Monocyte nadir is a possible indicator for neutrophil nadir during lung cancer chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: No previous study clearly demonstrated the association between the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) nadir and the absolute monocyte count (AMC) nadir among patients undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with an incurable lung cancer in two university hospital who were treated with platinum doublet or triplet. In this study, the nadir was defined as the lowest value during days 1-22. RESULTS: We observed 75 patients: 61 men (81%) and 14 women (19%), median age of 69 years. The number of days that elapsed between the first day of chemotherapy and the median ANC nadir of 12 days was longer than that for AMC nadir of 6 (Wilcoxon signed rank test: P < 0.001). The number of days that elapsed between the first day of chemotherapy and the AMC nadir was the only factor that had a significant correlation with that for ANC nadir (Spearman's rank correlation: r = 0.34, P = 0.003). Among 75 patients, 23 (31%) had an ANC at nadir <1000/µL. AMC at nadir of 100/µL predicted an ANC at nadir <1000/µL with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 56%. CONCLUSION: Both neutrophils and monocytes are differentiated from a common progenitor, a granulocyte macrophage colony forming cell, which can provide good explanation for the association between ANC and AMC nadirs. We would like to recommend physicians to observe the AMC nadir to predict the timing and severity of the ANC nadir.

Chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel after failure of primary chemotherapy for advanced thymic carcinoma. A report of three cases and review of the literature.

For patients with inoperable thymic carcinoma, multidrug chemotherapy containing cisplatin and an anthracycline is often used as first-line chemotherapy. A commonly applied regimen is cisplatin + doxorubicin + vincristine + cyclophosphamide (ADOC). There are relatively few reports on the use of carboplatin and paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy for thymic carcinoma. In addition, little is known about its efficacy as second-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma. We here report on three patients with thymic carcinoma who were treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel as second-line chemotherapy after failure of ADOC. According to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1, one patient achieved a partial response and two patients achieved stable disease. The median progression-free survival was 6.7 months and the median overall survival exceeded 3 years. Toxicities were well tolerated. Chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel appears to be effective as second-line chemotherapy for some persons with thymic carcinoma who fail ADOC.

Long-term remission achieved via combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a non-resectable granulocyte colony-stimulating factor producing pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung.

The prognosis is poor for patients with advanced pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung due to the generally limited response to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. It has been suggested the production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) by cancer cells may aggravate the disease progression. We herein report a case of a 73-year-old Japanese man with advanced G-CSF-producing pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung. First-line chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel had been suspended. Subsequent radiotherapy achieved a moderate volume reduction and an amelioration of the excessive G-CSF-related complications. Six cycles of second-line chemotherapy with docetaxel administered with good results. These combined treatments resulted in long term survival without progression of the disease.

Expression analysis of MIF4GD in the rat testis.

The difference between transcriptional and translational activities of genes is one of the remarkable features in spermatogenesis. In this study, we characterized MIF4GD (MIF4G domain containing), a possible translational regulator, to uncover the function during rat spermatogenesis. Western blot analysis revealed the presence of two forms of MIF4GD with molecular sizes of 25 and 16 kDa in various tissues including the testis. An additional 20-kDa form of MIF4GD was also found exclusively in the testis. These three proteins were abundantly present in pachytene spermatocytes and haploid spermatids. Importantly, the 16-kDa MIF4GD was distinguished from the 25- and 20-kDa proteins by presence in fractions of 40S subunits and ribosomes of spermatogenic cells according to analysis of subcellular localizations. These results suggest that the 16-kDa MIF4GD may function as a translational regulator in spermiogenesis.

Surface localization of the nuclear receptor CAR in influenza A virus-infected cells.

Constitutive active/androstane receptor CAR is a member of the nuclear receptors which regulate transcription of xenobiotic metabolism enzymes. CAR is usually localized in the cytosol and nucleus. Here, we found that CAR was localized at the cell surface of influenza A virus (IAV)-infected cells. Additionally, we demonstrated that expression of a viral envelope glycoprotein, either hemagglutinin (HA) or neuraminidase (NA), but not viral nucleoprotein (NP), was responsible for this localization. This report is the first demonstration of CAR at the surface of tissue culture cells, and suggests that CAR may exert the IAV infection mechanism.