Components of the RANK/RANKL/OPG system, IL-6, IL-8, IL-16, MMP-2, and calcitonin in the sera of patients with bone tumors.

Serum levels of sRANKL, RANK, OPG, IL-8, IL-6, IL-16, MMP-2, and calcitonin were measured by ELISA in patients with malignant, borderline, and benign bone tumors and in healthy individuals (control). Serum levels of RANK, OPG, IL-8, IL-6, and the OPG/sRANKL ratio were significantly higher, while the level of MMP-2 was significantly lower in patients with bone tumors than in controls. Serum concentration of IL-16 in osteosarcoma patients was significantly lower than in chondrosarcoma patients. No significant differences between bone sarcomas of different differentiation were detected for any of the studied markers. Calcitonin level depended on the tumor location and type.

Comparative enzyme immunoassay of matrix metalloproteinases-2, -7, -9 and their tissue inhibitor-2 in tumors and plasma of patients with gastric cancer.

The content of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) -2, -7, and -9 was significantly higher in tumors in comparison with the adjacent histologically intact gastric mucosa in 80, 70, and 72% patients with gastric cancer, respectively, the increase in the level of MMP tissue inhibitor-2 (TIMP-2) detected in 61% tumors was insignificant. Only plasma level of MMP-7 was elevated in primary patients in comparison with the control and positively correlated with the expression of this protein in the tumor. The concentration of MMP-7 was maximum in the blood of patients with tumor invasion in lymph vessels. These data suggest MMP-7 as a possible serological marker of gastric cancer.

Relationship between expression of NM23 protein and clinical morphological factors and content of plasminogen activation system components in tumors of patients with gastric cancer.

Immunohistochemical studies revealed a relationship between the expression of nm23 protein in gastric cancer cells and some parameters characterizing plasminogen activation system and clinical morphological factors. Expression of nm23 in the cytoplasm was detected almost 3-fold more often than in the nuclei; cytoplasmic expression more strictly correlated with patient's age, tumor location, and its histological structure than nuclear expression.

[Urokinase and tissue type plasminogen activators and their type-1 inhibitor (PAI-1) in gastric cancer]. / Aktivatory plazminogena urokinaznogo i tkanevogo tipov i ikh ingibitor PAI-1 pri rake zheludka.

The levels of urokinase (uPA) and tissue type (tPA) plasminogen activators and their type 1 inhibitor (PAI-1) were determined by immunoassay in tumor cytosols and samples of histologically unaltered adjacent mucosa in gastric cancer patients. Gastric tumor revealed enhanced uPA and PAI-1 matched by decreased tPA in intact mucosa. The expression of uPA and PAI-1 was particularly was high at the later stages of the disease. The concentrations of uPA in tumor tissue increased with age. No significant correlation was established between levels of plasminogen activation system components, on the one hand, and histopathological grading of tumor, on the other.

[Vascular endothelial growth factor and plasminogen activators in endometrial carcinoma and hyperplasia]. / Faktor rosta éndoteliia sosudov i komponenty sistemy aktivatsii plazminogena pri rake i giperplazii éndometriia.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and such plasminogen activation system components as uPA, PAI-1 and tPA were determined by enzyme immunoassay methods in endometrial tumors from 121 patients and 18 samples of endometrial hyperplasia of varying degree. Endometrial carcinoma concentrations of uPA vs. PAI-1 were significantly higher than those in hyperplasia. Significant direct correlations--uPA vs. VEGF, uPA vs. PAI-1 and PAI-1 vs. VEGF--were established in endometrial tumors, and inverse ones for tPA vs. uPA and tPA vs. VEGF. A marked correlation with prognostic factors was found for PAI-1 and VEGF: levels of these proteins were relatively higher in cases of tumor progression (FIGO stage and deeper myometrial invasion), poor cell differentiation, and loss of hormone sensitivity. Higher uPA expression was associated with deeper myometrial invasion while, in endometrial tumors with unfavorable prognosis, it was VEGF level alone that was significantly higher.

[EFR-like peptides and their receptors as prognostic factors for the survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer]. / Sistema EFR-podobnykh peptidov i ikh retseptorov kak faktor prognoza vyzhivaemosti bol'nykh nemelkokletochnym rakom lëgkogo.

The levels of EGFR and its ligands have been assayed in tumor and adjacent lung tissues in NSCLC patients. Both EGFR and EGF-like peptides were found in tumor more frequently than in unaltered tissue. It was shown (Kaplan-Meyer) that simultaneous expression of EGFR and its ligands in tumor and adjacent lung tissues was associated with lower overall and relapse-free survival in NSCLC patients.

[Prognostic significance of epidermal growth factor receptors in stage I-II breast cancer: results of a six-year follow-up]. / Prognosticheskoe znachenie opredeleniia retseptorov èpidermal'nogo faktora rosta u bol'nykh rakom molochnoi zhelezy I-II stadii: rezul'taty shestiletnego nabliudeniia.

The disease-free (DFS) and overall (OS) survival was retrospectively assessed using mono- and multiparametrical methods in 197 patients with T1-2N0-1M0 tumors of the breast during a 3-73 month follow-up. No significant differences in DFS or OS were observed between epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)-positive or negative patients, either in the general study group or in those without metastases in the lymph nodes. However, DFS was much and significantly higher in patients with an "endocrine" receptor phenotype of tumor (EGFR-ER+PR+) than with an "auto/paracrine" one (EGFR+ER-PR). The DFS difference was particularly pronounced within the first 48 months (up to 30%) and subsequently smoothed down. In early-stage breast cancers, ER and PR status-related studies alone failed to reliably identify the group with unfavorable prognosis. The study also failed to establish any correlation between either of the phenotypes and the relative hazard rate for DFS in cases of no post-surgical treatment or treatment lacking the endocrine component. Conversely, the risk of relapse and/or metastasis was markedly higher in tumor with EGFR, after adjuvant hormone or chemohormonal therapy. The correlation between the ER or PR-positive and negative patterns and risk of relapse were significantly lower.