Bone marrow examination in small cell lung cancer--when is it indicated?

To assess the usefulness of bone marrow (BM) examination performed as part of the staging procedure in SCLC, 137 patients with this neoplasm were studied. At diagnosis, BM was infiltrated in 23 patients (17%) and in 5 of them (22%) it was the only metastatic site. BM examination changed the previously given stage in 9% of the patients who were supposed to have limited disease before this test was performed. BM involvement correlated with a higher frequency of bone (p less than 0.05) and liver (p less than 0.01) metastasis. Correlations were found neither with blood or serum biochemistry disturbances nor with postchemotherapy haematologic toxicity. The BM positive patients had a survival rate similar to those with extensive disease but without BM infiltration. We conclude that BM examination should be performed only when no other metastatic sites have been found after a complete staging study.

[Action of alkaloids from podophyllin on the response of pancreatic beta-cells of the rabbit to tolbutamide]. / Acción de los alcaloides del podifilino sobre la respuesta de la célula beta pancreática de conejos a la tolbutamida.

Some antineoplastic agents alter the microtubular-microfilamentous system involved in insulin release. The authors studied the effect of the podophyllotoxin derivate VM-26 and the epipodophyllotoxin derivative VP-16-213 on the insulin release by the pancreatic beta-cell after tolbutamide stimulation. VP-16-213 produced a slowing and partial inhibition of insulin release, and VM-26 inhibited the late stage of insulin release.

[Leukocyte adherence inhibition test in tumor patients]. / Test de inhibición de la adhesividad leucocitaria en el enfermo tumoral.

The leukocytes from cancer patients lose the capacity to adhere themselves to the tube glass surface when they are incubated with antigenic extracts of neoplasms of the same histologic type, as observed employing the leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) test. The authors confirm that the LAI test is organ-specific when primary tumors are employed as a source of antigens. Contrarily, the LAI test does not give a useful diagnostic information when antigens from metastases are employed. On the other hand, the practice of cell counts at 20 minutes intervals, shows that we are not dealing with a true adherence inhibition, but with a massive initial adherence of the leukocytes to the glass surface, followed by the further detachment of the cells. The phenomenon depends on cell concentration and it is not observed when less than 1000 leukocytes mm2 are used.