Sera ofIt has been shown that chemically induced primary and transplantable hepatomas of mice and rats synthesize and secrete into the blood a specific protein of the embryonal serum, af-globulin (Abelev, 1963(Abelev, , 1965 Abelev et al., 1963a, b ; Grabar et al., 1965;Perova and Abelev, 1967). This protein which possessed distinct antigenic properties is a dominant component in the a-globulin fraction of foetal serum. It is usually discerned during embryonal and the first three weeks of neonatal life of mice and rats. It has not been detected in four week old or older animals. Synthesis of a/-globulin was found to resume in primary and transplantable hepatomas, though not in all cases. This protein could not be detected in a number of tumours of other than hepatic origin. Tatarinov (1964Tatarinov ( , 1965 has demonstrated that this phenomenon, af-globulin synthesis, takes place in patients with primary carcinoma of the liver. He suggested that this test could be used in the differential diagnosis of primary and metastatic liver tumours. He showed that the test was specific for hepatocellular tumours

This trial shows that FEC with epirubicin at 100 mg/m2 can be administered for repeated cycles without bone marrow support with increased, though acceptable, toxicity and with a significant increase of antitumor effect (especially in visceral and/or high-burden disease), but no increased survival.

No abstract

The study suggests that carboplatin-etoposide combination therapy is inferior to cisplatin-etoposide in patients with good-risk germ cell tumors.

The kinetics of platinum in plasma and erythrocytes, and its renal excretion, have been examined in five patients with non-small cell carcinoma of the lung, after treatment with cisplatin 50 mg/m2 (Platidiame) and, three weeks later, a combination of 50 mg/m2 cisplatin and 40 mg/m2 methotrexate. The patients were given 0.9% saline 1 l 1 h prior to drug application. Plasma platinum elimination was biphasic with a short initial phase (t1/2 alpha 10-31 min) and a long beta-phase (t1/2 beta 65-91 h). With the exception of increased AUC values in all five patients 0-8 h after the injection, no significant change in the kinetics of platinum in plasma was found after coadministration of methotrexate. In four of the five patients renal platinum excretion was reduced in the first 6 h after administration of methotrexate. The renal clearance of platinum was 50% lower in those four patients 0-3 h after the injection. With the exception of one patient, no signs of nephrotoxicity were observed after combined drug administration. Other toxic effects were mild and showed no increase after the initial administration of methotrexate.