Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

One hundred twenty pathologically confirmed operable Stage III (T3N0-2) breast cancer patients were randomized to receive either postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or a combination of these, with or without levamisole immunotherapy. Radiotherapy was given to regional lymph node areas and chest wall. Chemotherapy consisted of 6 cycles of Adriamycin (doxorubicin) (45 mg/m2), vincristine (1.2 mg/m2) intravenously, and cyclophosphamide (200 mg/m2 for 5 days) perorally every 4 weeks. Peroral levamisole, 150 mg a day, 2 days weekly, was given as an immunotherapy. The 3-year results are described in this article. The effect of levamisole on the prognosis cannot be evaluated yet because of the short follow-up period. The disease-free survival was almost equal in each patient group, however, some benefit was achieved by levamisole (a shift of disease-free survival from 12 to 18 months). The patients receiving radiotherapy alone had the poorest prognosis: 68% had a recurrent tumor, and 57% were alive. In the chemotherapy group, the figures were 53% and 72%, respectively. Patients who received a combined treatment had the best prognosis: 13% had a recurrent tumor, and 90% survived 3 years. There was a statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate between any single therapy and the combined treatment (radiotherapy to combined treatment, P less than 0.001, chemotherapy to combined treatment, P less than or equal to 0.01 chi-square test). In overall survival, a statistically significant difference was reached between radiotherapy and combination treatment groups (P less than 0.01, chi-square test). Radiotherapy gave a good local control of the tumor, and chemotherapy decreased the number of metastases. The nonmetastatic axillary lymph node status and secondary amenorrhea or severe menstrual disturbances were of positive prognostic value. The side effects due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy were moderate and tolerable. The dose of Adriamycin had to be reduced only in four patients. All of the patients receiving chemotherapy had a transient total alopecia. Three of them had nonlethal arrhythmias, and one had skin rash. Levamisole was found very toxic with 9 cases of transient agranulocytosis, leading to the discontinuation of immunotherapy in 22 of 59 patients. Our results show that radiotherapy controls the tumor only locally and chemotherapy systematically, but the best patient-saving results are achieved with a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The disease-free and overall survival are statistically significant, and favor the combined therapy.
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PMID:Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in stage III breast cancer. 674 3

Courses of irradiation consisting of 6000 rad in ten equal fractions over 12 days delivered to KHT sarcomas in mice controlled 55% of the local tumors but 83% of the mice died from metastases. Three strategies to reduce the risk of metastatic spread were tested. The fractionation scheme was changed to deliver the same total dose using a large initial fraction followed by seven equal portions with the same overall time. ICRF-159 was used with the intention of partially synchronizing the tumor growth fraction in a radiosensitive state of the growth cycle and of promoting normalization of the tumor vasculature. Levamisole was used to stimulate the immune system. The combination of ICRF-159 with the eight-fraction radiation course proved to be effective for both increasing local control and decreasing the incidence of metastases. The addition of levamisole did not improve the results obtained with a combination of ICRF-159 and irradiation.
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PMID:The influence of ICRF-159 and levamisole on the incidence of metastases following local irradiation of a solid tumor. 729 76

The effect of BCG and levamisole on the course of established murine leishmaniasis was examined. C3H mice infected subcutaneously in the perinasal region with 10(5) L. mexicana promastigotes produced chronic non-ulcerating, non-healing lesions and demonstrated positive humoral and delayed hypersensitivity responses to leishmanial antigens. Infected animals were treated during months 3-5 of infection with either live BCG or with levamisole. Neither treatment resulted in resolution of lesions or in production of a hyperallergic form of infection; similarly, neither immune responses to leishmanial antigens nor histopathological features of lesions were significantly altered. BCG treatment resulted in accelerated growth of primary leishmanial lesions and in the appearance of metastases in some animals. Levamisole treatment of uninfected animals resulted in low levels of antibodies reacting with promastigote antigens, but not in positive delayed intradermal responses. BCG induced delayed intradermal sensitivity to PPD in both infected and control animals; significantly increased delayed reactions to leishmania, were observed in treated uninfected mice.
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PMID:Leishmania mexicana in C3H mice: BCG and levamisole treatment of established infections. 743 53

Two female patients with an adenocarcinoma of the colon (Duke stages B and C) underwent colectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy combining 5 fluorouracil (5 FU) and levamisole. Secondary neurological manifestations occurred in both patients including vertigo, nausea and vomiting, dizziness with loss of balance, slow ideation, impaired memory, headache and, on one case, central origin facial paralysis. Symptoms appeared between the 11th and 34th week of treatment. The patients had received 9 to 30 g 5 FU and 2.7 to 7.6 g levamisole. CT scan and/or MRI first suggested cerebral metastases then demyelinisation. The clinical signs disappeared spontaneously in less than one month. The brain images were unchanged. The 5 FU/levamisole combination was undoubtedly responsible for the neurological manifestations. Levamisole may have potentialized the effect of 5 FU leading to demyelinisation. Whether chemotherapy should be stopped or not is debated.
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PMID:[Multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy: a complication of chemotherapy by fluorouracil and levamisole]. 774 17


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