Anticancer research
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Anticancer research · May 2005
Review Case ReportsNeutropenic enterocolitis in an advanced epithelial ovarian cancer patient treated with paclitaxel/platinum-based chemotherapy: a case report and review of the literature.
Literature data show that neutropenic enterocolitis is a rare but severe complication that can occur in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and especially with taxanes. ⋯ The increasing use of paclitaxel in first-line as well as in the salvage treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer could increase the occurrence of neutropenic enterocolitis in patients with this malignancy. The importance of symptoms such as neutropenic fever, abdominal pain and tenderness and severe diarrhoea should be stressed in patients who receive taxane-based chemotherapy, and intensive supportive care management should be started immediately.
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Anticancer research · May 2005
In vitro and in vivo characterizations of tetrandrine on the reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated drug resistance to paclitaxel.
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major obstacles limiting the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. Through screening a series of natural products, we have previously identified six naturally occurring bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BBIs) that possess potent activity to reverse P-glycoprotein (gp)-mediated drug resistance. In this study, we characterized one of these compounds, termed tetrandrine, and evaluated its reversal activity on P-gp-mediated drug resistance to paclitaxel in vitro and in vivo. ⋯ The present in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that tetrandrine possesses potent and specific activity in reversing P-gp-mediated drug resistance. This naturally occurring compound may be used as a chemosensitizer in the treatment of P-gp-mediated MDR cancers.
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The 1999 WHO/IASLC histological classification of preneoplastic bronchial lesions has been shown to be reproducible, but little is known about its biological significance. The EGFR expression rate increases from normal epithelium to carcinoma in situ (CIS) with a significant difference between mild versus severe dysplasia. C-erbB-2, another member of the erbB family, is overexpressed in lung carcinomas, suggesting that this mechanism may play a role in carcinogenesis. We evaluated the correspondence between the morphological changes of the bronchial epithelium and the c-erbB-2 expression. ⋯ C-erbB-2 does not seem to be involved in the first step of carcinogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma. These findings suggest that there is no place for chemoprevention by anti-c-erbB-2 drugs such as trastuzumab in lung cancer.
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Anticancer research · Mar 2005
Search for meaningful support and the meaning of illness in German cancer patients.
Spiritual needs are an essential component of holistic health care. Several studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcome, coping skills and health-related quality of life. ⋯ Knowledge of a patient's spirituality can help service providers predict aspects of psychosocial needs and to respond sensitively and appropriately. The SpREUK questionnaire is a useful tool to define patients who are more in need of spiritual support than others.
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Anticancer research · Mar 2005
Thymidylate synthase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase in non-small cell lung cancer: relationship between mRNA expression and activity.
UFT (Tegafur + Uracil) has been reported to be effective for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a randomized prospective study. Recently, many clinical studies have demonstrated that UFT is effective for cancer with a low activity of thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). In the present study, we investigated TS and DPD activity in resected tumors and corresponding normal lungs and the relationship between the activity and the mRNA expression of TS and DPD in NSCLC. ⋯ TS and DPD activities in NSCLC were higher than those in normal lungs. Assay of DPD mRNA and TS mRNA by real-time RT-PCR can be used as an indicator for the use of UFT.