Genotoxic effectivity--comparison of 36 nitrated furan and arenofuran derivatives on a quantitative scale. Statistical comparison of T7 and other short-term tests

Thirty-six nitrated furan and arenofuran derivatives were measured and quantitatively characterized by the T7 inactivation test. A wide range of substances previously studied allowed us to compare the collected quantitative data with those obtained by other workers using different short-term tests. Based on comparative statistical evaluation of these data a borderline was determined for the genotoxic effect: compounds having in our short-term test mutagenicity index (MI) values smaller than 8.0 are positive while the higher values represent negative genotoxicity. Classification of 36 nitrofuran/nitroarenofuran derivatives is given both on the basis of the quantitative genotoxicity scale and in terms of +/- on the qualitative scale. All but one compound were found to be genotoxic and the genotoxic activities of these compounds were compared with the results of other carcinogenicity or mutagenicity tests.

Information on the location of carbon-carbon double bonds in C6-C 23 linear alkenes from carbon addition reactions in a quadrupole ion trap equipped with a pulsed sample-inlet system

Ion-molecule reactions of a number of alkene molecular ions with different neutral alkenes were studied in a quadrupole ion trap equipped with a pulsed sample-inlet system. The molecules studied include several isomeric unbranched hexenes, heptenes, octenes, and nonenes, as well as representative alkenes with ten, twelve, fourteen, and twenty-three carbon atoms. Transfer of structurally characteristic number of methylene units between the ionic and neutral reactants dominates the product distributions for all the alkenes studied, with the exception of 1-alkenes. Isomeric alkenes can be readily distinguished on the basis of their products from reactions with neutral alkenes. It is suggested that distonic intermediates are generated in these reactions, and that they fragment by alkene elimination after 1,2- and 1,5-hydride shifts. The ability to vary the reaction time, pressure of the neutral reagents, and the type of ions and neutral molecules present in the reaction chamber during each stage of the experiment sequence makes it possible to maximize the amount of structural information obtained for alkenes in these experiments. Use of CS 2 (+•) to generate the alkene molecular ion by charge exchange yields the same information without the need to carry out a mass-selection step for the ionized alkene.

Multimodality treatment in anaplastic giant cell thyroid carcinoma

Anaplastic giant cell thyroid carcinoma is highly malignant. Surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy used separately have not been effective. Combinations of the three modalities have been used at Radiumhemmet since the middle of the 1970s. Nine patients received three-drug chemotherapy and radiotherapy. One patient was alive after 12 years; eight died. Twenty-five patients were given a similar regimen (with two fractions of radiotherapy per day), aiming at surgery. Twelve patients could undergo surgery. Two were alive 11 and 3.5 years after diagnosis. One patient died free of tumor after 6.5 years. Of the remaining 22 patients, many died of metastatic disease. A combination of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy, chemotherapy (bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil) and surgery during the remission has given a 12% (four of 34) survival (greater than 3 years). All survivors had undergone surgery. The patients who died had in many cases achieved local tumor control. Adriamycin (Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH) once a week replaced BCF due to treatment complications in patients receiving BCF. Of five patients, only one was alive more than 10 months after treatment.

Comparison of the carcinogenic effects of two 2-nitro-naphthofurans injected sub-cutaneously in rats

7-Methoxy-2-nitro-naphtho[2,1-b]furan (R 7000) and its methylated homolog in position 1 (R 7372) are among the most mutagenic agents presently known, as shown by the results obtained both in the Ames test and in the SOS Chromotest. Their carcinogenic effects were tested in rats. We were able to confirm the carcinogenic effects of these nitro-naphthofurans, the presence of a methyl group--while increasing the mutagenic effect of R 7000 10 times--induces a significant decrease of the carcinogenic effects in R 7372. The discrepancy between the mutagenic effects in bacterial assays and the carcinogenic effects of these two 2-nitro-naphthofurans remains to be explained.

Thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents

Forty patients aged 20 years or younger at the time of the diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma were followed between 10 and 35 years (mean, 22 years). All patients had had surgery, either a total thyroidectomy or a resection. Sixteen patients received additional radiotherapy. One patient died during surgery. Two patients died of metastatic tumor growth, 5 and 14 years after the primary diagnosis, respectively. Six further patients had recurrences (1-7.5 years after first treatment) and received further treatment. At the end of the study 37 patients were alive without signs of recurrence.

