth factor pathways depending on the cell background, suggesting a model in which the p135gag-myb-ets fusion oncogene promotes these different responses through its affect on apoptosis.

3T3 Cells

An evaluation of chemotherapy in patients with cancer of the cervix and lymph node metastases.

During the past twelve years, out of the 288 cervical cancer patients who had lymph node involvement, the recurrence rate in the lymph node, was 26.6% if one or two nodes were involved and 50.8% if three or more nodes were involved (P < 0.0001). The recurrence rate of patients who received eight intravenous treatments (at monthly intervals) of multi-agent chemotherapy was lower than those who did not receive treatment. Of patients with one or two positive lymph nodes, 114 received treatment while 50 did not; their respective recurrence rates were 19.3% and 42.0%, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.025). Of patients with three or more positive lymph nodes, 97 received treatment and 27 did not, their respective recurrence rates, were 46% and 66% (P = 0.30) and the difference is not statistically significant. It would seem that multi-agent chemotherapy may reduce the recurrence rate in patients with cancer of the cervix and positive lymph nodes.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols

Radioimmunodetection of human cervical carcinoma xenograft by 111In-labeled monoclonal antibody MAb Cx-99.

Radioimmunodetection (RAID) is more sensitive and specific than conventional diagnostic methods. In this study, a monoclonal antibody against cervical carcinoma antigen, MAb Cx-99, was labeled with 111Indium (111In). This immunoconjugate was intravenously injected into athymic nude mice bearing cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) xenografts. The tissue distribution study showed that the xenograft tumor had higher binding activity than most other tissues after 48 h from injection, demonstrated by localization ratio of tumor of tissues (c.p.m./g) against blood (c.p.m./g). However, this localization ratio was also high in the liver, spleen and kidney. The imaging study by immunoscintigraphy also showed that the tumor and liver were distinct from other background tissues 2 days after injection. This preliminary study showed that 111In-labeled MAb Cx-99 may have potential for RAID of cervical cancer, especially for tumors in the pelvis.

Animals

Modified pelvic anterior exenteration.

During a 20-year time period, 117 patients with various histologic types of cancer underwent pelvic exentereation. Six of the 107 patients who needed anterior exenteration with urinary diversion received partial excision of the urinary bladder and modification surgery, of which three had uretero-cystostomy, two had mobilization of bladder and uretero-cystostomy and one had uretero-uterostomy. These six patients, except for two, died of disease in 1 year. Two patients are alive and happy, with quality of life because they can urinate normally. We suggest that anterior exenteration should be modified whenever possible to preserve the bladder and not to do an urinary diversion.

Female

Fibrolamellar variant of hepatocellular carcinoma--report of a Chinese patient.

Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma is rare. By chance, a Chinese woman detected a mass in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a solid tumor with a central fibrous scar locating at the posterior inferior subsegment of the right hepatic lobe. The tumor was successfully resected and histopathological examination revealed a fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. Our case shows that fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma may also occur in Chinese as well as in Japanese and Westerners.

Adult

A phenotypic host range alteration determines RD114 virus restriction in feline embryonic cells.

We have characterized the restriction mechanism for RD114 virus replication in embryonic feline cells (FeF). By comparing growth properties of the virus in FeF cells with its behavior in a fetal feline glial cell line (G355) permissive for RD114, we showed that both cell lines were readily infectible by virus grown in permissive cells and that no significant differences in viral integration or viral RNA expression could be detected. However, analysis of viral protein expression revealed differences in viral env gene processing in the two cell types. Envelope precursor pR85 was produced, but the expected processed gp70 product was detectable only in permissive (G355) cells. An envelope product of 85 kDa was packaged into virions produced by FeF cells, while virions produced by G355 cells contained the expected RD114 gp70. While the gp85 env-containing virions were infectious for permissive G355 cells, they were unable to infect FeF cells. The block to infection by the gp85-containing particles in FeF cells could be abrogated by treatment with the glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin. Our results indicate that restriction of RD114 virus involves a novel mechanism dependent on two factors: altered glycosylation of the envelope to a gp85 form and an altered RD114 receptor in FeF cells.

Animals

Production and characterisation of a monoclonal antibody (Cx-99) against cervical carcinoma.

An IgG1 monoclonal antibody (MAb Cx-99) has been established which recognises a surface antigen on epithelial cells, but not on fibroblastic or hematopoietic cells. Immunohistochemical studies showed that this antigen was present in all 37 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) including 33 cervical SCC, and 30 of the 32 adenocarcinomas examined; most of the 33 cervical SCC were stained extensively. It was also detected in the culture medium of cervical cancer cell lines. In the normal cervix, this antigen was restricted to the undifferentiated basal cells. This observation suggests that the widespread expression of the antigen was triggered by oncogenesis. The MAb Cx-99 recognised an epitope on an asialyted glycoprotein which has an apparent molecular weight of 37 kilodaltons (kD) (and 2 minor proteins at 18 and 27 kD) and an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.3. It may have potential for studies on differentiation and oncogenesis and for diagnostic applications.

