PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Morningstar

Publications and source records attributed to M Morningstar.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Use of alternative medicine among patients with head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of alternative medicine use in the population with head and neck cancer and correlate with demographics and tumor characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. SETTING: Two tertiary cancer centers. PATIENTS: Two hundred consecutive outpatients with consecutive head and neck cancer. INTERVENTIONS: A 10- to 25-minute patient interview administered by primary investigator. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic markers (sex, age, education, household income, marital status, ethnic background, and geographic location); tumor characteristics (tumor site, pathology, staging, time since diagnosis, and incidence of recurrence); conventional mode of treatment; attitudes regarding alternative medicine, source of exposure to alternative medicine, therapeutic rationale, treatment efficacy, sources of information, and discussions with physicians about alternative medicine. RESULTS: Seventy-seven (38.5%) of 200 patients had used alternative medicine for some purpose, and 45 (22.5%) of 200 did so for head and neck cancer. Increased use of alternative medicine occurred among patients of younger age, having a postsecondary education, higher personal income, and Indo-Asian extraction. Of those patients using alternative anticancer therapy, increased use was noted among patients with tumors of the nasopharynx, nonsquamous cell carcinoma pathology, and recurrent disease. Conventional mode of treatment had no association with alternative medicine use. Physicians were believed to be the most knowledgeable about alternative medicine, while the usual proponents of alternative medicine were identified least frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Alternative cancer therapy use among patients with head and neck cancer was 22.5%, with increased use in younger, affluent, better educated patients, and those of Indo-Asian extraction. Patients view physicians as being knowledgeable about alternative medicine. Otolaryngologists should inform themselves about alternative medicine to counsel patients more effectively.

Adult↗

Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to prostate secretory protein.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against a highly purified preparation of prostate secretory protein (PSP) isolated from normal seminal plasma. Fifteen antibodies were selected for further evaluation based on their strong reactivity and specificity for PSP. All the MAbs had a specificity for prostate epithelial cells and none reacted to any of a variety of normal tissues as determined by immunoperoxidase staining. Six of the MAbs were selected for further immunohistochemical evaluation based on their ability to recognize different antigenic determinants. Using competitive binding immunoassays, a variety of overlapping specificities were observed with at least 2 distinct epitopes identified. Although some staining variability was noted, the 6 antibodies, in general, gave the same pattern of tissue reactivity. Both the normal prostate and the benign prostate hyperplastic ductal epithelial cells stained intensely, with 78 to 100% and 50-100% of the cells staining, respectively. The number and often the staining intensity of the tumor cells decreased as the tumor became more undifferentiated. Approximately 40 to 100% and 15 to 70% of the tumor cells stained in the moderately-differentiated and well-differentiated carcinoma tissues, respectively, whereas either no staining was observed or less than 20% of the tumor cells stained in the poorly-differentiated and undifferentiated tumors. Most of the metastatic prostate tumors showed either no staining or scattered staining in a few cells (i.e., less than 20%).

Adenocarcinoma↗