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Biomedical subjects

N Walach

Publications and source records attributed to N Walach.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The palliative efficacy of a single high dose of radiation in treatment of symptomatic osseous metastases.

Radiation therapy is effective for palliation of painful metastatic osseous lesions. Various fractionation doses have been previously described. The present study was initiated to evaluate the efficacy of a high single dose of radiation on pain relief, with the goal of reducing the number of radiation sessions to a minimum. Treatment consisted of a high single dose of radiation ranging between 6 to 10 Gy administered to painful osseous metastases. Prior to radiation therapy response to conservative analgesic therapy was minimal in most cases. Response to radiation therapy thereafter was 71.3% lasting up to 6 and 12 months in 37.3% and 20.9% of cases respectively.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Combination chemotherapy in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of unknown primary origin.

A total of 21 patients with histologic diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma and an occult primary tumor were treated with combination chemotherapy. The regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (COMF). The overall response rate was 47.6%. Six patients (28.6%) achieved complete response (mean duration, 36.5 months) and four patients (19%) achieved partial response (mean duration, 7.7 months). Toxicity was manageable and occurred in 14 patients (67%). The COMF combination serves as a broad-spectrum chemotherapy regimen in adenocarcinoma of unknown primary origin.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1985

Intravesical chemotherapy of superficial bladder tumors in a controlled trial with cis-platinum versus cis-platinum plus hyaluronidase.

Twenty-three patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder were randomized for intravesical chemotherapy with either cis-platinum or cis-platinum plus hyaluronidase, an enzyme promoting diffusion factor. Treatment was administered at 3-week intervals and checked for efficacy by repeated cystoscopies after every three instillations. Hematologic and biochemical tests were repeated prior to each treatment and, these, in additional to the cystoscopic findings, served for final evaluation of results and toxicity. The complete response rate was found to be superior with cis-platinum than with cis-platinum plus hyaluronidase. The complete plus partial response rates were equal in both groups. We conclude that the addition of hyaluronidase to cis-platinum revealed no superiority to cis-platinum alone, and both modes of treatment showed similar clinical efficacy as other drugs previously used for intravesical chemotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Treatment of superficial bladder tumors in a controlled trial with thio-TEPA versus adriamycin.

Forty-six patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were randomized into two groups. Thio-TEPA or adriamycin were instilled periodically into the bladder and cystoscopic follow up was carried out. Both thio-TEPA and adriamycin proved to have similar efficacy in delaying tumor recurrence. Further investigations to establish better dose and interval schedules are indicated.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1984

Relationship of urinary polyamines to tumor activity and tumor volume in patients.

Serially obtained urinary polyamine levels were determined for 192 patients during a specified time period. The number of patient urine samples totaled 938. The patients had tumors of either the breast, stomach, prostate, or female genital tract, or metastatic carcinomas of unknown origin. Tumor activity and tumor volume, along with other clinical information, were also recorded during the time period. Possible associations between tumor activity and tumor volume on one hand, and polyamine levels on the other hand, were explored via different statistical analyses. For each tumor type, statistically significant group differences were found in polyamine levels between patients with nonactive tumors and patients with active large tumors. Predictive values of polyamine assays for change in disease activity and stability in disease nonactivity for tumors of the breast, female genital tract, and prostate were also computed. For breast tumors, these predictive values do not support the clinical utility of the use of polyamine levels to monitor disease states. For tumors of the female genital tract and prostate, these predictive values yield an indeterminant conclusion.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Carcinoembryonic antigen and interferon as tumor markers in breast cancer.

A total of 239 determinations of CEA plasma levels were performed for 83 breast cancer patients during chemotherapy or follow-up. In addition, 137 plasma samples were assayed for interferon levels. Patient clinical status was carefully scored according to objective criteria and recorded at each evaluation. Liver function tests (LFT) were performed to establish a full clinical picture at each visit. The results obtained proved a 73 to 83% positivity rate when the results of the 4 tests were compared. The importance of routine CEA assays and careful clinical evaluation and LFT are stressed. An analysis of interferon levels defined 4 distinct groups that differed by the amount of interferon present and also by clinical status and CEA levels. The results are discussed in terms of tumor volume-dependent interferon production.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1982

Zinc and copper levels in plasma, erythrocytes, and whole blood in cancer patients.

Zinc and copper levels in erythrocytes, plasma, and whole blood were determined in 35 cancer patients and compared with 24 normal individuals. A decrease in zinc was found in all three blood constituents of the cancer patients. The decrease was significant in plasma and whole blood and nonsignificant in erythrocytes. Copper levels in the cancer group showed a slight and nonsignificant increase in erythrocytes, plasma, and whole blood. The copper to zinc ratio revealed a significant increase only for plasma levels. Further investigations are indicated to determine whether these two elements could serve as indicators for diagnosis or prognosis in cancer patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Further evidence for the use of polyamines as biochemical markers for malignant tumors.

One hundred ninety patients with a variety of tumor presented within a specified time period and fit a specified protocol. Multiple serial urinary putrescine, spermidine, and spermine levels were obtained in these patients, and their disease activity over time, defined as either active or nonactive, was determined by clinical examination, the results of laboratory tests, and radiological criteria. Twenty-four-hr urine collections were used for analysis of polyamine levels. A linear mixed-effects model and the method of maximum likelihood estimation were used for statistical analysis. Statistically significant differences were found in polyamine levels between patients with active or nonactive disease for tumors of the breast, stomach, prostate, female genital tract, and a variety of metastatic carcinomas of unknown origin. There were 105 patients with these tumors; 319 polyamine determinations were obtained from this subset of patients. Our results suggest that serial determination of polyamine levels in urine may have clinical utility for monitoring the disease states for these tumors.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1982

CEA levels in active and non-active malignant tumors.

A total of 895 CEA estimations were carried out on serum samples from 283 patients with different primary tumor sites. All assays were performed during the period of follow up or treatment of the patients. Concomitantly with CEA estimation, activity of disease was recorded, based on objective laboratory and clinical parameters. The results obtained proved a high accuracy rate for normal CEA values in non-active disease as well as elevated CEA values in active disease. It is concluded that the correlation between CEA level and activity of disease in various neoplasms in an important aid in clinical decision making during the course of disease, provided false positive or negative results are taken into consideration.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen↗
PubMed1981

Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase in cancer patient.

Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) activity in peripheral blood was determined in 113 patients with non-metastatic malignancies, 36 patients with metastatic spread, and 22 individuals who served as controls. The LAP score of the non-metastatic cancer patients was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than the controls, and the score of the metastatic group was further increased significantly as compared to both control (p less than 0.001) and non-metastatic groups (p less than 0.001). The results of this survey suggest that the level of LAP score in peripheral blood might be used to differentiate between non-metastatic and metastatic disease and might serve as an aid in prognosis of the patients.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1977

Congenital ichthyosis and medulloblastoma.

Occurrence of ichthyosis and malignancy together is unusual. An 18-year-old patient suffering from congenital ichthyosis was found to have a medulloblastoma of cerebellum. A short review of the literature of cases of tumors with ichthyosis, and neurological syndromes with ichthyosis is presented.

Adolescent↗