Tumor markers CEA and CA 19-9 correlate with radiological imaging in metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving first-line chemotherapy.

In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), radiological imaging represents the current standard to evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy. However, with growing knowledge about tumor biology, other diagnostic tools become of interest which can supplement radiology. The aim of the present study was to examine the correlation of tumor and serum markers with radiological imaging in patients with mCRC receiving first-line therapy. Patients were included if tumor (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9)) and serum marker (lactatdehydrogenase (LDH), γ-glutamyltransferase (γGT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), C-reactive protein (CRP), leucocyte count (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb)) levels were available at baseline and at least two times during treatment. The decline and increase of tumor and serum markers over time were approximated for each patient by estimating slopes depending on the radiological assessment. A linear mixed effects multiple regression model for each subject was used to evaluate the intra-class correlation of these slopes modeling tumor and serum marker changes with radiological imaging. Data of 124 patients (41 female, 83 male; median age 62.9 years, range 27-85) who received first-line chemotherapy for mCRC from 11/2007 to 04/2010 were analyzed retrospectively. CEA level slopes (n = 49; slopes = 102) differed between radiologically determined progressive disease (PD) and partial response (PR) (p = 0.005) and between PD and stable disease (SD) (p = 0.042). CA 19-9 level slopes (n = 57; slopes = 127) also showed a significant difference between PD and PR (p = 0.002) and PD and SD (p = 0.058). Furthermore, CRP slopes (n = 62; slopes = 134) differed significantly between PD and PR (p = 0.009). For LDH, ALP, γGT, Hb, and WBC, no correlations were observed. The results indicate the correlation of the tumor markers CEA, CA 19-9, and the serum marker CRP with radiological imaging in patients with mCRC receiving first-line chemotherapy. Further data analyses would be helpful to develop a predictive model for tumor response based on an early tumor marker increase or decrease.

Cytokine profile in cases with premature elevation of progesterone serum concentrations during ovarian stimulation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), leptin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-6, in cycles with a premature rise of serum progesterone. 25 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles with (Group 1) and 25 ICSI cycles without a premature progesterone elevation (Group 2) were included. The cut-off value of serum progesterone on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration was 0.9 ng/ml. The indication for ICSI was male factor infertility exclusively. On the day of hCG injection, serum IL-6, VEGF and bFGF were significantly higher in Group 1 (7.7+/-24.5 pg/ml, 290.2+/-161.4 pg/ml and 15.7+/-8.2 ng/ml respectively) than in Group 2 (1.7+/-0.7 pg/ml, 175.2+/-92.1 pg/ml, and 9+/-1.6 ng/ml respectively). On the day of follicular puncture, serum cytokine concentrations were similar in the two groups. IL-6 intrafollicular concentrations were higher in Group 1 (14.7+/-20.7 pg/ml) than in Group 2 (9+/-9.3 pg/ml, p=0.031). There were no differences regarding the ICSI outcome. Patients with serum progesterone above 0.9 ng/ml, have elevated serum concentrations of IL-6, VEGF, and bFGF, as well as elevated intrafollicular concentrations of IL-6. The outcome of ICSI cycles is not associated with premature elevation of progesterone when the cut-off value is set at 0.9 ng/ml.

[Role of bronchial epithelial cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]. / Bedeutung des Bronchialepithels bei der chronisch obstruktiven Lungenerkrankung.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by increased numbers of neutrophils in the airway lumen and increased infiltration of CD8 positive T lymphocytes both in the airways and in the lung parenchyma. However, the underlying reasons for these changes have not been fully investigated. Differences in bronchoepithelial activation in COPD patients may contribute to COPD pathophysiology since the bronchial epithelium does not act as a passive barrier but has the potential to orchestrate local inflammatory reactions by releasing a variety of inflammatory mediators. The expressions of several CXC and CC chemokines were studied in primary bronchial epithelial cells derived from COPD patients and smokers without airflow limitation. In addition, cDNA array technology was used to investigate the differential bronchoepithelial expression of cytokine and cytokine-related genes in COPD patients and lifelong non-smokers without airflow obstruction. Bronchial epithelial cells from COPD patients are characterized by increased expressions of CXC chemokines but not CC chemokines. In addition, CD 146 was identified as a new adhesion molecule showing significant upregulation in primary bronchial epithelial cells derived from COPD patients, on both the steady-state mRNA and protein level. These results suggest that the bronchial epithelium plays an important role in COPD pathophysiology.