Cancer
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Totally implantable ports have gained popularity as venous access in the treatment of cancer. A case is reported with an uncommon but very serious complication, i.e., cytostatic extravasation secondary to a broken implanted catheter. Guidelines for implantation and remedies are recommended.
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From December 1981 to December 1989, 20 patients with primary or recurrent retroperitoneal sarcoma received 4000 to 5000 cGy of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in conjunction with surgical resection and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). Seventeen of 20 patients underwent complete (14 patients) or partial (3 patients) resection. Three patients had shown evidence of metastases after EBRT by the time of surgery. ⋯ Five patients did not receive IORT at the time of resection because of the extensive size of the tumor bed. Three of these patients are disease-free with one patient alive with lung metastases and one patient dying of hepatic metastases. Aggressive radiation and surgical procedures appear to provide satisfactory resectability and local control with acceptable tolerance.
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Twenty long-term survivors of childhood cancer underwent exercise echocardiography to evaluate possible late anthracycline-induced cardiac toxicity. Ten patients ages 10 to 20 years had received anthracyclines, and ten patients ages 8 to 27 years had not received anthracyclines as part of their medical regimen. ⋯ There were no significant differences in work performed, or increase in heart rate or blood pressure with exercise between the groups. These results suggest that subtle abnormalities in myocardial function exist which become apparent only after exercise in survivors of childhood cancer who have received anthracyclines and have normal resting cardiac function.
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Fiberoptic endoscopic examination and biopsy of the nasopharynx was done in 130 patients as a prospective study. They all had elevated titers of antibodies against the viral capsid antigen of Epstein-Barr virus but no symptoms or signs of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Each underwent a biopsy from six fixed sites in the nasopharynx. ⋯ Techniques to improve the yields of such biopsies with fiberoptic endoscopy are discussed. The presence of tumor was unrelated to the macroscopic endoscopic findings. The highest incidence of subclinical tumor is in the pharyngeal recess.
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A unique variant of papillary lung carcinoma in a 58-year-old woman with both Clara cell and myoepithelial components is reported. The tumor was characterized by the presence of glandular spaces lined by two cell layers. ⋯ The cells of the basal layer possessed ultrastructural and immunohistochemical features of myoepithelial cells. Myoepithelial cells have not previously been reported in a bronchioloalveolar adenocarcinoma.