tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations: Impact of the GOLD stage or the presence of bronchiectasis on sputum microbiology
Authors: Isabelle Rault, Céline Lecerf, Charlotte Trouve, Vincent Jounieaux, Claire Andrejak
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have often infectious exacerbations. Microbiology seems to differ from one exacerbation to an other. Does the GOLD stage or the presence of bronchiectasis have an impact on microbiology?  Methods: We conducted this retrospective study on a cohort of COPD patients with at least two exacerbations with positive microbiology to compare the sputum microbiology and its evolution according to the GOLD stage and/or the presence of bronchiectasis.  Results: Sixty COPD patients were included. Among them, 32 had a COPD stage IV, and 17 had bronchiectasis. In the whole cohort, microbiology differed from one exacerbation to an other with same proportions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and community pathogens for each exacerbations, but in different patients. In the GOLD Stage IV patients, we found similar results with different microbiologies from one exacerbation to an other. For patients with associated bronchiectasis, recurrence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were often found from one exacerbation to another one.  Conclusion: Excepted for patients with bronchiectasis, microbiology of infectious exacerbation of COPD patients, even for GOLD stage IV patients, differed from one episode to an other.
Detroit oncologist who falsely diagnosed cancer and treated hundreds gets 45 year sentence
Authors: Owen Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The trial of the worst ever medical fraud case in the United States has ended with a Michigan oncologist, who made false diagnoses and unnecessarily treated hundreds of patients, receiving 45 years in federal prison.

Farid Fata, 50, told healthy patients that they had cancer, then gave them massive doses of chemotherapy to maximize his profit.1 He also gave chemotherapy to terminally ill patients whom he took from hospices, offering them the hope of cure to entice them into treatment. The number of patients identified has reached 553. Many were injured permanently by the huge doses of anticancer drugs they received, and an unspecified number died in his care.

Fata pleaded guilty last September to 13 counts of healthcare fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiring to pay and receive kickbacks. He billed patients and insurance companies for $34.7m (£22.3m; €31m), receiving $17.6m, for work he later admitted was unnecessary.

Fata founded Michigan Hematology and Oncology Centers, the state’s largest private cancer practice at the time of his arrest. His scam lasted five years from 2009, prosecutors said, until he was reported to the authorities by his office manager, George Karadsheh. Karadsheh told ABC Nightline that he grew suspicious because staff kept leaving the practice. Finally one oncologist, on quitting, told him that it was because Fata was administering chemotherapy to healthy patients.

“He also pointed out that patients who were receiving chemotherapy without disease were receiving it to the very last day of life,” Karadsheh said. …
Mammary Gland Tumors in Substrains C57BL/M and C57BL/He Mice
Authors: W. E. Heston, G. Vlahakis, Gilbert H. Smith
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1972)

Journal Article Mammary Gland Tumors in Substrains C57BL/M and C57BL/He Mice Get access W. E. Heston, W. E. Heston Laboratory of Biology, National Cancer Institute,2Bethesda, Maryland 20014 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar G. Vlahakis, G. Vlahakis Laboratory of Biology, National Cancer Institute,2Bethesda, Maryland 20014 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Gilbert H. Smith Gilbert H. Smith Laboratory of Biology, National Cancer Institute,2Bethesda, Maryland 20014 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 49, Issue 3, September 1972, Pages 805–812, https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/49.3.805 Published: 01 September 1972 Article history Received: 28 February 1972 Accepted: 26 April 1972 Published: 01 September 1972
Influence of chemotherapy administration on monocyte activation by liposomal muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine in children with osteosarcoma.
Authors: E S Kleinerman, J S Snyder, N Jaffe
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1991)

