50 research outputs found
Historical perspectives of the american association for thoracic surgery Samuel Robinson (1875-1947)
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Letter to H.B. Stenzel from J.Gordon Erdman on 1963-05-02
Jackson School of Geoscience
Clinical and laboratory studies on human lymphona
The thesis is in two parts. The first concerns a laboratory study of human
lymphoma cells and their interactions with reticulo-endothelial cells. Electron
microscopy and tissue culture studies indicated that macrophages and lymphocytes
were in close contact with tumour cells but no cytocidal effect was noted in the
intact tissue. A time lapse film of lymph nodes in culture shows that when ceils
are teased, out in a monolayer, the tumour cells become susceptible to direct attack
by lymphocytes and tissue macrophages. Lymph node cultures of lymphoma liberate
chemotactic factors to the supernatant which attract eosinophils, monocytes and
leucocytes. The eosinophil chemotactic factor was found in high concentrations
only in lymph nodes involved with Hodgkin's disease. Also in the supernatants
were found two factors which depressed host cells. After incubation of suoernatants
with lymphocytes, their subsequent ability to transform was depressed
and after incubation with normal monocytes, subsequent chemotaxis was inhibited.
Peripheral blood monocytes from lymphoma patients were significantly less mobile
than age-sex match controls in a chemotaxis assay.
The clinical part of the thesis describes firstly a search, for space-time
clusters in the occurrence of lymphomas in the South East of Scotland over a
period of eleven years. Fourteen clusters were found from centralised computer
records but only one of these survived closer scrutiny. Secondly a cohort of
one hundred consecutive patients with lymphoma has been followed for two to seven
years. Overall survival of 68°/o is considerably superior to retrospective studies
which took place before 1970. Improvement in survival is due to rigorous staging,
more appropriate radiotherapy and the advent of effective chemotherapy. Several
serum parameters such as low albumin, low immunoglobulin M and low serum a macroglobulin
independently worsened the prognosis. This information taken with the
findings of the laboratory studies suggest that immunodeficiency in lymphoma patients
is accompanied by a poor prognosis and maybe due to release of tumour specific
factors. Such high risk patients should be managed by intensive immunological
support including removal of such factors and restoration to high protein levels
prior to or along with cytoreductive therapy