PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Tykkä

Publications and source records attributed to H Tykkä.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Serum VEGF levels in women with a benign breast tumor or breast cancer.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability. Many types of malignant human tumors have been shown to produce VEGF. Recently, increased serum concentrations of VEGF (S-VEGF) have been reported in patients with various types of cancer, and high S-VEGF levels have also been associated with unfavorable prognosis. We have now measured S-VEGF in sera taken from 105 patients with a benign breast tumor or breast cancer. None of the women with a benign breast tumor had S-VEGF higher than 328 pg/ml (median, 57 pg/ml) whereas S-VEGF levels in metastatic breast cancer ranged from 7 to 1347 pg/ml (median, 186 pg/ml; P = 0.0018), and in locoregional breast cancer from 11 to 539 pg/ml (median, 104 pg/ml; P = 0.13). S-VEGF was higher in patients with locoregional ductal cancer (median, 107 pg/ml) than in those with locoregional lobular cancer (median, 44 pg/ml; P = 0.029) or in patients with benign breast tumor (median, 57 pg/ml; P = 0.033). Patients with metastatic cancer undergoing therapy had lower S-VEGF than those who had symptomatic treatment only (P = 0.021). The results indicate that dissemination of breast cancer may be accompanied by an elevation of circulating VEGF and that primary ductal cancers are associated with higher S-VEGF levels than lobular cancers or benign breast lesions.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Primary arterioenteric fistula between common iliac artery and ileum with massive bleeding.

Primary iliac artery aneurysms are rare, and a fistula to the terminal ileum with bleeding is very uncommon. A case with a primary massively bleeding iliaco-ileal fistula is described. In an emergency operation the common iliac artery was ligated and the fistula to the small bowel was resected. Arterial reconstruction was done by extra-anatomical femoro-femoral suprapubic prosthesis. The immediate outcome of the operation was excellent, but the patient died four days later because of acute myocardial infarction.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Postoperative active specific immunotherapy with supportive measures in patients suffering from recurrent metastasized melanoma: case reports of six patients.

The clinical results from postoperative active specific immunotherapy using autologous polymerized tumor material in six patients suffering from metastasized melanoma is reported. Correction of an alleged systemic deficiency leading to malignant cell transformation was attempted by administering certain essential trace elements, amino acids, vitamins, and a diet containing lipids, extracted from the mammalian central nervous system, after heating. Vaccinations against influenza were also given as a precaution against certain viral infections sometimes seen to precede melanoma recurrence. The clinical results with this postoperative adjuvant therapy are so encouraging that we suggest that sterile tumor tissue should be saved at operation and treated to produce insoluble particles as an option for postoperative treatment of patients suffering from metastasized melanoma. Prospective randomized studies are indicated.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Active specific immunotherapy with supportive measures in the treatment of palliatively nephrectomized, renal adenocarcinoma patients. A thirteen-year follow-up study.

The results of a 13-year (1971-1984) follow-up of specific active immunotherapy using polymerized autologous tumor tissue with adjuvants and supportive measures, following palliative nephrectomy in 71 patients suffering from advanced renal adenocarcinoma, are presented. The control patient group comprised 56 patients who received the best possible conservative treatment available. The statistically calculated life expectancy in the immunotherapy group is 44.5 months (SE 5.7) and in the control group 19.0 months (SE 3.3). The difference is statistically highly significant (generalized Wilcoxon [Breslow], t = 14.9, p less than 0.0001). There were no serious side effects from the immunization. The supportive measures entailing the administration of factors involved in cell regulatory functions mediated by the central nervous system, amino acids, trace elements, hormones and vitamins has still to be optimized.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1981

Evolution of the age distribution and mortality of acute appendicitis.

Death due to appendicitis is still a significant occurrence. The stage when the disease is diagnosed and operation occurs has a decisive influence on the mortality. In our series of 9,652 cases of appendicitis, 26 patients died (0.27%)-ten (0.12%) of nonperforative appendicitis, and 16 (1.18%) of perforative appendicitis. Both the patients and the physician can delay treatment. The proportion of fatal cases is six times as great in perforative appendicitis is in those operated on in time. The deaths in those with a perforated appendix were usually caused by the basic disease or the surgical procedure, while in patients with unperforated appendixes, death was most commonly caused by other concomitant diseases. The proportion of the elderly in our series increased along with the rise in the average age of the population. The symptoms of acute appendicitis and the clinical findings are identical in the elderly and in the younger patients, but the disease in the aged advanced more rapidly to perforation and the mortality among them was higher. Active and careful attention to patients with possible diagnosis of appendicitis, especially in the elderly, is important.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Phospholipase A2 inhibitors and their possible clinical use in the treatment of acute pancreatitis.

