Malignant mesotheliomas of the pleura and peritoneum are well‐recognized risks of asbestos exposure. We determined the asbestos body content of the lungs from 24 cases of malignant mesothelioma (19 pleural, five peritoneal) and compared such to the content of lungs from 50 consecutive adult autopsies and four cases of overt asbestosis using a Clorox‐digestion concentration technique. The cores of 90 asbestos bodies were examined by energy dispersive x‐ray analysis and compared with similar data from 120 standard asbestos fibers and 20 fiberglass fibers. The malignant mesothelioma patients had asbestos body counts intermediate between those of the general population and those of patients with asbestosis, although some of the mesothelioma cases overlapped with the general population. These latter cases often lacked an identifiable occupational exposure to asbestos. EDXA studies demonstrated an amphibole core in 88 of the 90 asbestos bodies (amosite or crocidolite in 80 of 88, anthophyllite or tremolite in eight of 88), and chrysotile in two instances.
A total of 134 cases of erythroleukemia (119 from the literature and 15 of the authors' patients) were reviewed in an attempt to correlate survival with age, sex, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, infection, or hemorrhagic complications at initial presentation; hemoglobin (Hgb), white blood cell (WBC) count, and platelet count; percent myeloblasts in the marrow at diagnosis; and treatment regimens employed. Statistical methods included single classification analysis of variance, nonparametric analysis of variance (Kruskal-Wallis method), contingency table analysis, and correlation coefficient determination for numerical data. No significant correlation between survival and age, sex, hepatomegaly, lymphadenopathy, infection, or hemorrhagic phenomena was found. Improved survival was noted in patients without splenomegaly, and in daunorubicin-treated cases in contrast to those treated with other chemotherapeutic agents. A positive correlation between survival and initial Hgb and WBC was also noted. Erythroleukemia complicating a chronic myeloproliferative disorder had a worse prognosis than de novo erythroleukemia.
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