Studies have been done to determine the optimal dosage of vitamin E. Vitamin E is generally considered to be relatively nontoxic at high dosage in spite of the fact that it is a fat-soluble vitamin. From our experiments using mice, when various dosages of all-rac-alpha-tocopherol were injected into the intraperitoneal cavity every day, 1) the body weight decreased when the dose was more than 100 IU/kg per day, and all the mice died within 3 days at 400 IU/kg per day; 2) immune responses investigated by lymphoproliferative assays with phytohemagglutinin, concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide were enhanced significantly between 5 and 20 IU/kg per day, but were inhibited by 80 IU/kg per day. When the immunopotentiation effect of vitamin E was discernible, serum tocopherol levels were about twice the control values. From our results, the optimal dosage of vitamin E was between 5 and 20 IU/kg per day, and dosages over 80 IU/kg per day were toxic to mice. We then experimented similarly with vitamin K, which is fat soluble and possesses a quinone structure resembling vitamin E. When doses between 12.5 and 150 mg/kg per day of vitamin K were injected into the intraperitoneal cavity daily fore 14 days, increase of body weight was generally inhibited. This did not depend on the dose, and there was no definite relationship between mitogen responses and vitamin K.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMed1981

[Clinical application of Ensure in surgical fields (author's transl)].

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Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A randomized study comparing oral and standard regimens for metastatic breast cancer.

We conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing oral regimen [doxifluridine, an intermediate metabolite of capecitabine, + medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) + cyclophosphamide (CPA)] (Method A) with a standard regimen (5-fluorouracil + adriamycin + CPA) plus MPA (Method B) as first line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. Overall response rate was 55.8% for Method A, 46.3% for Method B. The total ratio of responder and long stable disease was significantly higher with Method A (p=0.006). Median time to progression and survival were not differences between Methods. Incidence of toxicity was 56.3% with Method A and 80.0% with Method B (p=0.014). Oral regimen is more useful than standard therapy.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Anticancer chemosensitivity profiles of human breast cancer cells assessed by in vitro DNA synthesis inhibition assay.

The present study was designed to assess the profile of the chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells and to screen effective agents for combination regimens. Chemosensitivity to anticancer agents was assessed by the 3H-thymidine incorporation assay, as the rate of inhibition of DNA synthesis in 145 samples (88 primary and 57 metastatic or recurrent lesions) from 136 patients with breast cancer. The correlations of the anticancer agents with various clinicopathological factors were analysed. The effectiveness of the agents was classified as a rate of inhibition on log scale as follows: highly sensitive (> or = 30%), moderately sensitive (25-30%), slightly sensitive (20-25%), resistant (< 20%). The chemosensitivity of breast cancer showed variations according to tumor location: primary lesions seemed to be slightly sensitive to carboquone (CQ), adriamycin (ADR), and cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C); nodal involvement was moderately sensitive to CQ and slightly sensitive to Ara-C, 5-FU, ADR, mitomycin-C (MMC), and cisplatin (CDDP); malignant effusions were highly sensitive to ADR, moderately sensitive to CQ, and slightly sensitive to Ara-C and CDDP; local recurrences were slightly sensitive to Ara-C, CQ and 5-FU; vincristine (VCR) and nimustine chloride (ACNU), however, seemed to be ineffective against breast cancer. There were significant correlations in chemosensitivity between most agents, but no correlation was found between 5-FU and CDDP, 5-FU and ACNU, MMC and VCR, ADR and CDDP, ADR and VCR, and ADR and ACNU. There were no differences in chemosensitivity between stages of primary lesions or between estrogen receptor-positive and -negative tumors. In 10 patients, simultaneous nodal involvement was more sensitive to the agents than were primary lesions, and the correlation of chemosensitivity to ADR and CQ between such lesions was significant. On the other hand, there was no significant difference or correlation of chemosensitivity between the original lesions and recurrent ones after chemotherapy. The heterogeneity and homogeneity in the chemosensitivity of breast cancer suggested not only the necessity of patient-specific chemotherapy based on a sensitivity assay, but also the usefulness of choosing agents for widely-applicable combination regimens against breast cancer.

Adult↗