Recent Results In Cancer Research

Substantial relief of discomfort may be anticipated by most patients suffering from pelvic and lower-extremity pain who are treated by arterial infusion of nitrogen mustard. Seventy-three patients with intractable pain secondary to malignancy arising in the pelvis received 83 percutaneous pelvic arterial infusions of this drug. Sixty infusions (72%) resulted in marked relief from pain for periods averaging 6-8 weeks. Advantages of the procedure are low toxicity, relative simplicity and availability of technique, and an acceptable rate of complications with minimal morbidity. Patients experiencing satisfactory results may expect significant relief from a second infusion for recurrent pain. The most rewarding result is the freedom from the cyclic return of pain characterized by oral and intramuscular analgesic therapy. Little or no relief can be expected in patients with pain caused by compression fractures of the vertebrae, or where the tumor burden is so great that adequate perfusion of the involved nerves is not possible. One should consider this procedure for controlling pain before resorting to the more dangerous and potentially disabling techniques of spinal cordotomy or intrathecal alcohol injection. References Bateman JR, Hazen JG, Stolinsky DC, Steinfeld JL (1966) Advanced carcinoma of the cervix treated by intra-arterial methotrexate. Am J Obstet Gynecol 96: 181-187 Calabresi P, Parks RW Jr (1970) Alkylating agents, antimetabolites, hormones. and other antiproliferative agents. In: Goodman LS, Gilman A (eds) The pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 4th edn.

Extensive research into the molecular mechanisms of cancer disease has heralded a new age of targeted therapy. In malignant cells, key proteins that are crucial to tumor growth and survival are now being targeted directly with rationally designed inhibitors. Apart from monoclonal antibodies, small molecule therapeutics such as oncogenic protein kinase inhibitors are attracting a vast amount of investigational attention. This textbook, written by acknowledged experts, provides a broad overview of the small molecules currently used for the treatment of malignant diseases and discusses interesting novel compounds that are in the process of clinical development to combat cancer.

First multi-year cumulation covers six years: 1965-70.

Normal and Malignant Cell Growth is a compendium of papers from the "Proceedings of the Third Cancer Training Grant" of the University of Chicago that deals with the processes associated with malignant neoplasia, as well as the cell proliferation kinetics of normal tissues. One paper presents the techniques used in the study on the proliferation kinetics of hemopoietic stem cells, suggesting that the hemopoietic stem cell population is not homogenous but consists of a "primitive pluripotential stem cell." A series of experiments at the Brookhaven National Laboratory investigates the relationship of cell survival, specifically that of stem cells, to the survival of the irradiated test animal. One result of the experiment shows a rapid migration of a number of stem cells from shielded marrow into unshielded marrow at the pressure of a rapid circulating pool. The numbers of stem cells are somewhat dependent on the dose given to the unshielded marrow, and are greater with the greater dose. Another paper also investigates the four methods that are used in the study of cellular kinetics in human tumors. This compendium can prove helpful for biochemists, micro-biologists, cellular researchers, and academicians involved in the study of cellular biology, physiology or oncology.

Recent Results in Cancer Research: Current Problems in the Epidemiology of Cancer and Lymphomas is a collection of papers that tackles the various areas of concerns in cancer research. The text covers the general problems, such as the histopathological definition and classification of tumors. The book also deals with the various types of cancer, such as breast, liver, and prostrate cancers. The selection will be of great use for medical researchers and practitioners, particularly those who are involved in treating and studying cancers.

The controlled clinical trial has become an essential part of the clinician's decision-making process. Clinical trials, however, still raise methodological problems that are important and at the same time controversial: subgroup analysis and interactions, meta-analy sis of similar trials, consideration of subjective clinical opinions and those of the public at large, assessment of quality of life, pre vention trials, and so on. In February 1987 we took our third step along the road to evaluating these issues in dialogues between cli nicians, psychologists, legal experts, and statisticians. The talks presented at the meeting were revised by the authors afterwards and have been rearranged by the editors to form a strictly organ 1 2 ized book. The two preceding meetings in 1978 and 1981 focused strongly on adjuvant therapy in primary breast cancer, but this top ic served merely as a nucleus in the third meeting. This meeting, although called the Third Heidelberg Symposium was forced to leave Heidelberg and in fact was held in Freiburg. Without the interest and enthusiasm of Professor Martin Schu macher and his colleagues in Freiburg the meeting would never have taken place. The meeting was generously supported again by the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (Bundesministe rium flir Forschung und Technologie, BMFT) within the framework of the West German BMFT Breast Cancer Study Group. We are grateful, in particular, to Mr. Hans W. Herzog for his personal in volvement. Juni 1988 H. Scheurlen, R. Kay, M.