Cancer
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Comparative Study
Intravenous metoclopramide: prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. A preliminary evaluation.
The authors tested the safety and efficacy of intravenous metoclopramide in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Those studied included hospitalized patients receiving their initial treatment with potent, emetogenic non-cisplatin-containing regimens, and outpatients receiving both their initial and maintenance non-cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. Fifty patients received metoclopramide with one or more of three intravenous metoclopramide dosage schedules, based on whether they received their chemotherapy on an inpatient or outpatient basis. ⋯ It is concluded that intravenous metoclopramide possesses significant antiemetic activity in patients receiving potent, non-cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. The dosage and scheduling required to provide total protection against nausea and vomiting appears to be dependent on the inherent emetic potency of the chemotherapy used. Further studies involving large numbers of patients are required to determine the optimal dosage and scheduling of this agent.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of postoperative radiotherapy and combined postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the multidisciplinary management of malignant gliomas. A joint Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study.
Recently, the RTOG and ECOG concluded a joint randomized study on malignant gliomas that was in progress for the past five years. A total of 626 patients entered this protocol. Sixty-seven percent of the 535 evaluable patients have died and thus this represents a preliminary report of a major joint clinical trial. ⋯ The higher radiation dose, 7000 rad/8-9 weeks appeared to give no significantly better survival over the control dose option. Both BCNU and methyl-CCNU + DTIC produced some toxicity. The combination of methyl-CCNU + DTIC was more toxic than BCNU, producing severe or worse thrombocytopenia in 23% of the patients as compared to 6% on BCNU.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
A case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Ultrastructural and lipid-biochemical studies.
A case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was studied electron microscopically and lipid biochemically. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the tumor was composed of three different types of cells, undifferentiated cells, cells possessing lamellar inclusion bodies within the cytoplasm, and cells containing mucus droplets. ⋯ These observations indicate that some of the tumor cells examined in this study had the characteristic feature of alveolar type II cell differentiation which is responsible for production of pulmonary surface-active materials. The value of phospholipid analysis in assessing such tumors is emphasized.
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Diagnostic accuracy of the cytologic examination or CEA measurement in pancreatic fluid obtained by percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy under ultrasonic guidance, was investigated in 26 patients with histologically proven carcinoma of the pancreas, and the incidence of positive results of cytology and CEA assay were compared in pancreatic fluid obtained by percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy and by endoscopic cannulation of the ampulla of Vater in the same 19 patients. Positive cytologic findings were observed in the fluid obtained by percutaneous aspiration biopsy of 88.5% of the patients with pancreatic carcinoma. The location of the cancer had no influence on the cytology, but positive results were more frequent in patients with distant metastases than in those with localized tumor or locally invasive carcinoma. ⋯ In the specimens obtained by aspiration biopsy, tumor cells were much more abundant and easily recognizable. When cytologic examination does not provide any evidence of malignancy, measurement of CEA levels in pancreatic fluid is probably useful. Combination of the cytology and CEA assay of the specimens obtained by percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the pancreas increased the diagnostic rate to 100%.
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Between August 1972 and March 1981, ten patients with metastatic breast cancer presented to M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston Medical Breast Clinic with cranial nerve palsies (incidence, 0.13%). ⋯ None of the patients had evidence of intracranial disease. The most frequently affected cranial nerves were V and VII, with 70% and 60% of patients having palsies of these nerves respectively. The estimated median survival of the patients from time of onset of cranial nerve palsy was 20 months; the palsies improved in 50% of patients who received regional therapy.