Increase in colour stability of pomegranate juice against 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) through copigmentation with phenolic acids.

BACKGROUND: Anthocyanins are responsible for both attractive colour of pomegranate juice (PJ) and its health-promoting effects against cancer and coronary heart disease. However, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) at some concentrations causes anthocyanin degradation. The present study aimed to reduce the degradation of PJ anthocyanins as a result of HMF at various concentrations (0-20 mg L-1 ) through phenolic acid [PA; ferulic (FA), gallic (GA) and caffeic acids (CA)] copigmentation during storage at 20 °C. RESULTS: A strong correlation (r = 0.872) was found between anthocyanin degradation rate and HMF concentration in PJ without PA addition. An increase in HMF concentration during storage caused faster (< 32%) anthocyanin degradation. However, PA addition reduced (< 60 times) the HMF formation rate. The lowest HMF formation rates (0.07-0.28 day-1 ) were determined in PJ with added GA. Although GA caused an important increase in content of cyanidin-3-glucoside (16-42%), which is major PJ anthocyanin, against HMF at all concentrations, CA (15%) and FA (28%) increased cyanidin-3-glucoside content against 10 mg of HMF L-1 . FA maintained its protection effect against the highest HMF concentration (20 mg of HMF L-1 ), but CA lost its protection effect. Generally, FA increased stabilities of hyperchromic effect (HE) (9.6-27.7%) and colour density (CD) (57.1-74.3%) at all HMF concentrations, although CA increased HE stability (19.8-37.7%) in the presence of 10 and 20 mg of HMF L-1 . Interactions of 'all individual anthocyanins-FA' and 'delphinidin-based anthocyanins-GA/CA' resulted in copigmentation. CONCLUSION: FA addition was recommended to increase CD and HE for PJ containing HMF between 3.1-5.6 mg L-1 , whereas the addition of GA was recommended to increase anthocyanin stability for PJ containing 12.0 mg of HMF L-1 . © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The expression level of fibulin-2 in the circulating RNA (ctRNA) of epithelial tumor cells of peripheral blood and tumor tissue of patients with metastatic lung cancer.

The Fibulins are a recently discovered family of extracellular matrix proteins. In this study, expression levels of the fibulin-2 (FBLN2) gene and its role in the formation of different metastatic foci were investigated in lung cancer patients. We analyzed 106 lung cancer patients and eight paraffin-embedded tissues, and 27 ethnical-, age- and sex-matched healthy controls for expression levels of the FBLN2 gene. cDNAs obtained from the enriched epithelial cells of peripheral blood lymphocytes and tumor tissues of patients were amplified with specific primers for the target FBLN2 gene and HPRT1 housekeeping gene using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. FBLN2 gene expression levels of the enriched epithelial cells of peripheral blood lymphocytes were found to be decreased approximately twofold in all subsets of patients compared to healthy controls. Our results indicate a significant difference between patient subgroups and controls [F(4.124) = 14.846, p0.05] among patient subgroups: bone metastases versus non-metastatic groups (p = 0.997), bone versus brain metastases (p = 0994), bone metastases versus two primary tumors (p = 0.999), brain metastases versus two primary tumors (p = 0.999), brain metastases versus non-metastatic (p = 0.755), non-metastatic versus two primary tumors (p = 0.996), non-metastatic versus all other metastatic patients (p = 0.731). Moreover, we found a 50-fold upregulation of FBLN2 gene expression in paraffin-embedded tissues compared with the enriched epithelial cells of peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients. In the study, the enriched epithelial cells of peripheral blood lymphocytes of decreased FBLN2 expression was found to be correlated with metastasis. The fibulin-2 molecules might induce the metastatic potential through interaction with the other molecules in the microenvironment, nevertheless, it is needed further research whether the importance of FBLN2 on lung cancer oncogenesis and as a biomarker for metastatic lung cancer.

