Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, and postoperative radiation therapy for invasive thymoma

Article Abstract:

Invasive thymoma, a malignant tumor of the thymus gland, constitutes between 0.2 percent and 1.5 percent of all cancers. This cancer is generally treated with surgery followed by radiation to kill any cancer cells that may have spread beyond the boundary of the surgically removed tissues. However, invasive thymoma often penetrates tissues in the chest and neck which are not surgically removable; if these areas are also outside of the region receiving radiotherapy, then relapse is certain. It is natural, therefore, that attempts be made to improve the results of treatment for invasive thymoma by including chemotherapy. A study was conducted to evaluate neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive thymoma. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is administered prior to surgery not only to destroy deposits of cancer cells which may not be surgically removed, but also to reduce the size of the primary tumor and render it more amenable to surgical resection. A total of seven patients with invasive thymoma were treated with cisplatin, epirubicin, and etoposide prior to surgery. Following surgery, radiotherapy was administered in doses ranging from 4,600 to 6,000 cGy. (A Gy, or Gray, is a dose of radiation equivalent to one joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of tissue; cGy is 1/100th of a Gray.) All seven patients achieved partial responses to the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. (A partial response is defined as a reduction in tumor mass of at least 50 percent.) In four cases, it was possible to completely remove the tumor mass. In only one case was it impossible to remove the complete tumor as determined by gross examination. In the remaining two cases, only microscopic examination revealed that the entire tumor had not been removed. One patient died of a brain tumor; he was found to be free of thymoma at autopsy. The remaining six patients are currently alive and free of disease at follow-up periods ranging from 8 to 24 months. It is estimated that the two-year survival for this group of patients may be around 80 percent. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Thymoma, Endocrine gland tumors

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Changes of soluble CD16 levels in serum of HIV-infected patients: correlation with clinical and biological prognostic factors

Article Abstract:

Markers on the surfaces of cells can be used to assess the course of certain infectious diseases, cancer and immune disorders. CD16 is an antigen found on the surface of specialized white blood cells called T cell lymphocytes that are involved in the immune response. The expression of CD16 receptors, sites on the surfaces of neutrophils (white blood cells) with a particular affinity for CD16 antigen, are found to decrease in HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infected patients with AIDS. To see if the CD16 expression on the surfaces of T lymphocytes can be used to monitor disease progression, 73 HIV-infected patients were studied. The patients were in one of three different stages of disease progression. The blood lymphocytes were examined for the expression of membrane-associated CD16 and the results were analyzed for their relationship to disease severity. There was no difference in the number of natural killer T cells expressing CD16 antigens. However, there was a correlation between the absolute number of T cells expressing CD16 antigen and Leu19+ cells (another types of lymphocyte population expressing CD16 antigens) and the concentration of soluble CD16, which is released when membrane receptors are shed in the blood of HIV-infected patients. Although the relationship between CD16 and HIV infection is not clear, these findings may be of significance when eliciting an immune response during vaccination attempts and during recombinant CD4 drug treatment trials. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Measurement, Physiological aspects, HIV (Viruses), HIV, T cells, AIDS (Disease), Immune response, AIDS research, Cell surface antigens

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