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Query: UMLS:C0006142 (breast cancer)
 160,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Major advances in the understanding of clinical tumour biology occurred with the appreciation that tumour-associated substances circulated in the blood of cancer patients. In this study their origin and immunogenic function have been investigated. Whole tumour cells (WTC) and cancer cell membrane fractions (CMF) of 24 patients with lung, colon, and breast cancer were investigated for their antigenic effect upon the patients' own lymphocytes and upon healthy allogeneic ones. The antigenicity of whole lung and breast cancer cells to stimulate lymphocyte DNA synthesis, and the ineffectiveness of colon cells were confirmed. CMF had little stimulating effect upon autologous lymphocytes; however, they were able to augment lymphocyte response to PPD and PHA in high dilution and to suppress it in high concentration. The serum of cancer patients exerted similar biphasic activity upon PPD and PHA stimulated lymphocytes ("lymphosuppressive-stimulatory factors", or LSSF). Sephadex studies confirmed that LSSF activity in cancer serum correlated with circulating CMF. These substances modulate lymphocyte nucleic acid synthesis in vitro; it is likely that they similarly modulate the patient tumour-host cell relationship.
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PMID:The modulation of tumour-versus-host response in lung, colon, and breast cancer patients: implications for adjuvant immunochemotherapy. 27 8

General immune competence was examined 255 breast cancer patients, including 104 operable, 44 locally advanced/inoperable, and 44 with demonstrable metastatic dissemination, all at the time of diagnosis, as well as 63 disease-free long survivors; this was compared with that of 100 normal controls. The parameters employed were PPD and DNCB skin testing, lymphocyte response to PHA mitogen, E-rosette formation, and lymphocyte number. Significant patients, with only 31% showing optimal and 25% showing minimal levels of immune function, as compared with 70% optimal and 2% minimal function in controls. Immune competence was not affected by metastatic involvement of regional lymph nodes. In patients with early, occult metastatic dissemination (as determined in retrospect), the degree of immune competence was found to be identical to that of patients who did not develop disease dissemination. Remarkably, this early phase of tumor spread is not accompanied by immune impairment, such as is evident in clinically demonstrable metastatic disease and, to a lesser degree, in advanced local and regional disease. Since tumor dissemination preceded impairment of general immunocompetence, it emerges as the cause rather than the result of immunosuppression. Long disease-free survivors, who had postoperative irradiation 5-12 years previously, were shown to have a notably low level of immune competence. Lymphocyte response to PHA stimulation was found to be impaired in the earlier stages of disease, while skin DHR was still well maintained; in advanced disease both parameters tend to correlate as total immunologic impairment ensues. The sequence of immunologic events leading up to immunosuppression with disease progress is discussed.
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PMID:Immunocompetence, immunosuppression, and human breast cancer. I. An analysis of their relationship by known parameters of cell-mediated immunity in well-defined clinical stages of disease. 95 63

A total of 101 patients with advanced breast cancer were treated during the years 1976 to 1978 with doxorubicin, vincristine and cyclophosphamide, and randomized to receive either levamisole or placebo in a double-blind fashion. The chemotherapy cycles were repeated every four weeks, and levamisole, 2.5 mg/kg, was given on two consecutive days every week except on the days chemotherapy was given. The patients treated with levamisole exhibited higher response rates (63%) than patients given placebo (47%). The survival rate was also significantly higher in the levamisole group. The results correlated with potentiation of intracutaneous PPD test. In the lymphocyte blast transformation tests, the suppression of T-cell response to mitogens two weeks after the start of chemotherapy was markedly diminished by levamisole. In contrast to some negative reports, the results of the present study are encouraging for further evaluation of levamisole and other biological response modifiers in breast cancer.
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PMID:Levamisole in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. A ten-year follow-up of a randomized study. 203 45

