Thirty-nine evaluable patients with squamous cell lung carcinoma were treated with combination chemotherapy consisting of doxorubicin, oncovin, bleomycin, cytembena and cis-platin. Objective responses were seen in 46 per cent of the patients. Patients with limited disease had a response rate of 56 per cent. Two of the four complete responses were endoscopically and histologically verified. The median survival time was 37.6 and 26.3 weeks for patients with limited and extensive disease, respectively (p less than 0.05), and 29.9 weeks for the whole group. Hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicities were moderate. There was one drug-related death due to septicemia and 2 reversible acute renal failures. The chemotherapeutic combination appears to be relatively effective. It causes some tumor regression and may extend the survival of responding patients with acceptable quality of life. Maintenance chemotherapy with CCNU, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, procarbazine alternating with vinblastine, nitrogen-mustard, methotrexate, procarbazine, frequently had to be discontinued because of severe toxicity.

Acrylates↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Recent progress made in the classification of lymphoid and monocytoid leukemias and of lympho- and reticulo-sarcomas].

New methods helpful in the classification of lymphoid and monocytoid leukaemias and haematosarcomas have recently become available. Among the most valuable procedures have been those detecting immunological markers and the ultrastructural analysis permitted by convention and scanning electron microscopy. The results of these studies, taken together with a meticulous morphologic examination on Giemsa smears allow a more subtle classification on these neoplasias. Among the most interesting points, one can list: a) The description of macroglobulinemic proplasmocytic leukaemia; b) The observation that all the prognostic parameters in the four types of common acute lymphoid leukaemia (ALL) (prolymphocytic, microlymphocytic, macrolymphocytic, prolymphoblastic) such as age, tumour mass (or leucocytosis are related to the cytological type); T marker may be found in all these types, except for the prolymphoblastic one; c) T or B immunoblastic acute lymphoid leukaemias have been described as a fifth type of ALL; d) The lymphosarcomas which can be histologically nodular (composed of B cells) or diffuse (composed of cells presenting B, T or no markers) can be cytologically prolymphocytic or lymphoblastic (or lymphoblastoid) if they are nodular, prolymphocytic, lymphoblastic, or immunoblastic if they are diffuse; true (African) Burkitt's lymphosarcomas (BLS) must be distinguished from all the pseudo (non-African) Burkitt's lymphosarcomas which have been described elsewhere and which are either immunoblastic or lymphoblastic (oid) lymphosarcomas with a few macrophages; e) The diagnosis of reticulosarcoma which was in the past abusively carried out (because of confusion with immunoblastic lymphosarcoma) is based on the presence of many reticluins fibers at histological examination and on the cytological aspect of the cells on smears (the distinction of those cells with immunoblasts is easy).

B-Lymphocytes↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Non-Hodgkin hematosarcomas. Classification of the Reference Center of the World Health Organization (WHO)].

At the request of the Leukaemia and Haematosarcoma Reference Centre of the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.), one of the authors (G.M.) has suggested a classification taking into account the most recent knowledge and all parameters (histological, cytological and immunological) necessary for the categorisation of non-Hodgkin's haematosarcomas. He has employed traditional terminology, thereby avoiding the jargon used by certain authors which is not justified in the light of modern scientific knowledge which, more than ever, merits the use of classical terminology. The authors present this W.H.O. classification for the first time to the french press. The reader will find familiar terms such as "lymphosarcoma", which may take a nodular or diffuse form (in the second case the recently identified immunoblastic form is introduced and mycosis fungoides is placed in the category) and reticulosarcoma. Microscopic typing of a haematosarcoma is essential since the various types differe considerably in their sensitivity to treatment with a corresponding difference in the chance of cure. The potential for cure is also dependent upon the topographic stage which should be determined by a series of routine step which may still be recommended today but which may be useless in the future by virtue of the frequency of disseminated forms in relation to localized forms, and of the remarkable effectiveness and constant progress of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

B-Lymphocytes↗