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Biomedical subjects

W W Lane

Publications and source records attributed to W W Lane.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Central nervous system metastasis from breast carcinoma. Autopsy study.

Central nervous system (CNS) metastasis was noted in 309 patients of 1044 autopsy cases of breast carcinoma. The brain was involved in 193 cases, and cranial dura in 167 cases. In 82 cases, the cranial dura was the sole site of CNS involvement. Metastasis to the leptomeninges was found in 59 cases, and to the spinal cord and dura in 32 cases. Metastases to the infratentorial portion of the brain was almost as frequent as to the cerebrum. Forty-two percent of the brain metastasis were single lesions, which is similar to the frequency of solitary metastasis to the brain from malignant tumors as a whole. CNS metastasis occurred more frequently in younger patients than older patients, and the clinical course of these patients was shorter than for those patients without CNS metastasis. CNS metastasis developed in the late stage of the disease, and often was not recognized clinically. Only 31% of the cases were clinically diagnosed or suspected before death. A median survival of these patients after clinical diagnosis of CNS metastasis was 33 days. However, a significant improvement was noted in the clinical diagnosis and median survival in the latter half of the study period. Eleven patients lived for more than 1 year after diagnosis of CNS metastasis. Only 14% of the 309 patients died from CNS failure.

Age Factors↗

A novel method of assessing completeness of tumor registration.

A random sampling method of measuring the completeness of registration of cancer patients was tested at a university referral hospital. The target population consisted of all inpatients and nonprivate outpatients with in situ or invasive malignancies. The medical records of a random sample of all hospital records active in the last five years were reviewed to determine their reportability and inclusion in the tumor registry (Method A). Traditional casefinding assessment methods were also employed by conducting a complete review of four commonly used hospital sources for a short time period (Method B). The primary purpose of the study was methodologic; namely, to test the feasibility of Method A and to characterize it relative to the more traditional Method B. The estimated missed case rates using Methods A and B (3% and 5%, respectively) are not directly comparable because not all outpatient information is recorded in the medical record. It is concluded that as a means of completeness assessment, Method A can be feasible, cost effective, and useful in other institutions provided certain conditions are met: (1) an appropriate random sample of the target population can be obtained; (2) all relevant information is available in a unit medical record; (3) the reviewer is fully aware of the reportability criteria.

Data Collection↗

Diamminodichloroplatinum combination chemotherapy in non-oat cell carcinoma of the lung.

A comparison is made between four different but similar approaches to the chemotherapy of 250 patients with nonoat cell bronchogenic carcinoma of the lung. Combination chemotherapy, particularly in regimen where platinum is included, provided no significant advantages over single agent chemotherapy. Side effects attributed to platinum tend to distract from any modest therapeutic gains achieved through its use. Responses rates were not significantly increased through use of platinum in the chemotherapy combination reported in this study.

Carcinoma, Bronchogenic↗

Progress in the chemotherapy of small cell carcinoma of the lung.

A comparison was made between six different approaches to the chemotherapy of small cell carcinoma of the lung. The value of single-agent chemotherapy was compared to combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and with cyclic alternating combination chemotherapy in 161 patients. Cyclic alternating chemotherapy with modest radiation therapy to the primary site provided significant advantages over single-agent or combination chemotherapy. A combination of VP-16 + Adriamycin + vincristine seemed particularly effective in inducing an initial objective tumor response rate of 83%, with a projected median survival of 13.2 months. Of patients treated with cyclic alternating therapy, 51% were alive at one year. It thus appears that where complete response is achieved, prolonged disease-free survival can be expected.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Metastatic patterns and target organ arterial blood flow.

The frequency of metastatic involvement of eight 'target' organs from primary adenocarcinomas of the rectum and squamous cell carcinomas of the esophagus correlates significantly with target organ arterial blood flow (ml/min/g) when the primary cancers were in the upper third of the rectum or lower third of the esophagus, where the initial main venous drainage was into the portal system. When the primary cancers were located in other regions of these two organs where the initial main venous drainage was into the systemic venous system, this correlation was not seen. The results confirm that the 'hemodynamic' or 'mechanical' theory holds for two types of primary cancers in specific anatomic locations. In addition, they support the hypothesis that as yet unspecified interactions of cancer cells with the portal system, when this represents the initial main route for venous drainage, produce conformation with the 'hemodynamic' theory.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Stimulation of phagocytic activity of neutrophilic granulocytes by sera of patients with solid tumors.

The effect of serum of patients with solid tumors on the phagocytic activity of normal neutrophilic granulocytes was investigated. The largest groups of tumors studied were carcinoma of colon/rectum, sarcomas and melanomas. Sera from all three groups of patients were found to have highly significant (p < 0.001) stimulatory effects on granulocyte phagocytic activity. These findings contrast with previously reported depression of granulocyte phagocytic activity associated with various forms of leukemia and lymphomas.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Organ vascularity and metastatic frequency.

