Anticancer research
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Anticancer research · Jan 2017
Objective Predictive Score as a Feasible Biomarker for Short-term Survival in TerminalIy Ill Patients with Cancer.
In palliative care, prediction of life expectancy is one of the most crucial issues for patients, family and medical staff, in order to provide appropriate end-of-life care. The aim of this study was to formulate a new objective score to predict life expectancy within 1 week for terminally ill patients with cancer. ⋯ Our scoring system might enable the assessment of prognostication with higher accuracy in a terminal care setting.
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Anticancer research · Jan 2017
ReviewAdvances in Experimental Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy for Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) represents the most malignant primary brain tumor in adults with generally dismal prognosis, early clinical deterioration and high mortality. GBM is extremely invasive, characterized by intense and aberrant vascularization and high resistance to multimodal treatment. Standard therapy (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide) has very limited effectiveness, with median overall survival of patients no longer than 15 months. ⋯ The novel possibilities of cancer immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, are being evaluated in clinical trials of patients with GBM. The most recent clinical experiences with targeted therapy as well as immunotherapy of GBM are given in this review. The relative lack of success of some of these approaches recently revealed in well-designed randomized clinical trials is also discussed.
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Anticancer research · Jan 2017
ReviewClinical Implications of High-mobility Group Box-1 (HMGB1) and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) in Cutaneous Malignancy: A Systematic Review.
Inflammation and the immune system play a role in the development and progression of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The pro-inflammatory and tumor-promoting effects of the high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) have been investigated in these cutaneous malignancies. The clinical implication of these molecules is not fully described. ⋯ Sporadic extracellular expression of HMGB1 was evident in BCC and SCC lesions, which could be released by necrotic tumor cells. HMGB1 was found to be a prognostic marker in melanoma, and HMGB1 levels were elevated in patients who were non-responders to ipilimumab treatment. HMGB1 and RAGE could serve as potential prognostic markers or therapeutic targets in treating melanoma, BCC, and SCC, but further research regarding the clinical utility of the HMGB1-RAGE axis in cutaneous malignancies is warranted.