6.2.2 Sondas de búsqueda de información conceptual

La primera de las sondas de búsqueda de información conceptual que usamos fueron las diferentes formas flexivas del verbo to be. Estas formas no aparecen en el listado de palabras clave enlazadas con la palabra leukemia (§ 6.1.4), puesto que se encuentran en el listado de StopWords usado (véase apéndice IV). Sin embargo, pensamos que sería de gran utilidad comenzar analizando los contextos en los que las diferentes formas del verbo to be aparecen en la proximidad de las palabras leukemia/leukaemia, no sólo por las posibles indicaciones sobre relaciones genérico/específico, sino también porque la consabida frecuencia de aparición de construcciones pasivas en los textos científicos podía hacer que esta sonda nos ofreciera información sobre otras relaciones semánticas..

Tal y como pensábamos, el estudio de tales líneas de concordancia¹⁴⁷ resultó muy provechoso y la gran mayoría de las ocurrencias extraídas contenían información muy valiosa para la construcción de nuestra estructura conceptual. Como puede apreciarse incluso en la pequeña sección de concordancias que mostramos a continuación, las formas flexivas del verbo to be en el horizonte colocacional de la palabra leuk(a)emia no sólo indican relaciones genérico/específico (relacines IS-A), sino también otros tipos de relaciones, específicas de la biomedicina, entre las que se incluyen causa-efecto (en este caso carcinógeno-enfermedad), síntoma-enfermedad, tipos de leucemia o tratamiento-enfermedad.

Leukemia is the most common cancer in childhood with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the most common subtype. While once uniformly fatal, today leukemia is a highly curable disease.

Brain cancer and leukemia are the most common cancers in children and young adults. The more we can learn about what causes cancer, the more likely we are to find ways to prevent it. Scientists study patterns of cancer in the population to look

Acute leukemia is one of the leading malignancies in the United States with a mortality rate strongly influenced by the phenotype. This phenotype is based on detection of cell associated antigens normally expressed during leucopoietic differentiation

Benzene is an established cause of leukemia in adults, especially acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). A few studies have indicated that exposure to gasoline is a cause of childhood leukemia.

The major forms of leukemia are divided into four categories: myelogenous and lymphocytic, each having an acute or chronic form. Myelogenous or lymphocytic denotes the cell type involved. Acute leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that affects mostly immature cells.

Bleeding is a major problem in patients with acute leukemia and is primarily related to thrombocytopenia. In some patients, megakaryocytes are derived from the leukemic clone and produce platelets with abnormal functions. Petechiae and easy bruisability are common.

Failure to cure leukemia is likely due to failure to eradicate the leukemic clone. Mechanisms of drug resistance acting before the drug reaches its target (proximal resistance) and after the drug interacts with its target (distal resistance) are gaining greater importance in understanding treatment failures.

In any acute leukemia, it is necessary to determine which type of white blood cell has become leukemic, because treatment and response to it are different for each kind. Usually the type of leukemic cell involved can be determined from it’s

Entre las líneas de concordancias obtenidas al buscar las formas flexivas del verbo to be en el horizonte colocacional de leukemia que hacen referencia a un tipo específico de leucemia, el de células pilosas, encontramos indicaciones sobre relaciones genérico/ específico, acompañadas de afirmaciones metalingüísticas, relacionadas con el término que se usa para describir el concepto y el origen y razón lógica de dicha denominación:

Although originally referred to as leukemic reticuloendotheliosis, the term hairy cell leukemia is now widely accepted because it is descriptive of the characteristic cytoplasmic projections seen on the leukemic cell. The disorder is nearly always due to expansion of neoplastic B lymphocytes [...]

What is hairy cell leukemia? Hairy cell leukemia is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the blood and bone marrow. The disease is called hairy cell leukemia because the cancer cells look "hairy" when examined under a microscope

Hairy Cell Leukemia is a slow-growing malignant disorder that affects white blood cells called lymphocytes. The disease is called hairy cell leukemia because the leukemic lymphocytes have short, thin projections from their surface that look like hairs when examined under the microscope

Encontramos también contextos que identifican una relación genérico/ específico, junto con información sobre las características propias del concepto:

HAIRY CELL LEUKEMIA INTRODUCTION Hairy cell leukemia is a rare lymphoid neoplasm characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias, splenomegaly, and morphologically typical malignant cells in the blood and bone marrow. Hairy cell leukemia is usually seen in male patients [...]

