C. G. Clark

REDUCED LYMPHOCYTE TRANSFORMATION IN BREAST CANCER

Abstract The ability of lymphocytes to be transformed by phytohaemagglutinin is reduced in patients with breast cancer. A factor is present in the serum of these patients which reduces lymphocyte transformation in healthy individuals. This reduction in lymphocyte transformation may reflect impairment of cell-mediated immunity in breast-cancer patients.

EFFECT OF CIMETIDINE ON SURGERY FOR DUODENAL ULCER

Abstract Information from six centres engaged in the surgical treatment of chronic duodenal ulceration was compared on the basis of the number of operations performed for 5 years before and 4 years after the introduction of cimetidine. This showed a mean reduction of 39% in the number of operations since the drug was introduced.

FAILURE OF BRAN TO PROTECT AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL COLON CANCER IN RATS

The ability of dietary fibre to prevent colon cancer was tested in rats injected with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (D.M.H.), a substance which induces cancer of the colon. 60 rats were fed the same formula solid diet but allocated three different amounts of dietary fibre--20 were given 4.8% w/w crude fibre, 20 were given 20% w/w bran, and 20 received no fibre. Half of the animals in each fibre group received a course of subcutaneous D.M.H. and half were given subcutaneous saline. After a years observation, there was no significant difference in the incidence of, or mortality from, colonic carcinoma between the D.M.H.-treated groups.

DIETARY CHOLESTEROL IS CO-CARCINOGENIC FOR HUMAN COLON CANCER

Colorectal carcinoma is becoming the most common form of visceral cancer in Western populations. A fat-related dietary factor is implicated in its pathogenesis, and evidence in man suggests that this factor may be cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol is co-carcinogenic in animals with colon cancer, and there is indirect evidence for a similar role in man. It is proposed that prolonged exposure to dietary cholesterol is co-carcinogenic for human colon cancer in that it facilitates the development, growth, and spread of this disease.

Anaemia after partial gastrectomy: a neglected curable condition.

Anaemia is a well recognised complication of partial gastrectomy, the incidence increasing with the postoperative interval. Many surveys show a similar incidence of untreated anaemia, which implies that the need for regular follow-up is recognised but not put into practice. Much information is available on the aetiology of postgastrectomy anaemia, and a single course of therapy is known to be effective. Since the difficulty semms to lie in early detection, prophylaxis may be a solution. Our study of a group of patients treated by gastrectomy attending a follow-up clinic during the past ten years has provided information on the frequency of anaemia and the outcome of different treatments.

POLYGLYCOLIC-ACID SUTURES AND CATGUT IN COLONIC ANASTOMOSES: A Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract A comparison was made between polyglycolic-acid sutures and catgut in performing colonic anastomoses. Clinical evidence of anastomotic breakdown occurred with equal frequency in the two groups of patients studied. Radiological evidence of anastomotic dehiscence was twice as common with catgut.

INTRACELLULAR POTASSIUM IN DIFFUSE PROCTOCOLITIS

Abstract The intracellular potassium content of the mucosa of patients with diffuse proctocolitis is much reduced compared with that of patients with cancer of the colon. When the potassium content of normal mucosal cells is deliberately reduced and then returned to a suitable environment, they rapidly regain potassium. Mucosal cells from colitic patients treated the same way continue to lose potassium. This suggests that in ulcerative colitis the mucosal cells leak potassium.

VAGOTOMY FOR CIMETIDINE RESISTANT ULCERS

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