European Journal of Cancer (1965)最新文献

After clinical and histopathological diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) in a male Caucasian child with jaw and abdominal tumours, both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytogenetic studies were performed. The absence of EB viral markers within the tumour cells and the normal EBV serological profile of the patient indicated that this non-endemic BL case was not associated with the virus. Cytogenetic examination of the tumour cells showed a t(8;22) translocation, suggesting that this case represents an example of the variant translocations newly observed in cases of BL. It indicates that chromosome 8 rearrangement with a break-point at 8q23 is a characteristic feature of this particular lymphoma.

The variability of estimates of K_d and binding capacity (fmol oestrogen bound/mg cytosol protein) of oestrogen receptors (RC) which may arise from different cytosol protein concentrations (0.25–5 mg/ml), different charcoal concentrations (0.25–5 mg/ml) and cytosols from different, histologically comparable portions of the same tumour has been studied using a dextran-coated charcoal (DCC) assay. K_d value correlated positively to protein concentration and negatively to charcoal concentration, whereas the binding capacity remained constant over a wide range of protein concentrations. In receptor-poor tumours, low cytosol protein contents precluded a distinction between specific and non-specific oestrogen binding. Both in receptor-rich and receptor-poor tumours, increasing charcoal concentrations added to the incubation mixture decreased the cytosol protein concentration and thus removed RC complexes as well as excess of oestrogen. Both in receptor-rich and receptor-poor tumours, a wide variation in recptor content was observed within histologically comparable portions of the same tumour (from 0 to 300 fmol/mg protein).

The total number of lymphocytes and the number and proportion of high-(29°C) and low- (4°C) affinity E (erythrocyte) rosette-forming cells (RFC) from the peripheral blood of 33 patients with Hodgkin's and 41 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was assessed, and compared with results obtained from normal controls. Analysis of results was performed on groups of patients subdivided according to age, histological type and stage of disease. Patients with Hodgkin's disease showed a decrease in RFC which was attributed to a reduction in low-affinity RFC; this decrease could not be related to any particular histological type or stage of disease. Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed, in addition to a decrease in low-affinity RFC, a significant decrease in high-affinity RFC. The observed decrease in peripheral blood T cell numbers of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients did not correlate with the type of disease, but patients with clinical stage IV showed a more pronounced reduction in the number of high- and low-affinity RFC when compared with other groups.

These studies were conducted to determine whether the metastatic heterogeneity that is frequently observed in primary neoplasms is a consequence of multicellular transformation or acquired genetic variability. $\text{BALB}\text{c}$ embryo fibroblasts were infected in vitro with mouse sarcoma virus. Six tumor colonies, each derived from a single transformed cell, were isolated and propagated as individual cell lines. Twenty-four days after virus infection, mice were injected s.c. or i.v. with viable cells harvested from the individual lines. Subcutaneous tumors developed in nearly all of the mice and regressed 30 days after inoculation. In contrast, the production of lung tumor colonies varied significantly among the cell lines. Moreover, the individual lines were found to be heterogeneous. This conclusion is based on results of experiments in which two cell lines exhibiting either a low or high propensity to produce lung tumor colonies were subcloned. Cells from these subclones were injected i.v. into syngeneic mice. The subclones differed significantly among themselves and from the parent culture in their ability to produce lung tumor colonies. We conclude that regardless of whether neoplasms are unicellular or multicellular in origin, they can be heterogeneous and contain subpopulations of cells with different metastatic properties by the time of diagnosis.

The objective of this study was to assess, in a controlled experimental system, whether changes in urinary polyamine excretion reflect growth of a solid tumor, and whether such changes are dependent on the location of the tumor. A transplantable N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced adenocarcinoma (NG-W1) was grown intrahepatically or s.c. in male Wistar rats. Tumor size was measured at various time intervals and blood samples and 24-hr urines were collected. Analyses of 24-hr urines for their polyamine content, using a thin-layer chromatographic method for the separation of the dansylated polyamine derivatives, revealed a positive correlation between the 24-hr putrescine output and the increasing tumor burden. Notably, the 24-hr urine volume was found to parallel the increase in 24-hr putrescine excretion. The 24-hr urinary excretion of spermidine remained constant throughout tumor growth as did that of creatinine. Analyses of blood plasma for its lactate dehydrogenase activity, using a spectrophotometric technique, indicated no relationship between plasma lactate dehydrogenase activity and tumor burden, except at a large tumor mass. The increase in 24-hr urinary putrescine excretion in rats harboring an intrahepatic tumor preceded that which occurred in rats harboring an s.c. tumor. This time lapse was attributable to the fact that the tumor growth characteristics, including vascularization, differed between the two locations; intrahepatic tumors having more extensive growth and better vascularization than s.c. tumors. The fact that the urine putrescine excretion, particularly in a site such as the liver, is an early marker of tumor progression, indicates that this polyamine may be helpful in appraising relapse and recurrence of cancer.

The radiation response of two human malignant melanomas (V.N. and G.E.) irradiated as solid tumours in athymic nude mice was studied by measuring single cell survival in soft agar. Survival curves were determined for cells from tumours irradiated either in air-breathing mice or in mice killed by cervical dislocation 15 min before irradiation. The hypoxic fractions, determined from the vertical displacement of these two curves, were 12–17% for V.N. melanoma and 26–36% for G.E. melanoma. The D₀-values were 3.43 Gy (air-breathing mice) and 3.05 Gy (dead mice) for V.N. melanoma and 3.00 Gy (air-breathing mice) and 3.35 Gy (dead mice) for G.E. melanoma. Survival curves of cells irradiated in dead mice showed n = 4.6 and D_q = 4.6 Gy for V.N. melanoma and n = 2.0 and D_q = 2.2 Gy for G.E. melanoma.

Pulmonary metastases have been irradiated with single and fractionated doses of fast neutrons and cobalt-60 gamma rays. The response to radiation was measured on volume changes of the lesions and thus RBE values could be derived. A correlation was found between grading of the tumour and volume doubling time and also between RBE and volume doubling time. This suggests an advantage for high LET radiation of slowly growing, well differentiated tumours. Furthermore the RBE for multiple fractions tends to be higher than for single doses. Calculation of the N exponent of the Ellis formula indicated that hardly any shoulder exists when neutrons are applied.