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Biomedical subjects

G Methlin

Publications and source records attributed to G Methlin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Gastric teratoma in newborn children].

In neonates, teratomas infrequently involve the abdomen: among 51 known cases, 39 were gastric teratomas, which account for less than 2% of all germ cell tumors in the neonatal period. Associated malformations are minor, located in the region of the tumor, and apparently less frequent than in other sites. Malignancy is exceedingly rare (a single case) and well controlled as a result of the anti-tumor processes specific to the neonatal period. Gastric teratomas are diagnosed early and can be cured by tumorectomy removing a thin ring of the surrounding stomach wall.

Humans

[Thyroid microcarcinoma with a fatal outcome and 34 other unusually aggressive cases reported in the literature].

A follicular thyroid microcarcinoma was revealed by scapular metastases. Despite treatment, other metastases were the cause of death after a course of 14 years. In the medical literature there are at least thirty-four other examples of follicular or papillary carcinoma of less than 15 mm (previously called occult) that have either given rise to blood-born metastases or have been the cause of death. Present data from light and electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and microspectrophotometry cannot differentiate between small and large carcinomas. Microcarcinomas (particularly papillary ones) are frequent in the general population and are found in 5% of thyroids. They are usually not aggressive. Those which show vascular or capsular invasion, a lack of lymphoid infiltrate and large cervical lymph node metastases are more likely to have an unfavorable course. The discovery of a microcarcinoma in a thyroid cells for an extended follow-up.

Adenocarcinoma

[Thyroid function after thyroidectomy for benign goiter. 200 cases explored by ultrasensitive TSH].

Based on a retrospective study of a series of 200 thyroidectomies for benign goitre and a mean follow up period of 12 Months, the authors analysed post-operative thyroid function and correlated it with the degree of surgical excision (47 unilateral lobectomies, 91 classical subtotal bilateral lobectomies and 62 extended bilateral subtotal lobectomies). After a presentation of the results in comparison with data from the literature, the timing and threshold for the institution of replacement therapy are examined and the need for prolonged clinical and laboratory monitoring is also stressed. In terms of changes in laboratory criteria only monitoring of spontaneous changes in US TSH allows opotherapy to be avoided or conversely to accurately define the conditions for institution of definitive replacement therapy. The justification of total thyroidectomy in the treatment of multihetoronodular goitres almost totally involving the glandular parenchyma is acknowledged.

Adolescent

[Therapeutic results in a series of 73 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

From 1975 to 1982, 73 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated in Strasbourg (Centre Paul Strauss) and Metz (CHR Bon Secours). 34.1% of the patients were of maghrebine origin, the others were europeans. Two histological types were studied: undifferentiated carcinomas of UCNT type, spinocellulars carcinomas of CS type. 60.3% of the patients had T3 and T4 stages, and only 27.4% of the patients had no pathological nodal. As to treatment, radiotherapy is the best choice, because of the deep situation and the frequent involvement of nodals in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Taking into account the level of radiation doses, complications remain acceptable. The rate of overall failure is 51.3% at 3 years. The prognostic factors are essentially linked with sex, age, tumor site, site, histological type, T stage of UICC classification and TNM of the same classification, N stage of HO classification, and evaluation of treatment response realised at 4 months. The crude overall survival rate is 52% for patients of the serie.

Adult

Quantitative bone scintigraphy: usefulness in the survey of patients treated for bone metastasis of prostatic cancer.

The purpose of this study was to develop a quantitative bone scintigraphy (QBS) method in order to evaluate the evolution of bone metastases in patients treated for disseminated prostatic cancer. Data obtained by whole body scintigraphy after injection of 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate enabled us to define three indexes, GR, R1 and R2. They respectively represent the amount of activity retained in the bones, in the metastatic sites and in pathological sites related to the global activity of the skeleton. Repeated QBSs have been performed on 59 patients with prostatic carcinoma treated for bone metastasis with hormonal therapy. Results of QBS are well correlated to clinical findings, particularly pain evolution. In addition, the calculated indexes of QBS made it possible to distinguish three groups of patients according to regression, stabilization or evolution of their lesions under hormonal therapy. QBS seems to be a sensitive and useful test for the evaluation of the therapeutic efficiency on bone metastases from prostatic carcinoma.

Bone Neoplasms

[Gastroesophageal reflux in asthmatic and chronic bronchitis patients].