The purpose of these studies was to determine whether chemotherapy interfered with the ability of peripheral blood monocytes from patients with osteosarcoma to respond to the liposome-encapsulated activating agent muramyl tripeptide phosphatidylethanolamine (L-MTP-PE). This was done in preparation of designing an adjuvant therapy protocol that includes L-MTP-PE combined with chemotherapy postoperatively for the treatment of primary osteosarcoma. The majority of patients who fail current adjuvant chemotherapy do so while on chemotherapy. Therefore, we believe it is important to combine L-MTP-PE with chemotherapy early in the treatment course rather than waiting until all chemotherapy cycles are completed. The tumoricidal properties of monocytes from patients with osteosarcoma could be activated by L-MTP-PE to levels equal to or greater than those expressed by normal control monocytes. No intrinsic monocyte defect could be demonstrated. Single-agent chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin (CPD), high-dose methotrexate (MTX), Cytoxan (CTX, cyclophosphamide; Bristol-Myers Co, Evansville, IN), or Adriamycin (ADR, doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH) did not interfere with this activation process. There was even a suggestion of enhanced activation potential following the administration of ADR. However, when both ADR and CTX were administered together on the same day, profound suppression in monocyte activation was observed. This suppressed function returned to normal by 3 weeks postcombination therapy. We therefore conclude that L-MTP-PE can be combined with ADR, CPD, MTX, or CTX as single agents but recommend that ADR plus L-MTP-PE is the most effective combination. By contrast, we discourage the use of L-MTP-PE when ADR and CTX are given together.
Primary chemoradiation therapy with fluorouracil and cisplatin for cancer of the anus: results in 35 consecutive patients.
Authors: R Doci, R Zucali, G La Monica, E Meroni, R Kenda, M Eboli, L Lozza
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1996)

This prospective phase II study was designed to test the activity and toxicity of a regimen of fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP) in combination with radiation therapy in the treatment of epidermoid cancer of the anal canal.Thirty-five consecutive patients with untreated epidermoid cancer of the anal canal were candidates for chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Staging of cancer was as follows: T1, 26%; T2, 60%; T3, 14%; and N1, 2,3, 26%. No patient had distant metastases. The treatment protocol consisted of two to three cycles of chemotherapy starting on days 1 and 21 and concurrent radiotherapy at a daily dose of 1.8 Gy up to a total dose of 36 to 38 Gy in 4 weeks, delivered to the anal region, perineum, middle and lower pelvis, and inguinal and external iliac nodes. Radiotherapy was then delivered to the anoperineal region and metastatic inguinal nodes to a total dose of 18 to 24 Gy in 10 fractions. Chemotherapy consisted of 24-hour intravenous (IV) infusion of 5-FU 750 mg/m2 on days 1 to 4 and CDDP 100 mg/m2 by 60-minute IV infusion on day 1.All patients received two cycles of chemotherapy; the second was delayed in three patients because of leukopenia that was evident in 11 (31%). In eight patients, a third cycle was added. They all experienced nausea or vomiting; one patient showed signs of cardiotoxicity and one developed proctitis, dermatitis, and diarrhea (grade 3). Complete regression (CR) was assessed in 33 patients (94%); nine patients with metastatic lymph nodes also had CR. Two patients had a partial response (PR); both underwent abdominoperineal resection, which was not curative in one. Two patients (6%) had a local recurrence; in one, this was associated with hepatic metastases. One of these patients underwent surgery and is alive after about 4 years, while the other is undergoing chemotherapy. After a median follow-up duration of 37 months, 94% of patients are alive without evidence of disease and 86% are colostomy-free.This regimen is well tolerated; its toxicity does not exceed that observed with the combination of 5-FU and mitomycin (MMC). Compared with our previous experience based on the classic CRT (5-FU, MMC, and radiation), the objective response rate observed with this new combination was similar. However, the local recurrence rate, observed in patients treated with the new regimen, was lower (6% v 24%). According to more recent data from the literature, primary CRT is the elective indication in epidermoid cancer of the anus and replacement of MMC with CDDP seems an effective and logical evolution.
Association between pet ownership and asthma, rhinitis and eczema in Chinese schoolchildren
Authors: Ning Song, Mohammed Shamssain, Jin Zhang, Shuting Hao, Jitao Guan, Jianling Wu, Chunling Fu, Xixin Yan
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Introduction: The association between pet ownership in childhood and asthma and allergies is very controversial. Our objective was to determine the effects of exposure to cat or dog allergens or both cat and dog allergens on asthma, rhinitis and eczema in a large number of schoolchildren in Shijiazhuang City in Hebei Province in China, which is part of a major longitudinal Chinese study on childhood asthma and allergies.

