Phyllodes tumors of the breast: the role of pathologic parameters

We aimed to establish whether morphologic parameters were prognostically important in a large series of breast phyllodes tumors in Asian women. Of 335 phyllodes tumors diagnosed at the Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, between January 1992 and December 2002, 250 (74.6%) were benign, 54 (16.1%) borderline, and 31 (9.3%) malignant, based on histologic review of archival slides. Of the women, 43 (12.8%) experienced recurrences during the follow-up period. Recurrent disease was correlated with grade or classification (P = .028), stromal atypia (P = .016), stromal hypercellularity (P = .046), and permeative microscopic borders (P = .021). Multivariate analysis revealed that independent predictors of recurrence were pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) and margin status, whereby the presence of PASH and complete or negative margins reduced recurrence hazards by 51.3% and 51.7% respectively. The 7 women who died of disease during follow-up had malignant phyllodes tumor at the outset and experienced recurrences, and death was preceded by distant metastases.     

Bruceine B, A Potent Inhibitor of Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion

Leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cells is an essential step in the development of inflammatory diseases. We have searched for inhibitors of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion that could be used as anti-inflammatory drugs and found that bruceine B (0.2 g/ml; 0.44 M) inhibited human neutrophil or T cell adhesion to tumor necrosis factor- (TNF) stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The inhibition of neutrophil adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC by bruceine B was not derived from cytotoxic effects, as determined by measurement of the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in conditioned medium. The effect of bruceine B on neutrophil adhesion to HUVEC was not seen when the neutrophils were preincubated with bruceine B. However, inhibitory effects were evident when the HUVEC were preincubated with bruceine B. Bruceine B also inhibited neutrophil adhesion to lipopolysaccharide-stimulated HUVEC and T cell adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC. These findings suggest that bruceine B may have anti-inflammatory activity.     

Development of sesquiterpenes from Alpinia oxyphylla as novel skin permeation enhancers.

To improve the drug permeation into and/or across the skin, essential oils extracted from Alpinia oxyphylla (AO) were evaluated using in vitro and in vivo permeation techniques with Wistar rats as the animal model. Hydrocarbons and oxygenated sesquiterpenes were the major components in the lower-polarity fraction (AO-1) and higher-polarity fraction (AO-2), respectively. Permeation of indomethacin was significantly enhanced after treatment with AO-1 and AO-2 in the in vitro and in vivo studies. AO-2 generally showed a higher ability to promote drug permeation compared to AO-1. The increment of skin/vehicle partitioning may be the predominant mechanism for this enhancing activity. Both transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and colorimetric evaluation showed limited irritation to skin by AO essential oils at the macroscopic level. Human skin fibroblasts were used to investigate the in vitro screening of skin toxicity. AO-1 slightly increased prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) formation from skin fibroblasts. A striking result was observed with AO-2, which greatly inhibited the release of PGE(2). Moreover, both AO essential oils had no statistically significant effect on PGE(2) release by human lung epithelial cells. The results of this study indicate that skin disruption and inflammation do not necessary correspond to the enhancing efficiency of the enhancers tested.     

A six-week, parallel, randomized, double-blind study comparing the efficacy and safety of the 0.5% timolol/2.0% MK-507 combination b.i.d. to the concomitant administration of 0.5% timolol b.i.d. and 2.0% MK-507 b.i.d.

This was a 6-week, parallel, randomized, double-blind study comparing the efficacy and safety of the 0.5% timolol/2.0% MK-507 combination b.i.d. to the concomitant administration of 0.5% timolol b.i.d. and 2.0% MK-507 b.i.d. Patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma from 21 to 85 years of age were enrolled in this study. Each of them should have intraocular pressure (IOP) of 20 mmHg or more in the study eye after they completed the wash-out period. The patients enrolled were randomly assigned to either combination (0.5% timolol/2.0% MK-507 b.i.d. and placebo b.i.d.) or concomitant (0.5% timolol b.i.d. and 2.0% MK-507 b.i.d.) treatment. During the study, no systemic or topical medication affecting IOP other than test drugs were allowed. A total of 20 randomized patients were included in the intention-to-treat population for analysis of data. The ten were assigned to the combination treatment and others were assigned to the concomitant treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between the two study treatments in terms of gender distribution, average age, and average IOP at the trough and the peak before starting the test medications. Mean reduction of the IOP from baseline to the final visit at the trough was 5.04 mmHg in the combination treatment and was 2.73 mmHg in the concomitant treatment. Mean reduction of the IOP at the peak was 2.19 mmHg in the combination treatment and was 2.53 mmHg in the concomitant treatment. There were no statistically significant differences in the above analyses between the two treatments. Safety evaluation was carried out, and number of adverse events in each treatment group did not differ substantially. Ocular signs and symptoms were evaluated in each visit, and all of the between-treatment values were not different significantly, either. Laboratory tests were performed, and showed no significant differences between pre- and post-treatment periods. None of these was found to be clinically serious, either. We concluded that the 0.5% timolol/2.0% MK-507 combination b.i.d. is equivalent in the efficacy of lowering IOP as well as safety compared to the concomitant administration of 0.5% timolol b.i.d. and 2.0% MK-507 b.i.d. in patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma.     

Synthesis of polymers containing pseudohalide groups by cationic polymerization, 13. “Living” polymerization of 2-methylpropene initiated by the system 1,4-bis(1-azido-1-methylethyl)benzene/BCl3/dimethyl sulfoxide

Polymerizations of 2-methylpropene (MP) initiated by the system 1,4-bis(1-azido-1-methylethyl)benzene (DAMEB)/BCl₃ in the presence of DMSO were carried out by “all monomer in” (AMI) technique at ?70°C in CH₂Cl₂ solution. FT-IR, ¹H NMR and SEC analyses of polymers (PMP) showed that the M _n versus weight of PMP plot is a straight line without intercept and azide F_n3 and aromatic ring F_? functionalities are close to the theoretical values of 2 and 1, respectively. A polymerization of MP initiated by the system α,ω-diazido-PMP/BCl₃/DMSO led to a final poly(2-methylpropene) (PMP) with an increase of M _n corresponding to the amount of MP introduced and presenting the same functionalities F_N3 and F_? as the starting PMP. These results indicate that the polymerization system MP/DAMEB/BCl₃/DMSO is a “living” one, because in an acceptably large range of molecular weight (M _n < 50000) the Mayo plot 1/DP versus 1/DP ₀ is a straight line. The intercept gives k_trM/k_p = 4 · 10^?5, showing the transfer reaction proceeds at very low rate.     

Detection of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus by latex agglutination with recombinant antigen.

Recombinant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) env antigen was attached to polystyrene particles, and these complexes were used to develop the first latex agglutination assay for antibodies to HIV. A total of 95 positive and 116 negative human serum samples were assayed for antibodies to HIV by latex agglutination, and results were compared with those of a commercial enzyme immunoassay. Latex agglutination was also compared with, and found to be completely concordant with, Western blot (immunoblot) analysis with virion antigens.