To determine the relationship between gastroesophageal (GE) reflux and pulmonary disease, we studied 21 asthmatics, 30 chronic bronchitics, 6 patients with GE reflux and no pulmonary symptoms, and 10 control subjects; GE reflux was diagnosed by pH monitoring and GE scintiscanning. Frequency of GE reflux in the asthmatics was 57%; in chronic bronchitis it was 56%. Pulmonary function tests did not show any differences between patients with or without reflux. The GE reflux episodes were more numerous but shorter in asthmatics than in chronic bronchitis. Patients with digestive symptoms alone were no different from chronic bronchitis with respect to reflux. The mechanism whereby reflux triggers pulmonary problems was investigated using the following 2 tests: scintiscan for pulmonary aspiration, and esophageal acid infusion (0.1N HCI). Six pulmonary aspirations were detected. Only asthmatics, with or without reflux, showed any significant variations in maximal expiratory flow at 50% and 25% of VC after HCI infusion. Thus, our results show that asthmatics differ from bronchitis patients by the characteristics of their reflux.

Adult

[190 cancers of the thyroid with a follow-up of more than 5 years].

Outcome in 190 patients operated upon by first intention for thyroid cancer is analyzed after follow up over more than 5 years. No deaths due to cancer occurred in 57 cases of papillary cancer, but 7 cases presented pulmonary metastases, while the global-5-year survival rate in 63 cases of vesicular cancer (including 25% with preoperative metastases) was 60%. In the absence of preoperative metastases, ans if well differentiated forms are separated from moderately differentiated forms, the respective 5-year survivals were 88 and 45%. The 1-year survival rate for the 42 cases of anaplastic cancer was 15%, while the 5-year rate for 15 cases of medullary cancer was 80%.

Adult

Characterization of cell types in human breast tumor primary cultures.

Primary cultures of cells from breast carcinomas were attempted in 74 cases. Growth was observed in 46 cases. Using immunochemical demonstration of keratin proteins (KER), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), three morphologically distinct cell populations were characterized and described. Two cell types (E- and E'-cells) were identified as epithelial by their positive staining for KER and EMA. The third type (F cells) displayed a negative staining for these two epithelial markers; they were considered as stromal cells (fibroblasts). More than 50% of the cultures consisted of pure epithelial cells. Positive CEA staining was observed only in KER- and EMA-positive cells. Out of the 30 cultures, 15 displayed positive staining for CEA. In 7 of these, 30-50% of cells displayed positive, diffuse staining for CEA. The other 8 cultures consisted of more than 50% CEA-positive cells. Strong and homogeneous positivity was restricted to the E-cells, while in the same cultures, E'-cells displayed heterogeneous and diffuse staining. Efficiency and value of this cell culture system are discussed, in comparison with other human breast tumor cell (HBTC) culture techniques. Identification of growing cells and cellular composition of primary cultures are emphasized.

Breast Neoplasms

Gastroesophageal reflux in patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis.

To determine the relationship between gastroesophageal (GE) reflux and pulmonary disease, we studied 21 asthmatics, 30 chronic bronchitics, 6 patients with GE reflux and no pulmonary symptoms, and 10 control subjects; GE reflux was diagnosed by pH monitoring and GE scintiscanning. Frequency of GE reflux in the asthmatics was 57%; in the chronic bronchitics it was 56%. Pulmonary function tests did not show any differences between patients with or without reflux. The GE reflux episodes were more numerous but shorter in asthmatics than in chronic bronchitics. Patients with digestive symptoms alone were no different from chronic bronchitics with respect to reflux. The mechanism whereby reflux triggers pulmonary problems was investigated using the following 2 tests: scintiscan for pulmonary aspiration, and esophageal acid infusion (0.1N HCl). Six pulmonary aspirations were detected. Only asthmatics, with or without reflux, showed any significant variations in maximal expiratory flow at 50% and 25% of VC after HCl infusion. Thus, our results show that asthmatics differ from chronic bronchitics by the characteristics of their reflux.

Adult

[Thyroid carcinoma in an adult cystic teratoma of the ovary with bony metastases].

An oophorectomy specimen in a patient aged 36 showed a dermoid cyst with a struma ovarii and what was considered to be a folliculo-trabecular adenoma. Two osseous metastases appeared 4 and 8 years later respectively. The follow-up so far is 15 years. This is the twentieth reported case of mature cystic teratoma of the ovary containing metastating thyroid carcinoma.

Adult

[Circulating immune complexes in breast cancer].