Body: We studied 10824 schoolchildren, boys and girls, aged 6- 18 years. We used the ISAAC questionnaire and we added questions regarding pet ownership. The prevalence rates of asthma and rhinitis symptoms were higher in children exposed to cats and dogs compared with children not exposed to cats and dogs (wheeze ever 6.1% vs 5.6%; current wheeze 2.4% vs 1.7%; exercise-induced wheezing 4.7% vs 2.9%, P<0.001; cough 12.5% vs 10.9%, P=0.05; ever rhinitis 18.9% vs 12.5%, P<0.001; current rhinitis 13.1% vs 8.8%; rhinoconjunctivitis 3.3% vs 2.1%; hay fever 5.1% vs 4.1%, P=0.06, respectively). However, the prevalence of eczema was higher in children not exposed to cats and dogs compared with those exposed to cats and dogs (11.7% vs 10.5%, P=0.07). Children exposed to dogs had higher prevalence rates of most allergic disorders compared with children exposed to cats. The present study confirms the association between pets ownership and asthma and allergic symptoms in children and the protective effect of pet ownership on eczema.
Drug‐induced liver injury associated with stevens‐Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis: Patient characteristics, causes, and outcome in 36 cases
Authors: Harshad Devarbhavi, Sujata Raj, Venu H. Aradya, Vijaykumar T. Rangegowda, Girish P. Veeranna, Rajvir Singh, Vishnuvardan Reddy, Mallikarjun Patil
Journal: Hepatology (2015)

The liver and skin are the organs most commonly involved in serious adverse drug reactions. Rarely a drug reaction can affect both organs concurrently. The association of drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) and Stevens‐Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrosis (TEN) is even rarer and not well studied. We describe our experience of DILI occurring in association with SJS/TEN including the etiologic agents, clinical and biochemical characteristics, and outcome. We identified patients who developed DILI in association with SJS/TEN from a registry of DILI patients from a single center. Causality assessment for DILI and SJS/TEN was carried out with the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method and the Algorithm for Drug Causality for Epidermal Necrolysis, respectively. Among 748 consecutive patients with DILI from 1997 to March 2015, 36 (4.8%) had associated features of SJS/TEN. The mean age was 32 years (females 19). Children and patients with human immunodeficiency virus constituted 25% (n = 9) and 22% (n = 8), respectively. Only a small number of “high‐risk” drugs such as antiepileptic agents, sulfonamides, and antiretroviral drugs accounted for the majority of cases. Overall mortality was 36% (n = 13), which rose to 45.5% in the presence of jaundice. Mortality was less in children 11% (n = 1) and human immunodeficiency virus patients 12.5% (n = 1). Conclusions : DILI associated with SJS/TEN is rare and associated with a high death rate, particularly in those with jaundice; however, children and human immunodeficiency virus–infected individuals have a favorable outcome; a small group of drugs contributed to a disproportionate number of cases, and causality with Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method and the Algorithm for Drug Causality for Epidermal Necrolysis was highly probable or probable in all cases. (H epatology 2016;63:993–999)
Teenage suicides double as the future crumbles
Authors: Sophie Arie
Journal: BMJ (2002)

Ramon Fernandez has been waiting in a hospital in Argentina for over a month, desperately hoping someone will find him a pacemaker.The 54 year old farm worker from the province of Mendoza, in Argentina's central Andean region, would normally rely on the public health service to provide him with the £4000 ($5840; 6350) implant he needs to make his heart beat normally.His
Significance of imaging-related and other factors as predictors of survival time in non small cell lung cancer
Authors: Arunesh Kumar, H.H. Thygesen, Andrew Scarsbrook
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Aims and Objectives :  To determine whether pre-treatment FDG PET-CTderived tumour SUVmax ,tumour and lymph node staging and other factors are predictors of survival in patients with NSCLC   Methods   136 patients with NSCLC [adenocarcinoma 39%,squamous 37%, Large cell 17%,Undifferentiated 6%] who underwent staging FDG PET-CT before treatment were identified .Median followup 635 days. Tumour and nodal staging at PET-CT & staging CT, SUVmax of primary tumour, factors like age, gender, ALT, tumour type,performance status[PS] recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses performed to assess the prognostic significance of the above. SUVmax was included as continuous or dichotomous variable.   Results   In univariate analysis, SUVmax was statistically significant for predictor of survival both as continuous [p=0.012] and as dichotomous value using the median SUVmax>15 as a cut-off point[p=0.018]. The cut-off point that gave the best prediction of survival was SUVmax>11 [p=0.0004]. Other factors that were statistically significant in univariate analysis were PS[p=0.001], PET lymph node staging [p=0.000004], PETtumour staging [p=0.00001], CT lymph node staging [p=0.000002], CT tumour staging [p=0.004] and gender [p=0.014]. SUVmax as a dichotomous[ SUV>11] variable was not significantly better than using the continuous value [Wuong’s test].  In multivariate analysis, PET-CT lymph node staging [p=0.0006], alkaline phosphatase[p=0.03], PS[p=0.048] and  gender [p=0.026] were significant factors for overall survival.   Conclusions   SUVmax [both dichotomous and continuous variable] and PET-CT staging are significant predictors of survival in NSCLC patients. PET-CT staging is the best overall predictor.
Computed Tomography Findings in Pathological Usual Interstitial Pneumonia
Authors: Hiromitsu Sumikawa, Takeshi Johkoh, Thomas V. Colby, Kazuya Ichikado, Moritaka Suga, Hiroyuki Taniguchi, Yasuhiro Kondoh, Takashi Ogura, Hiroaki Arakawa, Kiminori Fujimoto, Atsuo Inoue, Naoki Mihara, Osamu Honda, Noriyuki Tomiyama, Hironobu Nakamura, Nestor L. Müller
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2007)