Phytoalexines et réactions de défense de la tomate aux infections par Phytophthora parasitica et Verticillium albo-atrum

Two cultivars of tomato of Saint-Pierre phénotype, isogenic for the resistance against verticilliosis and different for the resistance against mildew (and against Phytophthora parasitica Dast.), were inoculated with P. parasitica and with Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke et Berth. Associated with the defence reactions, an accumulation of sesquiterpenes phenolic compounds, tomatin, and oxygenated compounds of methyl linoleate took place in the tissues. Synthesis of these compounds in the host varies with the cultivars and the parasites in presence. In vitro studies on the inhibition of P. parasitica have shown an important synergism between the dienols on one side and the phenolic compounds and tomatin on the other side. [Translated by the Journal]

Genotoxic activities of 2-nitronaphthofurans and related molecules

The genotoxic activities of 63, 2-nitronaphthofurans and related molecules were examined using two bacterial short-term tests, the Salmonella mammalian microsome assay test or Mutatest, a mutagenesis assay, and/or the SOS Chromotest, an assay for induction of an SOS function in Escherichia coli. Seven compounds were also investigated in the Chinese hamster ovary cells/hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (CHO/HGPRT) test, a mammalian gene mutation assay. Our main conclusions are the following: (a) Simple empirical rules relating structure to mutagenic activity in the Mutatest can be derived for some of the compounds. In particular, they account for the extremely high Mutagenic Potency of 7-methoxy-1-methyl-2-nitronaphtho[2,1-b]furan (R7372), approximately 2 X 10(6) mutants/nmol on strain TA100. (b) There is a good quantitative correlation between the Mutagenic Potency in the Salmonella/mammalian microsomes assay and the SOS-inducing potency in the SOS Chromotest. This, and previous evidence, suggests strongly that the 2-nitronaphthofurans derivatives are essentially recA and thus probably umuDC-dependent mutagens. (c) Four out of seven compounds tested in the CHO/HGPRT assay gave responses correlated with the bacterial responses. One of them, 7-methoxy-2-nitronaphtho[2,1-b]furan (R7000), is among, or is, the strongest mutagen described for mammalian cells. We briefly discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these results.

Radiation therapy in operable breast cancer: results from the Stockholm trial on adjuvant radiotherapy

In a randomized trial, 960 women with Stage 1-3 operable breast cancer were treated by a modified radical mastectomy alone, or by the same procedure, preceded or followed by radiotherapy (4500 rad to the breast/chest wall, and internal mammary, axillary and supraclavicular lymph nodes). Up to ten years after treatment, there is an increasing gap between the recurrence-free survival of the irradiated patients and the surgical controls. Between the two types of radiotherapy, there was no difference. There were significantly fewer distant metastases and a tendency for improved survival in node positive patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy, compared to the surgical controls, this difference was, however, statistically not significant.

An application of the Swedish Cancer-Environment Registry. Leukaemia among telephone operators at the telecommunications administration in Sweden

The detection of 4 cases of leukaemia among telephone operators at the Telecommunications Administration in Gothenburg within a period of 6 years (1969-74) evoked disquiet among the employees. Following an inquiry to the National Board of Health and Welfare a retrospective study was undertaken with a view to examining whether this incidence was consistent with the risk for the country as a whole. The study was based on the newly established Cancer-Environment Registry for the period 1961-73 covering the entire country. This was the first occasion on which the Registry had been applied in an investigation of cancer risk for a specific occupational group. The analysis disclosed no higher risk of leukaemia among telephone operators in the Telecommunications Administration in Sweden than among the population as a whole.

A Swedish cancer-environment register available for research

The National Board of Health and Welfare and the National Central Bureau of Statistics in Sweden have jointly established a register containing, in addition to the data of the Swedish Cancer Register, information on occupation, economic activity, place of domicile, etc, from the 1960 population census. In the autumn of 1978 this Register was made available for interested scientists in all countries. It can be used for epidemiologic studies on the relationship that occupation, place of domicile, and similar factors may bear to the incidence of different types of cancer. The project was designated the Cancer-Environment Register. The present paper contains a synopsis of this register.

Radiation therapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in East Africa

Results of irradiation, 1 to 3 years after treatment, are presented in 64 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in East Africans. Two types of anatomic point indices are presented. Both correlate well with the results. Prophylactic irradiation of the mediastinum and both axillae was not followed by any evident improvement of the results.