Chromosome studies on 30 Chinese patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in Taiwan

Cytogenetic studies were performed on 32 consecutive Chinese patients with de novo acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) in Taiwan. Of the 30 patients with adequate specimens, 20(66%) had clonal chromosome abnormalities. Structural rearrangements were detected in 18 of them. Seven (four were children) of the 16 patients with M2 ANLL had t(8;21). All six patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL; M3 subtype) had t(15;17). Two patients with M4 type leukemia and abnormal bone marrow eosinophils had inv(16)(p13q22). Another M4 patient with a mild increase of morphologically normal eosinophils in the bone marrow had an abnormal chromosome #16, t(1;16)(q21;p13) in which 16q22 was not involved. One patient with M5 ANLL had t(9;11). Only two patients had a numerical change as the sole abnormality. None of the patients had loss or deletion of chromosome #5 or loss of chromosome #7, and only one had a deletion of 7q. This study revealed a high incidence of t(8;21), t(15;17), and a low incidence of -5/5q- or -7/7q- in Chinese patients with ANLL.

Clinical patterns of tumor recurrence after radical hysterectomy in stage IB cervical carcinoma

We reviewed the cases of 31 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IB cervical carcinoma who developed recurrent disease after radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy between 1961 and 1982. The overall incidence of recurrence was 11.3%. Recurrence was significantly more common in patients with adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous carcinoma (17.4%) than in those with pure squamous tumors (9.2%). The median time from operation to recurrence was eight months. The median survival of patients dying of disease was 18 months. Sites of recurrence were categorized as central pelvic in 35% of cases, pelvic sidewall in 39%, and distant in 26%. Patients treated with postoperative pelvic radiotherapy for positive pelvic nodes or surgical margin involvement were more likely to develop distant recurrence. Various therapeutic modalities were used to treat recurrent disease. Twenty-two of 23 patients with central pelvic or sidewall recurrence failed radiation therapy. None of four patients with central recurrence treated by pelvic exenteration survived. No patient treated with chemotherapy survived. Overall survival for patients with recurrence was 3.2%. The dismal prognosis for this group of patients warrants evaluation of alternative treatment modalities.

Anti-HTLV antibodies in cancer patients, hemophiliacs and uremics: a preliminary report

A total of 132 sera were studied for anti-HTLV antibodies using the Biotech ELISA test. Among the HTL group, two were, one, and the other two (+/-). Among 23 hemophiliacs one was. None of the lympho- and myelo-proliferative disorders, chronic uremics and normal controls showed positive results. Our results show that the ELISA anti-HTLV test is quite specific for HTL and related disorders, but the antibody titers may be low in some cases in the late stage. The significance of frequent high ELISA readings in hepatomas and NPCs awaits for further studies. The occurrence of one hemophiliac with definite positive anti-HTLV calls for a routine screening of the blood preparations for HTLV.

A comparative study of carrier detection in haemophilia A by linear discriminant function

Blood samples collected from 37 definite carriers, 31 normal women and 64 possible carriers were examined for factor VIII-related activities. Five variables: factor VIII coagulant activity (VIII:C) (X1), factor VIII-related antigen (VIIIR:Ag) (X2), ristocetin co-factor (VIIIR:RC) (X3), ratio of VIIIR:Ag to VIII:C (A/C) (X4) and ratio of VIII:RC to VIII:C (R/C) (X5), and 28 combinations of one to five variables were used to derive 28 linear discriminant functions. The calculation of discriminant function coefficient, individual discriminant score and cut-off point, and the identification of normals or carriers were processed by the computer package of a biomedical computer program used at University of California at Los Angeles. A comparison of 28 linear discriminant functions for carrier detection in haemophilia A has indicated that the best and simplest is y = 0.11668X1 (VIII:C)--0.06042X2 (VIIIR:Ag), (cut-off point y = 2.03742). It identified 94.6% of carriers without a single misclassification in the normal group, and the overall identification rate was 97.1%. Of 29 daughters of definite carriers who had no haemophilic sons, 13, or 44.8%, could be identified as carriers. It was found that VIII:RC was not as good as VIIIR:Ag for carrier detection; however, it may be concluded from this study that VIIIR:RC can be used as a supplement, if not a substitute, for VIII:Ag in the carrier detection of haemophilia A.

Genetic analysis of the nitrogen fixation system in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Fine structure mapping of nif mutations of Klebsiella pneumoniae was accomplished by means of Pl-transductional crosses and the plasmid R144 drd mediated conjugations. The physical distance between nif mutations based on the percentage of co-transduction with hisD of the nif mutations was estimated. The maximal distance between two mutations was calculated about 3 Kb, and the average distance between different nif mutations was about 1 to 2 Kb. So no "silent region" was shown within the nif cluster nearby the histidine operon. Several hisD-unlinked nif mutants were isolated and investigated genetically and biochemically. They all differed from the glutamineless mutants, one of these mutants was tentatively assigned as a sort of N-assimilation mutant with little activity of glutamate synthetase. It differed from the known N-assimilation mutants in its absence of nitrogenase activity. Since the wild type hisD-linked nif genes carried by the plasmid RP4 failed to complement the defects of the hisD-unlinked nif genes in the recipient cells but they were effective to facilitate E. coli in acquiring the ability to fix nitrogen, which indicates that the hisD-unlinked nif genes necessary for the functioning of the hisD-linked nif genes are present in E. coli.