Relationship between interleukin-17A and isolated coronary ectasia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate serum interleukin (IL)-17A levels in patients with coronary artery ectasia (CAE), the relationship between IL and 17A and CAE, and to determine the relationship between the severity of coronary ectasia and the level of IL-17A. In total, 41 patients (19 female and 22 male) with ischemic symptoms whose non-invasive cardiac tests were positive for myocardial ischemia, and in whom coronary artery ectasia were detected after coronary angiography, and 45 patients (32 female and 13 male) with normal coronary arteries were included in this study. Echocardiographic assessments were performed. Serum IL-17A levels of all patients were evaluated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IL-17A levels of the group with isolated coronary artery ectasia were significantly higher compared with the control group (4.86 ±â€¯3.24 and 1.37 ±â€¯1.56 ng/ml, respectively; p < 0.001). There was no correlation between the levels of IL-17A and the extension of the CAE, but IL-17A levels were high in both groups. CAE patients have significantly increased levels of IL-17A, fibrinogen, and RDW compared to patients with normal coronary arteries. It was demonstrated that increased levels of IL-17A were associated with ectasia formation in CAE patients.

Hepatitis B and C rates are significantly increased in certain solid tumors: A large retrospective study.

Objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality among cancer patients who received cytotoxic chemotherapy. The aim of current study was to elucidate the prevalence of HBV and HCV among large population of solid cancers and lymphoma and to compare them with large number of control group. Patients and Methods: Between 2000 and 2014, 8322 cancer patients who were admitted to Oncology Departments were evaluated retrospectively and 3890 patients in whom hepatitis serology were available were included in this study. Their results were compared with control group that consisted of 96,000 subjects. Results: In control groups, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity rate was 3.3% and anti-HCV positivity rate was 0.84%. In cancer patients, HBsAg positivity rate was 3.65% and anti-HCV positivity rate was 1.2%. Neither HBsAg positivity rate nor anti-HCV positivity rate was statistically significant between groups (P = 0.12 and P = 0.09, respectively). HBsAg positivity rates of head and neck cancer (5.88%; P = 0.02), rectum (5.6%; P = 0.025), and gastric and esophagus cancer (5.88%; P = 0.025) were significantly higher than control groups. Anti-HCV positivity rate (2.5%; P = 0.0016) was significantly higher in lung cancer when compared with control group. Conclusion: The current study elucidated the prevalence of HBV and HCV among large population of solid cancers and lymphoma and we showed that hepatitis B and C positivity rates are significantly increased in certain solid tumors. Our findings should also be clarified with large prospective studies.

Concomitant etoposide and cisplatin provided improved survival compared with docetaxel and cisplatin in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy.

Presently, there is no consensus regarding which chemotherapy regimen is best to administer with radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). Herein, our aim was to compare the outcome of patients treated with either etoposide-cisplatin (EP) or docetaxel-cisplatin (DP) in this curative setting.Patients treated with either EP or DP and concurrent radiotherapy from 2004 to2012 were identified and their detailed medical records and follow-up information were obtained for analysis in this retrospective study. Survival rates were compared using Cox proportional hazards regression models with adjustments for confounding parameters provided by propensity score methods.A total of 105 patients were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy for LA-NSCLC (stage IIB-IIIA-IIIB). The median ages were 54 years (range, 32-70 years) and 55 years (range, 37-73 years) in the EP (n = 50) and DP (n = 55) groups, respectively. The median follow-up time was 27 months (range, 1-132 months) in the EP group and 19 months (range, 1-96 months) in DP group. There was no significant difference in baseline clinicopathologic features including age, sex, performance status, histologic subtype, and clinical TNM stages between groups. In the univariate analysis, the median overall survival of patients treated with EP was higher than that of patients treated with DP (41 vs. 20 months, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis further revealed a survival advantage with EP compared with DP (hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% confidence interval: 0.25-0.83; P = 0.009). The toxicity profile of the 2treatment groups was similar except that pulmonary toxicity was higher in the DP group (grade 3-4: 0% vs. 6%, P = 0.024).Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with EP may provide more favorable outcomes than DP and with an acceptable safety profile.

