One‐hundred and sixteen patients with Stage I and Stage II malignant melanoma were randomized to treatment with either Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin (BCG) (Tice) or subcutaneous Corynebacterium parvum (Burroughs‐Wellcome). Life table analysis failed to reveal a difference between these two forms of treatment in 68 Stage I patients. The relapse rate was significantly reduced in Stage II patients trated with C. parvum.
Sixteen women with a clinical diagnosis of inflammatory breast carcinoma had estrogen receptor analysis performed. Eleven of 16 were premenopausal. Median age of all patients was 46 years. All patients had estrogen receptor (ER) assay by either dextran charcoal method or by sucrose gradient method. Five patients were ER + ( greater than or equal to 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein) and 11 were ER -, with almost no binding at all. Response to therapy for metastatic disease using either hormones or chemotherapy was disappointing.
Aminoglutethimide (AG) is an effective chemical ablative form of therapy for metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Estrogen receptor (ER) status in breast cancer is useful in predicting the response to the hormonal treatments. Of 134 postmenopausal metastatic breast cancer patients treated with AG, ER analysis was done in 63 patients, 52 of whom are now evaluable. ER biopsy was performed prior to Ag therapy in 61 patients, but the results were not known to the investigators. ER value greater than or equal to 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein was considered ER positive (ER+), 4-9.9 fmol/mg borderline, and less than 4 fmol/mg ER negative (ER-). In 38 ER+ patients, objective response rate was 50% (three complete response, 16 partial response) and eight stabilization. Median duration of objective response was 15 months. Forty-three percent of the patients with borderline estrogen receptor level responded objectively (three partial response) with the median duration of response eleven months. Fourteen percent of ER- patients responded objectively (one complete response). Hence the estrogen receptor level predicts response in ER+ and ER borderline patients treated with AG.
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