Anticancer research
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Anticancer research · May 2003
Clinical TrialDetecting metastatic neck lymph nodes in papillary thyroid carcinoma by 18F-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography and Tc-99m tetrofosmin single photon emission computed tomography.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and technetium-99m tetrofosmin (Tc-99m TF) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to detect metastatic neck lymph nodes (LN) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) after total thyroidectomy and radioiodine-131 (I-131) treatments in patients with elevated serum human thyroglobulin (hTg) levels but negative I-131 whole body scan (WBS). Thirteen PTC patients underwent nearly total thyroidectomy and I-131 treatments with proven neck LN metastases were included in this study. ⋯ FDG-PET could detect all of the 13 (100%) patients with metastatic neck LN, but Tc-99m TF SPECT revealed lesions in only 8 out of 13 (61.5%) patients (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated that FDG-PET is more sensitive than Tc-99m TF SPECT to detecting metastatic neck LN in PTC with elevated serum hTg levels but negative I-131 WBS.
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Anticancer research · May 2003
Expression of stem cell factor and c-kit in human malignant fibrous histiocytoma cell line (TNMY1).
The expression of c-kit and/or its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), has been related to tumor proliferation, in several tumor systems. ⋯ Our data showed that the MFH cells produced consistent amounts of SCF but did not demonstrate autocrine growth modulation. Thus, SCF secretion may have a paracrine activity in the growth of MFH cells.
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Anticancer research · Mar 2003
Usefulness of alpha-fetoprotein in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.
With the widespread use of ultrasonography (US) and computerized tomography (CT), the usefulness of alpha-fetoprotein assay in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has decreased. The aim of our study was to evaluate the best cut-off value for serum alpha-fetoprotein to discriminate between liver cirrhosis (LC) and HCC and the factors influencing levels in a Sicilian population. Three hundred and seventy-two patients with LC and 197 with HCC-associated LC were studied. ⋯ There was a correlation between AFP serum values and TNM classification (p < 0.02) and on multiple logistic regression AFP levels > 30 ng/ml correlated positively only with the TNM stage (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the best cut-off value for serum AFP in our study population was 30 ng/ml, but at this level sensitivity was low. This cut-off value was more useful in detecting non-viral HCC, because PPV was significantly higher than in viral HCC; therefore, our data confirm that the usefulness of AFP in the diagnosis of HCC of viral etiology is limited, being more useful in HCC of non-viral etiology.
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Anticancer research · Mar 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialBiomodulation of cancer chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized study of weekly low-dose irinotecan alone versus irinotecan plus the oncostatic pineal hormone melatonin in metastatic colorectal cancer patients progressing on 5-fluorouracil-containing combinations.
Recent advances in immunobiological knowledge have suggested the possibility of enhancing the therapeutic activity of various chemotherapeutic agents by a concomitant administration of anti-oxidant drugs and/or immunomodulating neurohormones. In particular, the pineal neurohormone melatonin (MLT), which is able to exert both antioxidant and immunomodulating effects, has been proven to enhance the efficacy of various chemotherapeutic drugs, namely cisplatin, anthracyclines and 5-fluorouracil, whereas at present there are no data about its possible influence on cytotoxic drugs effective in the treatment of colon cancer other than 5-fluorouracil, such as irinotecan (CPT-11). The present study was performed to evaluate the influence of a concomitant administration of MLT on CPT-11 therapeutic activity in metastatic colorectal cancer. ⋯ However, taken together, patients treated with CPT-11 at 50% of the planned dose showed a percent of disease control comparable to that achieved in patients who had no dose reduction (6 out of 10 vs 13 out of 20). This preliminary study shows that the efficacy of weekly low-dose CPT-11 in pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer patients may be enhanced by a concomitant daily administration of the pineal hormone MLT, according to the results previously reported for other chemotherapeutic agents. Moreover, since the dose reduction of CPT-11 does not influence its efficacy, the dose of CPT-11 for successive studies might be not greater than 70 mg/m2.
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Anticancer research · Mar 2003
Comparative StudyMolecular detection of cancer cells in the peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer: comparison of CK-19, CEA and maspin as detection markers.
To investigate and compare the diagnostic value of the detection of cytokeratin 19 (CK-19), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and maspin mRNA by nested RT-PCR in the peripheral blood of women with breast cancer. ⋯ RT-PCR positivity for CK-19 mRNA is the most sensitive detection marker for occult tumor cells in operable and metastatic breast cancer, although nested RT-PCR for maspin mRNA appears to be more specific.