Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Although cancer mortality in young adults accounts for only a small proportion of all cancer deaths, it is important since it provides useful indications of the most likely future trends, and relevant information on the role of exposure to specific, or newer, carcinogens. We, therefore, analysed trends in cancer mortality between 1955 and 1985 among Italian men and women aged 20-44 years. In those three decades, overall cancer mortality declined steadily, by 27% in young women (from 33.8 to 24.7/100,000, world standard) but only by 3% (from 27.3 to 26.4/100,000) among men. The decline for men, however, was 16% from the peak rate of 31.5 reached in 1970-1974. The major underlying component causing the different trends in the two sexes was lung and other tobacco-related neoplasms, which had been considerably on the increase in young men up to the early 1970s, and levelled-off thereafter, while showing no appreciable change in women. The falls were about 50% for stomach cancer in both sexes, and over 80% for cervical cancer. A clear impact of improved treatment was reflected in the substantial declines in Hodgkin's disease, of testicular cancer in the last decade and, possibly, in the favourable trends in cancers of the breast, bone, brain and leukemias over the most recent calendar periods. Only two sites showed appreciable and persisting upward trends: oral cavity in men and skin melanoma in both sexes. They therefore constitute priorities for intervention in the near future.
 ...
PMID:Cancer mortality in young adults: Italy 1955-1985. 232 66

The authors collected and analyzed cancer incidence data for Alaska Natives (Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts) for the 15-year period 1969-83 by ethnic and linguistic groups. Compared with U.S. whites, observed-to-expected ratios are high in more than one ethnic group for cancer of the nasopharynx, salivary gland, liver, gallbladder, and cervix. Low ratios were found for cancer of the breast, uterus, bladder, and melanoma. In Alaska, Eskimos have the highest risk for cancer of the esophagus and liver and the lowest risk for breast and prostate cancer. Risk for multiple myeloma in Indian men in Alaska exceeds not only those of other Native groups in Alaska but that in U.S. whites as well. Despite the short period studied, increases in cancer incidence over time can be documented for lung cancer in Eskimo men and women combined, and for cervical cancer, especially in Indian women.
 ...
PMID:Cancer in Alaskan Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts, 1969-83: implications for etiology and control. 251 2

The objectives of this article on epidemiological studies of health risks from oral contraceptives (OCs) is to review major studies of the association between OCs and circulatory disease and cancer. It is also to emphasize methodologic limitations of the existing data, and to identify unresolved and important questions. A brief discourse on the nature and imputation of relative risk is provided. Cardiovascular diseases covered include ischemic heart disease, stroke, and thromboembolism. Current studies on low dose pills from 3 large US populations reveal that there is no impact of death from use of OCs. A Great Britain and the Walnut Creek study from the US found a slight but not statistically significant increase in ischemic heart disease. These studies also found a statistically significant 3-fold increase in stroke among OC users and, from another study, a 2-fold increase. These studies were based on high levels of ethinyl estradiol where the risk becomes apparent. The risk for idiopathic venous thromboembolism was 3- 8 fold for current OC users. The accuracy of these findings is questioned when the data reflect such heterogeneity. Cancer is differentiated as breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, malignant melanoma, and hepatocellular adenoma. For breast cancer, both case control studies as well as cohort studies found no increase in breast cancer. Future additional research will continue to explore unanswered questions about this association. Beneficial effects of OCs occur for endometrial cancer for as long as 15 years after taking the pill. Only 1 year's use resulted in a 50% reduction in risk of endometrial cancer regardless of pill dose and particularly for nulliparous women, who have an increased risk. The longer duration of use of the OCs results in a protective effect against ovarian cancer, i.e., 5 years of use yields as relative risk of below 0.5 and the results of a protective effect can be seen as early as 3 months after pill use. There is about 40% protection against ovarian cancer even with low dose pills; the effect lasts 15 years after cessation of OC use. Cervical cancer studies have shown mixed results. The human papilloma viruses 16 and 18 have been shown to be related to cervical cancer but further research is needed to identify the association with OCs. Data are inconclusive but lean in the direction of no association with malignant melanoma. Hepatocellular adenoma has not been identified in large vital statistics studies, although several small studies have suggested an increased risk. It has been shown by Fortney et al. that with a 50% increase in cervical cancer risk and a 3-4 fold increase in cardiovascular disease risk that OC use for 5 years before the age of 30 years adds 4 days to a health women's life.
 ...
PMID:Results of oral contraceptive epidemiologic studies regarding neoplastic and cardiovascular effects. 257 54

