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Biomedical subjects

W Berchtold

Publications and source records attributed to W Berchtold.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

High-dose ifosfamide in advanced osteosarcoma.

In a prospective study, 18 evaluable patients with recurrent osteosarcoma were treated with ifosfamide, 1.8 g/m2 daily for 5 consecutive days. Courses were repeated every 4 weeks. Additional mesna (2-mercaptoethane sulfonate) was given to prevent urotoxicity. All patients had measurable lung deposits and all but one had been pretreated with various cytotoxic agents. Six patients (33%) showed therapeutic response, two complete and four partial, with a median duration of 5.5 months (range, 3-47+). Toxicity included myelosuppression, alopecia, nausea, and vomiting. No severe urotoxicity or central nervous system toxicity was observed. Thus, high-dose ifosfamide in combination with mesna seems to be a safe and effective agent for the chemotherapy of osteosarcoma.

Alopecia↗
PubMed1984

Acute myelogenous leukaemia: maintenance chemotherapy after early consolidation treatment does not prolong survival.

To investigate the value of maintenance chemotherapy after early consolidation treatment, an attempt was made to induce remission in 162 previously untreated patients, age-range 7-65 years (median 43). The 74 patients who were still in remission after early consolidation treatment (given for 3-5 months) were assigned to either maintenance chemotherapy every 8 weeks for 2 years or to observation only. After a median observation period of 44 months there was no difference between the groups in duration of remission or survival. Surprisingly, patients above 40 survived longer after early consolidation (median 4 years) than did patients aged 40 and below (median 1.6 years, p = 0.0002).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Delayed alloimmunization using random single donor platelet transfusions: a prospective study in thrombocytopenic patients with acute leukemia.

A randomized study was performed in 54 thrombocytopenic patients with acute leukemia. Alloimmunization of recipients of random multiple-donor platelet concentrates (MD group) was compared to that of patients receiving random single-donor platelets (SD group). In the SD patients, formation of alloantibodies (mostly anti-HLA) occurred less frequently (p less than 0.002), after a longer time period (p less than 0.002), and after a higher number of transfusions (p less than 0.005) as compared to MD patients. SD patients also became refractory to random platelets less frequently (p less than 0.005), after a longer time period, and after a higher number of transfusions (p less than 0.02). In SD patients, the increments after the first and the last transfusion were in the same range, whereas in MD patients, the 1-hr (p less than 0.001) and the 24-hr (p less than 0.025) increments decreased from the first to the last transfusion. Thus, the use of random SD platelet transfusions postponed alloimmunization.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

Survival of tumor-bearing mice exposed to heavy water or heavy water plus methotrexate.

Moderate body deuteration combined with a cytostatic drug [methotrexate (MTX)] significantly increases the survival time of young adult DBA/2 mice bearing transplantable P815. L5178Y, or L1210 tumors. Neoplastic cells were grown in vitro from tumor stock and injected i.p. into mice from two groups, one drinking tap water, and other drinking 30% heavy water in tap water. One-half of the animals in each of these two groups was given a single injection of MTX (4 mg/kg body weight) on 3 consecutive days per week. At death, extension of primary and metastatic tumors was examined and was found to be macro- and microscopically comparable in the corresponding groups. The mean survival time of untreated mice drinking tap water was about 2 weeks following injection of the fast-growing P815, L5178Y, or L1210 (V) tumors and approximately 5 weeks after injection of cells from a slower-growing L1210 subline. Body deuteration alone roughly doubled the survival time solely of mice bearing this L1210 subline. Treatment with MTX approximately doubled the mean survival time of hosts bearing one of the fast-growing tumors. Combined treatment with heavy water and MTX increased the mean survival time of the mice in all groups by 15 to 125% as compared to control values. The reasons for this effect are unknown. However, heavy water has been shown to exert antimitotic activity and to depress the incorporation of radioactive precursors into DNA of proliferating mammalian cells. The depression of antibody formation following antigenic stimulation and the reduction in numbers of nonneoplastic lymphoid cells of mice following moderate body deuteration may have contributed to the enhancement of MTX activity in addition to other effects of deuterium.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

[The toxicity/efficacy relationship in polychemotherapy of lung neoplasms].

