PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D L Ahmann

Publications and source records attributed to D L Ahmann.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Blood transfusion exposure does not influence survival in patients with carcinoma of the breast.

There is abundant evidence of immune modulation induced by exposure to blood transfusions. Some studies have demonstrated a detrimental effect of transfusion on the recurrence of malignant disease and survival. We retrospectively studied the impact of blood transfusion exposure on 229 patients with breast cancer who were seen from July 1973 to September 1980, had at least 5 years' follow-up and had been randomized by therapy at the time of diagnosis. The patients were divided into four groups according to transfusion history: Group 1 (111 patients), no transfusion; Group 2 (34 patients), first transfusion after mastectomy; Group 3 (41 patients), first transfusion at mastectomy; and Group 4 (43 patients), first transfusion before mastectomy. All transfused patients received red cells or whole blood or both. At the time of analysis, 124 (54%) of the patients had died. Only Group 2 was statistically associated with decreased survival; recurrence of disease was 85 percent in this group, compared with 53 percent to 61 percent in the other three groups (p = 0.006, log-rank test). In general, Group 2 patients received transfusions because of recurrent disease. We conclude that transfusions before or at mastectomy are not associated with increased recurrence or reduced survival in patients with breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Urinary excretion of polyamines by patients with advanced malignancy.

Levels of putrescrine, spermidine, and spermine in urine were determined by means of a sensitive ion-exchange chromatographic method in patients with advanced solid tumor malignancies, in patients with diseases other than cancer, and in normal control subjects. Elevation above 2 SDS of the normal mean were found in varying number of patients in each tumor category. For those malignancies studied that involved more than 20 patients, the greatest incidences of increased excretion were 66% for spermine in patients with colon carcinoma and 50% for putrescine and spermidine in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. The highest levels and greatest frequency of elevated polyamine levels were found in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma, and changes in clinical tumor status associated with treatment appeared to correlate well with polyamine levels in this disease. Abnormal amounts of polyamines were also excreted by some patients with diseases other than cancer, indicating that increased polyamine excretion is not restricted or specific to the neoplastic state. It was also found that the levels of polyamines were apparently not affected by the intake of meat or the diet eaten, and remained in a rather narrow excretion range for any one individual at different time intervals. This study was carried out as part of a program to determine and evaluate biologic materials present in body fluids that may be used to follow and evaluate response or progression of neoplastic disease in patients during treatment regimens. The results suggest that abnormal urinary polyamine levels may be characteristic of neoplastic growth for some patients with malignant disease. Further studies are necessary to determine if these compounds may be helpful in assessing disease status for patients with such solid tumor malignancies as colon and bronchogenic carcinoma although their potential as useful "biologic markers" appears less promising than originally anticipated.

Adult↗