Cancer Detection and Prevention Volume 21 / Issue 1 (Jan-Feb 1997)

Table of Contents and Editor's Notes

The peer review process occasionally results in approval of controversial publications that do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the editors. Readers of the journal are encouraged to critically review and comment on presented data by submitting a "Letter to the Editor" that may be reprinted in a subsequent issue.

Tubal Ligation and the Risk of Ovarian Carcinoma

Terri L Cornelison MD, Nachimuthu Natarajan MS, M Steven Piver MD, Curtis J Mettlin PhD

In a retrospective analysis of 300 ovarian carcinoma cases and 606 controls, tubal ligation was associated with a reduced risk for ovarian cancer development. The youngest patients at time of tubal ligation had the lowest ovarian carcinoma risk. >>>

Deletion of Chromosome 11 and Development of Colorectal Carcinoma

Atsushi Nanashima, MD, Yutaka Tagawa, MD, Toru Yasutake, MD, Naoki Fujise, MD, Kiyotaka Kashima, MD, Tohru Nakagoe, MD, Hiroyoshi Ayabe, MD

In 72 colorectal cancer patients deletion of chromosome 11 in cell cultures was frequently observed in larger and more invasive tumors (T3 and T4) than in those with Duke A. >>>

Downregulation of Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Expression and Susceptibility to Natural Killer Cells in Cells Transformed with the Oncogenic Adenovirus 12 are Regulated by Different E1a Domains

I Huvent, C Cousin, A Kiss, PhD, C Bernard, JC D'Halluin, PhD

Transformation into immortalized baby rat kidney cells by the oncogenic adenovirus Ad12 was associated with decreased major histocompatibility complex class antigen that permitted cells to escape recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. At least 2, the alanine-rich adenovirus domain and that contained in the second exon of Ad12E1A were required to induce lysis resistance to NK cells. >>>

Class I Major Histocompatibility Complex Antigens and Tumor Ploidy in Breast and Bronchogenic Carcinomas

Maximino Hedondo, MD, Angel Concha, MD, Francisco Ruiz-Cabello, MD, Miguel Morell, MD, Francisco Esteban, MD, Paloma Talavera, MD, Federico Garrido, M. D.C

In cells of bronchogenic carcinomas and primary breast tumors a negative class I major histocompatibility complex antigen expression in 65 of 207 tumors was significantly associated with poor tumor differentiation and abnormal cellular DNA content. >>>

Simultaneous Quantitative Analyses of c-erbB-2 Protein, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor, Cathepsin D, and Hormone Receptors in Breast Cancer

Hirotaka Iwase, MD, Yukashi Itoh, MD, Tatsuya Kuzushima, MD, Hiroko Yamashita, MD, Hiroji Iwata, MD, Tatsuya Toyama, MD, Yasuo Hara, MD, Shunzo Kobayashi, MD

High values of epidermal growth factor (EGFR) in breast cancer showed a strong negative correlation with estrogen receptors (ER) and a significant association with shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) than low values. Overexpression of c-erbB2 protein (ErbB2) was not significantly correlated with extent of lymph- node metastases, tumor size, ER and progesterone receptors (PgR), but showed a weak positive correlation with cathepsin D. >>>

Gene Expressions and Activities of Protein Phosphatases 1α, 2a and 2c in Hepatocarcinogenesis and Regeneration After Partial Hepatectomy

Kunimi Kikuchi D.MedSC, Kazuki Kitamura DSC, Yasutaka Kakinoki DMedSC, Koji Nakamura MS, Shu-ichi Matsuzawa DSC, Mostafa Saadat MS, Yusuke Mizuno Dsc

In primary hepatoma the mRNA level of PP2A was similar to control levels. Five weeks after diethylnitrosamine administration the mRNA level of PP2C was 11 times higher than in control livers. the mRNA levels of mainly PP2A and PP2C were markedly increased in the precancerous stage of hepatocarcinogenesis and during regeneration while in poorly differentiated ascites hepatomas only PP1alpha mRNA was markedly increased. >>>

Inhibition of Metastasis by Cicaprost in Rats with Established Smt2a Mammary Carcinoma Growth

Michael Schirner MD, Martin R Schneider PhD

Treatment with a prostacyclin analog Cicaprost before implantation of a poorly differentiated SMT2A mammary carcinoma with spontaneous metastases to regional lymphnodes and lung did not produce lung metastases in 5 of 10 animals in contrast to such metastases in all control animals. Treatment with Cicaprost after tumor implantation reduced the median number of lung metastases to 20 percent of the controls. >>>

Immunoreactive Adrenomedullin in Human Adrenal Glands and Adrenal Tumors

Fumitoshi Satoh, Kazuhiro Takahashi, Osamu Murakami, Fumitoshi Totsune, Masahiko Sone, Makoto Ohneda, Keishi Abe, Yukio Miura, Toraichi Mouri

Radioimmunoassay of adrenomedullin permitted detection of high concentrations of immunoreactive adrenomedullin in normal adrenal glands and pheochromocytomas. In adrenocortical tumors the concentrations of adrenomedullin were lower than in pheochromocytomas and normal adrenal glands. >>>

