Sociocultural influences on dietary behavior and meal timing among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women at risk of endometrial cancer: a qualitative investigation.

PURPOSE: Determine sociocultural influences on dietary behavior, body image, weight loss, and perceptions of the cultural appropriateness of a meal-timing intervention design and menu among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) women at risk of endometrial cancer. METHODS: Six 90-min videoconference focus groups among NHPI women (n = 35) recruited by a community champion in Utah. Eligible women were aged ≥ 18 years at risk of endometrial cancer (i.e., BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes or complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia) had a working cell phone capable of downloading a phone app, could use their cell phone during the day, and were not night-shift workers. Twelve semi-structured questions were posed during the focus groups. Using inductive qualitative methods based on Hatch's 9-step approach, de-identified transcript data were analyzed. RESULTS: Overarching themes included economic factors, cultural influences, meal choice and timing, and perceptions of health. Subthemes included affordability, waste avoidance, inundated schedules, and cultural influences. Perceptions of body size and weight loss were influenced by family, community, and social media, whose messages could be conflicting. Important intervention components included satisfying, convenient pre-made meals, while barriers included the need to cook for family members. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary interventions targeting metabolic health among NHPI women should consider the multitude of sociocultural and economic factors that influence food choices and meal timing in this population, including affordability, hectic schedules, and immigrant adjustment. Promoting the link between physical and mental well-being as opposed to weight loss is a key approach to reaching this population.

In vitro assessment of radiobiology of meningioma: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Meningioma are the second most common brain tumors in adults and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The scarcity of in vitro and in vivo models represents the major obstacle to understand the molecular basis of meningioma tumorigenesis. The main aim of this study was to assess a method for radiobiology of meningioma cells colture by means of well-known meningioma lines. NEW METHOD: We carried out a protocol of cells culture for irradiation of meningioma cells. We used the immortalized cell lines IOMM-Lee and CH-157 to study their radiation-reponse by means of clonogenic assays and to evaluate their proliferation and apoptosis. We irradiated the cells with different total doses using two different linear accelerators. RESULTS: We observed a more radiation resistance of the IOMM-Lee than the CH-157. Indeed, the cellular death of CH-157 was obtained at a very low dose irradiation. Moreover, we showed a dose-response effect due to the early and late apoptosis, in fact the rate of apoptotic cells is greater than that of the necrotic cells at any dose of irradiation and at any time of analysis. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: There is not a standardized method for radiobiology of meningioma experiments. CONCLUSIONS: Our method of cells culture appears suitable for radiosensitivity studies on meningioma. We can confirm that the response to radiotherapy depends not only on irradiation features, but also on tumor radiosensitivity.

Early effects comparison of X-rays delivered at high-dose-rate pulses by a plasma focus device and at low dose rate on human tumour cells.

A comparative study has been performed on the effects of high-dose-rate (DR) X-ray beams produced by a plasma focus device (PFMA-3), to exploit its potential medical applications (e.g. radiotherapy), and low-DR X-ray beams produced by a conventional source (XRT). Experiments have been performed at 0.5 and 2 Gy doses on a human glioblastoma cell line (T98G). Cell proliferation rate and potassium outward currents (IK) have been investigated by time lapse imaging and patch clamp recordings. The results showed that PFMA-3 irradiation has a greater capability to reduce the proliferation rate activity with respect to XRT, while it does not affect IK of T98G cells at any of the dose levels tested. XRT irradiation significantly reduces the mean IK amplitude of T98G cells only at 0.5 Gy. This work confirms that the DR, and therefore the source of radiation, is crucial for the planning and optimisation of radiotherapy applications.

Some considerations for the study of TGFbeta in medium of irradiated T98G cells: activation, release and consumption.

BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor ß1 (TGFß1) has been proposed as a candidate for the transmission of radiation-induced bystander signals. AIM: To assess the influence that the presence of latent TGFß in the medium may have on the modulation of TGFß1 release and on its receptor (TGFßR2) expression after irradiation of glioblastoma cells or after treatment with medium collected from γ-irradiated cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: T98G cells cultured with a complete medium or a serum-free medium were irradiated with 0.25 and 1 Gy and the concentration of total TGFß1 was measured. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Irradiation of cells growing with a complete medium (i.e. a medium containing latent TGFß1, LTGFß1) caused a consistent dose-dependent decrease of the TGFß1 available in the medium. When LTGFß1 was not available in the medium (i.e. a medium without serum supplement), the levels of TGFß1 increased significantly. Changes in the pattern of expression of TGFßR2 were evident only when a serum-free medium was used.

IL-8 and IL-6 bystander signalling in human glioblastoma cells exposed to gamma radiation.

BACKGROUND: Exposure of cells to ionising radiation causes the release of several factors, such as cytokines, which are likely to be involved in some biological effects occurring in the irradiated cells and in the neighbouring non-irradiated cells (i.e. bystander effect). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The release of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in the culture medium of irradiated human glioblastoma cells was investigated using an ELISA technique. Immunocytochemistry was used to investigate the expression of corresponding cell membrane receptors in irradiated cells and in cells cultured with medium collected from irradiated cells. RESULTS: The exposure to radiation determined an increase of IL-6 concentration which was dose dependent at 20 hours, whereas IL-8 release was lower than control shortly after irradiation but increased with time, in particular at the dose of 0.5. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that these cytokines are differently modulated by radiation and are likely to play a role in the transmission of radiation-induced response, probably orchestrating the inflammatory microenvironment of the tumour.

Influence of imatinib mesylate on radiosensitivity of astrocytoma cells.

Imatinib mesylate (STI571), an inhibitor of alpha- and beta-platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFR) and other tyrosine kinases, is a well established treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Moreover, it is under investigation for the therapy of several other malignant tumours since protein kinases are frequently mutated or otherwise deregulated in human malignancies and they serve as a target for differentiating between tumour cells and normal tissues. The objective of this study was to determine whether gamma radiation could sensitize astrocytoma cell lines to the effects of imatinib in vitro. For this purpose, T98G and MOG-G-UVW astrocytoma cells were treated with imatinib alone or in combination with gamma radiation. The clonogenic survival assays performed with the combination of imatinib with radiation demonstrated that the drug had an additive antiproliferative effect in both cell lines considered. Imatinib confered greater radiosensitivity on the T98G tumour cells effecting a significant decrease in colony formation compared with radiation alone. These data provide a rationale to further investigate the combination of imatinib with radiation, keeping in mind that this may result in unexpected toxicities that are not observed with either treatment alone.