Association between CA 15­3 and progression of interstitial lung disease in a case of coexisting systemic sclerosis and recurrent breast cancer: A case report.

Carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) is known as a specific tumor marker for breast cancer, the main use of which is monitoring therapy in patients with advanced breast cancer. Either systemic sclerosis (SSc)-interstitial lung disease (ILD) or pulmonary arterial hypertension is currently the leading cause of disease-related morbidity and mortality in patients with scleroderma. Although CA 15-3 has been investigated as a biomarker in SSc-ILD, its role remains unclear. The current report presented a case of recurrent breast cancer diagnosed with SSc-ILD during treatment. The patient, at 63 years old, experienced shortness of breath with minimal exertion after four cycles of perutuzumab, trastuzumab and weekly paclitaxel. Computed tomography (CT) revealed ground-glass opacities and linear shadows in the peripheral lower lobes of both lungs. Although the development of lung involvement associated with breast cancer, such as carcinomatous lymphangitis, was initially suspected, because of the increase in CA 15-3, skin biopsies were taken from the left index finger base and extension side of the left elbow, which demonstrated increased thickness of the dermis, leading to a diagnosis of SSc-ILD. The findings in this case suggested the importance of considering a differential diagnosis, including ILD, concurrently while screening for the progression of recurrent breast cancer when encountering patients with breast cancer and elevated levels of CA 15-3.

Spontaneous regression of breast cancer with immune response: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous regression (SR) is a rare phenomenon in which a cancer disappears or remits without treatment. We report a case of breast cancer that showed spontaneous tumor regression in the surgical specimen after core needle biopsy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59-year-old woman came to our hospital complaining of a painful lump in the right breast. In the upper-outer quadrant of the right breast, a tumor with an unclear boundary, 30 mm in diameter, was palpable. In pathological findings from needle biopsy, the tumor was diagnosed as solid-type invasive ductal breast carcinoma. Partial coagulation necrosis was generated in estrogen receptor-negative, HER2-negative, and AE1/AE3-positive ductal carcinoma without infiltration of lymphocytes. Surgery for right breast cancer was then performed. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed the tumor was invasive ductal carcinoma with lymphocyte infiltration, coagulation necrosis, and fibrous tissue with hemosiderin. The tumor formed a solid nest, 3 mm in diameter, suggesting the possibility of SR. CONCLUSIONS: Immune responses, infection, hormones, surgical stress, and ischemia have been reported as mechanisms of SR. The findings in this case strongly suggest that SR of breast cancer is associated with anti-tumor immune responses.

Preventive effect of oral administration of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate derived from wasabi (Wasabia japonica Matsum) against pulmonary metastasis of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells.

AIM: Effect of oral administration of 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) or a 6-MITC-containing T-wasabi fraction from wasabi root (Wasabia japonica Matsum) to inhibit the macroscopic pulmonary metastasis was studied with a murine B16-BL6 melanoma model. METHOD: Two administration routes, subcutaneous or intravenous, and two administration times, prior to or concomitant with tumor inoculation, of 6-MITC or T-wasabi against the metastatic foci formation in C57BL/6J mouse lungs were compared. RESULTS: The number of metastasized foci per lung in either subcutaneous or intravenous injection was significantly reduced by intake of 6-MITC or a T-wasabi fraction. The maximum reduction by a T-wasabi fraction reached to 82%. Fifty-six percent of foci formation was inhibited by a 2 week-prior administration of 6-MITC (200 microM), whereas only 27% inhibition was obtained by a concomitant administration with tumor inoculation. Neither 6-MITC nor T-wasabi at tested concentrations showed any toxic effects. DISCUSSION: Together with our previous results, a component of the Japanese pungent spice, wasabi appears to inhibit not only tumor cell growth but also tumor metastasis. Therefore, 6-MITC from wasabi is apparently a useful dietary candidate for controlling tumor progression.

Selective sensitivity to wasabi-derived 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate of human breast cancer and melanoma cell lines studied in vitro.

Recently, attention has focused on the anticancer properties of an aromatic component 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) in a typical Japanese spice, wasabi. In this paper, anticancer activity of 6-MITC in vitro was studied by using a human cancer cell (HCC) panel. 6-MITC directly affected the cells in the HCC panel and inhibited their growth in culture. The mean concentration required to inhibit 50% of control cell growth was 3.9 microM, which is a sufficiently low dosage for practical use. The suppression influenced not only the cell growth, but also the survival of these cells. The mean concentration to suppress cells to a 50% survival was 43.7 microM. The reduction activity of 6-MITC was differential, and it suppressed specific cells. These severely suppressed cell lines included breast cancer and melanoma cell lines. For example, one melanoma line was seriously damaged at a concentration of 0.3 microM of 6-MITC. Compared with other MITCs (2-MITC, 4-MITC and 8-MITC), 6-MITC showed the most effective suppression and with the most specific manner of the cells mentioned above. A "COMPARE" analysis using a computerized algorithm, which was based on the HCC database, suggested that the suppression mechanism of 6-MITC is unique and may be different from that of other known chemicals. The actual mechanism may not a simple one but may involve multiple pathways. On account of its sufficiently small size, 6-MITC is a new possible candidate for controlling cancer cells.