International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer
-
Serum biomarkers are urgently needed for patient stratification and efficient treatment monitoring in pancreatic cancer (PC). Within a prospective diagnostic observation study, blood samples were obtained from 78 patients with advanced PC before and weekly during the course of palliative chemotherapy. Circulating nucleosomes and immunogenic cell death markers, high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), soluble receptors of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) and DNAse activity, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and correlated with results of radiological staging after 2 months of treatment, with time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS). ⋯ Concerning estimation of prognosis, high nucleosome levels (d7, d14, d21 and d56), low sRAGE levels (d56) and DNAse activity courses (d0-d7) correlated with TTP, whereas high nucleosomes (d7, d14 and d56), high HMGB1 (d21 and d56) and DNAse (d0-d7) were associated with OS. After adjustment to Karnofsky performance score, nucleosomes and HMGB1 (both d56) and DNAse (d0-d7) remained independent prognostic factors. Thus, courses of circulating nucleosomes and immunogenic cell death markers HMGB1 and sRAGE show prognostic relevance in PC patients undergoing chemotherapy.
-
To determine whether metastasis to brain is associated with altered expression patterns of integrins, we investigated the expression of αvβ3, αvβ5, αvβ6 and αvβ8 integrins in primary malignancies and metastases to brain of breast, lung and renal carcinomas and in malignant melanoma. Inhibitors of αv integrins are currently in clinical trials for glioblastoma. The role of integrins in the process of brain metastasis from other human tumors is unknown. Immunohistochemistry with novel integrin subtype specific rabbit monoclonal antibodies was performed on tissue microarrays of archival material of surgical biopsies taken from primary tumors and brain metastases. Integrin αvβ3 expression was increased in brain metastases compared to primary tumors of breast adenocarcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, renal clear cell cancer and malignant cutaneous melanoma (all p < 0.01). Similarly, integrin αvβ8 expression was increased in brain metastases compared to primary tumors of breast cancer (p < 0.0001), lung cancer (p < 0.01) and renal cancer (p < 0.0001), with a similar trend in metastatic melanoma. Integrin αvβ5 was expressed in most primary tumors (98% breast cancer; 67% lung cancer; 90% renal cancer; 89% melanoma) and showed a stronger expression in brain metastases compared to primary tumors from lung cancer and melanoma (p < 0.05). Also integrin αvβ6 expression was increased in brain metastases compared to primary breast cancer (p < 0.001). ⋯ The stronger αv-integrin expression in brain metastases, especially of αvβ3 and αvβ8 integrins, suggests that certain αv integrin are involved in the process of brain metastasis. αv Integrins may be therapeutic targets for patients with metastatic cancer in brain.
-
Extensive screening strategies to detect occult cancer in patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) are complex and no benefit in terms of survival has been reported. FDG-PET/CT (2-[F-18] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography), a noninvasive technique for the diagnosis and staging of malignancies, could be useful in this setting. Consecutive patients ≥ 50 years with a first unprovoked VTE episode were prospectively included. ⋯ Limitation of FDG-PET/CT screening to patients with TF activity > 2.8 pM would improve the PPV to 37.5% and reduce the costs of a single cancer diagnosis from 20,711€ to 11,670€. FDG-PET/CT is feasible for the screening of occult cancer in patients with unprovoked VTE, showing high S and NPV. The addition of TF activity determination may be useful for patient selection.
-
Animal and experimental studies have demonstrated that long-chain n-3 fatty acids inhibit the development of prostate cancer, whereas n-6 fatty acids might promote it. We performed a case-cohort analysis within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study using a random sample of 1,717 men and 464 prostate cancer cases to investigate associations between fatty acids assessed in plasma phospholipids (PPLs) or diet (estimated using a 121-item food frequency questionnaire) and prostate cancer risk. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox regression. ⋯ No association varied significantly by tumour aggressiveness (all p-homogeneity > 0.1). Prostate cancer risk was positively associated with %PPL SFA, largely attributable to palmitic acid and inversely associated with %PPL monounsaturated fatty acids, largely attributable to oleic acid. Higher risks were also observed for dietary n-6 polyunsaturated fats, primarily linoleic acid.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Folic acid supplementation and cancer risk: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
There are growing data and a continuing controversy over the effect of folic acid supplementation on cancer risk. We conducted a meta-analysis based on up-to-date published relevant randomized trials to further examine this issue. Relative risk (RR) was used to measure the effect of folic acid supplementation on risk of cancer using a random-effects model. ⋯ Furthermore, higher total cancer incidence risk was observed among those trials with a higher percent use of lipid-lowering drugs (>60%, 1.10; 1.00-1.20, p = 0.04), or with lower percent baseline hypertension (≤70%, 1.08; 1.00-1.16, p = 0.057). Consistently, meta-regression analyses suggested that the similar trend between percent use of lipid-lowering drugs (p = 0.084) or percent baseline hypertension (p = 0.056) and log-RR for total cancer incidence associated with folic acid supplementation. Our findings indicate that folic acid supplementation has no significant effect on total cancer incidence, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer or hematological malignancy, but reduces the risk of melanoma.