Although it is generally accepted that anti-cancer chemotherapy should be administered at the maximum tolerable dose, it is not clearly established that the therapeutic results at dosage levels involving maximum tolerable toxicity are really superior to those with lower, better tolerated doses. 392 patients with advanced primary lung cancer were treated with 5 chemotherapy regimens including cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, vincristine, procarbazine, hydroxyurea, adriamycin and CCNU, in combinations of 3 to 7 agents. Response rates of 50% and over were registered after 8 weeks of treatment. During the same time the intensity of leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, vomiting, other digestive toxicity, neurologic disorders and alopecia was graded according to the worst observation from 0 to 4. The results show that there is no correlation between the grade of toxicity and the rate of response either for the whole group or for subgroups of patients as defined by cell type, degree of dissemination, age, or performance status. They demonstrate that the search for maximum tolerable toxicity is not a sine qua non for the best possible response to chemotherapy in primary lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1981

[Clinical studies: calculation and comparison of survival curves].

Survival curves are a very important tool in clinical studies, especially in cancer research. In this paper the main ideas are given, as to calculate and compare such curves, using only elementary mathematical methods. All details of procedures are given in an appendix.

Humans↗
PubMed1981

Low- and high-risk non-T and non-B and T-cell acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) in childhood: different duration of remission and survival.

In a prospective, nonrandomized trial clinical (initial WBC and chest film) and immunological (surface immunoglobulin and rosetting with pretreated sheep red blood cells) criteria were used to stratify 69 children with previously untreated acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). Forty of 61 evaluable patients had low-risk ALL (initial WBC less than or equal to 20,000/mm3, no mediastinal mass) and were treated less intensively. Twenty-one of 61 patients had high-risk ALL (initial WBC greater than 20,000/mm3 and/or mediastinal mass) and were treated more intensively. Of the high-risk patients 15 had non-T non-B and 6 T ALL. Sixty of 61 patients went into complete remission. After a median observation period of 27 months, 32 of 40 low-risk, 7 of 14 high-risk non-T non-B, and none of 6 high-risk T ALL patients were in continuous first remission. Thirty-six of 40 low-risk, 9 of 15 high-risk non-T non-B, and none of 6 T ALL patients were alive. Despite more intensive treatment, the duration of remission and the survival were significantly shorter in the high-risk than in the low-risk patients. Among the high-risk ALL, non-T non-B ALL did better than T ALL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Adjuvant chemotherapy with procarbazine, vincristine and prednisone for medulloblastomas. A preliminary report.

The survival of 20 children with medulloblastoma who received adjuvant chemotherapy with procarbazine, vincristine and prednisone after resection and craniospinal irradiation is compared with the preliminary results of the Children's Cancer Study Group (CCSG) and the international Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) medulloblastoma studies. Survival with the chemotherapy used in the SPOG study ws not superior to the survival of children who received craniospinal irradiation only.

Cerebellar Neoplasms↗
PubMed1978

[Acute "high risk" and "low risk" juvenile lymphatic leukemia (proceedings)].

After an initial blood and thorax examination, 97 children with ALL were divided into "high risk" and "low risk" groups. From the 20 new "high risk" patients seen between 1972 and 1975 about one quarter were still alive 3 years later, the corresponding proportion from 37 "low risk" patients being about two thirds. Despite increased therapy, the number of early relapses does not appear to have decreased in the new "high risk" cases seen between 1976/77. An investigation of cell surface markers established that T-ALL always occurred in the "high risk" group, whereas B-negative/T-negative ALL was found not only in the "low risk" group but also occasionally in the "high risk" group.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Newly diagnosed idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in childhood: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis and management of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have been based primarily on expert opinion and practice guidelines rather than on evidence. We have used a registry to prospectively survey the presenting features and the diagnostic evaluation and management practices used for children with ITP worldwide. METHODS: We used the Intercontinental Childhood ITP Registry which had been widely advertised. 209 physicians from 136 institutions in 38 countries participated by submitting data for each of their newly diagnosed patients. Data from 2031 children with ITP was registered between June, 1997, and May, 2000, and we analysed 6-month follow-up data from 1496 children. FINDINGS: There was a peak in occurrence of childhood ITP during spring and a nadir in the autumn. Mean initial platelet count was 15.4x10(9)/L (SD 19.7). 1447 (73%) of 1976 children were admitted to hospital. Initial management consisted of no drug treatment in 612 (31%), intravenous immunoglobulin in 576 (29%), corticosteroids in 651 (33%), or both in 137 (7%) patients. Intracranial haemorrhage was reported in two patients. INTERPRETATION: The variable approaches to management of childhood ITP demonstrate the need for prospective clinical trials, which should be feasible within such a study group.

Adolescent↗