The risks and benefits of using oral contraceptives are reviewed critically, considering only large controlled, statistically sound studies. Generally insufficient time has elapsed to evaluate the current generation of low dose combined and triphasic pills. The most salutary effect of oral contraceptives is an approximate 60% reduced risk for ovarian cancer, the leading gynecologic neoplasm, invariably fatal. Endometrial cancer risk is cut by about half. Both ovarian and endometrial cancer risk reduction persists after discontinuation. Pills reduce the incidence of benign fibrocystic and fibroadenomatous breast disease, avoiding about 20,000 hospitalizations yearly. Also numbers of functional ovarian cysts are reduced in pill users, eliminating about 3000 major hospitalizations annually. Pills reduce risk of pelvic infection of 10-70%, thereby lowering the potential for ectopic pregnancy: about 10,000 hospitalizations for ectopic pregnancy are said to be prevented. In contrast, pills do modestly increase the risk of developing idiopathic venous thromboembolism, by about 2.8-fold, as estimated in 1985. Due to recent reductions in steroid doses, the statistics on thromboembolism will probably improve. Pills also cause mild elevations in blood pressure, about 4 mm Hg systolic and 1 mm Hg diastolic, in 1,5% of users, which resolve on discontinuation. There are inconsistent results from studies on chance of strokes in pill users. Studies on heart attack find increased risk largely confined to smoker and older women, up to 34-fold higher risk to heavy smokers over 40. Generally in young healthy women, risk of heart attack is less than that in term pregnancy. Although there are some indications of increased breast cancer risk in some subgroups of women, most recent large studies find no association. Similarly, certain women are at increased risk of cervical cancer while using pills, although the specific risk factors have not been delineated. The risk of liver tumors is enhanced statistically, but the absolute numbers of cases are so low as to be unmeasurable. No sound evidence now exists for heightened risk of pituitary tumors or malignant melanoma.
 ...
PMID:The risks and benefits of oral contraceptives. 264 61

This review on the risks and benefits of oral contraceptives clarifies the risks and misperceptions, and discusses 10 potential health benefits. In the U.S. where maternal mortality is about 20.6/100,000, the risk of death from pills ranges from 1.8 for nonsmokers to 6.5 for smokers. It is likely that most of the small existing mortality risk of pill use is due to thromboembolism. Atherosclerosis, the major cause of death for U.S. women, may be reduced by the pill. It is still controversial whether pills increase risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and malignant melanoma; they protect against endometrial cancer (the 3rd greatest cancer killer) and ovarian (the 4th) cancer; they may increase risk slightly in some subgroups for breast and cervical cancer, although data are conflicting. Pills also protect against ectopic pregnancy, benign breast disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, iron deficiency anemia and possibly uterine fibroids and osteoporosis. It is no longer held that orals protect against toxic shock syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis. It is estimated that oral contraceptives avert 50,000 hospital admissions per year in the U.S.
 ...
PMID:The health effects of oral contraceptives: misperceptions, controversies, and continuing good news. 266 76

Viral oncolysates (VO) are homogenates of virus-infected tumor cells. VO have been demonstrated in experimental animals to induce protection against transplanted autologous tumors, when administered prior to the challenge with the tumor. VO were first introduced into clinical trials as a treatment adjunct to chemotherapy and nonspecific immunomodulators (BCG). In recent years, beneficial clinical and biological activity responses have been observed in melanoma and gynecologic cancer (cervix, ovary), after administration of VO alone. Our group has continued clinical trials with PR8 strain influenza A. We have demonstrated that PR8 VO augments delayed type hypersensitivity in coded skin testing and have emphasized regional active immunization in treatment protocols. The efficacy of active immunization strategies have yet to be defined, but recent findings in ovarian and uterine cervix cancer highlight the importance of route and careful integration with other therapeutic modalities. The VO are postulated to trigger immunological mechanisms in the host that may ultimately lead to the control of the metastatic spread and elimination of the tumor. Humoral immune responses induced by VO have been described, while cellular immune responses associated with VO administration have been investigated to a lesser extent. We present here what is known and we discuss hypothesized mechanisms of humoral and T cell mediated immunity induced by VO now under investigation. The elucidation of these mechanisms may provide conceptual advances in the field of human tumor immunity as well as a rationale for the development of tumor vaccines.
 ...
PMID:Viral oncolysates in cancer treatment: immunological mechanisms of action (review). 266 19

The cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of human recombinant tumor necrosis factor (rTNF) was assayed on different tumor cell lines. Human BT-20 breast and ME-180 cervix cancer cells were growth-inhibited by rTNF, whereas two other cell lines were not significantly inhibited. However, when protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide, rTNF was cytotoxic for these cells but not for BT-20 cells. This finding suggested that different mechanisms are responsible for the cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of rTNF. The sensitivity of different cell lines to rTNF could not be correlated with a high number or affinity of rTNF receptors. Occupancy of only a few receptors was sufficient for rTNA cytotoxicity, but an increase in receptor number after treatment with interferon-gamma, or a decrease after pretreatment with cycloheximide, correspondingly enhanced or depressed the cytotoxicity of rTNF. It seemed possible that some cells could be protected from this effect of rTNF by synthesizing "protective" proteins. While searching for such proteins, we observed that rTNF induced the synthesis of two polypeptides in SK-MEL-109 melanoma cells, but not in other cancer cells. Actinomycin D added with rTNF abolished synthesis of these polypeptides, suggesting that rTNF induced transcription of the corresponding mRNAs. Surprisingly, rTNF stimulated growth of SK-MEL-109 cells cultured in medium with low serum.
 ...
PMID:Cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of tumor necrosis factor on human cancer cells. 303 Nov 63