Chronomodulated oxaliplatin plus Capecitabine (XELOX) as a first line chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer: A Phase II Brunch regimen study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and toxicity of chronomodulated capecitabine administered in the morning and at noon according to a specific time schedule (Brunch Regimen: Breakfast and Lunch) as a part of first-line XELOX chemotherapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 30 treatment-naïve colorectal cancer patients with metastatic disease were included. Oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) on day 1 plus chronomodulated oral capecitabine 2000 mg/m(2) per day were administered (50 % dose at 8:00 a.m. and 50 % dose at 12:00 noon on days 1-14, every 21 days). All adverse events, treatment responses and survival were evaluated. In addition, pharmacokinetic profile of capecitabine was examined in a subset of 5 patients. RESULTS: Median age was 57.1 years (range 32-77 years). Median follow-up was 19 months (range 3-36 months). Three patients (10 %) had complete response, 13 patients (43.3 %) had partial response and 4 patients (13.3 %) had stabile disease. Ten patients had progressive disease at their first evaluation (33.3 %). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10 months (range 2-36 months). There were no grade 4 toxicities. One patient (3.3 %) had grade 3 neutropenia. Hand-foot syndrome developed in three patients (10 %): 6.6 %, grade 1 and 3.3 %, grade 2. CONCLUSIONS: Chronomodulated XELOX seems to represent a promising therapeutic option in the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinoma due to good tumor control and favorable toxicity profile. Phase III randomized trials are required to assess the actual clinical efficacy and side effect profile of this regimen.

Current adjuvant treatment modalities for gastric cancer: From history to the future.

The discrepancy between the surgical technique and the type of adjuvant chemotherapy used in clinical trials and patient outcomes in terms of overall survival rates has led to the generation of different adjuvant treatment protocols in distinct parts of the world. The adjuvant treatment recommendation is generally chemoradiotherapy in the United States, perioperative chemotherapy in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, and chemotherapy in Asia. These options mainly rely on the United States Intergroup-0116, United Kingdom British Medical Research Council Adjuvant Gastric Infusional Chemotherapy, and the Asian Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer and Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin Adjuvant Study in Stomach Cancer trials. However, the benefits were evident for only certain patients, which were not very homogeneous regarding the type of surgery, chemotherapy regimens, and stage of disease. Whether the dissimilarities in survival are attributable to surgical technique or intrinsic biological differences is a subject of debate. Regardless of the extent of surgery, multimodal therapy may offer modest survival advantage at least for diseases with lymph node involvement. Moreover, in the era of individualized treatment for most of the other cancer types, identification of special subgroups comprising those who will derive more or no benefit from adjuvant therapy merits further investigation. The aim of this review is to reveal the historical evolution and future reflections of adjuvant treatment modalities for resected gastric cancer patients.

Combination of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy is associated with improved survival at early stage type II endometrial cancer and carcinosarcoma.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to describe the impact of postoperative adjuvant treatment modalities and identify risk factors associated with recurrence and survival rates in women diagnosed with early stage type II endometrial cancer and carcinosarcoma. METHODS: In this retrospective study, patients diagnosed with early stage (stages I-II) carcinosarcoma and type II endometrial cancer were reviewed. All women underwent comprehensive surgical staging. Postoperative treatment options of chemotherapy (CT), radiotherapy (RT), observation (OBS) and chemotherapy-radiotherapy (CT-RT) combination were compared in terms of recurrence and survival outcome. RESULTS: In CT-RT treatment arm, recurrence rate was found as 12.5% and this result is significantly lower than the other treatment approaches (P = 0.01 CT alone: 33.3%, RT alone: 26.7%, OBS: 62.5%). Three-year disease free survival(DFS) rate and overall survival (OS) rate were statistically higher for the group of women treated with combination of CT-RT (92-95%) compared to the women treated with RT alone (65-72%), treated with CT alone (67-74%) and women who received no adjuvant therapy (38-45%). The multivariate analysis revealed that carcinosarcoma histology was associated with shortened DFS and OS (P = 0.001, P = 0.002). On the other hand, being at stage Ia (P = 0.01, P = 0.04) and receiving adjuvant treatment of CT-RT combination (P = 0.005, P = 0.002) appeared to lead to increased DFS and OS rates. CONCLUSIONS: We identified that a combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is superior compared to other postoperative adjuvant treatment approaches concerning PFS, OS and recurrence rates in stages I-II of type II endometrial cancers and uterine carcinosarcoma.

