Friday, February 25, 2011

Characterization of choline uptake in prostate cancer cells following bicalutamide and docetaxel treatment

PurposeCholine derivatives labelled with positron emitters are successfully used for PET imaging of prostate cancer patients. Since little is known about uptake mechanisms, the aim of this study was to characterize choline uptake in prostate cancer cells, also following anti-androgen treatment or chemotherapy.

Treatment of colon cancer in rats with rMuTNF and the interferon-inducer bropirimine

It is well documented that the antitumor activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is improved by interferons (IFN's). Bropirimine (BP) is an immune response modifier which induces IFN. Both TNF and BP have the capacity to inhibit the growth of a transplantable colon tumor (CC 531) in inbred WAG rats. In the present study their combined use was investigated in a one-week assay, with the tumor implanted under the renal capsule. The results indicate that BP, given on days 0 and 1, and 1 g TNF on days 0, 2 and 4 act additively, leading to an almost complete inhibition of tumor growth.

Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Control and Early Detection

Sixty-four standardized continuing education courses were given for dentists throughout the ten public health districts of the USA to determine if certain behaviors regarding oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) control could be modified. Questionnaires were obtained at baseline and at 6 months along with matched control groups. One thousand eight hundred two general dentists participated at baseline and 988 at a 6-month questionnaire follow-up. Analysis of the data indicated that continuing education courses had a positive influence on participants’ oral cancer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior that potentially could make a difference on prevention, early detection, and ultimately OPC control.

Proteomics, pathway array and signaling network-based medicine in cancer

Cancer is a multifaceted disease that results from dysregulated normal cellular signaling networks caused by genetic, genomic and epigenetic alterations at cell or tissue levels. Uncovering the underlying protein signaling network changes, including cell cycle gene networks in cancer, aids in understanding the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis and identifies the characteristic signaling network signatures unique for different cancers and specific cancer subtypes. The identified signatures can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized treatment. During the past several decades, the available technology to study signaling networks has significantly evolved to include such platforms as genomic microarray (expression array, SNP array, CGH array, etc.) and proteomic analysis, which globally assesses genetic, epigenetic, and proteomic alterations in cancer. In this review, we compared Pathway Array analysis with other proteomic approaches in analyzing protein network involved in cancer and its utility serving as cancer biomarkers in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic target identification. With the advent of bioinformatics, constructing high complexity signaling networks is possible. As the use of signaling network-based cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment is anticipated in the near future, medical and scientific communities should be prepared to apply these techniques to further enhance personalized medicine.

Molecular Breast Cancer Subtypes in Premenopausal African-American Women, Tumor Biologic Factors and Clinical Outcome

IntroductionBreast cancer is currently viewed as a heterogeneous disease made up of various subtypes, with distinct differences in prognosis. Our goal was to study the distribution and to characterize the clinical and biological factors that influence the behavior and clinical management of the different molecular breast cancer subtypes in premenopausal African-American women.

Emergency surgery for recurrent intraabdominal cancer

BackgroundRecurrent abdominal cancer can manifest in many ways but there are certain situations that are a great challenge to clinicians. Emergency presentation is one such situation. Surgeons are faced with a therapeutic dilemma that on the one hand most of these patients have a limited life expectancy, and on the other surgical procedures are unavoidable. We reviewed our experience of recurrent abdominal cancers presenting with acute abdominal symptoms requiring emergency.

Long-Term Morbidity Following Axillary Dissection in Breast Cancer Patients – Clinical Assessment, Significance for Life Quality and the Impact of Demographic, Oncologic and Therapeutic Factors

Objective. This study describes in detail the surgery-related symptoms following axillary lymph node dissection in breast cancer patients and considers both their significance for long term quality of life and the impact of possible influencing factors.Material and methods: Three hundred and ninety six patients were studied retrospectively using a self-report questionnaire and a clinical examination. The symptoms, numbness, pain, edema, arm strength and mobility were evaluated. The subjective assessment of the degree of symptom intensity was compared with objective measurements. The extent of surgery (number of resected nodes, level of dissection) as well as the influence of demographic, oncologic and adjuvant measures (age, time interval, number of involved nodes, chemotherapy) were evaluated.