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Biomedical subjects

K Griffiths

Publications and source records attributed to K Griffiths.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Therapeutic potential of the LHRH agonist, ICI 118630, in the treatment of advanced prostatic carcinoma.

8 patients with advanced prostatic carcinoma were treated with the luteinising-hormone releasing-hormone agonist, ICI 118630, for up to 3 months. Patients received subcutaneous injections of ICI 118630 (either 100 micrograms or 250 micrograms daily). At the higher dose level, plasma testosterone concentrations were significantly reduced by day 14 and approximated to those previously recorded in castrated or diethylstilboestrol-treated patients. Plasma concentrations of luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone were similarly reduced. Reduction in the dose, to 100 micrograms/day, similarly reduced plasma testosterone. ICI 118630 shows considerable potential for the management of patients with advanced carcinoma of the prostate.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1983

Trends in peptic ulcer related diseases from 1972 to 1980. Hospital activity analysis data and general practice cimetidine prescribing levels.

Between 1972 and 1980 Hospital Activity Analysis from 5 Northern Ireland Hospitals demonstrated a gradual increase in the number of patients discharged for all diagnoses whilst there was a decline in discharges for peptic ulcer related disease, (duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer, gastrojejunal ulcer, peptic ulcer site unspecified and hiatal hernia). The mean number of peptic ulcer related disease discharges per year for 1977-80, when cimetidine became generally available, was 10% lower than that of 1972-76, mainly due to a decline in male patient numbers. The mean annual number of male patients with a duodenal ulcer fell significantly by 18% (U = 1, p less than or equal to 0.025) during the 1977-80 period, whereas female discharges decreased by only 4%. Between 1972-76 and 1977-80 the mean annual number of duodenal ulcer perforations decreased significantly by 21% in males but only by 4% in females. Surgery for peptic ulcer related disease was 47% less in 1977-80 period, with significant decreases in duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer and hiatal hernia procedures. From 1977 to 1980 there was considerable growth in Northern Ireland general practice cimetidine prescribing with 300,000 prescriptions being dispensed over the period. Apart from male duodenal ulcer cases, hospitalisation for peptic ulcer related diseases did not decrease substantially after the introduction of cimetidine but duodenal ulcer perforation and conditions warranting surgery did decline.

Cimetidine↗
PubMed1983

Computer-aided assessment of receptor status in human breast cancer.

Computer-aided analysis of simulated cytosolic estradiol-17 beta receptor binding data using Scatchard and nonlinear Mass Action models showed the latter to be superior. Simulation studies of binding data, incorporating the magnitude and uncertainties associated with inefficiencies of separating free from bound hormone, nonspecific and specific binding, allowed the prediction of uncertainties associated with estimates of receptor content. Realistic values for the minimum detectable receptor concentration that can be distinguished from zero with a given probability were also obtained and may be used as a cutoff value for selection of patients for hormone therapy. This improved reliability in quantification should more clearly define the prognostic value of these receptor assays with respect to adjuvant therapy for primary cancer following surgery or anti-estrogen treatment for recurrent disease, thereby improving the management of breast cancer. Computer simulations and regression analyses were performed on a PDP11/34 using programs written in FORTRAN IV.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1983

Salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate levels in postmenopausal women with primary breast cancer.

Cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHAS) were measured in saliva from postmenopausal women with primary breast cancer and a control group of comparable age. Specimens were collected at 2-hr intervals during wake-span for two consecutive days, and circadian rhythmicity was demonstrated for each of the hormones in both populations. The marginally elevated levels of cortisol and lower levels of DHAS associated with the cancer group, and the larger inter-subject variation, make it unlikely that these hormone measurements would be of value in identifying women at risk of developing breast cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Bimodal age-frequency distribution of epitheliosis in cancer mastectomies: relevance to preneoplasia.

A census of epitheliosis in 500 consecutive cancer mastectomies has been carried out. The probability of concurrence of this phenomenon with cancer has a bimodal age-frequency distribution. It is high in cancer mastectomies from women in their early 40s, low in the late 50s and high again in the elderly. Epitheliosis during the reproductive life span is regarded as a reversible ovary-dependent abnormality. It is greatly increased in the premenopausal cancerous breast and it is thought that it carries increased risk for cancer initiation. In contrast the probability of epitheliosis in the breast in the elderly cancer patient is only slightly greater than in "noncancerous" post mortem breasts of similar age. Much of this "epitheliosis" may represent, in fact, indolent autonomous cancer though a small proportion could be epitheliosis supported by extraovarian estrogen.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Studies with steroid-fluorescein conjugates on oestrogen target tissues.