The "hemodynamic" or "mechanical" theory proposes that the frequency of metastases in different organs is primarily determined by the numbers of cancer cells delivered to them in their arterial blood. This theory has not yet been adequately tested in man because reproducible, noninvasive measurements of organ blood flow have only recently become available. Correlation between these data and the metastatic frequency in 10 organs, in groups of patients with primary cancers in 15 anatomic sites, has therefore been sought. No correlation was obtained between metastatic frequency and organ weights, blood volumes, blood volumes per gram, "transit times," or blood flow. However, correlations significant at the 4-8% level were obtained between organ blood flow per gram and metastatic frequency in 4 of 5 groups of primary cancers with initial venous drainage into the portal system, compared with 1 of 10 draining into the caval system. At present, no definitive explanation can be offered for the apparent compliance of one set of primary cancers with the "hemodynamic" theory of metastasis, but not the others.

Female↗

The value of carcinoembryonic antigen in patients with carcinoma of the lung.

Carcinoembryonic antigen levels in 682 lung cancer patients have been studied in order to assess their value in the screening of high-risk populations, monitoring total surgical ablation and projecting the effectiveness of therapy. The initial values are shown to be related to the histology of the tumor and to the extent of the disease. All histologic types of lung cancer produce elevated CEA but adenocarcinoma characteristically produces higher values than small, large or squamous cell carcinomas. CEA has its most precise value in distinguishing at an early date cured patients subsequent to surgical resection from those patients who will eventually fail because of recurrent disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗

The changing histopathology of lung cancer: a review of 1682 cases.

We have reviewed the histopathology of lung cancer patients seen over the past 13 years at RPMI. Assessment of this data indicates that adenocarcinoma is becoming progressively more prevalent as related to the other forms of lung cancer. Factors which in part may account for this increased prevalence are: 1) changes in criteria for reading histopathology of lung cancer, particularly since 1967; 2) the increased incidence of lung cancer among the female population who have a propensity for adenocarcinoma; and 3) occupational and environmental factors. In 1974 adenocarcinoma for the first time became the most prevalent type of lung cancer at RPMI. Whatever the reason, if our data are truly representative of a national trend, adenocarcinoma will soon become the most prevalent type of lung cancer in the United States. This fact may result in an increasing death rate since the present 18-month survival rate for adenocarcinoma is substantially less than for squamous cell carcinoma, which has in the past been the prevalent form of the disease. As the smoking habits of women more closely approximate those of men, we expect that the incidence and mortality of lung cancer will prove to be quite similar in both sexes.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Clinicopathologic study.

This study was undertaken to investigate the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic features of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. The overall five-year survival rate for 734 patients was 5 percent, with a median survival of 5.9 months. Surgical excision for early-stage disease was particularly effective therapy. In 151 of 201 patients having surgical excision, the resections were deemed curative. Other modes of therapy proved ineffective, although a combination of radiation and chemotherapy provided cure in one of 39 patients; that patient is alive today after 11 years and three months.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Adjuvant immunotherapy in bronchogenic carcinoma.

Ten patients with locally far advanced bronchogenic carcinoma were treated with autologous tumor vaccine after a radical surgical resection. Three of 10 patients treated with tumor vaccine are alive (median survival of 26 months) whereas all nine patients in the control group are dead (median survival of 6.5 months). Active immunotherapy adjunct to radical surgery appeared to improve cellular immunity of the treated patients in the postoperative period, and the migration inhibition test indicated sensitization of treated patients against their tumor.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

Surgical therapy of lung cancer.

A total of 1,615 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer were treated at Roswell Park Memorial Institute between 1963 and 1974. Particular emphasis was given in this review to the 295 patients that underwent surgical resection of their primary lung lesion. Factors such as histology, type of resection, sex, age, staging, and degree of dissemination were considered possible influences on survival. The risks and benefits of intentional reductive or palliative surgery are considered along with the risk related to thoracotomies performed for diagnostic purposes.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Reliability of basic cancer patient data.

Pooling patient data from multi-institutional medical chart review occurs commonly in the study of cancer and other diseases. To determine the consistency of reporting among institutions, we presented a test set of 25 standardized medical charts to coders at 18 Comprehensive Cancer Centers and compared their resulting codes. This study measures the reproducibility of coding by different persons, but does not assess the accuracy of the underlying medical record. Among 34 data items, we found high disagreement rates in coding stage of disease (14 per cent) and date of diagnosis (8 per cent). Primary site, histologic type and other key items had good reproducibility (disagreement rates less than or equal to 5 per cent). A number of minor disagreements indicated that detailed distinctions could not be reliably coded from medical charts.

Forms and Records Control↗