[Gemcitabine plus S-1 combination therapy (GS therapy) for pancreatic cancer patients with high-grade hepatic metastasis].

Pancreatic cancer shows the worst prognosis among the solid tumors, and survival for patients with high-grade liver metastasis is estimated at around a few months. We reported the effects of combination therapy with gemcitabine and S-1 (GS therapy) on pancreatic cancer patients with high-grade hepatic metastasis. Patients with severe metastatic pancreatic cancer received chemotherapy comprising S-1 (30mg/m² p.o. b.i.d., days 1-14) and gemcitabine (1000mg/m² on days 1 and 8), repeated every 3 weeks. Fourteen patients (7 men, 7 women) received treatment at a mean age of 56.5 years (range, 39-76 years), achieving complete response in 1 patient, partial response in 5 patients, and stable disease in 3 patients and progressive disease in 5 patients. The response rate was thus 43%. Median progression-free survival was 186 days (95% confidence interval, 40-247 days). Median overall survival was 261 days (95% confidence interval, 162-358 days). GS therapy appears to be well-tolerated and effective in patients with high-grade hepatic metastasis.

Advances in the development of a reliable assay for the measurement of stool decay-accelerating factor in the detection of colorectal cancer.

We have previously shown that stool concentrations of decay-accelerating factor (DAF; CD55), a membrane-bound complement-regulatory protein, are significantly elevated in patients with colorectal cancer and that the measurement of stool DAF may be a valuable test for the detection of colorectal cancer. Accordingly, we are working to develop a clinically useful immunoassay for fecal DAF. A requirement for such assay is a plentiful and reliable supply of anti-DAF antibodies. We developed a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for DAF in stool specimens, using two monoclonal anti-DAF antibodies recognizing different epitopes on the DAF molecule. When we first used a biotin-labeled antibody and enzyme-linked streptavidin method, we often observed stool interference, probably due to the presence of a substance(s) with biotin activity which non-specifically bound to the Fc portion of IgG of the first anti-DAF antibody on the ELISA wells. By the use of inorganic salts in the sample-dilution buffer and HRP-labeled anti-DAF as second antibody, we circumvented the stool interference and established that the new ELISA system could reliably measure DAF at low concentrations in stool specimens. Because the new assay system uses only monoclonal antibodies, we can now consistently supply ample amounts of antibodies for routine measurement of stool DAF.