A phase II study of the synthetic polyelectrolyte Carbetimer 6500 mg/m2 i.v. daily for five days every 21-day cycle was conducted in patients with metastatic melanoma. No responses were seen in 18 evaluable patients. Two patients had stable disease for five months. Toxicity was generally manageable and included mild hyperphosphatemia, mild proteinuria, fatigue, pain at the injection site, and nausea. Carbetimer is inactive in metastatic melanoma at this dose and schedule.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Active specific immunotherapy of melanoma: clinical results and correlates.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Pulmonary granulomas in a patient on MER therapy.

A patient with metastatic melanoma developed symmetric miliary infiltrates of the lungs while receiving injections of MER into tumor containing lymph nodes of the groin. Open lung biopsy identified the pulmonary lesions as caseating epithelioid granulomas. After cessation of MER therapy, the pulmonary lesions regressed spontaneously. The possible etiology of this so-far-unreported complication of MER therapy was briefly discussed.

BCG Vaccine↗

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Immunology of sarcomas.

There is evidence for common sarcoma antigens expressed on a variety of sarcomas of bone and soft tissues. Antibodies and cell-mediated responses to sarcoma-associated if not sarcoma-specific antigens have been demonstrated in tumor-bearing patients. Antibodies have also been found in contacts and parents of affected individuals. Common antigenicity and a response to sarcoma antigens by ostensibly normal individuals provide circumstantial evidence for a viral etiology, supported by experiments inducing sarcomas with known viruses in rodents. Immunotherapy that takes advantage of the immunogenicity of sarcomas is in its infancy, but has significant promise.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fatigue in patients with cancer receiving interferon alpha.

Fatigue is the most frequently reported symptom of patients with cancer. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of fatigue over time in patients with cancer receiving treatment with interferon alpha. Piper's Integrated Fatigue Model guided this study. A descriptive repeated-measures design was used. A convenience sample of 30 patients with malignant melanoma was drawn from a comprehensive cancer center in Southern California. Two instruments were used in data collection, the Symptom Distress Scale and the Piper Fatigue Scale. Study findings revealed descriptive data on patients' perceptions of the causes and remedies for fatigue while receiving active treatment for cancer. The pattern of fatigue was consistent over the five points of time during treatment, with the most extreme fatigue scores in the affective domain, followed by the sensory, temporal, total fatigue, and fatigue severity scores. The patterns and dimensions of fatigue provide implications for care of patients receiving interferon alpha, and for further investigation in the area of fatigue as a critical aspect of quality of life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

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Transient warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia and cryoglobulinemia associated with seminoma.

A patient with a pure seminoma presented with severe IgG-mediated warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Monoclonal IgM-kappa cryoglobulinemia and a biological false positive test for syphilis were also found. Treatment directed at both the seminoma and the hemolysis resulted in the complete disappearance of these antibodies. It is possible that these immunological phenomena occurred in response to the tumor. The occurrence of warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia and monoclonal paraproteinemia in association with solid tumors is reviewed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

New trends in the development of cancer vaccines.

Recent advances in understanding of the molecular mechanisms of antigen processing and presentation, and the identification of tumor-associated antigens in melanoma and other cancers, have stimulated the development of a new generation cancer vaccines. This review summarizes the most recent approaches for the design of safe and more effective vaccines for cancer. Peptide-based vaccines are safe and can be synthesized with high purity and reproducibility. Recombinant viruses encoding tumor-associated antigens allow efficient delivery and precise control over the form and the quantity of the delivered antigens. DNA-based vaccines induce long-lasting immune responses and are considered very safe. Antigen-loaded dendritic cells, and the use of newly developed adjuvants are also very promising new approaches. In this review, we also discuss the possible clinical applications and future directions for vaccine development.

Animals↗