Journal of the National Cancer Institute
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Nov 2000
Cost-effectiveness of androgen suppression therapies in advanced prostate cancer.
The costs and side effects of several antiandrogen therapies for advanced prostate cancer differ substantially. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of antiandrogen therapies for advanced prostate cancer. ⋯ For men who accept it, orchiectomy is likely to be the most cost-effective androgen suppression strategy. Combined androgen blockade is the least economically attractive option, yielding small health benefits at high relative costs.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Nov 2000
Comparative StudySilicone breast implants not linked to breast cancer risk.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Oct 2000
Role of alpha1 acid glycoprotein in the in vivo resistance of human BCR-ABL(+) leukemic cells to the abl inhibitor STI571.
Chronic myeloid leukemia is caused by a chromosomal translocation that results in an oncogenic fusion protein, Bcr-Abl. Bcr-Abl is a tyrosine kinase whose activity is inhibited by the antineoplastic drug STI571. This drug can cure mice given an injection of human leukemic cells, but treatment ultimately fails in animals that have large tumors when treatment is initiated. We created a mouse model to explore the mechanism of resistance in vivo. METHODS Nude mice were injected with KU812 Bcr-Abl(+) human leukemic cells. After 1 day (no evident tumors), 8 days, or 15 days (tumors >1 g), mice were treated with STI571 (160 mg/kg every 8 hours). Cells recovered from relapsing animals were used for in vitro experiments. Statistical tests were two-sided. ⋯ AGP in the plasma of relapsed animals binds to STI571, preventing this compound from inhibiting the Bcr/Abl tyrosine kinase. Molecules such as erythromycin that compete with STI571 for binding to AGP may enhance the therapeutic potential of this drug.