acid-phosphatase and Head-and-Neck-Neoplasms

This paper reports the results of studies on the possible role of biochemical markers in monitoring the effects of ionizing radiations and in the follow-up of cancer patients submitted to radiotherapy. Three different case series were analyzed: patients with head and neck cancer, prostate carcinoma and residual thyroid tumors or uptaking metastases (131-Iodine therapy). Serum TPA and amylase were serially determined in patients with head and neck or thyroid cancer to measure the radiation damage to the salivary glands. In the former group a statistically significant correlation between the increase of both molecules and the total dose administered after the first day of treatment (2, 3, 4 or 6 Gy) was observed. In patients treated for thyroid cancer the damage to the salivary glands was revealed by an increase in TPA and amylase serum levels, dependent on the dose of 131-Iodine administered. Moreover, an association was demonstrated between pretreatment values of TPA in patients with head and neck tumors and prognosis: patients with values below the cutoff have significantly higher survival rates than those with higher values. In patients with prostate carcinoma PSA was confirmed to have better diagnostic and prognostic value than PAP. Patients with metastases show an inversion or lack of negative trend in PSA levels observed in the disease-free patients. This precedes the clinical diagnosis of metastases by 1 to 15 months.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; alpha-Amylases; Antigens, Neoplasm; Biomarkers, Tumor; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasms; Peptides; Prognosis; Prostate-Specific Antigen; Prostatic Neoplasms; Thyroid Neoplasms; Tissue Polypeptide Antigen

In meningiomas extending into pericranial structures, phenomena of invasive growth are observed that have been little known up to now in this onkotype but are of differential diagnostic importance in these locations. 6 out of 10 meningiomas invading the ethmoidal sinus and/or skeletal muscles showed intravasal extension of tumour cells in small vessels of the neighbouring tissue. In 5 out of 7 cases with muscle invasion next to interstitial growth, the spreading of meningioma cells within isolated myofibers could be observed. As shown by enzyme- and immunohistochemical methods, the latter survived for a longer time in spite of active mitotic proliferation and axial spreading of the tumour cells within the sarcoplasm tube. A relation to peculiarities of histology, growth activity and clinical course does not seem to exist.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers; Biopsy; Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Male; Meningeal Neoplasms; Meningioma; Middle Aged; Neck Muscles; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Retrospective Studies

Prostatic carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in American men. Twenty-seven thousand deaths from this aggressive neoplasm were predicted for 1987. Although this malignancy has metastasized to almost all of the structures in the head and neck, it demonstrates a pathophysiologic proclivity for the supraclavicular lymph nodes. Combining fine-needle aspiration with immunohistochemical techniques produces a cost-effective method to expedite the diagnosis of this hormone-responsive tumor. Four patients presenting with prostatic carcinoma and neck metastasis in a three-year period are reported and discussed.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Aged; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Middle Aged; Prostatic Neoplasms

A 32-year-old Caucasian man presented with a tumor in the right side of the neck. Preoperative fine-needle aspiration showed large multinucleated cells with abundant granular cytoplasm that were consonant with the features of a granular cell tumor. At surgery, two separate tumors were found. Histologically, the tumor proved to be an adult rhabdomyoma, the 11th such multifocal case reported. The striated muscle origin of this benign tumor was confirmed by immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies. The tumor cells were desmin-, myoglobin-, and actin-positive. They showed variable numbers of thick and thin filaments, as well as hypertrophic Z-band material. Histochemical studies showed the presence of basophilic muscle cells, vesicular nuclei, ragged red fibers, and diffuse acid phosphatase positivity. These features, together with the absence of actual muscle cell proliferation and the assumption that the mass of the tumor could be explained by the enormous swelling of the muscle cells, lead us to conclude that an adult rhabodomyoma is merely the result of a process of disorderly degeneration and regeneration rather than a real neoplasm or a hamartomatous lesion.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Actins; Adult; Biopsy, Needle; Desmin; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Myoglobin; Rhabdomyoma

In this study histologic and histochemical examinations were performed on the bioptic material of 30 cases of head and neck tumors and 34 cases of uterocervical carcinomas after treatment with human leukocyte interferon (HLI). Particular attention was paid to the interaction between stromal and neoplastic cells as a possible host response to the treatment with interferon. In addition to tumor biopsies, regional lymph nodes were also examined microscopically. Stromal cells (macrophages, T and B lymphocytes, and granulocytes) were detected by enzyme-histochemical methods. Histologic and histochemical criteria for classification of tumor biopsies into five groups included the frequency, the cellular composition of peritumoral stroma, the grade of macrophage infiltration into the tumor (expressed quantitatively), and cytologic changes, followed by the regression of tumor. The overall appraisal of patients with cervical carcinoma based on histopathologic and chemical criteria showed the positive effect of HLI therapy in 70% of the cases; observations of head and neck carcinoma treated with HLI showed positive effects in 82% of the cases.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Histocytochemistry; Humans; Interferons; Peroxidase; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Fifty-five patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were evaluated immunologically by measuring the level of T cells (E-RFC) and high affinity subset T cells (E-29) in the peripheral blood and peritumorous lymph nodes. A significant decrease (p less than 0.05) in mean percentage of E-29 was observed in cancer patient peripheral blood. In peritumorous lymph nodes, there was no difference in terms of total T cells or of high affinity subset T cells, as compared to non-malignant lymph nodes, or between tumor-free and metastatic lymph nodes. Macrophage content was much higher in metastatic than in tumor-free lymph nodes (p less than 0.05) and these macrophages frequently appeared to be more active when tested in phagocytosis of sheep red blood cells sensitized with IgG or IgM + C.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Adult; Aged; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Leukocyte Count; Lymph Nodes; Lymphatic Metastasis; Macrophages; Male; Middle Aged; T-Lymphocytes