No abstract

The serum concentration of squamous-cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-A), a subfraction of tumour antigen, was determined by RIA from healthy donors (control group) and from patients with malignant cervical disease. Ninety-six percent (173/180) of the healthy patients had squamous-cell carcinoma antigen serum levels below 2 ng/ml. Ten of 70 (14.3%) patients with CIN III, 53.8% (34/62) of patients with invasive squamous-cell carcinoma stage I, 85.8% (30/35) with stage II and 96.5% (27/28) with stage III/IV had squamous-cell carcinoma antigen serum levels above 2 ng/ml. We observed that 22.5% (11/49) of patients with a tumour volume below 10 ml and 92.6% of patients with a tumour volume greater than 10 ml had squamous-cell carcinoma antigen levels above 2 ng/ml (p less than 0.005). SCC-A was correlated with recurrence or progressive disease in 90.0% of cases. Other risk factors such as depth of invasion, microscopic parametrial involvement, lymphatic and/or vascular space permeation and histological grade were not correlated with squamous-cell carcinoma antigen. Furthermore, this marker increased 4.3 +/- 2.7 months before clinical evidence of recurrence or progressive disease. We conclude that serial serum levels of squamous-cell carcinoma antigen provide a means for early detection of recurrence or progressive disease. This tumour marker might also be useful for monitoring the treatment effects and has some prognostic value.

Any drug given to a pregnant woman must be considered as possibly harmful in the fetus, since all drugs administered to the mother cross the placental membrane, although at different rates. Important physiological changes occur in pregnancy, which may influence the kinetics of drugs. Differences in gastrointestinal function are likely to alter drug absorption rates in the stomach or gut. Ventilatory alterations modify pulmonary drug absorption or elimination. Important changes in haemodynamics and alterations in body water compartments influence drug distribution and elimination. Renal drug elimination is generally enhanced, whereas hepatic drug elimination may be modified in different ways. Computerised pharmacokinetic models representing the compartmental aspects of the fetal-maternal unit and fetal-maternal drug interrelationships may be used to predict kinetic consequences of fetal drug exposure. Such information may be a useful guide for the clinical use of drugs during pregnancy, particularly for treatment of fetal disease.

Between April 1981 and June 1985, 195 patients with ovarian cancer, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stages IIB, IIC, III, and IV, entered a trial that consisted of surgery and chemotherapy with cisplatin (P) and melphalan (PAM) with or without hexamethylmelamine (HexaPAMP or PAMP regimens) every 4 weeks for 6 cycles. Because the intent was to study the outcome by treatment after evaluation of first-line chemotherapy, patients were evaluable only if the response was assessed by a second-look operation or if measurable disease progression was documented. One hundred fifty-eight patients (81%) were evaluable for response. Forty-five (28%) achieved pathologically confirmed complete remissions (pCR), and 24 of these patients received whole-abdominal radiation (WAR) for consolidation of response. Five patients with complete remission after WAR relapsed, as did nine of the 21 with complete remission who had not undergone WAR. The 3-year time to progression percentage (TTP +/- SE) from second-look operation was 70% +/- 7% for all patients who achieved pCR, 83% +/- 8% for those who received WAR, and 49% +/- 15% for those who did not receive WAR (this was not a randomized comparison). The 3-year TTP percentage for the 49 partial responders was 21% +/- 6%, identical for the 19 who had WAR and the 30 who had no radiation therapy. Additional or alternative methods for consolidation of pCR are needed since patients continue to relapse despite optimal initial response to therapy.

Plasma levels of CA 125 were determined in 113 patients with ovarian cancer of epithelial origin. Of these, 69 patients had CA 125 measured before the first laparotomy and 84.6% of them had a CA 125 level >35 U/ml. In 87 of the 113 patients whose tumour was producing CA 125, a good correlation was observed between the CA 125 levels and the clinical follow-up: 95.7% of the patients in remission had levels <35 U/ml, whereas all the patients with no change o r with a progressive disease had levels >35 U/ml. Furthermore in recurrent disease the levels of CA 125 were also increased (>35 U/ml) in 92.3% of the patients. Thus, CA 125 measurements at regular intervals are of great clinical value in following the evolution of a tumour or the success of a therapy, but unfortunately do not allow detection of an ovarian tumour at an early stage.