Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A total of 91 eligible patients with metastatic cancer have been treated in a series of phase II trials of the novel pentacyclic pyrroloquinone, fosquidone. Tumour types were breast (24), ovary (25), head and neck (21) and melanoma (21). All patients, except those with melanoma had received prior chemotherapy. The drug was given intravenously as a 20 min infusion, at the dose of 120 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5 of a 3 week cycle. Treatment was well tolerated; the only significant side-effects being mild headaches and generalised musculo-skeletal pains. Response was assessed after 2 cycles of therapy. Only one patient (with head and neck cancer) achieved an objective partial response, lasting 6 weeks. A total of 12 patients demonstrated stable disease for a median duration of 15 to 20 weeks. Using this schedule of administration, fosquidone has no significant antitumour activity in this group of tumours.
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PMID:Phase II trials of fosquidone (GR63178A) in carcinoma of the breast, head and neck, ovary and melanoma. 161 95

To ascertain the range of neurological problems in patients with systemic cancer, we prospectively evaluated neurological symptoms, neurological diagnoses, and primary tumors in all patients with a history of systemic cancer examined by the Department of Neurology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, from Jul 1, 1990, to Dec 31, 1990. Of the 815 patients seen for neurological symptoms, less than half (45.2%) had metastatic involvement of the nervous system. The three most common symptoms were back pain (18.2%), altered mental status (17.1%), and headache (15.4%). The most common neurological diagnosis was brain metastasis (15.9%), followed by metabolic encephalopathy (10.2%), pain associated with bone metastases only (9.9%), and epidural extension or metastasis of tumor (8.4%). Of 133 patients with undiagnosed back or neck pain, 44 (33%) had epidural extension or metastases from tumor and 40 (30%) had pain associated with vertebral metastases only. In 15 (11%) the cause for the back pain was unrelated to metastatic disease. Of 132 patients seen on initial consultation for altered mental status, metabolic encephalopathy was the major neurological diagnosis (80; 61%); 20 (15%) had intracranial metastases. Of 97 patients with undiagnosed headache, 59 (61%) had a nonstructural cause. Fifty-three of these patients had either migraine, tension headache, or headache related to systemic illness (e.g., fever, sepsis). These results indicate that even in patients with systemic cancer, a group particularly prone to developing neurological disease that can be diagnosed radiologically, the role of clinicians remains important in helping distinguish noncancer-related and nonmetastatic neurological problems.
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PMID:The spectrum of neurological disease in patients with systemic cancer. 163 35

We report three patients with metastases to the ENT-region mimicking a primary malignant tumour. A 36-year-old woman presented with vertigo, sudden hearing loss, partial facial palsy and headaches. CT scan suggested a meningioma or an acoustic neuroma. Histological examination of the neoplasm removed surgically showed a metastasis from an amelanotic melanoma. A 38-year-old woman with nodules in the tongue had dysphagia. The history revealed that she had been treated successfully with chemotherapy for a carcinoma of the uterine cervix one year ago. Histological examination of a tongue biopsy showed a metastasis from the uterine carcinoma. The primary tumour was in complete remission. The third patient was treated for recurrent epistaxis. Physical examination showed a tumour in the right nasal cavity. A CT scan showed a tumour of the ethmoid cells and of the maxillary sinus, protruding into the nose. Histology and immunohistology proved a metastasis from a primary carcinoma of the liver. Ultrasound and CT scan of the liver confirmed the diagnosis.
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PMID:[Metastasis to the ENT area]. 165 38