We have documented in previous studies that local irradiation therapy for breast cancer caused severe lymphopenia with reduction of both T and non-T lymphocytes. Non-T cells were relatively more depressed but recovered within six months. The recovery of T cells, on the other hand, remained incomplete 10-11 years after irradiation. Several lymphocyte functions were also severely impaired. An association was found between prognosis and postirradiation mitogen reactivity of lymphocytes from these patients. Mortality up to eight years after irradiation was significantly higher in patients with low postirradiation phytohemagglutinin and PPD reactivity. The radiation induced decrease in mitogenic response seemed mainly to be caused by immunosuppressive monocytes, which suggests that the underlying mechanism might be mediated by increased production of prostaglandins by monocytes. For this reason we examined the effect of some cyclooxygenase products on different lymphocyte functions and found that prostaglandins A2, D2, and E2 inhibited phytohemagglutinin response in vitro. Natural killer cell activity was also reduced by prostaglandins D2 and E2. The next step was to examine various inhibitors of cyclooxygenase in respect to their capacity to revert irradiation-induced suppression of in vitro mitogen response in lymphocytes from breast cancer patients. It was demonstrated that Diclofenac Na (Voltaren), Meclofenamic acid, Indomethacin, and lysin-mono-acetylsalicylate (Aspisol) could enhance mitogen responses both before and after radiation therapy. This effect was most pronounced at completion of irradiation. On a molar basis, Diclofenac Na was most effective followed by Indomethacin, Meclofenamic acid, and lysin-monoacetylsalicylate. The clinically beneficial effects of irradiation might be overshadowed by its effects on the immune system. If true, the value of treatment could be improved if radiation-induced suppression of lymphocyte response, which correlates inversely to survival, is reduced. Since such an effect can be achieved in these patients with cyclooxygenase inhibitors in vitro it is possible that it can be achieved also in vivo.
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PMID:Immunosuppression in irradiated breast cancer patients: in vitro effect of cyclooxygenase inhibitors. 251 94

Using software programs provided by Coulter Electronics, we have developed an analysis system that would address problems encountered in DNA flow cytometric analysis of heterogeneous solid tumor populations, especially where the G2-M phase of the diploid population contaminates the S-phase of the aneuploid population, causing an overestimation of cells in S phase. We used the PARA 1 and PARA 2 programs in concert and developed three analysis models: (a) for euploid tumors; (b) for hyperdiploid tumors with overlapping populations; and (c) for near-diploid aneuploid tumors. Our purpose in this paper is to determine the limits and reproducibility of this analysis system with an emphasis on tumors with overlapping populations. Aliquots of frozen, pulverized breast tumor tissue (50 to 100 mg), routinely used in the steroid receptor assay, were used for routine flow cytometric measurement of the DNA index and S-phase fraction. To determine the accuracy of the analysis when overlapping populations were present, we mixed an aneuploid breast cancer cell line with human blood lymphocytes in varying ratios. A 10% mixture of aneuploid cells, the lowest mixture tested, still allowed analysis results within 95% confidence limits. Reproducibility of the system was assessed on frozen breast tumor tissue by intra- and interassay variation studies measuring cell cycle parameters and coefficient of variation of the G0-G1 peak width. Within any sample the amount of variation (+/- 2 SD) for the G0-G1 value was +/- 4.40 for intraassay and +/- 4.60 for interassay, and the amount of variation for S phase was +/- 3.0 and +/- 3.2 for intraassay and interassay, respectively. There was no difference in the variation of estimates for G2-M (+/- 2.6 for both intra- and interassay). In this study, the coefficient of variation of the G0-G1 peak greater than 5% was defined as unacceptable for accurate analysis, with the conclusion that S-phase fractions in aneuploid tumors can be routinely analyzed in human breast tumor biopsies despite tumor cell heterogeneity.
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PMID:Evaluation of a modeling system for S-phase estimation in breast cancer by flow cytometry. 365 35

The immune competence of 169 patients with solid malignant tumours was assessed before initiation of radiotherapy or chemotherapy and followed during the course of the disease. The data of years 1974-1984 were collected and subjected to an analysis in order to evaluate their prognostic significance. The number of leucocytes and lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, the percentage or absolute number of E-rosette forming cells or EAC-rosette forming cells or serum immunoglobulin levels did not show any association with the prognosis. Lymphocyte proliferative responses to PHA, Con A and PPD as studied before initiation of the treatment did not correlate with recurrence or final prognosis of the disease, except that the responses to PPD were slightly lower in patients with recurrence of gynaecological cancer, melanoma or gastrointestinal cancer than in their respective control patients. In the values observed after the first treatment course a low response to PPD was associated with poor prognosis in patients with melanoma or gastrointestinal cancer. At the time of recurrent disease the PPD response showed an association with a poor final outcome in patients with gastrointestinal malignancy. Of the responses assessed less than 3 months before death due to cancer, only in patients with breast cancer were low Con A responses seen; in all patient groups the PHA responses decreased in the terminal patients. The results do not support the idea that the methods currently available should be routinely used in the follow-up of cancer patients; rather, they indicate the need to seek new methods for this purpose.
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PMID:Immune functions and the prognosis of patients with solid tumours. 385 92

