Cancer Detection and Prevention Volume 21 / Issue 6 (Nov-Dec 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.

Comparative Study of Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity: Expression of bcl-2, p53, and Her- 2/neu, And Indexes of Cell Turnover

Cinthia B Drachenberg MD, Remy Blanchaert MD DDS, Olga B Ioffe MD, Robert A Ord MD DDS, John C Papadimitriou MD PhD

In verrucous carcinoma (VC) the apoptotic index consistently ranged from 0.1 to 1%, Ki-67 positive nuclei were confined to the basal epithelial layer, bcl-2 was expressed only in the cytoplasm of few scattered cells and p53 mutations were present in 50% of the lesions. In squamous cell carcinoma the apoptotic index ranged from 3 to 8 %, K-67 positive nuclei were randomly distributed, bcl-2 cytoplasmic and nuclear expression was more widespread and higher than in VC. p53 positive nuclei were identified in 62.5% of the lesions. >>>

Rapid Diagnostic Imaging of Cancer Using Radiolabeled Liposomes

Izumi Ogihara-Umeda PhD, Toru Sasaki PhD, Hinako Toyama PhD, Kelichi Oda PhD, Michio Senda, MD, Hideo Nishigori PhD

Radiolabeled liposomes with biotin bound to their surface were injected into sarcoma 180-bearing mice. Administration of avidin 4 hours later resulted in rapid removal of liposomes from the circulation thereby permitting diagnostic imaging of cancer in 2 hours instead of several days. >>>

Smoking History and Cancer Patient Survival: A Hospital Cancer Registry Study

Guo-Pei Yu, MD MPH, Jamie S Ostroff, PhD, Zuo-Fengzhang, MD Ph.D, Jian Tang MS, Stimson P Schantz MD

Patients with oral, pancreatic, breast and prostate cancer, who had a history of smoking, had a lower rate of survival than nonsmokers. The overall 5-year survival rates for all sites of cancer was 61.5% for nonsmokers and 48.9% for ever-smokers. A dose-response relationship was found between smoking and survival of cancer patients. >>>

Factors Associated with Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Practices Among Vietnamese American Women

Stephen J McPhee MD, Susan Stewart PhD, Kaye C Brock PhD, Joyce A Bird PhD, Christopher NH Jenkins MA MPH., Giao Q Pham MD

A survey of 933 randomly selected Vietnamese women revealed that 70% of the respondents had at least one prior clinical examination but only 30% had a mammogram and 53% had a Pap test. Among women aged 18 to 39 yr., the odds of having had a screening test increased with age but decreased for women older than 40 yr. >>>

Tamoxifen and Ocular Toxicity

Roland Ah-Song MD, Annie J Sasco MD Dr PH

Use of high daily doses of tamoxifen (TAM) led to reports on ocular toxicities including impaired visual acuity, blurred vision, superficial corneal opacities, retinal lesions, macular adema and bilateral optic neuritis. Use of standard doses produced either no ocular complications or led to pigment changes around the retina, corneal opacities and macular degeneration. In one prospective study of 63 patients on TAM 20-mg daily for a medium period of 25 months the incidence rate of ocular lesions was estimated at 6.3%. There was apparently no clear dose-related association between use of TAM and ocular toxicity. >>>

Immunohistochemical Assessment of Proliferation Markers and Altered Gene Expression in Archival Specimens of Ovarian Epithelial Tumors

Mahmoud A Khalifa MD PhD FRCP, David A Lacher MD, Janice M Lage MD, Robert S Mannel MD, Joan L Walker MD, Lee H Angros MS, Kyung-Whan Min MD

Patients with ovarian low-malignant potential (LMP) tumors had a survival rate of 100% while 40% of those with primary adenocarcinoma recurred and 80% of patients who had recurrent cancer died of their disease. The mean percentage of epidermal growth factor receptor immunoblastic cells HER-2/neu and p53 was significantly lower in the LMP group than in primary and recurrent ovarian carcinoma. >>>

Deficient DNA Repair in Chronic Ulcerative Colitis

Katherine K Sanford PhD, Floyd M Price MS, Carmel Brodeur BS RN, Frederick L Makrauer MD, Ram Parshad PhD

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with chronic ulcerative colitis presumably free of cancer were deficient in the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage. DNA repair deficiency consisted of an abnormally high chromatid break frequency (CBF) after G2-phase x-irradiation and of low CBF that was not increased by addition of the DNA inhibitor araC. >>>

Pancreatic Cancer Cell Regulation by Lipids and by Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Expression

Agnes Estival, PhD, Suzanne Durand, PhD, Pascal Clerc RT, Dominique Louvel M.D, Nicole Vaysse MD PhD, Pierre Valdiguie MD PhD, Francois Clemente MD PhD

In human pancreatic cell lines serum lipids stimulated cell proliferation in the absence of other growth factors by direct action on cancer cells. Serum lipids together with insulin and transferrin induced a proliferative response as high a that observed with fetal calf serum. Fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the extracellular medium exerted a weak response contrary to the stronger effect of endogenous bFGF. >>>

Effects of Catechols on Free Radical Formation by Chemotherapeutic Agents (Adriamycin, Farmorubicin, and Mitomycin)

Michel Bounias DSc, Jozef Kladny PhD, Irena Kruk PhD, Teresa Michalska PhD, Krzysztof Lichszteld PhD

Catecholamines and DOPA enhanced the hydroxyl radical generation by adriamycin, farmorubicin and mitomycin C in presence of the cobalt ion + hydrogen peroxide system. Catylase and hydroxyl radical scavengers (Manitol, thiourea cytsteine glutathione L-lactic dehydrogenase) inhibited the deoxyribose damage caused by these antitumor antibiotic drugs. >>>

Herbert E. Nieburgs, MD
Worcester, MA
1997