Untreated hairy cell leukemia is characterized by splenomegaly, varying degrees of leukopenia (occasionally leukocytosis) and/or pancytopenia, and bone marrow infiltration by an atypical cell with prominent cytoplasmic projections ("hairy cells")

O información en la que se combina la relación genérico/específico con información sobre las etapas y el tratamiento de la enfermedad:

STAGE EXPLANATION Stages of hairy cell leukemia Untreated hairy cell leukemia Progressive hairy cell leukemia, post-splenectomy Refractory hairy cell leukemia TREATMENT OPTION OVERVIEW How hairy cell leukemia is treated Treatment by stage

Hairy cell leukemia is a chronic lymphoproliferative disorder that is easily controlled. Decision to treat is based on symptomatic cytopenias, massive splenomegaly, or the presence of other complications. About one-tenth of all patients will never require therapy.

UNTREATED HAIRY CELL LEUKEMIA Hairy cell leukemia is a highly treatable disease. Since it is easily controlled, many patients have prolonged survival with sequential therapies. The decision to treat is based on cytopenias (especially if symptomatic), increasing splenomegaly, indications that the disease is progressing, or the presence of other, usually infectious complications.

Hairy cell leukemia is usually seen in male patients over 40 years of age. The disease is now recognized with increased frequency, and many large series have been reported. Hairy cell leukemia has been reported to occur worldwide.

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare lymphoid neoplasm characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias, splenomegaly, and morphologically typical malignant cells in the blood and bone marrow. Hairy cell leukemia is usually seen in male patients over 40 years of age.

How hairy cell leukemia is treated. Some people with hairy cell leukemia have few symptoms and may not need treatment right away. There are treatments for all patients with hairy cell leukemia that is causing symptoms. Three kinds of treatment are used: surgery, chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells), biological therapy (using the body's immune system to fight cancer). Bone marrow transplants are being tested in clinical trials

Estos contextos pertenecen a textos divulgativos, dirigidos a semi-especialistas y legos en la materia. Sin embargo, también encontramos contextos con información mucho más específica en los textos dirigidos a especialistas, en los que, por ejemplo, se nombran opciones específicas de tratamiento, síntomas, afecciones o características de identificación de la enfermedad:

Effective chemical treatments for hairy cell leukemia have been developed. The lives of many patients have been enhanced and extended as a result of these drugs. Many patients may remain disease-free years after treatment with 2-CdA and will have a normal life [...]

Hairy cell leukemia can be responsible for polyarthritis due either to leukemic infiltration or to immunity-drive inflammation. Thesecond variant can antedate or post-date the clinical onset of leukemic symptoms and usually presents as rheumatoid arthritis, more rarely as lupus or scleroderma.

Unlike hairy cell leukemia, these cells are negative for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and CD25. Hairy cell leukemia is distinguished from CLL on the basis of the typical cellular morphology, markers such as CD25, and the presence of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase in the hairy cells.

En el caso de la leucemia mieloide crónica, las concordancias extraídas aportan información sobre la relación genérico/específico de la enfermedad, acompañada de información sobre la relación causa-enfermedad (en este caso, la traslocación genética identificada como causante de la leucemia mieloide crónica), información sobre las características que la diferencian de otros tipos de leucemia, población a la que afecta o síntomas de la enfermedad:

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a clonal disorder that presents with a stable period followed by an accelerated phase. The most frequent chromosomal abnormality described is t(9;22). Alterations of chromosome 17, where p53 is

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a clonal stem cell disorder associated with the Philadelphia (Ph) translocation [t(9;22) (q34;q11)]. As a result of the Ph translocation, parts of the ABL and BCR genes become fused. Cytogenetic quantification of Ph+ metaphases can be used to monitor patient response to

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by the presence of a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 in at least 95% of cases. At the molecular level, this translocation results in the activation of the ABL oncogene of the chromosome 9, which becomes contiguous with the 5’ end of the B

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is not common in children. CML's distinguishing feature is the presence of very large numbers of immature neutrophil cells, which seem to mature more efficiently than blast cells.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a lethal disease of the hematopoietic stem cell. Bone marrow transplantation has highlighted the importance of allogeneic disparity in maintaining remissions in CML.

