Toxicity and prognosis in overweight and obese women with lung cancer receiving carboplatin-paclitaxel doublet chemotherapy.

We retrospectively analyzed overdosing-related toxicity and prognosis in 127 women with lung cancer receiving carboplatin (6AUC) estimated by the Cockcroft-Gault formula using actual body weight and paclitaxel (200 mg/m(2)). Between the body mass index (BMI) > 25 group (n = 42) and the BMI ≤ 25 group (n = 85), there was no difference in dose intensity of carboplatin (122 mg/m(2)/week vs. 124 mg/m(2)/week, p = .323), median overall survival (285 days vs. 282 days, p = .820), and toxicity, except Grade 4 neutropenia in the second cycle. Women with BMI > 25 did not have an increased risk of toxicity because of an appropriate dose reduction.

When pleural potassium exceeds 5.0 mEq/L, high pleural adenosine deaminase levels do not necessarily indicate tuberculous pleuritis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether high levels of pleural adenosine deaminase (pADA) are predictive for tuberculosis when pleural effusions do not satisfy the criteria for lymphocytic effusions or show neutrophil predominance. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study of 147 consecutive patients with exudative pleural effusions that were diagnosed by analysis of fluid samples during a 3-year period from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2010. Multiple linear correlation tests were used to assess clinical variables as possible predictors of high pADA levels. RESULTS: High pleural LDH (pLDH) and pleural potassium (pK) levels were associated with high pADA levels (P < 0.0001). Although there was a linear correlation between pLDH and pADA levels in patients with parapneumonic effusions (PPE) (n = 75), tubercular effusions (n = 21), malignant effusions (n = 41) and miscellaneous effusions (n = 10), a significant linear correlation between pK and pADA levels was observed only in patients with PPE (ρ = 0.525, P < 0.0001). When the cut-off value for pK was set at 5.0 mEq/L, pADA levels were >50 IU/L and pK levels were >5.0 mEq/L in only one patient (5%) in the tuberculosis group (n = 21) and 15 patients (12%, all with PPE) in the non-tuberculosis group (n = 126). CONCLUSIONS: When pK levels exceed 5.0 mEq/L, high pADA levels do not necessarily indicate the presence of tuberculous pleuritis.

Increases in pig major acute-phase protein in wasting pigs brought to the abattoir.

Plasma proteins of wasting pigs were quantitatively and qualitatively compared with those of normal fattening pigs. Higher expression of a 120 kDa protein was observed in the plasma of wasting pigs by SDS-PAGE. This protein was identified as pig major acute-phase protein (Pig-MAP) by proteomic analysis using two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The plasma concentration of Pig-MAP in wasting pigs was 7-fold higher than that of normal ones.