Helge Bennmarker

Elevated serum levels of soluble ICAM‐1 in non‐Hodgkin’s lymphomas correlate with tumour burden, disease activity and other prognostic markers

The serum levels of soluble ICAM‐1 (CD54) were significantly elevated in patients with non‐Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL, n = 127) and hairy cell leukaemia (HCL, n = 15) compared with healthy controls (n = 31). In high‐grade malignant NHL (n = 79) the sICAM‐1 levels correlated with the tumour mass as reflected in the Ann Arbor staging system but not with bulky disease. Further, the sICAM‐1 levels correlated with disease activity as reflected by the presence of B symptoms and with other known prognostic markers, in particular serum thymidine kinase (sTK). In patients with low‐grade malignant NHL (n = 48) a trend towards higher serum levels of sICAM‐1 was found in patients with advanced stage and B symptoms. In both low‐ and high‐grade malignant NHL, elevated levels of sICAM‐1 were associated with poorer overall and disease‐free survival. The present results indicate that sICAM‐1 levels have a prognostic power equal to that of other serum markers claimed to be of prognostic value in NHL, namely serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), beta‐2‐microglobulin (β2m), serum thymidine kinase (sTK), albumin and orosomucoid. The cellular origin and the possible interactions between soluble and surface ICAM‐1 and its ligands needs further exploration.

Irradiation of brain metastases from lung cancer: A retrospective study

A total of 94 patients with brain metastases from lung carcinomas were treated with irradiation of their brain metastases. Two fractionation schedules were applied, a non-conventional one (76 patients) mixing hypofractionation and accelerated hyperfractionation to a total dose of 47 Gy and a conventional one (18 patients), with 3 Gy once a day to a total dose of 30 or 36 Gy. No benefit was found for the non-conventional treatment schedule over the conventional one. A difference in survival was demonstrated between patients whose brain metastases originated from adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with a median survival of 3.5 and 1.9 months, respectively (P = 0.006). Median survival of patients with brain metastases from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) was 2.8 months, and when compared with the squamous cell carcinoma group, there was no statistically improved survival (P = 0.12). There were indications of a better palliative effect in adenocarcinomas compared with squamous or large cell carcinomas. In a few patients (1/22 adenocarcinoma and 7/32 SCLC), the patients were free from malignant cells in the brain at autopsy, demonstrating that irradiation of brain metastases might be efficient in certain patients.

516 Palliative radiation with two fractionation schedules of brain metastases from lung cancer

Palliative radiation with two fractionation schedules of brain metastases from lung cancer.