The occurrence of circulating immune complexes (CIC) was investigated in serum samples from 139 patients with breast cancer, using the 125I-C1q binding test. In the 85 cases of regional forms, the level of Clq binding activity did not appear to be correlated with the clinical TN stage, nor with the local treatment of the tumor. Conversely it was clearly elevated in the 13 cases of inflammatory breast tumors, and the decrease of CIC at the post-chemotherapy, but pre-surgical stage may involve the inflammatory signs in this augmentation of CIC. Frequency of occurrence and levels of CIC were slightly increased in the 41 metastatic breast cancer patients when compared to the cases of local breast carcinoma. In the disseminated forms, increase, no change, or decrease of CIC levels showed a poor correlation to progression, stabilisation, or improvement of the disease. CIC seems to be of slight prognostic value in breast cancer with local forms, but regarding progression of the disease, metastatic breast cancer patients with elevated CIC did not prove to be unfavorable group. So far, CIC did not appear to be a tumor marker or an evident prognostic factor of clinical relevance in breast cancer. Assays for antigen-specific CIC might be of greater clinical significance, in breast cancer, than the antigen non specific assays available at present.

Acute Disease

Proteinases and sialyltransferase in human breast tumors.

Proteolytic and sialyltransferase activities were determined in extracts of 65 human primary breast tumors, 6 lymph node metastases, 6 fibroadenomas and 27 normal tissues. Using proteins and synthetic selective substrates, we observed the presence of collagen-peptidases, plasminogen activator, cathepsin-B and cathepsin-D-like enzymes, and sialyltransferase. No active or trypsin-activatable type-IV collagenase activity was detected. Although individual variations between tumors were large, proteinase and sialyltransferase contents were significantly elevated in malignant breast tissues. Enzyme activities were found to be related to the epithelial volume of the tumor. No significant correlation was found between the proteinase or sialyltransferase activities and the degree of differentiation of the tumor cells, or the degree to which tumors had metastasized to regional lymph nodes. Since large variations of enzyme levels apparently reflect the heterogeneity of epithelial cell densities in tumor samples, proteolytic or sialyltransferase activities cannot therefore be used as a measure of quantitative evaluation of invasive properties in breast cancer.

Adenocarcinoma

Relationship between pulmonary artery mean pressure and the vertical gradient of perfusion in chronic respiratory diseases.

The relationship between mean pulmonary artery pressure (PPA) and the regional distribution of perfusion, investigated with 133Xe, was studied in 67 patients with chronic respiratory diseases, including 57 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The vertical gradient of perfusion, assessed by the ratio upper/lower perfusion (RQ), was considered as normal when RQ was less than or equal to 0.85. Patients were divided into three groups: no pulmonary hypertension, mild hypertension, moderate to severe hypertension. RQ was normal in the majority of patients, even in the group with PPA greater than 30 mm Hg. The average values of RQ did not significantly differ from one group to another. There was no correlation between PPA or pulmonary vascular resistance and RQ. These results suggest that the vertical gradient of perfusion is generally conserved and that the distribution of perfusion cannot provide any reliable prediction of pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Adult

Detection of right ventricular pressure overloading by thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy. Results in 57 patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

The diagnostic value of thallium 201 (201Tl) myocardial imaging was studied in 57 patients with chronic respiratory diseases, most with COPD (n = 46), by comparing the results to hemodynamic findings. In healthy subjects, the right ventricle (RV) is not visualized; therefore, any recorded activity of the RV was considered as indicating RV hypertrophy due to RV pressure overloading (RVPO). RV activity was graded from 0 (no activity) to 3 (activity greater than or equal to that of the left ventricle). Patients were divided into three groups according to the level of the pulmonary artery mean pressure (PPA): PPA less than or equal to 20 mm Hg (no pulmonary arterial hypertension [PAH] ) = group 1, n = 20; PPA ranging from 21 to 30 mm Hg (mild to moderate PAH) = group 2, n = 20; PPA greater than 30 mm Hg (marked PAH) = group 3, n = 17. RV was visualized in 14 patients in group 3 (82 percent) and in 13 patients in group 2 (65 percent). For all patients with PAH (2 + 3) the sensitivity of 201Tl imaging for the diagnosis of RVPO was of 73 percent, higher than that of ECG and echocardiography (both 51 percent). The sensitivity of 201Tl, even if moderate (65 percent) was better than that of ECG (30 percent) or echo (40 percent) in patients with mild-to-moderate PAH (group 2). A high RV activity (grade 3) was observed in only three patients. The specificity of this method (obtained from results in group 1) was of 80 percent vs 89 percent for echo and 100 percent for ECG. These results suggest that 201Tl myocardial imaging is a rather sensitive method and could be of interest for the noninvasive diagnosis of RVPO in COPD patients.

Adult