RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Survival rates for ovarian cancer remain poor, and monitoring and prediction of therapeutic response may benefit from additional markers. Ovarian cancers frequently overexpress Folate Receptor alpha (FRα) and the soluble receptor (sFRα) is measurable in blood. Here we investigated sFRα as a potential biomarker. METHODS: We evaluated sFRα longitudinally, before and during neo-adjuvant, adjuvant and palliative therapies, and tumour FRα expression status by immunohistrochemistry. The impact of free FRα on the efficacy of anti-FRα treatments was evaluated by an antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity assay. RESULTS: Membrane and/or cytoplasmic FRα staining were observed in 52.7% tumours from 316 ovarian cancer patients with diverse histotypes. Circulating sFRα levels were significantly higher in patients, compared to healthy volunteers, specifically in patients sampled prior to neoadjuvant and palliative treatments. sFRα was associated with FRα cell membrane expression in the tumour. sFRα levels decreased alongside concurrent tumour burden in patients receiving standard therapies. High concentrations of sFRα partly reduced anti-FRα antibody tumour cell killing, an effect overcome by increased antibody doses. CONCLUSIONS: sFRα may present a non-invasive marker for tumour FRα expression, with the potential for monitoring patient response to treatment. Larger, prospective studies should evaluate FRα for assessing disease burden and response to systemic treatments.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Ovarianas , Feminino , Humanos , Receptor 1 de Folato/metabolismo , Receptor 1 de Folato/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias Ovarianas/patologia , Estudos Prospectivos , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
In a number of species, including humans, perceived outgroup threat can promote ingroup cohesion. However, the distribution and selection history of this association across species with varied intergroup relations remains unclear. Using a sample of 8 captive groups (N = 43 individuals), we here tested whether bonobos, like chimpanzees, show more affiliative ingroup behaviour following perception of outgroup cues (unfamiliar male long-distance vocalisations). We used comparable methods to our previous study of captive chimpanzees, and found that, although weaker, there was an association for more frequent social grooming in response to the outgroup condition than the control condition, alongside more alert posture and increased self-directed behaviour. This provides preliminary evidence for an ancestral origin to the proximate association between outgroup cues and ingroup cohesion, at least prior to the Pan-Homo split, and suggests the presence of intergroup competition in our last common ancestor.
Assuntos
Sinais (Psicologia) , Pan paniscus , Comportamento Social , Animais , Pan paniscus/psicologia , Pan paniscus/fisiologia , Masculino , Feminino , Comportamento Animal/fisiologia , Vocalização Animal/fisiologiaRESUMO
Fractional resurfacing has become a very popular laser modality in recent years, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a mainstay of many practices treating a wide array of clinical entities. In this case report, we describe a recalcitrant verrucous lesion on the foot that is unresponsive to cryotherapy, pulsed dye laser, and pulsed dye laser with PDT. The lesion did, however, respond very well to the use of a fractional laser to enhance the penetration of the PDT photosensitizer and then responded to pulsed dye laser with PDT. Fractional resurfacing prior to PDT may be a novel dermatologic treatment approach, making PDT an even better treatment option in the future.
RESUMO
Using T2-weighted MRI, we measured the relative anteroposterior distance of small corona radiata infarcts in 54 patients who had disproportionate weakness in the bulbar (Group A), arm (Group B), and leg (Group C) muscles. The lesions were differently (p < 0.01) located: Group A, most were located anteriorly; Group B, most were in the middle; and Group C, most were located posteriorly. These results suggest that motor fibers are somatotopically arranged in the human corona radiata.