Most of the symptoms from a malignant tumor are caused by local invasion by the tumor, or obstruction, either at the site of the primary disease or by metastases. However, tumors can produce symptoms at a remote site. Patients with gastrointestinal malignancy may present with symptoms which include dysphagia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, bleeding and ascites. Palliation gastrectomy delays or prevents these symptoms. About 30% of gastric carcinomas are inoperable at the time of presentation. Chemotherapy is rarely effective in the palliation of gastric carcinoma. Laser irradiation can be delivered to assay site accessible to fibreoptic endoscopy, which is an advantage over endocavity irradiation or diathermy fulguration. Ascites is a common and disabling implication in patients with advanced malignant disease. Spironolactone will increase urinary sodium excretion significantly and control their ascites. If spironolactone fails to control, useful control can be achieved by draining the ascites. Patients with carcinoma of the lung may present with symptoms that include cough, bloody sputum and dyspnoea. Pain in the chest wall is usually secondary to invasion of the parietal pleura, ribs or intercostal nerves. Lesions in the medial portion of the right upper lobe, or mediastinal metastases, may invade or compress the superior vena cava, causing venous hypertension with oedema of the head and arms. The patients may complain of dyspnoea, dysphagia, stridor and headaches. Radiotherapy can be expected to improve the quality of life for these patients. Successful palliation of symptoms is almost related to tumor regression. The problems of obstruction and bleeding from malignant tumor is common. Recently, laser techniques have been applied to aid in palliation of these problems. Malignant effusion may occur early and be the first signs of metastases. The aim of therapy is to evacuate the fluid and induce pleural adhesion. One of the sad situations that we have to face is the patient with recurrent cancer which complains of various symptoms. The relief of symptoms is the most important palliative therapy to them.
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PMID:[Palliative therapy in cancer. 3. Palliation of the symptoms from a malignant tumor (1)]. 169 82

Extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas may arise in any portion of the paraganglion system, although they most commonly occur below the diaphragm. The most common site of occurrence of extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma is the superior para-aortic region between the diaphragm and lower renal poles. Although the traditional teaching has been that 10% of all pheochromocytomas are at extra-adrenal sites, this may be an underestimation. Extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas probably represent at least 15% of adult and 30% of childhood pheochromocytomas. They may be malignant in up to 40% of the cases, although conflicting data add to the uncertainty of this point. Patients with tumors arising at extra-adrenal sites commonly present with headache, palpitations, sweating and hypertension. The diagnosis is most often confirmed by demonstrating increased catecholamine production, usually by measurement of urinary catecholamines and/or their metabolites. CT scanning is presently the imaging procedure of choice for localization. The roles of MRI and 131I-MIBG scintigraphy in the localization process are still being determined. Thorough preoperative pharmacological preparation, attentive intraoperative monitoring and aggressive surgical therapy all have an important role in achieving the safest and most successful outcome. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for primary extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma as well as recurrent or metastatic disease. When residual tumor cannot be resected, medical therapy for symptomatic relief is preferred, since radiotherapy and chemotherapy have limited effectiveness. Extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas are more likely to recur and to metastasize than their adrenal counterparts, making lifelong followup with annual determinations of catecholamine production essential.
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PMID:Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma. 172 90

Primary paraganglioma arises infrequently in the urinary bladder. We present the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and DNA flow cytometric findings in three cases (one man and two women). Ages at diagnosis were 19, 35, and 45 years. One female presented with paroxysmal headaches and hypertension that followed urination; the remaining two patients presented with hematuria. Immunohistochemical studies revealed positive reactivity for chromogranin (three patients), met-enkephalin (three), leu-enkephalin (three), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (two), serotonin (one), and S-100 protein (one; sustentacular cells only). Neurosecretory granules were identified in all cases; in the patient with hypertension, the granules were small with eccentric cores similar to those of adrenal pheochromocytomas. A nondiploid DNA flow cytometric pattern was present in all three patients, an aneuploid pattern was present in two, and a tetraploid pattern was present in one. After diagnosis, one patient was alive without progression at 7 years, one died of an uncertain cause at 5 years, and one suffered multiple recurrences over a 24-year period before developing metastatic disease. While the presence of aneuploidy has been shown to be a predictor of malignant behavior in adrenal pheochromocytomas, our study illustrates that DNA ploidy cannot be used as a diagnostic criterion for malignancy in urinary bladder paraganglioma.
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PMID:Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder: immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and DNA flow cytometric studies. 174 2

