Clin Cancer Res
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Ample data exist contending that wild-type p53 and E2F-1 cooperate to mediate apoptosis, that E2F-1-mediated apoptosis is p53 dependent in some situations, and that E2F-1 can induce accumulation of p53 in mammalian cells. These data support the investigation of the biological consequences of combined wild-typep53 and E2F-1 overexpression in human squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) for the purpose of developing apoptosis-inducing molecular intervention strategies for the management of this devastating disease. The recombinant adenovirus (Ad) vectors Ad-p53 and Ad-E2F-1 were used for wild-type p53 and E2F-1 gene transfers, respectively, into SCCHN cell lines TU138 and TU167. ⋯ Coimmunoprecipitation assay confirmed that the wild-type p53 and E2F-1 gene products formed protein-protein complexes in our cell lines. Our in vitro data demonstrated that in SCCHN, E2F-1 interferes with induction of p53-transactivated genes, probably through the formation of protein-protein complexes. Simultaneous p53 and E2F-1 gene transfer is not therapeutically advantageous in this in vitro model of SCCHN.
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Our objective was to determine the effect of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy on the presence of circulating prostate cells in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. A total of 60 patients at high risk for extraprostatic disease were analyzed for the presence of circulating prostate cells using reverse transcriptase PCR (RTPCR) amplification of the prostate-specific antigen mRNA. Twenty-nine patients underwent radical prostatectomy for a clinical T2b-c tumor or a stage T1c-T2a tumor and a serum prostate-specific antigen level > or =10ng/ml (radical prostatectomy alone), and 31 similarly staged patients received neoadjuvant hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy (neoadjuvant). ⋯ These data suggest that a subset of the neoadjuvant patients are converted to organ confined disease without eliminating the prostate cells in the bone marrow. Our data suggest that hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy decreases the occurrence of extraprostatic disease but, to a lesser degree, the incidence of circulating prostate cells. This may partially explain why hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy has not improved disease-free survival.