Effects of combination treatment with human recombinant alpha-2b interferon (IFN-alpha 2b) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and sequencing of the combination on colony formation of human tumor cells were studied in a human tumor clonogenic assay (HTCA) with or without ascites-associated macrophages (AAM). Five different human tumor cell lines were studied. Three of the five cell lines (ovarian cancer cell line BG-1, cervical cancer cell line ME-180, and melanoma cell line SK-MEL 28) were sensitive to both IFNs. Cervical cancer cell line CaSki was sensitive to IFN-alpha 2b but resistant to IFN-gamma. Endometrial cancer cell line HEC-1A was resistant to both IFNs. Synergistic interaction was observed in BG-1 and SK-MEL 28 with a combination of the IFNs. ME-180 did not exhibit a positive interaction, in spite of its sensitivity to each IFN. CaSki and HEC-1A also did not exhibit a positive combined interaction at clinically achievable concentrations. One sequential combination method (method 1: IFN-alpha 2b----IFN gamma with a 24-h interval) resulted in a similar antitumor effect as the simultaneous combination. A reversed sequential method (method 2: IFN-gamma----IFN-alpha 2b with a 24-h interval) was less effective in three of the five cell lines. In BG-1, AAM enclosed in the lower layer markedly enhanced the antitumor effect of combined IFNs as well as each IFN alone. The antitumor effect with method 1 was significantly greater than that achieved with simultaneous combination or combination according to method 2 in the presence of AAM (P less than 0.01). These results suggest that (1) a synergistic antitumor effect of IFN-alpha 2b and IFN gamma is demonstrable in selected types of tumors, depending upon the sensitivity of each tumor cell line to both IFNs; (2) optimal scheduling for the direct antitumor effect of combined IFNs seems to be long-term exposure of cells to the IFN, the cells being treated with both IFNs either simultaneously or sequentially (IFN-alpha 2b preceding IFN-gamma); and (3) AAM potentiate the antitumor effect of IFNs either alone or in combination. Finally, IFN-alpha 2b may have some priming effects for the indirect effect of IFN gamma mediated through AAM in certain tumor cells.
 ...
PMID:Effects of scheduling and ascites-associated macrophages on combined antiproliferative activity of alpha-2b interferon and gamma-interferon in a clonogenic assay. 313 42

Since 1981 there has been a constant rise in the incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and the anorectum among homosexual men in the United States. In addition, lung cancer, testicular cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, cervical cancer, and multiple myeloma have been recently reported in persons at risk for AIDS with HIV infection, with some peculiar clinicopathological features, including age, histological type, and clinical aggressiveness. Within the GICAT (Gruppo Italiano Cooperativo AIDS & Tumori) framework, we have identified four cases of testicular cancer, two cases of leukemia, and 1 case each of cervical cancer, carcinoma of the oral cavity, lung cancer, brain tumor, and multiple myeloma in persons at risk for AIDS, mainly i.v. drug abusers, with HIV infection, diagnosed in different Italian institutions. Work is in progress in order to collect histological and clinical data on these tumors. Although these data are preliminary and are not indicative of an actual increase in the incidence of malignancies other than malignant lymphomas and Kaposi's sarcoma in the AIDS setting, clinicians should be aware of the possible association of these tumors with HIV infection.
 ...
PMID:Malignant tumors other than lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma in association with HIV infection. 318 Jan 32

The paper describes the antitumor activity of a newly-developed hormonocytostatic drug testiphenon--a complex ether of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and chlorphenacyl (17 beta-[n-di/2-chloroethyl/aminophenylacetate]-5 alpha-androstan-17 beta-ol-3-on). Its antitumor properties were studied in 15 models of transplantable solid tumors and systemic neoplasms of mice and rats such as sarcoma 298, sarcoma 37, sarcoma-180, Lewis lung epidermoid carcinoma, carcinoma of the forestomach-5, large bowel adenocarcinoma, Harding-Passey's melanoma, cervical cancer-5, mammary adenocarcinoma Ca-755, hemoblastosis La, plasmacytoma MOPC-406, Rauscher's erythroblastosis, Walker's carcinosarcoma 256, sarcoma 45, alveolar carcinoma of the mammary gland and DMBA-induced mammary tumors of mice. The spectrum of antitumor activity of testiphenon proved wider than those of its components or other estrogeno-cytostatic drugs--phenestrol and estracyt. The drug is specifically intended for selective action upon target tissues for androgens and tumors developing from the said tissues.
 ...
PMID:[The antineoplastic activity of testiphenon]. 320 73


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>