Circulating tumour cells early predict progression-free and overall survival in advanced colorectal cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and targeted agents.

BACKGROUND: Early predictive markers for response are needed for advanced colorectal cancer (ACC) patients. We assessed the value of circulating tumour cells (CTC) in ACC patients treated with chemotherapy plus targeted agents (CAIRO2 phase III trial) and compared the results with computed tomography (CT) imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CTC were determined at baseline and at different time points during treatment. Patients were stratified into low (less than three CTC per 7.5 ml of blood) or high CTC (three or more CTC per 7.5 ml of blood). RESULTS: A total of 467 patients were assessable for CTC analysis. Among them, 129 patients (29%) with high baseline CTC had a significantly decreased progression-free survival [PFS; hazard ratio (HR) 1.5] and overall survival (OS; HR 2.2) compared with 322 patients with low baseline CTC. This difference remained statistically significant during treatment. The sensitivity and specificity of high CTC at baseline for the prediction of progressive disease on CT imaging were 16.7% and 70.1%, respectively, and of high CTC at 1-2 weeks after the start of treatment 20.0% and 95.1%, respectively. The combined analysis of CTC and CT imaging provided a more accurate outcome assessment than either modality alone. CONCLUSIONS: The CTC count before and during treatment independently predicts PFS and OS in ACC patients treated with chemotherapy plus targeted agents and provides additional information to CT imaging.

A randomised phase III study on capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab with or without cetuximab in first-line advanced colorectal cancer, the CAIRO2 study of the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG). An interim analysis of toxicity.

BACKGROUND: Targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor or the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has shown efficacy in advanced colorectal cancer (ACC), but no data are available on the combination of these strategies with chemotherapy in the first-line treatment. The CAIRO2 study evaluates the effect of adding cetuximab, a chimeric mAb against EGFR, to capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab in the first-line treatment of ACC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 755 patients were randomly assigned between treatment with capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab with or without cetuximab. The primary end point is progression-free survival. We here present the toxicity results in the first 400 patients that entered the study. RESULTS: The incidence of overall grade 3-4 toxicity was significantly higher in arm B compared with arm A (81% versus 72%, P = 0.03). This difference is fully attributed to cetuximab-related skin toxicity. The addition of cetuximab did not result in an increase of gastrointestinal toxicity or treatment-related mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of cetuximab to capecitabine, oxaliplatin and bevacizumab in the first-line treatment of ACC appears to be safe and feasible. No excessive or unexpected toxicity in the cetuximab-containing treatment arm was observed.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in pregnancy.

Two cases of pregnant patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are presented. ALL is rare in pregnancy. The basic principle of ALL treatment is combination chemotherapy with sequential administration of induction, consolidation and maintenance therapy, and this also holds for ALL in pregnancy. The prognosis of ALL in pregnancy is poor and termination of the pregnancy needs to be considered.

HIV-1 biological phenotype in long-term infected individuals evaluated with an MT-2 cocultivation assay.

OBJECTIVE: We have previously demonstrated that detection of syncytium-inducing (SI) HIV-1 in asymptomatic seropositive individuals is associated with rapid progression to AIDS. In the present study, we sought to develop and evaluate an HIV-1 phenotyping assay for the screening of large numbers of individuals. METHODS: Efficiency of HIV-1 isolation from patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was studied with donor PBMC or seven different CD4+ T-cell lines as target cells. The biological phenotype of sequential isolates from 20 long-term asymptomatic HIV-1-seropositive individuals was determined by two different assays. RESULTS: Non-SI isolates, efficiently recovered by cocultivation with donor PBMC, were never isolated with T-cell lines as target cells. Direct cocultivation with MT-2 cells, but not with six other CD4+ T-cells, resulted in the efficient recovery of SI isolates. HIV-1 MT-2 tropism and SI capacity were shown to be coupled properties at the clonal level. SI isolates emerged in 10 out of 20 longitudinally-studied individuals. In these long-term infected individuals, appearance of SI isolates was associated with progression to AIDS. CONCLUSIONS: Direct cocultivation of patient PBMC with the MT-2 cell line is a sensitive, specific and convenient method to detect SI isolates. The availability of an assay suitable for the screening of large groups allows further study of the value of HIV-1 biological phenotyping as a prognostic marker.

Arterial occlusive events during chemotherapy for germ cell cancer.

During four courses of chemotherapy for a disseminated testicular seminoma a 30-year-old man developed three arterial occlusive events and one silent myocardial infarction. The events occurred approximately 10 days after the start of each chemotherapy course. During chemotherapy suggested pathogenetic factors were monitored without observing any significant abnormality. After completion of chemotherapy the patient remained in a complete remission and free of new thromboembolic events. A review of possible pathogenetic factors is given.

Inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus by gamma radiation and its effect on plasma and coagulation factors.

