[Intravesical instillation of adriamycin and other antineoplastic agents]

Although transurethral resection seems to be the primary modality in the treatment of low grade & low stage bladder carcinoma, there are circumstances in which an effective intravesical chemotherapeutic drug could be incorporated into the therapeutic modality. Intravesical chemotherapy do not any special instrument and not require great skill. Additionally, now many chemotherapeutic agents which show cytocydal effect on bladder carcinoma after a brief time instillation, can be obtained. Therefore, intravesically chemotherapy has come to be used routinely. Thio-TEPA, mitomycin C and adriamycin are most frequently used for intravesical chemotherapy and the therapeutic effectiveness has been reported. The optimal intravesical chemotherapeutic drug should possess the following properties: (1) sensitivity to transitional cell carcinoma (2) efficacy after a brief contact (3) low absorption from the bladder (4) low irritable action to the normal bladder mucosa Adriamycin meets these demands except (4), and shows clinical response by fewer instillation than thio-TEPA & mitomycin C. A 68% effectiveness has been experienced by six to nine times of instillation (adriamycin 50mg/normal saline 30ml). Carboquone, cytosine arabinoside aclacinomycin A. bleomycin and neocarzinostatin are also used. Although these intravesical chemotherapy is evaluated with the combination of hydrostatic pressure therapy and irradiation, these modalities still seem to need further study.

[Clinical effect of UFT on bladder cancer]

UFT (a mixture of futraful and uracil) was administered orally to 15 cases of recurrent and superficial bladder cancer principally for more than 4 weeks at the doses of 300 or 600 mg per day. The result was evaluated by Koyama-Saito's response criteria. Of 14 evaluable cases, complete remission was noted in 5. Two cases of advanced bladder cancer were treated with UFT combined with irradiation therapy, and one case was found that cancer cells degenerated severely in the primary lesion pathologically. Another case was recognized that lung metastasis disappeared completely. As the side effects, anorexia occurred in 2 cases with 600 mg per day and 1 case with 300 mg, but it was not so severe to terminate UFT therapy. From above-mentioned results, UFT seems to be a useful drug for the treatment of bladder cancers.

Effects of steroid sex hormones and adriamycin on human bladder cancer cells in culture

The effects of steroid sex hormones on the established cell lines derived from human urinary bladder cancer, T24, and from human transitional cell cancer of the urinary tract, 253J, were examined using the colony formation method. Of the seven kinds of steroid hormones tested, estradiol-17 beta was intensively cytotoxic for both cells. The cytotoxic effect was depended on the dose and time of treatment. The combined effect of Adriamycin and estradiol-17 beta on T24 cells could be recognized at low concentrations of Adriamycin (less than or equal to 10(-3) micrograms/ml) after exposure for 24 h.

Changes of portal vein pressure and intrahepatic blood vessels after surgery for biliary atresia

The portal vein pressure was measured and biopsies of the liver were taken during the corrective operation in 31 patients with biliary atresia and during relaparotomy in 16 patients free from jaundice 4 mo to 9 yr after a successful corrective operation. Because the portal vein pressure was higher than 200 mmH2O in about 70% of patients during the corrective operation, portal hypertension appears to have already developed in most of the patients with biliary atresia at 2-4 mo of age. In the patients who had had frequent episodes of postoperative cholangitis, the portal vein pressure was elevated and the amount of interstitial tissue in the liver was markedly increased at reoperation compared with those at the corrective operation. These results showed that postoperative cholangitis aggravated portal hypertension and fibrosis of the liver. On the contrary, the portal vein pressure declined in patients in whom active bile drainage had persisted and cholangitis had not been complicated after operation. An early corrective operation and prevention of postoperative cholangitis are of the greatest important for prevention of development of the portal hypertension and cirrhosis of the liver in long-term survivors after surgery for biliary atresia.

Effect of streptococcal preparation (picibanil) on the postoperative rise in serum alanine aminotransferase activity in patients with urogenital cancer

The effect of Picibanil, a streptococcal agent, on the development of liver injury after operations for urogenital cancer was studied retrospectively in the light of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity. The series comprised 32 cases receiving Picibanil and 33 controls with otherwise comparable clinical backgrounds. Picibanil reduced the incidence of postoperative ALT rise over 50 U/l within 6 weeks but increased it thereafter. The increase in ALT activity after 6 weeks was relatively small and was seen more often in patients given blood transfusions. It was interpreted as retardation and suppression of ALT rise and as being related to the induction of interferon or to immunopotentiation. Other antihepatotoxic effects of Picibanil, due to its antioxidant activity, for example, may also account for the prevention of the early postoperative rise in ALT activity.

Burkitt's lymphoma cell line bearing surface IgA and negative for nuclear antigen of Epstein-Barr virus (EBNA)

A new continuous cell line, TL-1, was established in tissue culture from Burkitt's lymphoma arising at the ileocecal region. It has been maintained for the past two years. The cells were small and round, and grew in a suspension culture. Population doubling time was approximately 36 hours, The cells revealed the chromosomal abnormality i.e. translocation between 8 and 14 chromosomes, which was reported on some Burkitt's lymphomas. This line was negative for nuclear antigen of EB virus (EBNA) and bore surface IgA and not any receptors. Inoculums of 10(7) cells produced tumors in the athymic nude mice. The histological appearance of the tumor was consistent with the Burkitt's lymphoma. Ultrastructural findings showed nuclear blebs and clefts. As far as we know, this was the first cell line of Burkitt's lymphoma with t(8q-; 14q+) in Japan and perhaps the first lymphoma cell line with surface IgA.