Animals

Induction of erythropoietin responsiveness in murine hematopoietic cells by the gag-myb-ets-containing ME26 virus.

ME26 virus, which was generated by inserting the coding region of the acute avian leukemia-inducing virus E26 into a murine retrovirus vector, encodes a 135-kDa gag-myb-ets fusion protein. Amphotropic murine leukemia virus pseudotypes of ME26 virus induce a high incidence of erythroleukemia 2 to 4 months after injection into newborn NFS/N mice. Spleen cells from the majority of these mice proliferate to high levels in the presence of the erythroid hormone erythropoietin (Epo) and can easily be established as permanent Epo-dependent cell lines. The cell lines contain multiple copies of ME26 viral DNA and express viral message and protein. An Epo receptor mRNA of normal size can be detected in these cells, and binding studies reveal a single class of lower-affinity Epo receptor with an affinity for Epo that is in the range of that previously reported for erythroid cells. The ME26 virus-induced Epo-dependent cell lines, however, appear more immature than previously described erythroid cell lines and more closely resemble early hematopoietic precursor cells, suggesting that the virus may be activating the Epo receptor in hematopoietic cells that do not normally express it. Consistent with this idea, we are able to infect an interleukin-3-dependent myeloid cell line, FDC-P2, with ME26 virus and convert it to Epo dependence. The ME26 virus-infected FDC-P2 cells, even before growth on Epo, showed a large increase in the amount of Epo receptor mRNA. However, no ME26 viral integrations can be detected adjacent to the Epo receptor gene, indicating that the virus is not activating the Epo receptor gene by promoter/enhancer insertion. Our results are more consistent with the hypothesis that the gag-myb-ets-encoded viral fusion protein, which is known to bind DNA, is directly or indirectly activating the expression of the Epo receptor gene in these cells.

Animals

Evaluation of carcinoembryonic antigen, tissue polypeptide antigen, and squamous cell carcinoma antigen in the detection of cervical cancers.

Cervical cancer is a predomiannt gynecologic neoplasia in Taiwan. The associations of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) for detection of cervical cancers with type of cancer, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis were studied. Serum samples were collected from 395 patients with cervical cancers (61 CIN3, 334 squamous cell carcinoma, 18 adenocarcinoma), 72 patients with benign gynecologic diseases and 115 healthy controls. The sensitivities of CEA, TPA, and SCC-Ag were 15.2%, 33.6%, and 49.3%. The specificities were 89.3%, 96.2%, and 95.1%, respectively. The positive rate of CEA was found significantly higher among patients with adenocarcinoma than those with squamous cell carcinoma. The positive rate of CEA and SCC-Ag increased with advance of the clinical stages. There was no significant difference in the rate of each tumor marker between patients with lymph node metastasis and those without metastasis. The positive rate obtained by SCC-Ag alone was comparable to those by the combinations of two or three antigens. The result of the present study indicates that SCC-Ag is the most useful tumor marker in the detection of cervical cancers.

Adenocarcinoma

A novel human homeobox gene lies at the chromosome 10 breakpoint in lymphoid neoplasias with chromosomal translocation t(10;14).

The translocation t(10;14)(q24;q11) is an acquired change seen in 4% to 7% of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALL). We previously demonstrated that the translocation juxtaposes the T-cell receptor (TCR) delta-chain gene in chromosome 14q11 with a novel region in chromosome 10q24 and is likely catalyzed by recombinases normally involved in the generation of immunoglobulin and TCR diversity. We now present the sequence of a gene on chromosome 10 that lies immediately telomeric of the breakpoints in nine new ALL patients with acquired rearrangements in 10q24. The gene is a novel human homeobox gene and is expressed in leukemic cells from ALL patients with rearrangements in a defined chromosome 10 breakpoint cluster region, but not in other adult tissues or cell lines. This new gene has been designated HOX11. Our results strongly support a role for homeobox genes in oncogenesis and may represent the first example of a human cancer in which deregulated expression of an unaltered homeobox gene is involved in tumorigenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence

A reevaluation of 202 patients after surgical removal of intrahepatic stones: with special emphasis on intrahepatic biliary stricture.

