A Phase I Trial of Trametinib in Combination with Sorafenib in Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Cancer

Lessons Learned

• The combination of trametinib and sorafenib has an acceptable safety profile, albeit at doses lower than approved for monotherapy.
• Maximum tolerated dose is trametinib 1.5 mg daily and sorafenib 200 mg twice daily.
• The limited anticancer activity observed in this unselected patient population does not support further exploration of trametinib plus sorafenib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BackgroundThe RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is associated with proliferation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Preclinical data suggest that paradoxical activation of the MAPK pathway may be one of the resistance mechanisms of sorafenib; therefore, we evaluated trametinib plus sorafenib in HCC.MethodsThis was a phase I study with a 3+3 design in patients with treatment‐naïve advanced HCC. The primary objective was safety and tolerability. The secondary objective was clinical efficacy.ResultsA total of 17 patients were treated with three different doses of trametinib and sorafenib. Two patients experienced dose‐limiting toxicity, including grade 4 hypertension and grade 3 elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/bilirubin over 7 days. Maximum tolerated dose was trametinib 1.5 mg daily and sorafenib 200 mg twice a day. The most common grade 3/4 treatment‐related adverse events were elevated AST (37%) and hypertension (24%). Among 11 evaluable patients, 7 (63.6%) had stable disease with no objective response. The median progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.7 and 7.8 months, respectively. Phosphorylated‐ERK was evaluated as a pharmacodynamic marker, and sorafenib plus trametinib inhibited phosphorylated‐ERK up to 98.1% (median: 81.2%) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.ConclusionTrametinib and sorafenib can be safely administered up to trametinib 1.5 mg daily and sorafenib 200 mg twice a day with limited anticancer activity in advanced HCC.     

miR-26b通过调节Notch1信号通路参与原发性肝细胞肝癌侵袭的机制研究

目的:探讨miR-26b参与原发性肝细胞肝癌（HCC）侵袭的机制。方法:在细胞培养液中培养人肝细胞系HL-7702和HCC细胞各系Hepb-3、HuH-7、MHCC97-L、MHCC97-H。实时荧光定量PCR法（qRT-PCR）检测miR-26b的表达水平；用miR-26b mimics、miR-26b inhibitors和Notch1-siRNA分别转染HCC细胞；MTT实验检测转染后HCC细胞的活力；采用Western blot检测Notch1受体蛋白表达水平的变化；Transwell小室测定不同处理后的HCC细胞的侵袭能力。结果:人正常肝细胞系HL-7702和HCC细胞系Hepb-3、HuH-7、MHCC97-L、MHCC97-H中的miR-26b相对表达含量随其侵袭和迁移能力的升高而依次下降；抑制miR-26b的表达，Notch1受体蛋白表达明显增高，而此时HCC细胞的侵袭性显著增强；相反，上调miR-26b的表达，Notch1受体蛋白表达明显降低，而HCC细胞侵袭性显著下降；miR-26b可能通过调控Notch1信号通路调节HCC细胞侵袭性。结论:miR-26b通过负调控Notch1信号通路抑制HCC细胞侵袭能力，为HCC侵袭的机制奠定了理论基础，miR-26b可能成为HCC治疗的新靶点。     

Low bone mineral density in ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy? A systematic review

Purpose: Non-ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy are prone to low bone mineral density. In ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy, bone mineral density deficits are expected to be small or absent, but a consensus conclusion is lacking. In this systematic review bone mineral density in ambulatory persons with cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification Scales I–III) was studied.

Materials and methods: Medline, Embase, and Web of Science were searched. According to international guidelines, low bone mineral density was defined as Z-score?≤??2.0. In addition, we focused on Z-score?≤??1.0 because this may indicate a tendency towards low bone mineral density.

