Validation of long-term handling and storage conditions for hematopoietic stem cell products for autologous transplants.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HPSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into lymphoid and myeloid progenitors, giving rise to white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), and platelets. HPSCs are a widely used treatment for many hematological non-malignant and malignant disorders. HPSCs can be used in the fresh or cryopreserved state for future use. Fresh HPSCs are typically stored at 2-6°C for up to 72 hours and are primarily used for allogeneic transplants or autologous transplants in myeloma and lymphoma patients. However, in some cases of autologous donations, HPSC transplantation is delayed more than three days after collection. In such situations, the cells are thawed after short-term preservation, resulting in a 35% cell viability loss. This study aimed to investigate the quality of HPSCs products after long-term storage exceeding 72 hours. The quality of HPSCs products was assessed by measuring viable CD34+ cell count, the total number of nucleated cells (TNC), and HPSCs recovery after different storage intervals of up to 120 hours in hypothermal storage. The mean total cell viability decreased by 2.18% within 72 hours and 7.4% within 120 hours, while mean CD34+ cell recovery was 92.61 % at 72 hours and 83.83 % at 120 hours in hypothermal storage. The mean TNC recovery was 89.93% at 72 hours and 76.18 % at 120 hours. All products were free from bacterial contamination for up to 120 hours under hypothermal storage conditions.

Cruciferous Vegetable Consumption and Stomach Cancer: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: To investigate the association between regular cruciferous vegetable intake and stomach cancer.Methods: A hospital-based, case-control study was conducted at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY, which included 292 stomach cancer patients and 1168 cancer-free controls recruited between 1992 and 1998 as part of the Patient Epidemiology Data System (PEDS). Dietary and other epidemiologic and confounding variables were collected by questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were utilized to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between usual pre-diagnostic cruciferous vegetable intake and stomach cancer, with adjustment for other stomach cancer risk factors and dietary characteristics.Results: We observed strong inverse associations between stomach cancer and highest versus lowest intakes of total cruciferous vegetables (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.42-0.83), raw cruciferous vegetables (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.38-0.73), raw broccoli (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43-0.86), raw cauliflower (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.35-0.73), and Brussels sprouts (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.48-0.91).Conclusions: These data suggest that consuming raw cruciferous vegetables may be associated with a lower odds of stomach cancer, even after considering other dietary characteristics.

Joint exposure to smoking, excessive weight, and physical inactivity and survival of ovarian cancer patients, evidence from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium.

PURPOSE: Previous epidemiologic studies have shown that smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity are associated with poor survival following a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Yet, the combined relationship of these unfavorable lifestyle factors on ovarian cancer survival has not been sufficiently investigated. METHODS: Using data pooled from 13 studies, we examined the associations between combined exposures to smoking, overweight/obesity weight, and physical inactivity and overall survival (OS) as well as progression-free survival (PFS) among women diagnosed with invasive epithelial ovarian carcinoma (n = 7,022). Using age- and stage-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with joint exposure to these factors. RESULTS: Combined exposure to current smoking, overweight/obesity, and physical inactivity prior to diagnosis was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality compared to women who never smoked, had normal body mass index (BMI), and were physically active (HR = 1.37; 95% CI 1.10-1.70). The association for a joint exposure to these factors exceeded that of each exposure individually. In fact, exposure to both current smoking and overweight/obesity, and current smoking and physical inactivity was also associated with increased risk of death (HR = 1.28; 95% CI 1.08-1.52, and HR = 1.26; 95% CI 1.04-1.54, respectively). The associations were of a similar magnitude when former smoking was assessed in combination with the other exposures and when excessive weight was limited to obesity only. No significant associations were observed between joint exposure to any of these factors and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Joint exposure to smoking, excessive weight, and physical inactivity may negatively impact survival of ovarian cancer patients. These results suggest the importance of examining the combined effect of lifestyle factors on ovarian cancer patients' survival.

Lifetime physical inactivity is associated with increased risk for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Although physical activity is a well-established risk factor for several cancer types, studies evaluating its association with lymphoma have yielded inconclusive results. In such cases where physical activity is not clearly associated with cancer risk in a dose-dependent manner, investigators have begun examining physical inactivity as an independent exposure of interest. METHODS: Associations of self-reported, lifetime physical inactivity with risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were evaluated in a hospital-based case control study using data from the Patient Epidemiology Data System at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Participants included 87 patients with HL and 236 patients with NHL as well as 348 and 952 cancer-free controls, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were fit to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) estimating the association between physical inactivity and lymphoma risk. RESULTS: We observed significant, positive associations between lifetime recreational physical inactivity and risk of both HL (OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.15-3.15) and NHL (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.01-1.82). CONCLUSIONS: The current analysis provides evidence for a positive association between physical inactivity and risk of both HL and NHL. These results add to a growing body of research suggesting that lifetime physical inactivity may be an important independent, modifiable behavioral risk factor for cancer.

Hereditary association between testicular cancer and familial ovarian cancer: A Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry study.

BACKGROUND: Although family history of testicular cancer is well-established as a risk factor for testicular cancer, it is unknown whether family history of ovarian cancer is associated with risk of testicular cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry on 2636 families with multiple cases of ovarian cancer, we systematically compared relative frequencies of ovarian cancer among relatives of men with testicular and non-testicular cancers. RESULTS: Thirty-one families with cases of both ovarian and testicular cancer were identified. We observed that, among men with cancer, those with testicular cancer were more likely to have a mother with ovarian cancer than those with non-testicular cancers (OR = 3.32, p = 0.004). Zero paternal grandmothers of men with testicular cancer had ovarian cancer. CONCLUSION: These observations provide compelling preliminary evidence for a familial association between ovarian and testicular cancers Future studies should be designed to further investigate this association and evaluate X-linkage.