The onset of chronic myelogenous leukemia is associated with symptoms that usually develop gradually. Most patients feel a loss of well-being. They tire more easily and may feel short of breath when physically active. They may have a pale complexion from anemia.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia is distinguished from other leukemias by the presence of an acquired genetic abnormality in blood cells, called the Philadelphia chromosome. The changes that result in this chromosome "causing" chronic myelogenous leukemia have been studied intensively. In 1969, two physicians studying chromosomes in cancer cells noticed that a chromosome in CML patients was shorter in length than that of the same chromosome in normal cells [...]

Algunas de las concordancias de leukemia en las que aparece en el término compuesto T-cell leukemia encontramos construcciones pasivas que aportan información sobre la causa de la enfermedad y su caracterización:

Adult T cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive neoplasm of mature helper T cell, which is etiologically linked with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I). We studied HTLV-I provirus in 61 cases of ATL with Southern blot analyses and long PCR. These methods detected defective virus in 34 cases (56%)

Although RNA-based retroviruses cause a number of leukemias in animals, a viral cause for a human leukemia has been established only for adult T cell leukemia (ATL), which is caused by the human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). This virus can be transmitted horizontally by sexual contact or blood products as well as from mother to child (see Chap. 151). ATL is endemic in southwestern Japan and parts of the Caribbean and central Africa.

Proliferation of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma cells is associated with the constitutive activation of JAK/STAT proteins. SO - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997;94(25):13897-902 AD - Basic Research Laboratory, Division of Basic Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

B cell lymphomas, and adult T cell lymphoma have been shown to have a viral etiology. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has a strong association with the pathogenesis of Burkitt's lymphoma and high-grade lymphoma in immunodeficiency patients, including HIV-1 infected individuals.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is characterized by massive infiltration of circulating ATL cells into a variety of tissues, a finding often associated with poor prognosis. Leukocyte migration from circulation into tissue depends on integrin-mediated adhesion to endothelium, and integrins are tightly regulated by

Accumulated evidence demonstrates that adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is frequently associated with eosinophilia, and human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected cells frequently express interleukin-5 (IL-5). However, the molecular mechanism of constitutive IL-5 expression in HTLV-1-infected cells remains unclear.

Y, junto a éstas, encontramos otras que nos dan información sobre el agente causante de la enfermedad:

The human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV-1) is the causative agent in adult T cell lymphoma in endemic areas, which include southwestern Japan and the Caribbean.

The first human retrovirus, HTLV-I, is the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). ATL is characterized by skin rash, generalized lymphadenopathy, hypercalcemia, clonal proliferation of abnormal pleomorphic CD4+ lymphocytes, and usually a rapidly progressive clinical course.[6] Studies of the other T-cell malignancies reviewed in this issue also have revealed insights [...]

Como vemos, el verbo to be es una potente sonda de conocimiento que nos ofrece contextos que van más allá de las jerarquías ISA. Este tipo de relaciones son las denominadas relaciones complejas (§ 5.1.1), quizá las menos estudiadas hasta ahora en el ámbito de la terminología. Sin embargo, como señala Sager (1990: 34), son tan importantes como las genéricas o las partitivas, y mucho más reveladoras de la naturaleza de los conceptos.

Notas

¹⁴⁷ En las líneas de concordancia que mostramos a continuación hemos incluido en la mayoría de los casos la oración completa en la que aparece la palabra de búsqueda, aunque, por supuesto, para el terminógrafo, el conocimiento relevante no se suele reducir al contenido en esa oración, sino que se extiende a segmentos más largos de texto.