Blood and bone marrow eosinophilia in malignant tumors: role and nature of blood and tissue eosinophil colony-stimulating factor(s) in two patients

Article Abstract:

Eosinophilia is an excess of eosinophils, a form of white blood cells. Eosinophilia may result from a variety of different causes, including cancerous disease. About 0.5 percent of all malignancies involve eosinophilia. Eosinophilia is more common in malignancies of the blood (leukemia), but may also occur as a response to many other sorts of cancer, including uterine, breast, pancreas, and colorectal cancer. While eosinophilia in the immediate location of a tumor is generally regarded as a good sign, eosinophilia in the blood is generally an indicator of the spread of cancer through the body and is a negative sign. Researchers disagree on the exact cause of eosinophilia in cancer patients. A study was undertaken to evaluate factors that may contribute to the development of eosinophilia. Five hundred cancer cases of all types were reviewed; nine cases were found to include eosinophilia. In two of these cases, measurements are made of factors that stimulate the development of eosinophils and other forms of granulocytes. Samples of both serum from the blood and extracts from tumor tissue were examined for their ability to stimulate the growth of bone marrow cells in tissue culture dishes. Small colonies of cells were seen to develop, indicating that the serum and the tissue extracts had stimulating activity. To determine which of the myriad of substances present in the mixtures were actually responsible for the stimulation of growth, antibodies against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-3 (IL-3) were added to the mixture. The rationale was that if these factors were present, their activity would be neutralized by the antibodies and the stimulating effect would disappear, which was exactly what was observed. This observation is interpreted to mean that GM-CSF and IL-3 are present in the tumors in these patients with eosinophilia, and it is plausible to suggest that these factors leak into the blood and contribute to the development of eosinophilia. It is possible that other stimulating factors are present in the tumors as well. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Interleukins, Eosinophilia, Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor

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Metastatic epidural spinal cord compression: results of treatment and survival

Article Abstract:

A common complication of the metastatic spread of cancer is the compression of the spinal cord by a tumor growing outside the cord's dural sheath. It is estimated that neurological symptoms resulting from cord compression may occur in as many as five percent of all cancer cases, and epidural tumors which have not yet produced symptoms are probably much more common. There is little agreement on whether patients with spinal cord compression should be treated surgically or with radiation alone. There is agreement, however, that the results of treating patients who have already lost their ability to walk are quite unsatisfactory. In an examination of medical records in eastern Denmark, 345 patients treated for spinal cord compression could be identified and studied. The most common causes of metastatic spinal cord compression were lung cancer in 19 percent of the cases, prostate cancer in 18 percent, breast cancer in 13 percent, and kidney cancer accounting for 10 percent. No significant differences in recovery of neurological function were seen in patients treated by surgery alone, radiation alone, or radiation in combination with surgery. The primary determinant of recovery seems to be the patient's condition prior to treatment. Of patients able to walk prior to treatment, 79 percent remained ambulatory. Of those who could not walk, only 21 percent regained the ability, and only 6 percent of patients who were already paralyzed regained the ability to walk. If the subgroup of patients who could not walk is considered separately, there was significantly greater improvement among patients undergoing both surgery and radiation than in those treated with radiation alone. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Evaluation, Surgery, Radiotherapy, Metastasis, Cancer metastasis, Spinal cord compression

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Klebsiella Bacteremia: a 10-year review in a cancer institution

Article Abstract:

Infections, particularly blood infections and pneumonia, are a common cause of complications among cancer patients. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella are the predominant bacteria involved in these infections. The incidence of Klebsiella infections among 330 cancer patients was studied. Eighty-eight percent of the infections were acquired while the patient was hospitalized. A course of antibiotic therapy, within the previous ten days, was responsible for infections in 58 percent of these patients. Lung infections were found in 24 percent of the patients, and 25 percent were in shock. A condition causing a disorganized clotting mechanism, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), occurred in seven percent of the patients. Antibiotics produced the best response rate; infection resolved in 79 percent of the patients treated with a combination of cephalosporin and aminoglycoside. Most of the patients recovered from the infection (69 percent). Of the patients who did not respond to antibiotic therapy, 62 percent died within three days and 18 percent died within one week. Infections associated with bronchogenic cancers, pneumonia, shock and hemorrhage had a poor prognosis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Bacteremia, Klebsiella

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