Phase II trials of fosquidone (GR63178A) in carcinoma of the breast, head and neck, ovary and melanoma.

A total of 91 eligible patients with metastatic cancer have been treated in a series of phase II trials of the novel pentacyclic pyrroloquinone, fosquidone. Tumour types were breast (24), ovary (25), head and neck (21) and melanoma (21). All patients, except those with melanoma had received prior chemotherapy. The drug was given intravenously as a 20 min infusion, at the dose of 120 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5 of a 3 week cycle. Treatment was well tolerated; the only significant side-effects being mild headaches and generalised musculo-skeletal pains. Response was assessed after 2 cycles of therapy. Only one patient (with head and neck cancer) achieved an objective partial response, lasting 6 weeks. A total of 12 patients demonstrated stable disease for a median duration of 15 to 20 weeks. Using this schedule of administration, fosquidone has no significant antitumour activity in this group of tumours.     

Effect of cisplatin-containing chemotherapy on lithium serum concentrations.

OBJECTIVE: A case in which a possible cisplatin interference with lithium pharmacokinetics is evaluated. DATA SYNTHESIS: A 36-year-old woman with disseminated cervical cancer and multiple metastatic lesions in both kidneys was being treated with five courses of bleomycin, vindesine, mitomycin C, and cisplatin. The patient had also been taking lithium carbonate for the management of a manic-depressive disorder. Serum and urinary lithium concentrations were measured daily during the first course of chemotherapy and on a periodic basis during and between the consecutive courses. Lithium concentrations remained within the therapeutic range during the first course and increased later in association with deterioration of the patient's renal function secondary to progressive disease in both kidneys. This required dose adjustments of lithium. CONCLUSIONS: Lithium therapy should be guided by serial serum concentrations in such patients.     

A new peroxisomal disorder with fetal and neonatal adrenal insufficiency.

A boy with a new type of adrenoleukodystrophy is described. This was characterised by fetal and neonatal adrenal insufficiency, a neurological picture as seen in neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy, but with a normal number of peroxisomes in the liver and a peroxisomal dysfunction limited to the very long chain fatty acids and pristanic acid.     

Feasibility study of high-dose carboplatin and etoposide in the salvage treatment of testicular cancer.

Eleven patients with testicular cancer, either relapsing after or refractory to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, underwent salvage chemotherapy with high-dose carboplatin (800 mg/m2 on day 1) and high-dose etoposide (500 mg/m2 on days 1, 3 and 5). A total of 21 courses were administered. The major toxicity consisted of profound myelosuppression. There were two toxic deaths, both caused by infection during neutropenia. Bone marrow recovery was usually complete around day 26 (range 19-129). Other toxicities included mild mucositis, nausea and vomiting, and alopecia. No significant neurotoxicity or hearing loss were observed and only one patient had a moderate decrease in renal function. Nine of ten evaluable patients responded, with one complete remission, 6 partial remissions with normalization of tumor markers, and two partial remissions with over one log decrease of tumor markers. The duration of these remissions was not evaluable, since only three evaluable and responding patients did not receive additional therapy after HD-CE. All three relapsed after discontinuing chemotherapy. HD-CE has activity in relapsing or refractory testicular cancer and can be administered without bone marrow support. The regimen may thus be suitable to be used as a remission induction regimen prior to consolidation with intensive chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation.     

Competitive control of the self-renewing T cell repertoire

We develop a mathematical model for the self-renewing part of the T cell repertoire. Assuming that self-renewing T cells have to be stimulated by immunogenic MHC-peptide complexes presented on the surfaces of antigen-presenting cells, we derive a model of T cell growth in which competition for MHC-peptide complexes limits T cell clone sizes and regulates the total number of self-renewing T cells in the animal. We show that for a sufficient diversity and/or degree of cross-reactivity, the total T cell number hardly depends upon the diversity of the T cell repertoire or the diversity of the set of presented peptides. Conversely, for repertoires of lower diversity and/or cross-reactivity, steady-state total T cell numbers may be limited by the diversity of the T cells. This provides a possible explanation for the limited repertoire expansion in some, but not all, mouse T cell re-constitution experiments. We suggest that the competitive interactions described by our model underlie the normal T cells numbers observed in transgenic mice, germ-free mice and various knockout mice.