Cell Proliferation Detected by DNA Polymerase Α in Acute Leukemias

Atsushi Wakita MD, Masakazu Nitta M.D, Yasuharu Mitomo MD, Masaaki Takahashi, Masao Tanaka M.D, Tsuguhiro Kaneda PhD

In 59 patients with acute leukemia flow cytometry using monoclonal antibody against DNA polymerase showed a positive correlation between DNA polymerase alpha-positive cell populations in peripheral blood and those in the bone marrow of the same patient. Thus the proliferative activity of leukemia cells in bone marrow could be estimated qualitatively from that in peripheral blood. >>>

The Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2 is Expressed in Normal and Tumoral Human Tissues

Gregoire Prevost PhD, EDR, Robert Benamouzig MD, Nathalie Veber PhD, Anne Fajac MD, Roger Tatoud PhD, Armelle Degeorges PhD, Peter Eden PhD

Evaluation of somatostatin (SS) membrane-bound receptor (SST) tissue distribution and use of the cross- linking assay with the radioiodinated 125I-SS-14 led to detection of the cross-linked complex 57-KDa in 76 percent of 222 human surgical biopsies and in all 20 tested cell lines. Among several subtypes of the 57- KDa complex a high incidence of the mRNA SST2 gene product was found in a large number of human organs with normal and tumor tissue. >>>

Effect of Krestin as Adjuvant Treatment Following Radical Radiotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Kazushige Hayakawa MD, Norio Mitsuhashi M.D, Yoshihiro Saito MD, Yuko Nakayama MD, Masaya Furuta MD, Soken Nakamoto MD, Miho Kawashima MD, Hideo Niibe MD

Sixty-six of 142 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and satisfactory tumor regression from radiation therapy received adjuvant administration of Krestin (PSK). In PSK-treated patients with stage I and II disease the 2- and 5-yr survival rates were 87 and 39 percent respectively, whereas the PSK-untreated group had survival rates of 32 and 16 percent respectively. In the PSK-treated patients with stage III carcinoma, the 2- and 5-yr survival rates were 43 and 26 percent respectively in comparison to 14 and 5 percent respectively in the untreated group. >>>

Comparison of Daunorubicin and Fluo-3 for Detection of Multidrug Resistance in Human Tumor Cells

Eric E O Gheuens MD, Sylke A M van der Heyden PhD, Hilde E. Elst, Allan T Van Oosterom, MD PhD, Ernst A DeBruijn MD PhD

Multidrug resistant human ovarian cells were discriminated from drug sensitive cells by an assay using Fluo-3 combined with a monoclonal antibody MRK16 and daunorubycin (DNR). In drug-resistant cells immunofluoresence was positive for P-glycoprotein and negative for DNR and Fluo-3. In drug- sensitive cells immunofluoresence was negative for P-glycoprotein and positive for DNR and Fluo-3. In drug- resistant cells addition of verapamil increased fluorescence intensity of DNR and Fluo-3, whereas in drug- sensitive cells, verapamil increased florescence intensity of Fluo-3 but not of DNR. >>>

Biokinetics of Indium-111-Bleomycin Complex in Head and Neck Cancer-Implementations for Radiochemotherapy

Kalevi JA Kairemo MD MS, Hans A Ramsay M.D, Timo K Paavonen M.D, Hilkka A Jaaskela-Saari MD, Magnus Tagesson MS, Kaj Ljunggren MS, Sven-Erik Strand PhD MB

Bleomycin (BLM) combined with indium-III (In-III-BLMC) was injected in 10 head and neck cancer patients. The ability of BLM to kill cells in the G2 and M phase was in keeping with the uptake of In-III-BLMC in direct proportion to the number of mitoses in the tumor tissue. Therapy of head and neck cancer with In-III- BLMC was associated with a specific tumor uptake, stable biodistribution, moderate exposure of the kidneys and fast clearance from the body. >>>

Kinetics of g1/s and g2/m Transition in X-Irradiated Ataxia-Telangiectasia Cells

Sven Skog PhD, Rolf Lewensohn MD PhD, Qimin He PhD, Anna-Lena Borg, Richard Gatti MD

Regulation of G1/S- and G2/M-phase transition for normal and X-irradiated Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Measurements of DNA indicated decreased arrest in G1 after irradiation and no increase in the concentration of p53 as well as faulty G2/M transition in some cases of A-T. >>>

Knowledge of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Attending Urban Colposcopy Clinics

L Stewart Massad MD, Peter Meyer PhD, John Hobbs MD

A questionnaire distributed to 144 Medicaid patients at a university clinic and 42 patients attending a health maintenance organization (HMO) for initial colposcopy revealed that 49 percent of clinic patients versus 79 percent of HMO patients correctly understood that a pap smear is a cervical scraping and screen for cancer. Increased survival of women may require that information for improved understanding of the cervical cancer screening process should be targeted toward women with the lowest level of education. >>>

Herbert E. Nieburgs, MD
Worcester, MA
1997