ONCOLOGY AND CHEMOTHERAPY ~jrmpton1s were rare and included only muscle cramps, twitchor mild tremor. The long-term effects of hypomagnesemia i.n this group will be studied. J. H. N. 1 7 references
Seizures Associated With Cisp,latin Administration
G. M. MEAD, A. M. ARNOLD, J. A. GREEN, F. R. MACBETH, C. J. WILLIAMS AND J. M. WHITEHOUSE, CRC Medical OncolSouthhampton General Hospital, England ogy Cancer Treat. Rep., 66: 1719-1722
1982
Toxic effects of cisplatin use in chemotherapy are common. Aside from nausea, vuuuu1.,;: and renal impairment, myelosuppression and neurotoxicity are described. Neurotoxhas predominately included peripheral motor neuropathy but seizures have been reported. The authors noted seizures in 9,8 per cent (8 patients) of a series of 81 patients with germ cell carcinoma of the testis or ovary (26 cases), or metastatic carcinoma of the ovary (55 cases). Several chemotherapy regimens were used and a number of other drugs were included. Transient peripheral motor or sensory was seen in 10 patients. The temporal relationship of seizure to cisplatin therapy varied widely, with seizures occurring during infusion in 1 patient and as long as 3 months later in another. Seizures varied from focal to status epilepsyo Associated factors included micturition, phenothiazine administration, hypoxia, hyponatremia and recent ra,cei:it,,si:s. No clear evidence of cumulative dose effect was notedo The authors suggest that hypomagnesemia may further contribute. J. H. N. 1 19 references
A Feasibility Study in the Development of Biological Markers for Ovarian Cancer N. B. RoSENSP!EIN, Jo H. SHAPER, D. S. KB. Woo, J. F. PAONE AND C. W. GEHRKE, The Johns ,n"'"'·"h'v Center, Baltimore, Maryland and the ,,,,,w,u,·,.nu Biochemistry, Experimental Station Chemical Laboratories, University of JY[issouri, Jifissouri
T. P.
fl.fl.Jun,:,.:,,
ETTINGER,
Jo
Oncol., 21: 207-214 (Dec.) 1982
Ovarian cancer is the most common gynecologic tumor and has a poor prognosis. Because of silent growth and late detection the of the patients present with far advanced tumors. These authors have investigated the feasibility of selecting biochemical tumor markers for early evaluation of these tumors. A panel of biochemical markers, including carcinoemantigen, human chorionic gonadotropin, protein-bound and DP-galactosyltransferase, in serum were measuredo Also urinary ribonucleoside, ,B-aminoisobutric acid, hydroxyproline and creatinine were measured. A total of 45 patients with various stages of ovarian cancer was studiedo These patients were classified as in remission, or with minimal disease or advanced tumoro The authors have observed that galactosyltransferase was the most frequently elevated marker in limited disease. Also, the levels of some of these biomarkers were proportional to the burden of disease. The authors have concluded that multiple serum and urinary markers are superior to a single marker in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. They also have indicated that
405
further study is needed to assess the value of these markers monitoring the tumor. 6 figures, 4 tables, 49 references
Abstracter's comment. In selecting a tumor marker one should consider sensitivity and specificity to avoid false n"'""'''""''"' and false positive resultso These markers are neither nor sensitive. Furthermore, a reliable tumor marker for a cancer should not be found in normal status, inflammation of the organ from which cancer arises, and other cancerso These authors have not addressed these critical questions. However, elevation of these markers may be helpful in patients with known ovarian cancer and used in monitoring the therapy. This needs further study as suggested by these authors. N. J.
Immunohistochemical Localization of Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Microglam:lular Hyperplasia and. Adenocardnoma of the Em:locervix
w.
C. SPEERS, Lo G. PICASO AND s. G. SILVERBERG, Department of Pathology, University Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado, and Department The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D. C.
Amer. J. Clin. Path., 79: 105-107 (Jano) 1983 Although the absolute specificity of carcinoembryonic antigen as a marker for malignant neoplasms and embryonic tissue of endodermal epithelial origin has been disproved it is 1Jv.,,,JC1u1e that in the appropriate context serum and/or tissue carcinoembryonic antigen might still prove to be a useful marker of tumor recurrence, histogenetic origin of a given neoplasm or as a means of distinguishing malignant from benign behavior. Immunoperoxidase localization of carcinoembryonic antigen was performed on tissue sections of micro glandular hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma of endocervical origin. Of 21 benign lesions 20 (95 per cent) were negative and 1 was focally positive (<5 per cent stained), while 9 of 14 adenocarcinomas (64 per cent) were widely positive, 4 were focally positive and l was These preliminary results suggest that imrnunohistochemistry might be a valuable adjunctive tool for the diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma in that anything more than focal positivity signifies malignancy. This is unlike the case of moid lesions of the cervix, in which clearly benign lesions are 25 per cent positive. Mo G. F. 3 figures, l table, 7 references 0
Factors Influencing the Survival of Patients With Cancer of the Prostate G.
BAKO, R DEWAR, Jo HANSON AND G. HILL, Epidemiology, Provincial Cancer Hospitals Board, Edmonton, Canada
Canad. Med. Ass. J., 127: 727-729 (Oct. 15) 1982 This is a retrospective study on the epidemiology of carcinoma of the prostate. The information was collected from the cancer registry of Alberta, Canadao During a period of 4 years (from 1969 through 1973) 777 new cases of carcinoma of the prostate were reported to the registry. The parameters studied included the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis, presence or absence of metastases, full-time occupation, residence (urban or rural), smoking status and the interval between the appearance of first symptom and diagnosiso Five-year survival rates were calculated for each of the variableso The over-all