Cyclophosphamide (CPM) is widely used in patients with breast cancer as an adjuvant chemotherapy. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that CPM-treated animals show an increased intensity of cell-mediated immunity such as DTH (delayed-type hypersensitivity) reactions. Recently, such functions of CPM have seemed to make it note worthy as a BRM. Therefore, in 26 postoperative patients with breast cancer, the effect of CPM on various immunological responses was investigated after administration of CPM (100mg/day) for a period of 30 days. Significant decrease of lymphocyte counts, B-cell percentages, and T gamma-cell percentages were observed. However, PPD skin test showed a tendency for increased reaction. Both OKT3+ lymphocytes and OKT 11+ lymphocytes increased significantly. However, an inhibitory effect of CPM on OKT8+ lymphocytes (suppressor/cytotoxic) was not observed. From the results of this study, increased intensity of DTH reactions by CPM was interesting in relation to BRM action, and the inhibitory effect of CPM on B-cells seemed to be connected with activated cell-mediated immunity.
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PMID:[Effect of cyclophosphamide on immunological responses in patients with breast cancer relating to BRM (biological response modifiers)]. 387 10

A multiparametric observation of cellular immune status by delayed hypersensitivity response to primary and recall antigens, absolute lymphocyte counts, T-cells counts, lymphocyte stimulation to PHA and serum immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgM, IgA) was done in 60 patients of breast cancer and 40 age-matched normal controls. The findings were correlated with clinical stage, tumour size, lymphnode involvement, distant metastases, tumour differentiation, lymphoreticular response and tumour recurrence within one year of follow-up period. Delayed hypersensitivity response to DNCB, PPD and Candida was significantly impaired (P = less than .001) in breast cancer patients as compared to normal controls. DNCB and candida response showed a gradual decrease with increasing clinical stage and PPD response was impaired in the advanced stage (Stage III and IV). Patients with well-differentiated tumour were more anergic than those with poorly differentiated tumour. Delayed hypersensitivity response to both primary and recall antigen showed a good correlation with tumour recurrence. Patients who had early recurrence or progressive disease were more anergic to all the three antigens. Absolute lymphocyte counts, absolute T-cells and E-rosette were significantly reduced in breast cancer patients as compared to normal controls and further correlated with clinical stage. Absolute T-cells and E-rosettes were lower in patients with lymphnode involvement, and distant metastases as compared to those with localized tumour. Absence of lymphoreticular response was related with impaired T-cell population. Absolute T-cell counts and E-rosettes further correlated with prognosis of the patients being significantly impaired in patients with early recurrence or with progressive disease (P = less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:A multiparametric observation of immune competence in breast cancer and its correlation with tumour load and prognosis. 387 55

The relationship of pretreatment immunologic status in terms of skin tests to prognosis within stages was studied in 152 breast cancer patients. DNCB and PPD testing was used. As for DNCB, no relationship was found at early stages of the disease. In locoregionally advanced disease, patients with stronger test grades had longer disease-free intervals. In case of distant dissemination significant difference in reactivity with respect to survival was found: short survivors were more frequently nonresponders or mild responders. Anergy was, however, more frequent in patients with general ill health and therefore this test does not provide an important additional prognostic information as compared to that given by conventional clinical findings. As for PPD, no relationship between reactivity to this antigen and prognosis at any stage of the disease was found.
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PMID:DNCB and PPD skin tests and prognosis in 152 patients with breast cancer. A prospective 2-year follow-up. 398 60

The effect of treatment with bacterial preparations on blood flow in normal and malignant tissues was investigated, clinically and experimentally. The time course of the local effect of the preparations was recorded by Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) via a probe on the surface of normal and malignant tissues directly over the injection site. Experimentally, no definite enhancement of blood flow with OK-432, a streptococcal preparation, was observed in nude mice. Clinically, intradermal administration of OK-432 or tuberculin (PPD) resulted in an approximate 11-or 4-fold increase in blood flow, respectively. The injection of OK-432 into malignant tissues, such as dermal cancer and breast cancer with direct extension to the skin, resulted in an approximate 3.5-fold increase. The results suggested that bacterial preparations can act as an adjuvant to enhance drug delivery to tumor tissue in cancer chemotherapy, and that the enhancement of blood supply is induced by immune response.
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PMID:[Enhancing activity of bacterial preparations on blood flow in tumor tissue, with reference to cancer chemotherapy. Experimental and clinical studies]. 406 17


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