Results: We included 16 studies, comprising 465 patients aged 1–65?years. Moderate and conflicting evidence for low bone mineral density (Z-score?≤??2.0) was found for several body parts (total proximal femur, total body, distal femur, lumbar spine) in children with Gross Motor Function Classification Scales II and III. We found no evidence for low bone mineral density in children with Gross Motor Function Classification Scale I or adults, although there was a tendency towards low bone mineral density (Z-score?≤??1.0) for several body parts.

Conclusions: Although more high-quality research is needed, results indicate that deficits in bone mineral density are not restricted to non-ambulatory people with cerebral palsy.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Although more high-quality research is needed, including adults and fracture risk assessment, the current study indicates that deficits in bone mineral density are not restricted to non-ambulatory people with CP.

• Health care professionals should be aware that optimal nutrition, supplements on indication, and an active lifestyle, preferably with weight-bearing activities, are important in ambulatory people with CP, also from a bone quality point-of-view.

• If indicated, medication and fall prevention training should be prescribed.

     

High-magnitude mechanical strain inhibits the differentiation of bone-forming rat calvarial progenitor cells

Purpose: Orthodontic tooth movement occurs during the bone remodeling induced by therapeutic mechanical strain. It is important to investigate the relation between the strength of mechanical stress and bone formation activity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of high-magnitude mechanical strain on bone formation in detail.

Materials and methods: Osteoblast-like cells isolated from fetal rat calvariae were loaded with 18% cyclic tension force (TF) for 48?h. To phenotypically investigate the effect of TF, we measured the number and the size of bone nodules stained by von Kossa technique on day 21 after cell seeding and determined the calcium content of bone nodules on day 14. Furthermore, we examined the gene expression of BMP-2, Runx2 and Msx2, which are important factors for bone nodule formation, on days 1, 4 and 7 after TF loading.

Results: The maximum bone nodule size in the control group was 1620 and 719?μm in the TF group. Furthermore, the mean number of bone nodules sized over 360?μm in the TF group was significantly decreased compared to the control group. The calcium content was also significantly decreased to 42% by TF loading. The mRNA expression of BMP-2, Runx2 and Msx2 was decreased 1 and 4 days after TF loading.

Conclusion: The differentiation of bone forming progenitor cells into bone nodule forming cells was inhibited by TF due to the decreased expression of bone formation related factors such as BMP-2, Runx2 and Msx2.     

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide predicts hospitalization for ischemic stroke in Japanese hemodialysis patients

Clinical and Experimental Nephrology - The association between N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and stroke in Japanese hemodialysis (HD) outpatients is unclear. Therefore, in...     

Genomic screen for loci associated with tobacco usage in Mission Indians

Background  

The prevalence of tobacco usage in Native American adults and adolescents is higher than any other racial or ethnic group, yet biological risk and protective factors underlying tobacco use in this ethnic group remain unknown. A genome scan for loci associated with tobacco use phenotypes was performed with data collected from a community sample of Mission Indians residing in Southwest California.     

Increased ratio of saturated to unsaturated C18 fatty acids in colonic adenocarcinoma: Implications for cryotherapy and lipid raft function

Mammalian fatty acid synthase (FASE) overexpression has been shown in a number of human malignancies including colonic adenocarcinoma. Since FASE synthesizes only saturated fatty acids, we hypothesized that cancer cells have a greater proportion of long-chain saturated fatty acids. We studied and found an unequivocal increase in saturated C18 fatty acid (stearic acid) in colonic adenocarcinoma compared to adjacent normal colonic mucosa. The increase is even more striking when measured as a ratio of stearic acid to the unsaturated C18 fatty acids (oleic acid and linoleic acid). This change in fatty acid composition of the cancer cells should significantly alter their physical and biological properties. The increase in relative proportion of saturated fatty acids should make the cancer cells more susceptible to cryodamage and measurement of fatty acid composition of cancer cells may help individualize the temperature for cryotherapy. Also, the lipid alterations may affect the structure and functions of lipid rafts, which may enable the cancer cells to affect signaling mechanisms such as those involved in cell growth and apoptosis. Dietary or therapeutic interventions targeting lipid rafts may thus be an option for cancer treatment.