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Detectable levels of HCG have been reported in conditions other than normal pregnancy, including threatened abortion, ectopic pregnancy, trophoblastic tumors, carcinomas of the stomach, liver, pancreas and breast as well as multiple myeloma and melanoma. The present study was conducted to estimate urinary beta-HCG in bladder cancer and benign urinary tract disorders. 163 individuals were included, 68 with bladder cancer (60 males and 8 females), 64 with benign urinary tract diseases (55 males and 9 females) and 31 normal healthy controls (26 males and 5 females). Urinary beta-HCG was estimated by the ELISA technique using the reagents supplied by DRG International Inc., Germany. Results of the study revealed an overexpression of beta-HCG in malignant and benign urinary tract diseases. 60.3% of the cancer patients and 29.7% of patients with benign diseases showed urinary beta-HCG values above the upper limit of the control group (2mIU/ml).

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In several preclinical systems, the morpholino anthracycline MX2 has greater antitumor activity than doxorubicin, is less cardiotoxic, and is effective against multidrug resistant cancer cells. We used a human tumor soft-agar cloning assay to test the cytotoxicity of MX2 against single cell suspensions from freshly obtained human tumors. Tumor cells were exposed to MX2 at 0.05 and 0.5 micrograms/ml either for 1 hour (2-1 specimens; 77 [38%] assessable) or continuously (231 specimens; 91 [39%] assessable). Superior antitumor activity was observed with continuous exposure (19% in vitro response at 0.05 micrograms/ml and 69% at 0.5 micrograms/ml) than with 1-hour exposure (1.3% at 0.05 micrograms/ml and 12% at 0.5 micrograms/ml). Activity was seen against all types of cancer tested including renal (91%), melanoma (88%), ovarian (73%), breast (71%) and non-small-cell lung (67%) cancer at a MX2 concentration of 0.5 micrograms/ml after continuous exposure. If appropriate plasma levels can be achieved in patients, MX2 could have significant clinical activity with those tumors.

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Combretastatin A-4 is a natural product which was isolated from the South African tree Combretum caffrum. In this study, the cytotoxic activity of combretastatin A-4 was tested in radiometric and human tumor cloning assays against eight different tumor cell lines and against 15 patient tumors in the human tumor cloning assay. To test the preferential cytotoxicity of combretastatin A-4 against tumor cells versus non-tumor cells, it was also tested in the radiometric assay against both normal human diploid fibroblasts and human bone marrow cells. Of the eight cell lines used, combretastatin A-4 showed preferential cytotoxicity for six of them. In addition, combretastatin A-4 showed a concentration-dependent cytotoxicity against a variety of human tumors. Based on the data generated in this study, combretastatin A-4 should be further tested in in vivo preclinical models.

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Amplification of oncogenes in human tumors has been associated with a poor prognosis. Microscopically visible amplified oncogenes can be located either within chromosomes in homogeneously staining regions, or in an extrachromosomal compartment in double minutes (DMs). The DMs are composed of submicroscopic circular DNA (episomes), which have multimerized to form the microscopically visible DMs. When amplified oncogenes are located in an extrachromosomal location, they are vulnerable to loss from the cell. In this study we have found that the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide, in concentrations easily achievable clinically, causes a significant decrease in the number of DM-containing amplified oncogenes in three different human tumor cell lines. The elimination of amplified oncogenes from the cell could be accompanied by less aggressive tumor behavior.

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Psi factor is a substance produced by Aspergillus nidulans that induces premature sexual sporulation. Chromatographic analysis of psi-active extracts showed that psi activity resides in several different forms. Two of the forms, psiA1 and psiB1, have been isolated and have been shown to have closely similar compositions. The most abundant form, psiA1, reacts with alcohols in acidic solution by the addition of one entire molecule of the alcohol. This reaction, which is reversible, suggests that psiA1 may be a lactone whose ring is opened by alcohol addition. At high concentration, psiA1 is antagonistic to the response exhibited by the other forms of psi, but this antagonism is lost by the alcoholic derivatives. At least one unpurified psi species can be converted to psiA1 by acid catalysis. We suggest that psiA1 may be the metabolic precursor of at least some of the other more active psi components and that this conversion during Aspergillus development may be part of the process that triggers sexual sporulation.

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The adaptation of lactic streptococci for growth with their homologous bacteriophage was studied through the addition of bacteriophage filtrate to skim milk medium inoculated with Streptococcus lactis or Streptococcus cremoris. Both S. lactis and S. cremoris attained their adaptability for growth with their homologous bacteriophage after 5 and 2 transferes, respectively, and did not lose it after a storage period of 30 days at 0 degree C.

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The effect of marital status, age, parity, age at menarche, maternal size, arterial blood pressure, position and size of the uterus and hematologic parameters on the magnitude of menstrual blood loss was investigated in 745 randomly selected women in normal physiologic condition, aged 14-49 years, from a city population (Cairo). Menstrual blood loss was found to be related to parity, weight and body surface area and systolic and pulse pressure and to depend mainly upon the hematologic indices reflecting the state of iron balance and anemia in the body.

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Two physiologic studies of menstrual blood loss in Egyptian women are presented below. In the first, an attempt was made to establish the normal range of menstrual blood loss of Egyptian women, to test their individual consistency in the amount of menstrual blood loss and to determine the iron requirements needed to compensate for iron loss and prevent iron deficiency anemia in menstruating Egyptian women. In the second, physiologic and other variables affecting the magnitude of menstrual blood loss in Egyptian women were investigated.

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