Spinal tumours: recommendations of the Polish Society of Spine Surgery, the Polish Society of Oncology, the Polish Society of Neurosurgeons, the Polish Society of Oncologic Surgery, the Polish Society of Oncologic Radiotherapy, and the Polish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology.

PURPOSE: The purpose of these recommendations is to spread the available evidence for evaluating and managing spinal tumours among clinicians who encounter such entities. METHODS: The recommendations were developed by members of the Development Recommendations Group representing seven stakeholder scientific societies and organizations of specialists involved in various forms of care for patients with spinal tumours in Poland. The recommendations are based on data yielded from systematic reviews of the literature identified through electronic database searches. The strength of the recommendations was graded according to the North American Spine Society's grades of recommendation for summaries or reviews of studies. RESULTS: The recommendation group developed 89 level A-C recommendations and a supplementary list of institutions able to manage primary malignant spinal tumours, namely, spinal sarcomas, at the expert level. This list, further called an appendix, helps clinicians who encounter spinal tumours refer patients with suspected spinal sarcoma or chordoma for pathological diagnosis, surgery and radiosurgery. The list constitutes a basis of the network of expertise for the management of primary malignant spinal tumours and should be understood as a communication network of specialists involved in the care of primary spinal malignancies. CONCLUSION: The developed recommendations together with the national network of expertise should optimize the management of patients with spinal tumours, especially rare malignancies, and optimize their referral and allocation within the Polish national health service system.

Solubilized DNA-dependent nuclear RNA polymerases from the mammary glands of late-pregnant rats.

Mammary gland nuclear extracts from late-pregnant Wistar or Sprague-Dwaley rats, analyzed by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, were found to contain DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, cyclic nucleotide-binding proteins, and cyclic AMP-independent protein kinases. 1. The fractions from chromatographed nuclear extracts which contained nucleolar enzymes or nucleoplasmic enzyme II, bound radioactive cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP. Other fractions also bound cyclic nucleotides, some preferentially associating with one or the other compound. 2. Cyclic AMP increased the amount of RNA formed by several alpha-amanitin-insensitive fractions containing nucleolar enzymes. 3. Cyclic AMP reduced the amount of RNA formed by column fractions which included nucleoplasmic enzyme II. 4. Cyclic GMP increased the amount of RNA synthesized by column fractions containing enzyme II. 5. Two major cyclic AMP-independent protein kinases which did not elute with enzymes Ib and II, and several minor protein kinases were present. These findings may have important implications for understanding the proximate control of transcription. A relationship between them is not established, but is under study.