Background: Bronchial artery embolization (BAE) is a well-accepted and widely used treatment modality for the management of massive and recurrent hemoptysis. However, few reports have previously investigated the long-term results. Objectives: To investigate the prognosis of patients with hemoptysis who had undergone BAE. Methods: Twenty-two patients with hemoptysis underwent BAE. The underlying diseases included bronchiectasis in 9, aspergillosis in 3, chronic bronchitis in 2, idiopathic bronchial bleeding in 4, and other diseases in 4. The follow-up period ranged from 25 to 88 months (median 47 months). Results: After the initial BAE, 11 of 22 (50%) patients had re-bleeding (5 patients with hemoptysis and 6 patients with minor hemosputa). Among them, 1 patient suffered from recurrent massive hemoptysis and died from airway obstruction within 1 month after BAE. In addition, 10 of these 11 (90.9%) patients experienced recurrent airway bleeding within 3 years after BAE. Recurrent cases of hemoptysis were seen in 6 of 22 patients (27.3%) within 3 years and no case recurred later than 3 years after BAE. A recurrence of hemoptysis was frequently seen in patients with either bronchiectasis or pulmonary-bronchial artery (P-B) shunt. Although BAE is an effective treatment for the immediate control of hemoptysis, 5 of the patients experienced recurrent bleeding in the long-term follow-up. Conclusions: It is important to follow-up such patients until 3 years after initial BAE, especially when either ectatic changes of the bronchi on a CT scan or a P-B shunt on angiographic findings are detected.

Several iron(III) complexes with the different hexadentate Schiff-base ligands of N4O2 donor sets were synthesized; these are 1 : 2 condensation products of linear tetramines (3,3,3-, 3,2,3-, 2,3,2- or 2,2,2-tetramine) and salicylaldehyde, acetophenone or benzophenone derivatives. Their crystal structures, Mössbauer spectra, magnetic susceptibilities, electronic spectra and cyclic voltammetry of the complexes were examined. The X-ray structures of the single crystals of [Fe(3,2,3-sal2tet)]NO3 (1), [Fe(3,2,3-sal2tet)]BPh4 (2), [Fe(3,2,3-mpk2tet)]PF6 (3), [Fe(2,3,2-sal2tet)]ClO4 (4), [Fe(2,3,2-3MeO-sal2tet)]ClO4 (5), [Fe(2,3,2-mpk2tet)]ClO4 (6), [Fe(2,3,2-bpk2tet)]ClO4 (7), and [Fe(2,2,2-bpk2tet)]ClO4·EtOH (8) were determined. The moieties of the iron atoms of (1), (2), and (3) with 3,2,3-tetramine, and (7) with 2,3,2-tetramine were pseudo octahedral with trans-FeN4O2 geometry. Those of (4), (5), and (6) with 2,3,2-tetramine, and (8) with 2,2,2-tetramine were cis-FeN4O2 geometry. The iron(III) complexes (1), (2), (3), and (7) were in the low-spin state, and the iron(III) complexes (4), (5), (6), and (8) were in the high-spin state. In the electronic spectra, the wave lengths of the LMCT bands for the low-spin complexes were longer than those for the high-spin complexes. The values of redox potentials for the low-spin states were suggested to be 0.12 V more negative than those for the high-spin states. (Remark: This summary is partially truncated in the html because it exceeds the limit of the system (4000 characters per note). The complete text is given in the pdf.)

Cisplatin and irinotecan are reported to act synergistically. The authors have conducted a phase II trial combining cisplatin and irinotecan in patients with refractory lung cancer to evaluate the activity and safety of the regimen. Twenty-one patients, who had not responded to prior platinum-based chemotherapy, were entered into the study. Both cisplatin (30 mg/m2) and irinotecan (60 mg/m2) were administrated on days 1, 8, and 15, and the regimen was repeated every 28 days. There were six partial responses, and the response rate was 29% (95% confidence interval, 11.3%-52.2%). The median survival time of all patients was 32 weeks, and 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 43% and 11%, respectively. Major toxicities were hematologic; leukopenia of grades 3 and 4 developed in 43% patients, anemia developed in 38%, and thrombocytopenia developed in 19%. One notable nonhematologic toxicity was diarrhea; which was grade 3 in 38%. The weekly chemotherapy combining cisplatin and irinotecan was active against lung cancer, which is refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy. However, skips of drug administration or dose reduction were necessary in 76% patients during two courses of planned administration, though the ratio of actual dose to scheduled dose was 81%. Dose modification would be necessary to yield better results by this weekly chemotherapy.

The aim of the present study is to identify the optimal anticancer agents for use in combination with gene therapy using wild-type (wt) p53 gene transfer. We used adenoviral vectors expressing human wt p53 (AdCAp53) and investigated the effects of wt p53 gene transfer in combination with 12 anticancer agents on a human pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma cell line, NCI-H157, and a human pulmonary large cell carcinoma cell line, NCI-H1299. Solutions containing anticancer agents at various concentrations were added followed by the addition of recombinant adenovirus solutions; after a 5-day incubation period, the anticancer activity was then evaluated by a 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide assay. Each 50% inhibitory concentration was calculated based on the dose-response curves. The agents showing a high degree of effectiveness on NCI-H157 cells were cisplatin (CDDP), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), bleomycin, and 7-ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin (SN-38), an active metabolite of irinotecan (CPT-11); conversely, cyclophosphamide and paclitaxel showed a low degree of effectiveness. Based on these data, an isobologram was performed to investigate the interaction between AdCAp53 and some anticancer agents. A supra-additive effect was thus observed for 5-FU and SN-38 on NCI-H157 cells. An additive effect was also observed for CDDP, paclitaxel, bleomycin, and cyclophosphamide on NCI-H157 cells. CDDP, paclitaxel, 5-FU, and SN-38 had an additive effect on NCI-H1299 cells. No drug showed any subadditive or protective effects. These findings suggest that CPT-11 and 5-FU may thus be useful as possible anticancer agents for use in a combination therapy regimen using wt p53 gene transfer. CDDP and CPT-11 had a significant antitumoral effect on H157 cell xenografts of nude mice in vivo. These results indicate that CPT-11 as well as CDDP would be a candidate for the combination of chemotherapy and gene therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Gene Therapy (2000) 7, 300 -307

Abstract-The sulfur isotopic values of barite, gypsum and anhydrite from the typical strata-bound submarine ore deposits (black ore deposits) of Miocene age in Japan have a narrow range of +21 to 24%o with respect to the meteoritic sulfur. However, the oxygen isotopic values (in SMOW) vary from +5 to +19%o and have a general tendency to increase in the order : barite < anhydrite -alabaster < secondary gypsum (satin spar and selenite). The sulfate minerals from the late Paleozoic cupriferrous iron sulfide ore deposits of the Yanahara and Besshi mines are similar in the sulfur isotopic values (+11 to +15%o) to inferred Permian sea water sulfate, whereas the oxygen isotopic values have a wide range of variation.The observed sulfur isotopic pattern is most likely due to a submarine hydrothermal system in which sulfate of marine origin (connate or actual sea water) predominated over other sources of sulfur. The variable oxygen isotopic data of sulfate are explained by the oxygen isotopic exchange between sulfate and water during depositional and post-depo sitional processes. The sulfur and oxygen isotopic ratios of "hot sulfate" in the Wairakei and the Red Sea geothermal brines are consistent with this idea.The sulfates in secor dary gypsum ores in the Noto mine are enriched in both 34Sand 180, suggesting that the alteration of the primary ores in this mine may have taken place under the influence of sulfate-reducing bacteria.