digoxin and Laryngeal-Neoplasms

5-Fluorouracil, a widely used drug in cancer treatment, is known to have cardiotoxic effects: chest pain with ECG changes, arrhythmias, arterial hypertension or hypotension, myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock and sudden death have been described in the literature. Coronary artery vasospasm is the pathogenetic mechanism hypothesized in most cases, but mechanisms other than myocardial ischemia had been advocated in some patients. The approach to the patient with persistent chest pain, despite therapy and persistent ST-segment elevation mimicking an acute myocardial infarction, has not been well addressed, and the appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic pathways have not yet been defined. We present our experience regarding 2 patients treated with 5-fluorouracil and referred to our coronary care unit because of prolonged chest pain (in one case with clinical evidence of hemodynamic impairment) and persistent ST-segment elevation, in whom an acute myocardial infarction was suspected. One patient was treated with systemic fibrinolysis, and coronary angiography was performed 6 days later; the other was submitted to urgent coronary angiography shortly after admission. In both cases the ECG and echocardiographic abnormalities were transient and normalized within a few days, the serum markers of myocardial necrosis were persistently in the normal range and the coronary artery trees were normal. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach to patients with this unusual clinical presentation is also discussed.

Topics: Aged; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Atrial Fibrillation; Captopril; Chest Pain; Colorectal Neoplasms; Coronary Angiography; Digoxin; Disease Management; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; Fluorouracil; Humans; Laryngeal Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction; Nitrates; Verapamil

It is being reported that human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various neoplastic lesions of the genital organs. To investigate the etiological role of HPV and its types in nasolaryngeal papillomas, we retrospectively analyzed HPV genomes by nucleic acid hybridization methods; for detecting DNA and mRNA, we employed the recently developed nonradioactive (digoxigenin labeled) DNA probes and compared the results by radioisotope methods. In total, 43 cases of papillomatous lesions were examined. They were verruca vulgaris of the nasal vestibule (Nr = 2), nasal inverted papilloma (IP, Nr = 26), and laryngeal papilloma (Nr = 15). HPV types examined were type 2, 6, 11, 16 and 18. Two cases of verruca vulgaris were shown to contain HPV-2 DNA and its mRNA by in situ hybridization. HPV-11 DNA was detected in 3 cases (12%) of nasal inverted papilloma whereas HPV-16 was detected in 1 case (4%); the latter case was associated with squamous cell carcinoma. These results suggest that HPV may be implicated in the development of IP, and HPV-16 may play an important role in the malignant transformation of IP. In the cases of multiple laryngeal papilloma (Nr = 8, one juvenile type and 7 adult type), either HPV-6 or HPV-11 was detected at the high rate (6/8, 75%). The presence of the HPV genomes provides strong evidence for the HPV etiology of these laryngeal papillomas. Whereas in the cases of adult single laryngeal papilloma (Nr = 7), HPV was not detected. Technically, the sensitivity of digoxigenin (DIG) labeled DNA probe was almost same as 35S labeled probe by dot blot hybridization, thus we applied DIG labeled probe to Southern blot hybridization with low background. By in situ hybridization using digoxigenin labeled probes, the rates of HPV detection were almost equal to those by 35S labeled probes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Digoxigenin; Digoxin; DNA Probes, HPV; DNA, Viral; Genes, Viral; Humans; Laryngeal Neoplasms; Nose Neoplasms; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Papilloma; Papillomaviridae; Retrospective Studies; RNA, Messenger; RNA, Viral; Sulfur Radioisotopes