Higher TK1 levels in tumors in patients who subsequently had disease recurrence almost certainly indicate a high rate of proliferation in such tumors at the time of excision. It appears that TK is a potentially useful marker in the management of breast cancer. With measurement of levels of TK, particularly TK1, in breast tumors and serum, it may be possible to predict recurrence of breast cancer.

Four individuals with idiopathic intestinal pseudo‐obstruction (IIP), a familial visceral neuropathy with autosomal dominant inheritance, are presented. The disorder is characterised by abdominal colic, abdominal distension and diarrhoea, and is of a progressive nature with relapses and remissions. The main feature is a disturbance of motility in the affected intestine, with histological evidence of a neuronal disorder, characterised by hyperplasia and eventual atrophy. Management of the condition is difficult; initially, treatment should be conservative by nasogastric suction with intravenous nutrition. When laparotomy is undertaken to exclude mechanical obstruction, resection of the intestine is inadvisable, and ileocolic anastomosis may be beneficial.

No abstract

The use of nuclear bone scanning and liver ultrasonography to stage breast cancer is an established practice in many hospitals. A 3 year prospective study was undertaken to assess the usefulness of these two investigations. Three hundred and fifty‐eight patients were analysed: 133 had stage 1 disease, 188 were stage 11 and 37 were stage III. Bone scans were performed on 339 (94.7%) patients; 302 had stage I or stage II disease: and 37 were stage III. Bone scans were positive for metastases in only 0.9% of stage I and II patients but were positive in 16.2% of patients with stage III disease. None of the 309 (96.2%) stage I or stage II patients who had an ultrasound scan had any liver metastases detected whereas positive scans were obtained in 5.4% of stage III patients. It can be concluded that the incidence of demonstrable bone or liver metastases in stage I and stage II breast cancer patients is so low that the use of routine scanning can be abandoned.

. Duodenal ulcer in children. Forty-nine cases of duodenal ulcer in children are presented. Strict radiological and clinical criteria were observed in making this diagnosis. The children came from a population of approximately 100,000 children over a 10-year period. Upper abdominal pain was the commonest presenting symptom, and exacerbations and remissions of the disease were observed to be shorter than is expected in the adult. Haemorrhage occurred as a complication in 24% and there were no cases of perforation or stenosis. A family history of duodenal ulcer was found to be highly significant, and it was found that in 55% of patients there was an important element of stress.Treatment was conservative in all but 2 cases, in both of which a vagotomy and pyloroplasty were performed. These operations were judged to have been successful. 6 cases had appendicectomy in the hope of relieving undiagnosed abdominal pain, in which it was unsuccessful. A plea is made for keeping this diagnosis in mind when dealing with abdominal pain in children.