C-erB-2 oneoprotein expression detected immunohistochemically in primary breast cancer is a potent poor prognostic variable for patients including Irish women t.2.Also primary C-erB-2 expression indicates hormone resistance in recurrent breast cancer and relative tumour resistance to low intensity chemotherapy with mitoxanthrone (data in press).Forty young women (median age 41 years) had staining for C-erB-2 in their primary tumonrs; 11 showed positive staining and 29 did not.All subsequently had recurrences of breast cancer and were then given intensiv e chemotherapy with doxombicin 40 mg/m 2 intravenously and ifosfamide/ mesna 5 g/m 2 by intravenous infusion over 24 hours, with mesna alone for 8 hours.Cycles repeated at 21 day intervals to a total of 4 cycles in patients with responsive tumours.Response rates in recurrences (82% C-erB-2+VE vs 72% C-erB-2-ve) median response durations, and post-treatment survival were no different between patients on the basis of primary turnout C-erB-2 expression.This strongly suggests that young women with operable breast cancer and expression of C-erB-2 should be selected for intensive doxombicin based nee-adjuvant/adjuvant chemother apy.

Birefringent pulmonary talc granuloma are often found in lung biopsies from intravenous drug abusers (IVDA) but their clinico-pathological significance remains undefined.

Over a two year period 108 patients had cranial computerised tomographic (CCT) scans while under the care of a general medical team. Sixty eight scans showed 70 abnormalities. Completed stroke, transient ischaemic attacks (TIA), epilepsy and headache were the most common indications for CTT while infarct, atrophy, haemorrhage and tumour were the most common abnormalities. Eight tumours were identified comprising 12% of epileptics and 9% of stroke patients.