Steroid--fluorescein amine and steroid-BSA-fluorescein-isothiocyanate conjugates have been prepared and their ability to bind to oestrogen receptors assessed in competitive binding studies. The binding of all the fluorescent conjugates to uterine cytosol proteins was low when compared with either oestradiol or diethylstilboestrol. A comparative study was carried out to assess the relationship between oestrogen receptor content, determined biochemically, and histochemical localisation of the oestrogen binding components on thin sections of rat uteri, DMBA-induced mammary tumours and also human breast tumour tissue taken at mastectomy. The data indicate that in thin sections of tissue all of these conjugates appear to bind not to the classical oestrogen receptor moiety but to other oestrogen binding proteins.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMed1982

Proliferation of human prostatic epithelial cells in culture: aspects of identification.

A reproducible explant culture technique has been developed to study in monolayer, the growth of human prostatic epithelium from specimens of tissue removed from patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. The procedure was used to study hormone responsiveness of prostatic tissue. The cells appear to originate from the progenitors of glandular epithelium and possess epithelial characteristics, as assessed by histologic, electron microscopic and immunocytochemical procedures. Close cell-to-cell contacts, desmosomes and microvilli were visualized in electron micrographs. In addition, we observed immunocytochemical localization of epithelial antigens in the cells which constituted the monolayer by using antisera raised against purified prostatic epithelium. Prostatic acid phosphatase was not detected histochemically in the monolayers and may reflect the non-secretory state of the cells. Growth parameters under various hormonal conditions were assessed by counting metaphase arrested cells, total cell number and measurement of the area covered by the monolayers. Proliferation was significantly increased by the addition of physiological concentrations of either testosterone or 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone.

Cell Count↗
PubMed1982

Psychotropic drug use in Northern Ireland 1966-80: prescribing trends, inter- and intra-regional comparisons and relationship to demographic and socioeconomic variables.

A study of psychotropic drug prescribing, derived from the computerized pricing data in Northern Ireland from 1966, showed that the use of these drugs reached a peak in 1975, when about 12.5% of the adult population were estimated to have been receiving them, and declined in the following 5 years. Benzodioazepines accounted for three-quarters of all psychotropic drugs prescribed in 1980. Benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was consistently 20-30% higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom, in contrast to hypnotic and antidepressant prescribing which has been consistently lower. The rate of increase in benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was greater than in other European countries, but the level remains lower than in Iceland and Denmark. The influence of a number of demographic and socioeconomic variables was studied in an intra-regional analysis of the 1978 data for the 17 health districts in the province, using multivariate and multiple regression statistics. The prescribing of benzodiazepine hypnotics was almost entirely accounted for by the proportion of elderly (over 65 years) and women aged 45-59 years: neuroleptic prescribing was largely a function of factors associated with rural areas (overcrowding and unemployment) and the proportion of elderly; but neither tranquillizer, antidepressant, barbiturate hypnotic nor psychostimulant prescribing were satisfactorily explained by these variables.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1982

A prognostic index in primary breast cancer.

From a multiple-regression analysis of prognostic factors and survival in a series of 387 patients with primary breast cancer, a prognostic index has been constructed, based on lymph-node stage, tumour size and pathological grade. This index is more discriminating than lymph-node stage alone, and enables a larger group of patients to be identified with a very poor prognosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Quantitative oestradiol receptor values in primary breast cancer and response of metastases to endocrine therapy.

Quantitative values if oestradiol receptor were determined in the primary breast cancer of 526 patients, 106 of whom have so far required hormonal therapy for metastatic disease (premenopausal patients-oophorectomy; postmenopausal patients-tamoxifen 20 mg twice daily). The rate of response to treatment was significantly higher in patients with receptor-positive primary cancers, and the likelihood of response further increased in proportion to the measured receptor concentration. Preliminary data also suggest that patients with high receptor values in the primary tumour will enjoy a longer remission than those with low measured values. Assays of oestradiol receptor were also carried out on biopsy specimens of accessible metastases, largely skin and lymph-node recurrences, in 24 patients who were treated mainly with local measures. Receptor status was the same in both the primary and the secondary tumour in only 18 patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Oestrogen receptors and survival in early breast cancer.

Oestrogen receptor status was related to survival in 414 patients with primary breast cancer. Women with oestrogen receptors in their tumours survived significantly longer than those without receptors; this was true for both premenopausal and postmenopausal women and also when the patients were subdivided into those with and without axillary metastases. Patients with axillary metastases and no oestrogen receptors in their tumours had the worst prognosis, while women with axillary metastases and oestrogen receptors had a death rate similar to that of women with no axillary metastases and no receptors. Patients without oestrogen receptors and with no axillary metastases were identified as a high-risk group, and it would seem appropriate to include such patients in future trials for adjuvant therapy in early breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