The inactivation of HIV by gamma-radiation was studied in frozen and liquid plasma; a reduction of the virus titer of 5 to 6 logs was achieved at doses of 5 to 10 Mrad at -80 degrees C and 2.5 Mrad at 15 degrees C. The effect of irradiation on the biologic activity of a number of coagulation factors in plasma and in lyophilized concentrates of factor VIII (FVIII) and prothrombin complex was examined. A recovery of 85 percent of the biologic activity of therapeutic components present in frozen plasma and in lyophilized coagulation factor concentrates was reached at radiation doses as low as 1.5 and 0.5 Mrad, respectively. As derived from the first-order radiation inactivation curves, the radiosensitive target size of HIV was estimated to be 1 to 3 MDa; the target size of FVIII was estimated to be 130 to 160 kDa. Gamma radiation must be disregarded as a method for the sterilization of plasma and plasma-derived products, because of the low reduction of virus infectivity at radiation doses that still give acceptable recovery of biologic activity of plasma components.

Efficiency of white cell filtration and a freeze-thaw procedure for removal of HIV-infected cells from blood.

Strategies for diminishing the risk of blood transfusion-associated transmission of HIV-1 were evaluated. HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells were added to blood that was subsequently filtered by using different white cell (WBC) filters (cellulose acetate and polyester). The average log reduction of infected cells with polyester filters was at least 2.5 as measured by ID50 titration and polymerase chain reaction. In two WBC filtration experiments with blood from seropositive donors diluted 1:4 with seronegative blood, log reductions of 2.4 and greater than 2.5 were observed. No cell-free virus was retained by the filter used. A freeze-thaw procedure applied to HIV-1-contaminated blood resulted in a minimal log reduction. These results indicate that the reduction of HIV-1 infectivity as a result of filtration is mainly due to the removal of HIV-1-infected WBCs, and that complete removal of infected WBCs cannot be achieved by the current filtration or freeze-thaw procedures. However, the development of filters with enhanced ability to remove (possibly infected) WBCs may have the added benefit of improving the safety of donor blood, especially in multiply transfused patients.

Prognostic value of HIV-1 syncytium-inducing phenotype for rate of CD4+ cell depletion and progression to AIDS.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between detection of syncytium-inducing (SI), human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants, rate of CD4+ cell decline, and clinical progression. DESIGN: Prospective study during a 2.5-year follow-up period; cohort study with pairwise matched controls. SETTING: The Amsterdam cohort study on the course of HIV-1 infection in homosexual men. PARTICIPANTS: Asymptomatic HIV-1 infected men (n = 225) were tested for the presence of SI variants and were studied prospectively for CD4+ cell decline and clinical progression. In addition, 45 men with a defined moment of appearance of SI variants and 45 matched controls without SI variants were compared for CD4+ cell decline. MEASUREMENTS: Syncytium-inducing variants were detected by cocultivation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with the MT-2 T-cell line. RESULTS: During a 30-month period, 70.8% of the men with SI variants progressed to AIDS, compared with 15.8% of men without SI variants at entry (P < 0.0001). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis, controlling for CD4+ cell count and HIV-p24 antigenemia, showed a relative hazard for SI variants of 6.7 (95% Cl, 3.5 to 12.7). In the matched control study, before the appearance of SI variants, CD4+ cell counts of 45 men with SI variants and their controls were compared. Syncytium-inducing variants emerged at a mean CD4+ cell count of 0.48 x 10(9)/L(Cl, 0.42 to 0.54), coinciding with the onset of a threefold increased rate of CD4+ cell decline. Men developing AIDS with SI variants had decreased CD4+ cell counts (0.08 x 10(9)/L; 95% Cl, 0.05 to 0.12) at the time of diagnosis compared with persons progressing to AIDS without SI variants (0.25 x 10(9)/L 95% Cl, 0.15 to 0.41) (P = 0.0035]. CONCLUSIONS: The HIV-1 biological phenotype is a practical, binary marker for progression to AIDS, which is independent of decreased CD4+ cell counts and antigenemia. Appearance of SI variants, occurring 2 years before progression to AIDS on the average, is predictive for a significantly increased rate of CD4+ cell decline.

Evaluation of wet pasteurization of a factor VIII concentrate produced by controlled-pore silica adsorption.

In the routine production of a factor VIII concentrate (produced by adsorption of contaminating proteins in cryoprecipitate to controlled-pore silica and concentration of the factor VIII effluent by ultrafiltration) the terminal dry-heat treatment has been replaced by pasteurization in the liquid state. High effectivity of this procedure with respect to virus inactivation was demonstrated using a variety of both lipid- and protein-enveloped model viruses, including HIV. Pair-wise quality control of dry-heated and pasteurized product revealed no significant differences, except in the composition of the formulation buffer. In a clinical study in which 17 patients with haemophilia A participated the pasteurized product was well tolerated and in vivo recovery and half-life of factor VIII were in the same (normal) range as found for the dry-heated counterpart.