Results of delayed treatment of patients with malignant tumors of the lymphatic system]

The causes, with considerably influence the advancement of cancer process have been investigated in patients with lymphatic system tumours admitted to the Department of Chemotherapy at the Center of Oncology in Cracow. It has been revealed, that the delay in the treatment was mainly due to false first diagnosis as well as the negligence of the symptoms by the patients themselves and also to consulting medically unrecognized "healers" before undertaking proper, specialized treatment. It has been observed, that more than every fourth patient took advice of "non-doctors", i.e. bioenergy-therapists, incompetent healers, herbalists and so forth. These factors by influencing further delay in the treatment, diminish its chances.     

Intracytoplasmic inclusions in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with chronic lymphatic leukemia

An ultrastructural survey of peripheral blood lymphocytes in 81 patients with chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) demonstrated intracytoplasmic inclusions in 15 of them. These inclusions consisted of round, dense bodies, ferritin deposits, lipid-containing bodies, concentric rings of endoplasmic reticulum, microfibrillar formations and crystalloid inclusions. The variety of these inclusions suggests that cases diagnosed by light microscopy as classical CLL are actually subtypes which may differ in their clinical course and ultimate prognosis.     

Clinical treatment of chronic lymphatic leukemia by means of extracorporeal blood irradiation]

A chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) with hepato-splenomegaly was treated in a 76 years old female patient by means of extracorporeal irradiation of blood (ECIB), after which a complete involution of the tumour in the spleen had taken place. Leukocytes initially increased to 35,500/mm3, amounting to 10,700/mm3 later on. The patient died of pneumonia in general cachexia. No signs of CLL could be found macroscopically after autopsy. An involution of the lymphatic infiltration could be identified microscopically in the bone-marrow.     

Cord factor is associated with the maintenance of the chronic inflammatory reaction caused by mycobacteria

The distribution of an aqueous suspension of cord factor (CF) from Mycobacterium bovis BCG in several mouse organs was examined after intravenous injection, and the correlation between evolution of the inflammatory granulomatous reaction and the presence of CF in these organs was determined. CF was preferentially deposited in the lungs and liver, and the kinetics of the pulmonary and hepatic inflammatory reaction, evaluated by determining the indices for these organs, showed a gradual increase on day 2 after injection, reached a peak around the fifth day, and declined thereafter. Histological analysis showed that on day 5 both the lungs and the liver were diffusely damaged by a mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate arranged in a granulomatous manner and consisting predominantly of histiocytes. CF elimination was more marked in the liver than in the lungs: 2 d after injection 76% of the material deposited in the liver had been eliminated. Little or no CF was detected in the liver and lungs by day 16, when the inflammatory reaction was also substantially decreased. A second CF dose administered 8 d after the first exacerbated the inflammatory process in both the lungs and the liver, indicating that the intensity of this process depends on CF concentration in the lesion site.     

Comparative analysis of membrane glycoproteins of normal and chronic lymphatic leukemia B lymphocytes by lectins

Eight plant lectins were used to investigate membrane alterations in lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). By rosetting with lectins attached to latex particles, the cell percentages with the abundance of each lectin receptor were compared in B normal and leukemic lymphocytes. Comparing these data with the number of lectin molecules bound to each cell and the affinity, which are values calculated with 125I-labeled lectins, it was possible to deduce differences in the composition of glycoproteins in B normal and B-CLL lymphocytes membrane. Compared to B normal, B-CLL lymphocytes had fewer receptors for WGA and more for Lens culinaris, SBA and Tetragonolobus purpureus lectins. Receptors for Concanavalin A, Pisum sativum, PHA and Tetragonolobus purpureus showed a higher affinity with B normal lymphocytes, while the other lectins assayed showed more affinity with B-CLL lymphocytes. So, it is possible to establish a comparative analysis about the plasma membrane glycoproteins in the B normal and CLL lymphocytes by lectin binding studies.     

Changes in the cellular immune reaction in the course of acute lymphatic leukemia]

In a seven years course study the parameters of cellular immunoreaction were elaborated in more than 100 children by means of the lymphocyte transformation test and the macrophage migration inhibition test. The transformation response revealed a dependence on the stage, course of the disease and regime of therapy during the tests with unspecific, specific and tumorspecific antigens. Compared with all antigens the transformation in the first crisis and in the recidives is significantly lower than in the remission. In spite of continuous immunosuppressive therapy in a cytostatic treatment lasting for years, the increase of the transformation rates is concealed by the fact that a positive selection of children with favourable courses can be evaluated in single test groups with advancing time of illness. The results for the prognosis of the disease and the transformation rates depending on the age of disease and the cell type are identical. The result of reaction with leukaemic cells as antigens enables prognostic conclusions to be made during the time of remission. Tests with leukaemic cells in myeloic leukaemias reveal a marked dependence on stages. In lymphatic forms a proceeding influence of the responding capacity of the T-lymphocyte population must be assumed. The difference in the results of reaction in cells from different stages must be discussed in connection with a possible change of antigens.     

The chronic lymphatic leukemia lymphocyte: Correlation of functional,metabolic, and surface immunoglobulin characteristics

This study determined the correlation between the functional capacity of chronic lymphatic leukemia lymphocytes as determined by their response to nonspecific mitogens with their glucose metabolism and surface immunoglobulin characteristics. A majority of patients (12) were found to have lymphocytes with impaired transformation to both PHA and pokeweed mitogens. These cells also had impaired glucose metabolism in unstimulated cultures and failed to have the striking increase in glucose metabolism in response to mitogens which is characteristic of normal lymphocytes. Most of these lymphocytes had IgM surface immunoglobulins. However, we were not able to demonstrate surface immunoglobulins on the lymphocytes of one patient in this group. Two patients were found to have lymphocytes with normal lymphoblastic transformation to PHA and impaired transformation to pokeweed suggesting cells of T origin. The glucose metabolism of these lymphocytes were less impaired in unstimulated cultures than those of the other patients and had a striking increment in glucose metabolism in response to PHA similar to normal lymphocytes. Unexpectedly, these lymphocytes were found to have IgG on their surface suggesting cells of B origin. These results indicate that there may be two groups of CLL patients with clinically similar disease in whom the functional and metabolic characteristics of the lymphocytes are distinct and that the surface immunoglobulin characteristic of lymphocytes may not always predict their functional characteristic.