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Biomedical subjects

R Somers

Publications and source records attributed to R Somers.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

T cell leukemia presenting as chronic polyarthritis.

T cell leukemia was detected in a woman who suffered from chronic polyarthritis. The peripheral blood leukocytes were increased in number and consisted of lymphocytes, 95% of which could be identified as T lymphocytes. T cell infiltration was found in the bone marrow, the synovial fluid, and tissue, and in nodules macroscopically resembling rheumatoid skin lesions. Further investigation of these cells by enzyme chemistry, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and cytochemistry revealed that they had irregularly indented nuclei, no alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase activity, and only faint granular acid-phosphatase activity. The cells were negative for Ia-like antigen and surface immunoglobulin. Analysis of the cell surface glycopeptides showed the presence of abnormally enlarged carbohydrate structures. These data suggest that these leukemic T cells are a malignant equivalent of immature T cells.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Phase II trial of amsacrine (m-AMSA) in advanced ovarian carcinoma.

A phase II study of 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (amsacrine, m-AMSA) was carried out in previously treated patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. The dose of amsacrine was 90 mg/m2 every 3 weeks in 34 patients having received prior extensive chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, and 120 mg/m2 in 5 patients who had previously only received moderate amounts of chemotherapy. Among patients evaluable for response the median number of courses was 3 (range 2-17). Two patients (5%) experienced complete response for 15+ months. Leucopenia was the most frequent toxic effect. WBC nadir was 2700/mm3 (range 1000-7300). Other toxic effects were of lesser significance and included thrombocytopenia, anemia, nausea and vomiting. It is concluded that amsacrine has only marginal activity in patients with previously treated ovarian carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate (PALA) in advanced soft tissue sarcoma: a phase II trial of the EORTC soft tissue sarcoma group.

Thirty-six patients with measurable or evaluable advanced soft tissue sarcoma were entered in a phase II trial with PALA. Among the 27 evaluable patients, 15 were men, the median age was 55 yr (16-69) and the median performance status (Karnofsky) was 80 (50-100). Most patients had leiomyosarcoma (8), liposarcoma (3), neurofibrosarcoma (3), synovial cell sarcoma (3), or undifferentiated sarcoma (3). Indicator lesions consisted essentially of lung metastases (21) and/or soft tissue lesions (14). All patients had received prior chemotherapy with 1-5 regimens and 6 had achieved objective response with these previous treatments. PALA was given as a 60-min i.v. infusion at a daily dose of 2.5 g/m2 for two consecutive days. Courses were repeated every two weeks. A median number of 3 courses (2-17) were administered. Partial remission (greater than 50%) was obtained in one patient with a liposarcoma who had also responded to prior combination chemotherapy. This single response to PALA lasted 6 weeks from initiation of therapy. Four patients had unchanged disease after 6+ courses of PALA and 22 had progressive disease. Toxic effects were generally mild to moderate and included cutaneous toxicity (17), diarrhea (14), stomatitis (13), ocular manifestations, consisting of conjunctivitis, corneal ulceration and/or photophobia (11), nausea and vomiting (6) and, possibly, seizures (2). There was no evidence of drug-related myelosuppression. It is concluded that PALA given at the dose schedule selected for this trial has no significant antitumor activity in advanced soft tissue sarcoma previously treated with chemotherapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Massive vincristine overdose: failure of leucovorin to reduce toxicity.

The case history of a 24-year-old male with the nodular sclerosing form of Hodgkin's disease (stage IIE) who accidentally received an overdose of vincristine (25 mg, 0.39 mg/kg) is reported. To date, ten patients given a vincristine overdose have been reported. Two of those patients were treated with leucovorin. One patient died after 68 hours. In the second patient, the time to onset and the duration of symptoms were shortened. In an attempt to reduce the duration of toxic effects in our patient, leucovorin was administered 24 hours after the overdose. In agreement with the earlier observation, the time to onset of symptoms was short, but in contrast we did not find a more rapid recovery from the serious side effects. Although the patient might have died without leucovorin administration, we believe its beneficial effect remains to be established.

Adult↗