In the immunocompromised patient, even mild forms of any combination of headache, meningismus, altered mental status, or focal neurologic signs should initiate an evaluation for possible CNS infection. The limited signs and symptoms of acute CNS infection are not due to specific organisms but to pathologic changes at the neuroanatomic site of infection. The initial clinical history, examination, laboratory, and neuroradiographic data will narrow the problem to one of several groups of agents, although it may not be possible to specify a single causative agent. It should be remembered that several concurrent infections (i.e., CMV and toxoplasmosis, aspergillosis, and bacterial sepsis) may be present. Thus, the clinician should rely on broad antibiotic coverage appropriate to the suspected causative agent or agents at the site of infection. It may be necessary to offer broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage for a CSF presentation that is subsequently found to result from a viral illness or from a noninfectious cause. However, one should avoid undertreating those infections for which specific therapy can be offered, and broad-spectrum treatment usually will not be regretted. Uncertainty in diagnosis following noninvasive procedures should lead to a brain biopsy. Although many of the infections discussed in this article have a poor prognosis, some of the most common pathogens, such as Cryptococcus, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, have effective specific therapies to which the patient should have access as rapidly as possible. The clinician who has successfully treated a patient with CNS infection should remain vigilant for late sequelae or recurrence of infection. Chronic treatment of some infections, such as toxoplasmosis or aspergillosis, may be necessary. The reintroduction of steroids for the treatment of an underlying cancer may reactivate previously treated disease, such as cryptococcosis, and periodic CSF surveillance is appropriate under these circumstances. Recurrence of the symptoms should raise the suspicion of recurrent or new infection, and the patient also should be evaluated with CT or MRI for the development of hydrocephalus or for new metastatic disease. In patients who have had varicella-zoster infection, postherpetic neuralgia and delayed arteritis may develop. Seizures, hearing loss, and neuropsychologic sequelae may follow any meningoencephalitis. The patient should always be reevaluated for the possibility of infection with a different opportunistic organism. CNS infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients with malignancies. In one series, 60% of such patients died as a result of their CNS infection, many at a time when the underlying disease had an otherwise good prognosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Central nervous system infections in cancer patients. 175 29

Studying 2,413 cases of supratentorial brain tumors operated on a 30 years period, the author emphasizes appealing signs, pitfalls, and tumoral relapses. Epilepsy is the most frequent initial sign preceding headache and focal signs. We discuss the frequency of the epilepsy, the age of the first seizure, the location and the histological nature of the epiletogenic tumor, and the type of the seizures. In the end, we study diagnosis pitfalls such as long-standing epilepsy, ictal presentation, pitfalls due to metastases and the difficult problem of tumoral relapses.
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PMID:A review of 2,413 tumours operated over a 30-year period. 191 87

A Danish woman aged 28 years who had travelled in the Far East developed cerebral symptoms with headache and visual disturbances. Migraine was suspected. Subsequent CT scanning revealed multiple processes and metastases were suspected. As the patient had travelled in the Far East 1 1/2 years previously, she was examined for neurocysticercosis. This diagnosis was established and the patient was successfully treated with praziquantel. On account of increased travelling activity, the possibility of neurocysticercosis should be borne in mind when dealing with patients with cerebral symptoms and relevant travelling histories.
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PMID:[Cerebral cysticercosis]. 194 94

Apart from choriocarcinoma, involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) by gynecologic malignancy is rare. A 10-year retrospective review at the University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle, WA) and Swedish Hospital and Medical Center Tumor Registry (Seattle, WA) identified 14 patients with cerebral metastases from ovarian carcinoma. Median age at diagnosis of cerebral metastases was 52.5 years. Median interval from the diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma to the diagnosis of CNS metastases was 14.5 months. Seven patients had received cisplatin therapy before CNS relapse. Seven patients underwent second-look procedures before developing CNS metastases; in three, results were negative. Eight patients had evidence of extraperitoneal spread to other sites at the time of CNS relapse. Clinical manifestations included motor weakness, seizures, headache, confusion, and speech disturbance. All lesions were contrast enhancing on computed tomography (CT) scans and were located in the cerebral hemispheres. Nine patients had single lesions, five of whom underwent surgical resection of the lesion with histologic confirmation of metastases from the primary site. Median survival was 2 months in patients receiving radiation therapy alone and 17 months in patients who received surgery and radiation. Median survival of the entire series was 3 months. The presence of multiple cerebral metastases or evidence of extraperitoneal spread elsewhere in the body was adversely associated with survival. The prognosis of patients with cerebral metastases from ovarian carcinoma appears poor. However, early diagnosis by routine CT scanning followed by surgical resection and radiation may improve overall survival in a select group of patients.
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PMID:Cerebral metastases from ovarian carcinoma. 200 40


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