Factors affecting progression-free survival in non-HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Non-HIV related Kaposi sarcoma (NHKS) is a rare indolent neoplasm which is more common around Mediterranean origin. Data concerning factors that influence progression-free survival (PFS) for NHKS are insufficient. The purpose of present retrospective analysis was to distinguish the factors affecting PFS in patients with NHKS. METHODS: A hundred and twenty-eight consecutive patients with NHKS who were treated or observed between 1997 and 2014 at Istanbul University Institute of Oncology were included into the study. Treatment response and progression definitions were determined according to different treatment modalities administered at first line. RESULTS: Majority of patients were male (n = 97, 75.8%). Median age of the whole group was 66 years (28-85). Of the patients, 15 patients were immunosuppressant, whereas 113 patients had no disease that caused immunosuppression. Patients were treated with local excision (n = 57, 44.5%), chemotherapy (n = 32, 25.0%) and/or radiotherapy (n = 13, 10.2%) or observed without treatment (n = 26, 20.3%). At a median follow-up of 28 months, 71 (55.5%) patients had progression, while 3 patients (2.3%) died of NHKS. On univariate analysis, patients who had hypertension (HT) had poorer PFS compared with others (19 ± 12 versus 41 ± 22 months; p = 0.03), whereas plaque formation was associated with better outcome (25 ± 9 versus 54 ± 12 months; p = 0.03). In addition, heavy smoking (≥40 pack-years) had a borderline significance regarding better PFS time (23 ± 24 versus 45 ± 38 months, p = 0.06). On multivariate analysis, none of factors evaluated had any impact on PFS. CONCLUSIONS: HT was correlated with poorer outcome among NHKS patients. Patients with plaque formation and ≥40 pack-years of smoking had better PFS than others.

Same Chemotherapy Regimen Leads to Different Myelotoxicity in Different Malignancies: A Comparison of Chemotherapy-Associated Myelotoxicity in Patients With Advanced Ovarian and Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy combination is the standard first-line treatment of advanced ovarian cancer and is the most commonly used treatment combination shown to be effective in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The most important dose-limiting side effect is hematologic toxicity. In this study, the severity of treatment-related myelotoxicity is compared in patients with advanced ovarian and lung cancers who received same schedule of carboplatin-paclitaxel. The study was prospectively performed from February 2009 to July 2011 and involved 103 patients with stages Ic-IV ovarian (n = 51) and advanced NSCLC (n = 52) who were administered a maximum of 6 cycles of carboplatin-paclitaxel as a first-line treatment. Full blood counts were measured before treatment, before each chemotherapy cycle during therapy, and at the first and sixth month after therapy. The median ages were 59 years (range, 35-77 years) for patients with NSCLC and 56 years (range, 38-75 years) for patients with ovarian cancer. The frequencies of anemia were 17% and 28.6% before the initiation of chemotherapy, 39.2% and 68.0% at the third cycle of treatment, and 44.2% and 45.2% at the sixth cycle of treatment in patients with NSCLC and ovarian cancer, respectively. Initial leukopenia rates were 3.4% and 0%; at the third cycle 46.0% and 41.2%; and at the sixth cycle 41.9% and 48.8% in patients with NSCLC and ovarian cancer, respectively. At the third cycle, 2.5% of the patients with NSCLC and 10.4% of the patients with ovarian cancer had thrombocytopenia, and at the sixth cycle, 23.3% of the patients with NSCLC and 25% of the patients with ovarian cancer had thrombocytopenia. Hemoglobin, leukocyte, and platelet values at the third cycle were significantly lower than those at admission in both cancer groups. Declines in hemoglobin levels in patients with NSCLC and in platelets in patients with ovarian cancer at the sixth cycle were statistically significant compared with the third cycle. In conclusion, the same schedule of chemotherapy may lead to different myelotoxicities in different types of cancer. These results should be taken into consideration in terms of supportive care and management of toxicity.