Primary testicular plasmacytoma: a case report

A 73-year-old man with a left testicular tumor is presented. Orchiectomy was performed and the tumor was diagnosed as a plasmacytoma. There has been no bone lesion or immunoglobulin abnormality during a follow-up period more than one year. For several reasons, the tumor was regarded as a primary plasmacytoma of the testicle. The literature concerning testicular plasmacytoma is reviewed briefly.

T lymphoreceptopathy in systemic lupus erythematosus

Decreases in numbers and functions of SLE T lymphocytes as a form of lymphoreceptopathy were investigated using T lymphocytes and sera obtained from both SLE patients and healthy subjects with respect to the effects of suppressor T cells and Con A induced suppressor factor against antibody formation, changes in the membrane microviscosity and the ultrastructure of membrane associated particles (MAPs) of T lymphocytes. The lymphoreceptopathy of SLE T lymphocytes was induced by decreased microviscosity and abnormalities of distribution, size and density of MAPs on the T lymphocyte membrane which can be modulated by serum factors consisting mainly of IgG as T cell membrane binding antibody and partially of IgM as cytotoxic antibody.

The effects of intravesical instillation of Thio-Tepa on the recurrence rate of bladder tumors

Seventy-eight patients were treated with intravesical instillation of Thio-Tepa in an attempt to prevent postoperative recurrences of bladder tumors. Fifty-six patients who were given no preventive treatment against recurrences were taken as the control group. The patients in this series presented at the Okayama University Hospital between 1961 and 1976 and only the first recurrence after the primary operation was taken into consideration. There was no significant difference in the recurrence rates of the control and instillation groups.

Physicochemical characteristics of antimony microelectrode with special reference to selection of standard buffers

1) Antimony (Sb) microelectrodes with tips of 2 to 5 micrometers in outside diameter were constructed, and their electromotive forces (EMF) were tested in response to the pH of several calibration buffers. The data were compared with those of glass pH electrodes. 2) Increasing ionic strength (I) caused a significant deviation in pH readings of the Sb-microelectrode (delta pHSb-Glass). The above salt effect was empirically given by delta pHSb-Glass = 0.017--0.125 I (I = 0.09--0.22) 3) Even with the correction for ionic strength, the values of delta pHSb-Glass were still dependent on the nature of calibration buffers employed. Among various buffers, Tris buffer [Tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane, (THAM)] had the least disturbance on the Sb-microelectrode, and bicarbonate had also relatively minor effect. 4) The pH value according to the Sb-electrode was caused to deviate considerably by phosphate. The effect of phosphate within the range of 1 to 67 mM can be predicted by 1/delta pHSb-Glass = 1 + (0.174/[PO4]) 5) Like phosphates, BES [N, N-Bis (2-hydroxyethyl)-2-aminoethane sulfonic acid] also had a significant effect on the EMF of the Sb-microelectrode. 6) Upon consideration of the above facts, measurements of several biological fluids, such as those of the in vivo pH of intratubular fluid of bullfrog kidney were carried out with the Sb-microelectrode calibrated by 90 mM Tris buffer. 7) Thus, it was concluded that the Sb-microelectrode when properly calibrated could be used for the pH measurement of ultraminute amounts of biological samples.

General properties of antimony microelectrode in comparison with glass microelectrode for pH measurement

Two kinds of pH-sensitive microelectrodes were constructed: 1) glass microelectrode with a pH-sensitive tip of 50--100 micrometers in length, and 2) antimony (Sb) microelectrode with a tip of 1--5 micrometers in outside diameter. Comparisons of the two were made on the change in the electromotive force (EMF) in response to various pHs and biological applicability. The pH sensitivity (slope constant) at 20 degrees C of the glass and Sb-microelectrodes averaged 51.7 and 51.9 (-mV/pH), respectively. Over the pH range of 2 to 9, both electrodes responded linearly to the change of pH. The pH-dependent EMF of the Sb-microelectrode was influenced by phosphate buffers, but not by Tris-HCl buffers. Through the glass microelectrode showed a linear response to all the buffers tested, its slope constant tended to be limited by the surface area of the pH-sensitive tip. The stability of the EMFs was well within 1 mV for 12 hr with the glass microelectrode but more than 10 mV with the Sb-microelectrode. One the other hand, the 95% response time was about 1 min with the glass microelectrode, whereas it was less than a few seconds with the Sb-microelectrode. Blood pH was measured with the two electrodes and reasonable values were obtained with both methods, although the values by use of the Sb-microelectrode were slightly higher than those of the other. In view of the practical ease of manufacturing, maintenance and durability, the use of the Sb-microelectrode in biological measurement should also be re-evaluated, but several restrictions must be imposed on it.