A laboratory method was established for measurement of phospholipase A2 activity in buffer and serum. A series of different phospholipase A2 inhibitors was tested. The most effective inhibitors were Ca2+ chelating compounds like EDTA, DTPA, EGTA, and phytic acid. The calcium salt of EDTA also has some inhibitory effect. Serum phospholipase A2 activity in normal healthy control patients was measured. The activity in 27 patients with acute pancreatitis was tested. The activity was abnormally high in five patients. This activity was in vitro inhibited by EDTA and partly by CaNa2EDTA. The clinical picture of these patients did not differ from that of phospholipase-A2-negative patients. Six patients with acute pancreatitis were treated by intravenous infusion of CaNA2EDTA. Two of them had haemorrhagic pancreatitis and two were suspected of having early haemorrhagic pancreatitis. During the CaNa2EDTA infusion serum amylase and phospholipase A2 activities decreased. All patients recovered. No harmful side effects were noticed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

Immunoglobulin M antibody response against Mycoplasma pneumoniae lipid antigen in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Serial serum samples from patients with acute pancreatitis showed a significant increase in antibodies against methanol-chloroform-extracted lipid antigen from Mycoplasma pneumoniae when tested by complement fixation. The antibodies did not react with antigens prepared from other human mycoplasmas or from pancreatic tissue by lipid extraction. The antibodies were predominantly immunoglobulin M (IgM). No correlation with cold agglutinins or cardiolipid complement-fixing antibodies was found. The IgM antibody response seemed to be prolonged: after 3 to 4 weeks the antibodies were still in many cases exclusively IgM. Similar IgM responses were also found in certain cases of acute meningoencephalitis. We postulate that during the disease antigenic components identical or very similar to major determinants in the M. pneumoniae lipid antigen are revealed and elicit the IgM antibody response. Their resemblance to natural antibodies and their possible biological role is discussed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

Active specific immunotherapy of advanced renal-cell carcinoma.

The results of a specific active immunotherapy method following palliative nephrectomy in 31 patients suffering from advanced renal-cell carcinoma are presented. The control patient group comprised of 23 comparable cases, who did not receive immunotherapy. The minimum follow-up time for any patient is 4 years. The statistical 5-year survival rate of the immunotherapy group is 23.6% (SE = 7.8). 7 patients are still alive. The 5-year survival rate of the control group is 4.3% (SE = 4.3), without a single survival. The difference is statistically highly significant (p less than 0.001). No side effects were noted from this form of immunotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1978

BK and Herpes simplex virus antibodies in renal cell carcinoma.

Serum antibodies against BK virus (BKV) and seven other viruses were studied in 76 patients with renal cell carcinoma using either the haemagglutination inhibition or the complement fixation techneque. BKV and herpes simplex virus (HSV), but no other virus antibodies, showed a clear correlation with the clinical course of renal carcinomas. The patients without BKV antibodies or with marginal antibody titres (titre less than or equal to 10), had a significantly longer observed expectation of life (O.E. life, 44.1 months) than the O.E. life (26.7 months) of the patients with BKV antibodies of titre less than or equal to 20. Similarly, patients with low or undetectable HSV antibodies (titre less than or equal to 8) also had significantly longer O.E. life (54.0 months) than the rest of the patients (32.7 months). The results suggest that BKV and HSV have an as yet underfined relationship to renal cell carcinomas.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1977

Solitary diverticulum of the caecum and its complications.

Solitary diverticulum of the caecum is very rare and assumes clinical interest only when inflamed. Preoperatively the condition is virtually impossible to distinguish from acute appendicitis, and even during operation its differentiation from carcinoma is difficult. It is also important to determine whether or not an underlying solitary diverticulum of the caecum is present. In the present series the symptoms and clinical examination as well as laboratory findings pointed to acute appendicitis, which was in fact the preoperative diagnosis in all our patients. In one case the operative findings were strongly suggestive of carcinoma, which was only excluded by inspection and histological examination of the specimen. The wall of the diverticulum was necrotic in all cases. It had already perforated in the previously mentioned case, and right hemicolectomy was performed. An inflamed, but recognizable, solitary diverticulum of the caecum was treated by excision, but the tumour-like mass produced by the diverticulum was removed by resection. In view of the considerable possibility of underlying carcinoma, the authors support an aggressive trend in the treatment of "inflammatory tumours" of the caecal wall.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Carcinoma arising in a mesenteric cyst.

A report is presented in which a mesenteric cyst underwent a malignant change. A survey of the origin, symptoms, and treatment of mesenteric cysts is also included. The histologic picture of the case is described, the origin of the cyst discussed, and a comparison made with the two similar cases reported in the literature.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