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Versus Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Survival and Response to Treatment.

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) differs from classic invasive ductal carcinomas regarding incidence, pathogenesis, and prognosis. The purpose of this study was to compare patients with MBC with clinicopathologic and treatment-matched patients with triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) in terms of response to treatment, progression, and survival.Fifty-four patients with MBC and 51 with TNBC, who were treated at Istanbul University, Institute of Oncology, between 1993 and 2014, were included in the study. After correctly matching the patients with 1 of the 2 groups, they were compared to determine differences in response to treatment, disease progression, clinical course, and survival.At a median follow-up of 28 months, 18 patients (17.1%) died and 27 (25.5%) had disease progression. Metaplastic histology was significantly correlated with worse 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) (51 ±â€Š9% vs. 82 ±â€Š6%, P = 0.013) and overall survival (OS) (68 ±â€Š8% vs. 94 ±â€Š4%, P = 0.009) compared with TNBC histology. Patients who received taxane-based chemotherapy (CT) regimens or adjuvant radiotherapy had significantly better PFS (P = 0.002 and P < 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001) compared with others. In the multivariate analysis, MBC (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.09, P < 0.001), presence of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) (HR: 12.8, P = 0.05), and metastasis development at any time during the clinical course (HR: 38.7, P < 0.001) were significant factors that decreased PFS, whereas metastasis development was the only independent prognostic factor of OS (HR: 23.8, P = 0.009).MBC is significantly correlated with worse PFS and OS compared with TNBC. Patients with MBC are resistant to conventional CT agents, and more efficient treatment regimens are required.

Tongue metastasis of melanoma.

Malignant melanoma may metastasize to virtually any organs. Metastases to the oral cavity are uncommon and tongue metastases are very rare. The patient was a 79-year-old woman with cutaneous malignant melanoma. Lesion was widely excised and lymph node dissection was performed. She also had adjuvant chemotherapy. She is the unique malignant melanoma case who had recurrence on tongue 10 years later in literature. In conclusion, the prognosis of patients with tongue metastasis is poor and most of these patients have underlying widespread diseases.

Renin-Angiotensin system blockers may prolong survival of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving erlotinib.

The aim of this study is to determine whether renin-angiotensin system blockers (RASBs), which include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin-2 receptor 1 blockers (ARBs), improve the overall survival (OS) of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).The medical charts of 117 patients with metastatic NSCLC were retrospectively assessed. Thirty-seven patients (RASB group) using RASBs during systemic treatment were compared with 80 controls (control group) who did not use RASBs following the diagnosis of NSCLC. The histological tumor subtype, performance status, age, sex, smoking status, comorbidities, other medications, chemotherapeutics (CT), and erlotinib that were received in any line of treatment were recorded. We compared the OS of the patients in the RASB and control groups.The median (±SD) age of the patients was 61 (±1) years and all patients were administered systemic treatment (CT or erlotinib). The patients in RASB group were more likely to be smokers, have hypertension and ischemic heart disease, and use erlotinib, thiazides, beta-blockers, and calcium-channel blockers (P < 0.05 for all) compared with the control group. The median follow-up time was 18.9 months (range 1-102 months) for the entire group. The median follow-up period was longer for RASB group than control group (17 vs 11 months, P = 0.033). The most commonly prescribed RASB agent was valsartan (n = 12/37). At the time of the analysis, 98 (83.7%) of all patients had died. In the univariate analysis, the median OS was longer in the RASB group compared with the control group (17 [±4.1] vs 12 [±1.4] months, P = 0.016). Interestingly, further analyses revealed that RASBs significantly improved OS only if used with erlotinib concurrently (34 [±13.8] vs 25 [±5] months, P = 0.002) and the OS benefit was more attributable to ARBs because only 4 patients received ACEI and erlotinib concurrently. However, the benefit of ARBs on OS disappeared in the multivariate analysis.The use of ARBs during erlotinib treatment may prolong OS of patients with metastatic NSCLC.

D-dimer and international normalized ratio (INR) are correlated with tumor markers and disease stage in colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation of coagulation tests with various clinicopathological variables and tumor markers among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-four CRC patients were included for evaluation of clinicopathological factors, coagulation assays and tumor marker levels. RESULTS: Metastatic disease was related with elevated INR (p= 0.03). Stage III patients had higher D-dimer values compared with stage II patients (p= 0.03). Correlation of tumor markers indicated a tendency towards elevated D-dimer levels for CEA values higher than median (p= 0.01). High CA 19-9 levels were also associated with higher INR (p= 0.007). Elderly age, distant metastasis, high CEA, CA-19-9 and LDH levels were associated with poorer overall-survival. CEA level was the only independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Coagulation assays can be utilized as predictors of disease extent in CRC. Elevated D-dimer and INR values may indicate higher disease stage. Correlation of D-dimer levels with CEA supports their value for assessing tumor burden.

Combination of capecitabine and phenytoin may cause phenytoin intoxication: a case report.

Capecitabine is an oral antineoplastic agent, and phenytoin is an anticonvulsant drug with a narrow therapeutic index. Although the interaction between capecitabine and phenytoin is rare, it may be potentially fatal. This interaction is thought to be at the level of CYP2C9 isoenzyme system in the liver. Here, we present a patient with metastatic breast cancer who developed phenytoin intoxication when using capecitabine and phenytoin together. Closely monitoring plasma phenytoin levels is essential if capecitabine is used with phenytoin concurrently.

The behavior of Turkish cancer patients in fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

OBJECTIVE: Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is one of the major obligations for all adult Muslims. We performed a survey of Turkish Muslim cancer patients to examine the extent of their fasting status and to compare various clinical characteristics of fasting and non-fasting cancer patients during the month of Ramadan. METHODS: This study was conducted on 701 adult cancer patients who attended ambulatory patient care units answered the questionnaires. RESULTS: The population comprised 445 women (63.5%), and the median age was 54 years. Before diagnosis of cancer, 93.1% of the patients used fast consists of completely (78.3%) and partial (14.8%). However, 15% of cases were fasting on the day of interview, either partially (7.4%) or completely (7.6%) with equal distributions. Patients who were females, those with good performance status, those without any comorbid disease, who had non-metastatic disease, those with history of surgery, those treated with radiotherapy and those being treated with oral chemotherapeutic agents were more likely to be fasting than others. The fasting ones had more prevalent among patients with lymphoma, urogenital cancer and breast cancer; conversely, the rate of fasting status among patients with lung and gastrointestinal cancer was quite low. Only 20.8% of all patients asked their physician whether it was alright for them to fast and physicians generally had a negative attitude towards fasting (83.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Majority of cancer patients are not fasting during the month of Ramadan, and a small part of patients consult this situation to their physician.

High serum transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) level predicts better survival in breast cancer.

The transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) is a regulatory cytokine with both tumor suppressor and tumor-promoting effects in breast cancer (BC) cell lines and tissue. Data about level of circulating TGFB1 and its prognostic significance in BC patients is conflicting. The objective of this study is to determine the clinical significance of the serum TGFB1 levels in BC patients. We enrolled 96 female patients with histopathologically diagnosed BC who did not receive chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy. Serum TGFB1 levels were measured by ELISA method and compared with 30 healthy controls. The mean serum TGFB1 level of BC patients was significantly higher than controls (0.08 vs. 0.04 ng/ml, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference according to known disease-related clinicopathological or laboratory parameters. Serum TGFB1 level had a significant impact on overall survival in both univariate (p = 0.01) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.013). Serum TGFB1 level is elevated in BC patients and has a favorable prognostic value. However, it has no predictive role on CT response.

