Shared and persistent asymptomatic cutaneous human papillomavirus infections in healthy skin.

Cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) types are commonly found in normal skin, and some of them have been suspected to play a role in the development of non-melanoma skin cancer. This present study is divided into three sections, the aims of this study were to examine if certain HPV-types persist over time and if HPV-types are shared within families. From the first part of the study, swab samples from foreheads were collected for three longitudinal studies from one family with a newborn baby. Five specific HPV-types were isolated from the family with a newborn, with HPV-5 and FA67 being found at various time points and prevalence rates in all four members of the family. Part 2 consisted of a followed up study from two families with a 6 years interval. Six of the family members were found to have at least one of the HPV-types identified in the family 6 years earlier. Many of the HPV-types identified were shared within the families studied. Part 3 of this study involved weekly samples from four healthy females for 4 months. Among the four healthy individuals, 11%, 65%, and 56% of the weekly samples were HPV-DNA positive with one individual HPV-negative. All specimens were tested for HPV-DNA by PCR using the broad range HPV-type primer pair FAP59/64. The positive samples were HPV-type determined by cloning and sequencing. Specific cutaneous HPV-types persist over long periods of time in healthy skin in most individuals investigated and certain HPVs are shared between family members.

Local control, toxicity, and cosmesis in women younger than 50 enrolled onto the American Society of Breast Surgeons MammoSite Radiation Therapy System registry trial.

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Breast Surgeons enrolled women onto a registry trial to prospectively study patients treated with the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS) breast brachytherapy device. This report examines local recurrence (LR), toxicity, and cosmesis as a function of age in women enrolled onto the trial. METHODS: A total of 1449 primary early-stage breast cancers were treated in 1440 women. Of these, 130 occurred in women younger than 50 years of age. Fisher's exact test was performed to correlate age (<50 vs. > or = 50 years) with toxicity and with cosmesis. The association of age with LR failure times was investigated by fitting a parametric model. RESULTS: Women younger than 50 were more likely to develop fat necrosis: 4.6% (6 of 130) vs. 1.8% (24 of 1319) (P = .0456). Other toxicities were comparable. At 2 years, cosmesis was excellent or good in 87% of assessable women aged <50 years (n = 74) and in 94% of assessable older women (n = 751) (P = .0197). At 3 years, this difference disappeared: excellent or good in 90% (56 of 62) of younger women vs. 93% (573 of 614) of older women (P = .2902). The crude LR rate for the group was 1.7% (25 of 1449). There was no statistically significant difference in LR as a function of age. In women <50, 3.1% (4 of 130) developed a LR; in the older patients, 1.6% (21 of 1319) developed LR (3-year actuarial LR rates, 2.9% vs. 1.7%, respectively; P = .2284). CONCLUSIONS: Accelerated partial breast irradiation with the MammoSite RTS results in low toxicity and produces similar cosmesis and local control at 3 years in women younger than 50 when compared with older women.

Early diagnosis of bubonic plague using F1 antigen capture ELISA assay and rapid immunogold dipstick.

Plague is still prevalent in more than 20 countries. Two F1 antigen diagnostic assays (an immunocapture ELISA and an immunogold chromatography dipstick) were evaluated using bubo aspirates, serum and urine specimens from patients suspected with plague. The specificity of the two F1 assays was found 100%. Using bacteriology as a gold reference diagnostic assay, 52 patients were Yersinia pestis culture positive and 141 negative. The sensitivity of the F1 ELISA test was 100% in bubo, 52% in serum and 58% in urine specimens. In culture negative patients, the F1 antigen could be found in 10% bubo aspirates, 5% serum and 7% urine specimens of culture negative patients for whom a seroconversion for anti-F1 antibodies was also observed. The sensitivity of the dipstick assay was 98% on bubo aspirates specimens. Compared to the ELISA test, the agreement rate was 97.5% and the correlation coefficient tau = 0.90 (p < 10(-3)). In conclusion, the diagnosis of bubonic plague has to be performed on bubo fluid rather than on serum or urine specimens. Both the F1 ELISA and the dipstick assays are valuable tools for an early diagnosis and for the surveillance of plague.