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PubMed · 9544409

Methotrexate therapy.

Abstract

Methotrexate may be very helpful for your illness if proper care is taken in the use of this medication. Follow your physician's instructions faithfully. Take methotrexate weekly as directed. Notify your physician at once if an accidental overdose is suspected or if you develop fever, cough or shortness of breath. If you develop vomiting, there is a change in your pattern of diarrhea or you suspect that you are dehydrated, notify your physician before taking the next dose of methotrexate. Do not start or change any medicine without first checking with your physician. Avoid or severely restrict alcohol, including wine and beer. Obtain the blood tests ordered by your physician. Avoid pregnancy during and for several months after taking methotrexate. Keep methotrexate out of the reach of children. It has been prescribed for your current medical problem and must not be given to other people.

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BibTeXRIS

G N Schep. Methotrexate therapy.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9544409/

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Inherited susceptibility to bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes.

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility to bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes may reflect the way a person deals with carcinogenic challenges. This susceptibility (also referred to as mutagen sensitivity) has been found to be increased in patients with environmentally related cancers, including cancers of the head and neck, lung, and colon, and, in combination with carcinogenic exposure, this susceptibility can greatly influence cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to assess the heritability of mutagen sensitivity. METHODS: Heritability was determined by use of a maximum likelihood method that employed the FISHER package of pedigree analysis. Bleomycin-induced breaks per cell values for 135 healthy volunteers without cancer were determined. These individuals were from 53 different pedigrees and included 25 monozygotic twin pairs (n = 50), 14 pairs of dizygotes (twin pairs and siblings, n = 28), and 14 families selected on the basis of a first-degree relative who was successfully treated for head and neck cancer and who had no sign of recurrence for at least 1 year. All data were analyzed simultaneously, and different models of familial resemblance were fitted to the data. All P values are two-sided. RESULTS: Our results showed no evidence for the influence of a shared family environment on bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks. Genetic influences, however, were statistically significant (P =. 036) and accounted for 75% of the total variance. CONCLUSIONS: The high heritability estimate of the susceptibility to bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks indicates a clear genetic basis. The findings of this study support the notion that a common genetic susceptibility to DNA damage--and thereby a susceptibility to cancer--may exist in the general population.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic