A Randomized Prospective Trial of Supine MRI-Guided Versus Wire-Localized Lumpectomy for Breast Cancer

Annals of Surgical Oncology - Wire-localized excision of non-palpable breast cancer is imprecise, resulting in positive margins 15–35% of the time. Women with a confirmed diagnosis of...     

Gene Expression of CYP1A1 and its Possible Clinical Application in Thyroid Cancer Cases

Background: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, and exact causes remain unknown. The role of CYP450 1A1 (CYP1A1) in cancer initiation and progression has been investigated. The aim of this work was to analyze, for the first time, CYP1A1 gene expression and its relationship with several clinicopathological factors in Mexican patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods: Realtime PCR analysis was conducted on 32 sets of thyroid tumors and benign pathologies. Expression levels were tested for correlations with clinical and pathological data. All statistical analysis were performed using GraphPad Prism version 3.0 software. Results: We found that female gender was associated with thyroid cancer risk (P<0.05). A positive relationship was identified between CYP1A1 mRNA levels and the presence of chronic disease, alcohol use, tumor size, metastasis and an advanced clinical stage (P<0.05). Conclusions: The results suggest that CYP1A1 gene expression could be used as a marker for thyroid cancer.     

Hepatitis C virus:Is it time to say goodbye yet? Perspectives and challenges for the next decade

The majority of individuals exposed to hepatitis C virus(HCV) establish a persistent infection,which is a leading cause of chronic liver disease,cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.Major progress has been made during the past twenty-five years in understanding the HCV life cycle and immune responses against HCV infection.Increasing evidence indicates that host genetic factors can significantly influence the outcome of HCV infection and the response to interferon alpha-based antiviral therapy.The arrival of highly effective and convenient treatment regimens for patients chronically infected with HCV has improved prospects for the eradication of HCV worldwide.Clinical trials are evaluating the best anti-viral drug combination,treatment doses and duration.The new treatments are better-tolerated and have shown success rates of more than 95%.However,the recent breakthrough in HCV treatment raises new questions and challenges,including the identification of HCVinfected patients and to link them to appropriate health care,the high pricing of HCV drugs,the emergence of drug resistance or naturally occurring polymorphism in HCV sequences which can compromise HCV treatment response.Finally,we still do not have a vaccine against HCV.In this concise review,we will highlight the progress made in understanding HCV infection and therapy.We will focus on the most significant unsolved problems and the key future challenges in the management of HCV infection.     

Internalization of biotinylated compounds into cancer cells is promoted by a molecular Trojan horse based upon core streptavidin and clostridial C2 toxin

The C2 toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is a binary AB-type exotoxin composed of the enzyme subunit C2I and the binding/translocation moiety C2II. After proteolytic activation, C2IIa mediates the subsequent internalization of C2I into the cytosol of mammalian target cells. The N-terminal domain of C2I (C2IN) is necessary for C2IIa-dependent uptake, but lacks the enzyme domain that is responsible for cytotoxicity. In the present study, we generated a delivery system building on C2IN and a truncated core streptavidin (Stv13) with enhanced solubility for the C2IIa-dependent internalization of biotinylated cargo molecules into mammalian cells. C2IN–Stv13 fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli was obtained in high yields and purity. The affinity-purified protein formed tetramers and a defined higher order species in solution as shown by gel filtration and retained its biotin-binding properties, however with an obvious reduction in affinity. Uptake of C2IN–Stv13 into the cytosol of HeLa and other cancer cell lines was observed by immunoblot analysis, which was corroborated by confocal microscopy. In addition, the fusion protein was not cytotoxic and did not inhibit cell proliferation as determined by MTS assay. Finally, we demonstrated the C2IN–Stv13/C2IIa-mediated uptake of biocytin–Alexa 488 as cargo into HeLa cells, underscoring the functionality of the generated transport system.     

New strategies for medical management of castration-resistant prostate cancer

Although advanced prostate cancer patients respond very well to front-line androgen deprivation, failure to hormonal therapy most often occurs after a median time of 18-24 months. The care of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has significantly evolved over the past decade, with the onset of first-line therapy with docetaxel. Although numerous therapy schedules have been investigated alongside docetaxel, in either first-line or salvage therapy, results were dismal. However, CRPC chemotherapy is currently evolving, with, on the one hand, new agents targeting androgen metabolism and, on the other hand, significant progress in chemotherapy drugs, particularly for second-line therapy. The aim of the present review is to describe the current treatments for CRPC chemotherapy alongside their challengers that might shortly become new standards. In this article, we discuss the most recent data from clinical trials to provide the reader with a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of CRPC chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.     

Convection enhanced delivery of carboplatin in combination with radiotherapy for the treatment of brain tumors

The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of convection enhanced delivery (CED) of carboplatin in combination with radiotherapy for treatment of the F98 rat glioma. Tumor cells were implanted stereotactically into the brains of syngeneic Fischer rats, and 13 or 17 d. later carboplatin (20 ??g/10 ??l) was administered by either CED over 30 min or by Alzet osmotic pumps (0.5 ??g/??l/h for 168 h.) beginning at 7 d after tumor implantation. Rats were irradiated with a 15 Gy fractionated dose (5 Gy × 3) of 6 MV photons to the whole brain beginning on the day after drug administration. Other groups of rats received either carboplatin or X-irradiation alone. The tumor carboplatin concentration following CED of 20 ??g in 10 ??l was 10.4 ??g/g, which was equal to that observed following i.v. administration of 100 mg/kg b.w. Rats bearing small tumors, treated with carboplatin and X-irradiation, had a mean survival time (MST) of 83.4 d following CED and 111.8 d following pump delivery with 40% of the latter surviving >180 d (i.e. cured) compared to 55.2 d for CED and 77.2 d. for pump delivery of carboplatin alone and 31.8 d and 24.2 d, respectively, for X-irradiated and untreated controls. There was no microscopic evidence of residual tumor in the brains of all long-term survivors. Not surprisingly, rats with large tumors had much shorter MSTs. Only modest increases in MSTs were observed in animals that received either oral administration or CED of temozolomide plus X-irradiation (23.2 d and 29.3 d) compared to X-irradiation alone. The present survival data, and those previously reported by us, are among the best ever obtained with the F98 glioma model. Initially, they could provide a platform for a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the safety and potential therapeutic efficacy of CED of carboplatin in patients with recurrent glioblastomas, and ultimately a Phase II trial of carboplatin in combination with radiation therapy.