Serum levels of LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 have prognostic roles on survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Serum LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 levels are important tumor markers in pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of serum LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 levels in metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC) receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the outcome of 196 MPC patients who are treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy in our clinic. RESULTS: Positivity rates of serum LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 were 22, 40, and 83 %, respectively. Likewise, the rates of very high serum levels of tumor markers were correlated with these positivity rates (9 % for LDH, 30 % for CEA, and 55 % for CA19-9). The serum LDH levels were significantly higher in older patients (p = 0.05) and also in the patients with large tumors (p = 0.05), hepatic metastasis (p = 0.01), hypoalbuminemia (p = 0.01), and unresponsive to chemotherapy (p = 0.04). However, no correlation was found between both serum CEA and CA19-9 levels and possible prognostic factors (p > 0.05). The significant relationships were found between the serum levels of CEA and CA19-9 (r s = 0.24, p = 0.004), and serum LDH and CEA (r(s) = 0.193, p = 0.02). But, there was no correlation between serum LDH and CA19-9 levels (p = 0.39). One-year overall survival rate was 12.8 % (95 % CI 8-18). Increased serum levels of all the tumor markers significantly had adverse affect on survival (p = 0.001 for LDH, p = 0.002 for CEA, and p = 0.007 for CA19-9). However, no difference was observed in between high levels and very high levels of serum markers for all tumor markers (p > 0.05). Patients with normal serum levels of all three tumor markers had better outcome than others (p = 0.002) and those with normal serum LDH and CEA levels (whatever CA19-9) levels had associated with better survival compared with other possible alternatives (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Serum levels of LDH, CEA, and CA19-9 had significant affect on survival in MPC patients.

Intolerance to sunitinib treatment in hemodialysis patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Sunitinib is a multiple tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor that is approved for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, neither an appropriate dose nor dosing schedule of sunitinib has yet been established for patients with metastatic RCC who are on hemodialysis. Here, we report on two hemodialysis patients who received sunitinib to treat metastatic RCC. Sunitinib was planned to be administered at a dosage of 25 mg/d for 4 of every 6 weeks. Although sunitinib toxicity was manageable in one patient, disease progression occurred after 4 months of treatment. In the second patient, acute pulmonary edema, caused by uncontrolled hypertension, developed on the 15th day of sunitinib therapy and the drug had to be discontinued. Sunitinib is thus not well tolerated in a hemodialysis setting. Close monitoring of toxicity and dose manipulation may be required if such therapy is attempted.

Increased serum level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is associated with poor progression-free survival in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple malignancies, and its expression also strongly affects the outcomes of cancer patients. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of EGFR in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of EOC were enrolled into this study. Serum EGFR levels were determined by the solid-phase sandwich ELISA method. Age and sex matched 20 healthy controls were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Median age of patients was 56.5 years old, range 22-83 years. Majority of the patients had advanced disease (FIGO stage III-IV) (90 %). No significant difference in baseline serum EGFR levels between EOC patients and controls (65.9 vs. 65.4 ng/mL, p = 0.86). Patients with normal CA 125 had higher serum EGFR level compared with the higher CA 125 level (p = 0.02). No other clinical variables including histology, stage of disease, and response to chemotherapy were found to be correlated with serum EGFR assay (p > 0.05). The patients with increased serum EGFR levels had poor progression-free survival than those with lower levels (median survival 4 vs. 12 months, respectively, p = 0.01). However, serum EGFR level was found no prognostic role for overall survival (p = 0.15). CONCLUSION: Increased serum level of EGFR is associated with poor progression-free survival in EOC patients.