No abstract

For early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), real-time ultrasonography (US) was performed prospectively in 528 patients, including 236 with cirrhosis, 81 with chronic hepatitis, 168 asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers, and 43 with a family history of HCC. Simultaneous measurement of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was also done. In addition, 233 patients had regular controls at 3- to 6-month intervals, with an average follow-up period of 1.4 years. On initial screening, a total of 17 patients were found to have HCC: 13 in the cirrhotic group, 3 in the HCC family group, and 1 in the asymptomatic carriers. Of these HCCs, 7 were smaller than 3 cm, 6 were between 3 to 5 cm, and 4 were larger than 5 cm. In patients with tumors smaller than 5 cm, the AFP levels were normal in 46.2%, between 20 to 400 ng/ml in another 46.2%, and only 7.6% were over 400 ng/ml. On follow-up, another seven patients, all in the cirrhotic group, were found to have HCCs varying from 1.6 to 4.7 cm; three of them had normal serum AFP level. The authors conclude that real-time US is more sensitive than AFP assay in early detection of HCC, and the high-risk subjects should receive this procedure at regular intervals.

A total of 238 arsenical skin cancers in 153 patients (98 men and 55 women) were histologically studied; 117 patients (76.47%) were older than 50. Of the 238 lesions, 46 were epidermoid carcinoma, 36 basal cell (23 deep and 13 superficial), 139 intraepidermal (18 type B keratoses and 121 classical Bowen's lesions and variants) and 17 combined forms. Clinically, it was often impossible to differentiate superficial basal cell carcinoma, intraepidermal carcinoma and combined forms. Bowen's variants (10 with squamous eddies, 6 with features of seborrheic keratosis and 5 with horn formation) were described and illustrated. The combined forms were mixtures of superficial basal cell carcinoma, Bowen's lesion or its variants and Jadassohn epithelioma, Among the 36 basal cell carcinomas, ten revealed bizarre multinucleated giant cells and nuclear atypicalities, three in deep and seven in superficial. Arsenical keratoses consisted of benign type A and malignant type B (intraepidermal carcinoma). Among the 81 type A keratoses 57 revealed no cell atypicalities and 24 only mild ones. Relationships of Bowen's lesions to keratoses and to invasive and metastasizing carcinomas and of keratoses type A to type B and to epidermoid carcinomas were discussed.

No abstract

No abstract