Intrahepatic stones are one of the most distressing problems of biliary diseases in the Orient. Surgical treatment, though greatly advanced over the last ten years, still poses a relatively high incidence of residual and recurrent stones. There were 258 patients treated by surgery for intrahepatic stones over a seven-year period at Yuan General Hospital in Taiwan. Among them, 202 patients (78.3%) were adequately followed up. The patients included 82 men and 120 women with a mean age of 40.5 years. There were 111 cases (55.0%) involving only the left side, 37 cases (18.3%) involving only the right side and 54 cases (26.7%) involving both hepatic biliary trees. Hepatic resection, either segmentectomy or lobectomy (37 cases, 18.3%) and extended choledocholithotomy with or without drainage procedures (165 cases, 81.7%) were the surgical procedures carried out in these patients. Treatment failure was defined by the existence of stones, residual or recurrent in the bile ducts. The failure rate of extended choledocholithotomy (32/165, 23.6%) was higher than that of hepatic resection (3/37, 8.1%) although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). The addition of various drainage procedures did not appear to affect the outcome of extended choledocholithotomy (p = 0.23). A significant number of patients had intrahepatic strictures in the biliary tracts. (62 cases, 30.7%). The overall treatment failure rate in patients with intrahepatic biliary stricture was significantly higher (28/62, 45.2%, p = 0.001) than those without stricture (14/100, 14%). However, hepatic resection was associated with a significantly lower failure rate than other treatment modalities (p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Clinical diagnosis in microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

This retrospective study collected the surgical tissues and the clinical records of 197 surgically treated patients with microinvasive carcinoma of the cervix, which was defined as a limited microinvasion not more than 3 mm in depth regardless of lymph-vascular involvement. Depth of invasion was 1 mm or less in 13.2% and 1.1 to 3 mm in 86.8%. The mean age was 47.2 years. About half of the patients were asymptomatic but suspected cytologically. Random cervical biopsy alone was inadequate for diagnosis. Cone biopsy demonstrated an accuracy of 94% in diagnosis, but failed to eliminate microinvasive carcinoma in 23.0% of the hysterectomy specimens. In 14 cases, the invasion was more extensive in the uterus than in the cone. A positive correlation has been found between the diagnostic rate of conization and the depth of stromal invasion. Cervical conization, while relatively accurate in assessing the existence of stromal invasion that characterizes microinvasion, failed to diagnose those with deeper stromal invasion, especially beyond 1 mm. The recommended approach in diagnosing microinvasion is careful colposcope-directed cone biopsy and proper examination of the conization specimen in order to exclude the possibility of more advanced disease.

Adult

Properties of a murine retroviral recombinant of avian acute leukemia virus E26: a murine fibroblast assay for v-ets function.

A replication-defective murine retroviral construct, termed pME26, was generated by inserting avian gag-myb-ets sequences derived from the cloned avian acute leukemia virus E26 into an Abelson murine leukemia virus-derived retroviral vector. ME26 virus can be rescued efficiently from transfected NIH 3T3 cells by replicating murine leukemia viruses. Either pME26-transfected nonproducers or ME26 virus-infected NIH 3T3 cells expressed a 135-kilodalton fusion protein (p135) which was detectable by immunoprecipitation with antiserum directed against avian leukemia virus p27gag, myb or ets oncogene protein, or murine leukemia virus p15gag and was principally localized in the nucleus. NIH 3T3 cells infected with ME26 exhibited morphological alterations and increased proliferation in reduced serum and formed small colonies in agar suspension. Discrete foci could be readily recognized in cells maintained in a defined medium containing 0.03 to 0.1% calf serum. In newborn NFS/N mice, ME26 induced a significantly higher mortality and incidence of erythroid and myeloid leukemias. Analysis of a series of mutants affecting the expression of various portions of p135 indicated that the v-ets gene acts to mitogenically stimulate the proliferation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and reduces or abolishes their serum dependence. These properties provide an assay system to study functions of the ets gene family.

Animals

Simultaneous endometrioid carcinoma of the uterine corpus and ovary.

The carcinoma with simultaneous involvement of the endometrium and the ovary is an uncommon but well recognized event. The determination of clinical stage depends on which of the two sites is considered to be the primary. Combined involvement may occasionally represent independent primary neoplasm. A review of all cases with a tissue diagnosis of endometrioid ovarian carcinoma and concomitant endometrial carcinoma was undertaken to identify those cases which possibly had independent primaries. Three such cases with disease confined to the pelvis were identified on the basis of pathologic features. The incidence of endometrial carcinoma in patients with endometrioid ovarian carcinoma was 15.8% (3/19). They were treated surgically with adjuvant therapy. Two patients died of disseminated carcinoma 1 and 4 years later respectively. The only one patient alive had been free of disease for 25 months after initial therapy. These endometrioid neoplasms simultaneously occurring in ovary and endometrium are considered to be primary tumors. The morphologic reasons for this view are discussed.

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