Jass staging is a predictor of outcome following "curative" resection of Dukes' B colorectal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We have sought to determine if the addition of the Jass pathological classification to Dukes' staging would provide improved prognostic information for patients undergoing curative surgery for Dukes' B colorectal carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and eighty three patients who underwent curative surgery for Dukes' B colorectal cancers between December 1988 and January 1998 were identified. An assessment of Jass scoring was made at the time of initial histological staging. All patients entered a comprehensive follow-up system. RESULTS: Jass grouping was found to correlate significantly with cancer specific mortality rates; group III having a worse prognosis than groups I and II (p<0.005). There was no significant difference between either local recurrence or systemic recurrence and the Jass group. CONCLUSION: The Jass classification provides additional prognostic information in patients following curative resection of Dukes' B colorectal carcinoma and may therefore facilitate the selection of patients who will benefit most from adjuvant treatment

Performance of American Indian children with fetal alcohol syndrome on the test of language development.

Alcohol is a teratogen known to have deleterious effects on the developing embryo and fetus. Language deficits secondary to central nervous system dysfunction are among the sequelae of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Limited information is available regarding the language deficits associated with FAS, particularly among the population of American Indians in whom FAS is highly prevalent. The TOLD-P and TOLD-I were administered to 27 American Indian children: 10 with FAS and 17 normally developing control subjects. Pure-tone screening, immittance measurement, and vision screening preceded language testing. The older FAS children presented syntactic deficits while the younger FAS subjects presented more global language deficits.