Patients with a clinicopathological diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may have typical findings of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) on computed tomography (CT) or nonspecific or atypical findings, including those often seen in nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.The aims of this study were to revisit the high-resolution CT findings of IPF and to clarify the correlation between the CT findings and mortality.The study included 98 patients with a histologic diagnosis of UIP and a clinical diagnosis of IPF. Two observers evaluated the CT findings independently and classified each case into one of the following three categories: (1) definite UIP, (2) consistent with UIP, or (3) suggestive of alternative diagnosis. The correlation between the CT categories and mortality was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test, as well as Cox proportional hazards regression models.Thirty-three of the 98 CT scans were classified as definite UIP, 36 as consistent with UIP, 29 as suggestive of an alternative diagnosis. The mean survival was 45.7, 57.9, and 76.9 months, respectively. There was no significant difference in survival among the three categories (all P > 0.05). Traction bronchiectasis and fibrosis scores were significant predictors of outcome (hazard ratios: 1.30 and 1.10, respectively; 95% confidence intervals: 1.18-14.2 and 1.03-1.19, respectively).In patients with IPF and UIP pattern on the biopsy, the pattern of abnormality on thin-section CT, whether characteristic of UIP or suggestive of alternative diagnosis, does not influence prognosis. Prognosis is influenced by traction bronchiectasis and fibrosis scores.
Discrimination between oral corticosteroid-treated and oral corticosteroid-non-treated severe asthma patients by an electronic nose platform
Authors: G. Santini, Stefano Di Carlo, Alfredo Benso, N. Mores, P. Brinkman, S. Valente, Paolo Montuschi, F. Macagno, A. H. Wagener, A. T. Bansal, I. Pandis, H. H. Knobel, A. J. Vink, N. Rattray, M. Santonico, G. Pennazza, Y. K. Guo, I. Horvath, R. Djukanovic, R. Polosa, A. R. Sousa, J. Corfield, A. Rowe, S. J. Fowler, P. Chanez, K. F. Chung, P. J. Sterk, P. Montuschi
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Rationale:  Some severe asthma patients require oral corticosteroids (OCS) likely due to greater disease severity. Exhaled molecular markers can provide phenotypic information in asthma.   Objectives:  Determine whether patients on OCS (OCS + ) have a different breathprint compared with those who were not on OCS (OCS - ); determine the classification accuracy of eNose as compared to FEV 1  % pred, % sputum eosinophils, and exhaled nitric oxide (FENO).   Methods:  This was a cross-sectional analysis of the U-BIOPRED cohort. Severe asthma was defined by IMI-criteria [Bel Thorax 2011]. OCS +  patients had daily OCS. OCS -  patients had never had OCS and were on maintenance inhaled fluticasone equivalent >1000 μg/day. Exhaled volatile organic compounds trapped on adsorption tubes were analysed by centralized eNose platform (Owlstone Lonestar, Cyranose 320, Comon Invent, Tor Vergata TEN) including a total of 190 sensors. t test was used for comparing groups and support vector machine with leave-one-out cross-validation as a classifier.   Results:  33 OCS +  (age 55±11yr, mean±SD, 52% female, 27% smokers, pre-bronchodilator FEV 1  64.1±24% pred) and 40 OCS -  severe asthma patients (age 54±15yr, mean±SD, 55% female, 35% smokers, pre-bronchodilator FEV 1  61.8±24% pred) were studied. Sensor by sensor analysis showed that 56 sensors provided different mean values (change in sensor resistance or frequency) between groups (P 1  62% (n=73) and sputum eosinophils 59% (n=37).   Conclusions:  Preliminary results suggest OCS +  and OCS -  severe asthma patients can be distinguished by an eNose platform.
Compensatory substitutions and the evolution of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene in mammals.
Authors: M S Springer, L J Hollar, A Burk
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (1995)

