Zeitschrift fur Krebsforschung und klinische Onkologie. Cancer research and clinical oncology最新文献

Ortho-toluol-sulfonamid was applied to male and female Sprague-Dawley rats in daily doses of 200 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg bodyweight respectively. The maximum dose applied amounted to 17 g/kg. A shortening of the average life expectation was not observed in comparison to the control animals. The incidence of malignant tumors in the animals treated with OTS was identical with the one of the control animals. We did, however, find one animal in the test groups that had a carcinoma of the urinary bladder and seven animals with papillomas of the bladder.

The nephrogenic adenoma is a peculiar lesion of the urinary bladder characterized partly by villous and partly by gland-like structures. The two layered surface epithelium consists of an eosinophilic cell layer, which covers a clear cell layer, the latter resting upon a delicate basal layer. The clear cells disappear when approaching the tip of the villi. There exists a 200 micron wide zone of transition between the urinary bladder epithelium and that of the neprogenic adenoma. At the base of the villi there are scattered nodules of gland-like structures lined either by eosinophilic cells or by clear cells. These epithelial cells are derived from the corresponding surface epithelial cells from which they had separated by active downwards growth.

Fifty-seven thymomas, defined as neoplasms of the epithelial-reticular framework cells of the thymus, were assessed in respect to histologic type, inclusive of there ultrastructural aspects. The median age of the 57 patients was 40.4 years, with a range of 2 1/2--72 years. All neoplasms were located in the anterior mediastinum. The tumours in 40 cases were encapsulated and without invasion of adjacent tissue or implants (equal to non-invasive thymomas). The tumors in 17 cases were invasive of adjacent tissue, particularly mediastinal pleura, pericard and trachea. Six of 57 patients (equal to 10.5%) with thymomas have had a thoracic and supraclavicular lymph node metastasis, and osteolytic metastases in the vertebrae and sternum. Thirty-seven (equal to 64.9%) were so-called lympho-epithelial, 7 (equal to 12.3%) pure epithelial, 4 (equal to 7.0%) atypical (or anaplastic) with granulomatous focuses, 3 (equal to 5.3%) carcinoid and one (equal to 1.8%) seminomatous tumors. One patient have had a thymic cyst as a tumor-like conditions of the thymus, and four patients (equal to 7.0%) have had a thymo-lipoma. The histologic type of thymoma had no proof value in predicting prognosis with the exception of the so-called atypical or anaplastic thymoma. The fine structural aspects of thymomas and the fine structural differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinal tumors are discussed.

The phagocytic activity of monocytes directed at yeast particles was investigated in patients with untreated malignant tumors and in normal controls. Phagocytic activity was found to be significantly increased in the patients. It could be shown that the increased activity is caused by factors contained in the patient's plasma. These factors are only partly destroyed by heat inactivation, suggesting that both heat labile and heat stabile factors are contributing to the observed enhancing effect on phagocytic activity. The heat labile portion could well be the complement component C5, while the heat stabile portion is so far undefined.

The carcinogenic p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene and the non-carcinogenic p-aminoazobenzene were radioactive labelled and applicated to Whistar rats intraperitoneally. A very significant difference in binding tendencies for the two compounds and their metabolites was observed in rat liver tissues, rat liver nuclei and rat liver chromatin. Above all a specific binding affinity of the carcinogen to nuclear non-histone protein was found.

The ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase (E.C.1.17.4.1) was partially purified from Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and regenerating rat liver. The specific activity of the two enzyme preparations did not vary with regard to the reduction of UDP, ADP, CDP and GDP. Similarly the regulation of the enzyme system by deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) is almost identical. Through the application of deoxyribonucleosides (10(-3) or 2 x 10(-3)M) and measurement of the dNTP content it was found in Ehrlich and Yoshida ascites tumours that these control mechanisms are transmissible to whole cells. dATP inhibits the reduction of all four nucleoside diphosphates. dTTP stimulates the reduction of GDP, dCTP that of UDP and dGTP that of ADP.

The successive application of X-irradiation and ethylnitrosourea during the fetal period in NMRI-mice results in tumorous as well as in degenerative diseases in offspring. Leukemia and ovarial tumor incidences are increased when compared with animals either treated alone, whilst lung and liver tumors appear at a lower rate. Liver necroses and kidney cysts are further outstanding pathological findings after combined treatment. These results can be parallelled with the known postirradiational proliferative capacities of the affected fetal tissues, and possibly are a sensitive indicator for such radiation induced alterations.

By treatment of the sarcoma 180 (ascites) with adriamycin over 30 passages in NMRI mice, an adriamycin-resistant tumor cell line was developed. The resistance could be detected both in animal experiments and in the short-term test. In spite of treatment of the sarcoma 180 with triaziquone over 50 passages, no resistance could be detected against triaziquone either in the in vitro test or in animal experiments. The necessary criterion for a pretherapeutic test of sensitivity or resistance--a good correlation between in vivo and in vitro results--was fulfilled in all experiments carried out.

The most important prognostic determinants of the thymomas are the gross findings at operation (equal to the presence or absence of gross invasion of adjacent tissue) and the presence or absence of the thymoma-associated systemic disease, particulary myasthenia gravis. The histologic type of thymoma had no proof value in predicting prognosis with the exception of the so-called atypical thymomas. Thirty-four of 57 patients with thymomas were females and 23 males. The tumors in 40 cases were non-invasive thymomas, and in 17 cases the tumour were invasive of adjacent tissue. 35.1 percent of patients were asymptomatic, the tumours being discovered on roentgenograms done on a routine basis or for an unrelated porpose. 40.3 percent of patients have had a thymoma-associated systemic disease. The most common presenting symptoms were related to myasthenia gravis (26.3%). The 5-year survival rate was 90 percent for non-invasive thymomas without myastenia gravis and 50 percent for invasive thymomas. The 5-year survival rate for patients with myasthenia gravis and encapsulated (non-invasive) thymomas was approximately 60 percent, whereas that for invasive thymomas with myasthenia gravis was 40 percent. The primary form of therapy for all thymomas is the surgical excision. In cases with invasive and/or metastasizing thymomas, postoperative radiation and adjuvanted chemotherapy is indicated, but in most series, the longterm results of this form of therapy are discouraging.