12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from a suite of mammalian taxa (13 placentals, 4 marsupials, 1 monotreme), for which phylogenetic relationships are well established based on independent criteria, were employed to study the evolution of this gene. Phylogenetic analysis of 12S sequences produces a phylogeny that agrees with expectations. Base composition provides evidence for directional symmetrical substitution pressure in loops; in stems, base composition is much more even. Rates of nucleotide substitution are lower in stems than loops. Patterns of nucleotide substitution show an overall preference for transitions over transversions, with this difference more profound in stems than loops. Among different transversion pathways, there is a wide range of transformation frequencies. An analysis of compensatory substitutions shows that there is strong evidence for their occurrence and that a weighting factor of 0.61 should be applied in phylogenetic analyses to account for the dependence of mutations at stem positions relative to positions where changes are independent. Among stem variables (i.e., stem length, interaction distance, substitution rates, G+C content, and the percentage of bases that are paired), several significant correlations were discovered, but stem length and interaction distance are uncorrelated with other variables.
Coronary Sinus Reducer Stent for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Angina Pectoris
Authors: Shmuel Banai, Shmuel Ben Muvhar, Keyur H. Parikh, Aharon Medina, Horst Sievert, Ashok Seth, Jonathan Tsehori, Yoav Paz, Ami Sheinfeld, Gad Keren
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2007)
Pathological prognostic factors in stage I (T1N0M0) and stage II (T1N1M0) breast carcinoma: a study of 644 patients with median follow-up of 18 years.
Authors: P P Rosen, S Groshen, P E Saigo, D W Kinne, S Hellman
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1989)

Prognostic factors have been examined in 644 patients with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage T1 breast carcinoma treated by mastectomy and followed for a median of 18.2 years. Overall, 148 patients (23%) died of recurrent breast carcinoma. Eighteen (3%) were alive with recurrent disease and 478 (74%) were alive or died of other causes without recurrence. Unfavorable clinicopathologic features were larger tumor size (1.1 to 2.0 cm v less than or equal to 1 cm), perimenopausal menstrual status, the number of axillary lymph node metastases, poorly differentiated grade, presence of lymphatic tumor emboli (LI) in breast tissue near the primary tumor, blood vessel invasion (BVI), and an intense lymphoplasmacytic reaction around the tumor. Median survival after recurrence for the entire series was 2 years. This was not significantly influenced by tumor size, the number of axillary nodal metastases, the type of treatment for recurrence, or the interval to recurrence. The proportions surviving 5 and 10 years after recurrence were 17% and 5%, respectively. Among T1N0M0 cases, the chance of a local recurrence was 2.8% within 20 years. Median survival of T1N0M0 cases after local recurrence (4.5 years) was significantly longer than after systemic recurrence (1.5 years). A similar trend (3.7 v 2.0 years), not statistically significant, was seen in T1N1M0 patients, who had a 6.5% chance of local recurrence within 20 years. Median survival following systemic recurrence detected 10 or more years after diagnosis in T1N0M0 and in T1N1M0 patients was significantly longer than the median survival for systemic recurrences found in the first decade of follow-up. This difference did not apply following local recurrence in either T1N0M0 or T1N1M0 cases. It is evident that patients with T1 breast carcinoma can be subdivided into differing prognostic groups and this must be taken into account when considering the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage I disease. Systemic adjuvant treatment may prove to be beneficial for patients with unfavorable prognostic factors, while women with an especially low risk for recurrence (eg, T1N0M0 tumor 1.0 cm or less) might be spared such treatment.