Cancer science
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The aim of this study was to determine whether pretreatment status of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) could predict pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and outcomes for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). A total of 119 patients diagnosed with LARC received standardized multimodal treatment. Their HER-2 status was determined in pretreatment biopsies by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and FISH. ⋯ HER-2 status could not predict pathologic response to nCRT based on downstaging (P = 0.210) and tumor regression grade (P = 0.085) but it provides us with a trend that HER-2-positive tumors may be resistant to nCRT. Positive HER-2 status was significantly associated with poor 5-year disease-free survival (P = 0.015) and 5-year overall survival (P = 0.026). It can act as a worse prognostic factor for LARC patients.
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Macrophage inhibitory factor 1 (MIC1) is frequently altered in various cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of MIC1 for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Serum MIC1 of 286 ESCC and 250 healthy subjects was detected, the diagnostic performance was assessed and compared with SCC, CEA, CA199 and CA724, and the value as a prognostic indicator was also evaluated. ⋯ The antibody of MIC1 inhibited the tumor growth (P < 0.001), and showing preference for tumor tissues in xenograft model. The decreased formation of neovascularization lumen may be involved in the mechanism. We conclude that MIC1 plays an important role in the progression of ESCC and can serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for ESCC.
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Aromatase inhibitors have played a central role in endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women. However, factors predictive of the efficacy of aromatase inhibitors, and prognostic factors, both for early and late recurrence in women treated with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors have not been identified. Whole genome analysis identified that a TP53 gene mutation exists in ER-positive breast cancers, although the frequency of TP53 gene mutation in luminal tumors is lower compared with basal-like or human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancers. ⋯ Compared with women without recurrence, women with early recurrence had significantly higher p53 expression (P < 0.0001), as did women with late recurrence (P = 0.037). The present study demonstrates that p53 accumulation is a strong predictor of both early and late recurrence in ER-positive breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors as adjuvant endocrine therapy. TP53 gene alteration might be a key biological characteristic of ER-positive breast cancer.
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Recent studies have shown that metabolic tumor volume (MTV) by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is an important prognostic parameter in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, it is unknown whether doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine (ABVD) alone in early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma would lead to similar disease control as combined modality therapy (CMT) using MTV by PET/CT. One hundred and twenty-seven patients with early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma who underwent PET/CT at diagnosis were enrolled. ⋯ ABVD alone was sufficient to control disease in those with low MTV status. However, survival was poor, even if the CMT was assigned a high MTV status. The MTV would be helpful for deciding the therapeutic modality in patients with early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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Although cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor for lung cancer, histology-specific risk has not been fully clarified in Japan. This case-control study evaluated the associations between smoking and lung cancer risk according to sex and histologic type. From among patients aged 30 years and over admitted to a single hospital in Japan between 1997 and 2009, 1670 lung cancer cases and 5855 controls were selected. ⋯ For adenocarcinoma, clear positive associations with quantity and duration-related factors were observed among men, and a significant positive association with passive smoking from spouses was found among non-smoking women (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.06-1.95). These results suggest sex- and histologic type- differences in the association of smoking with lung cancer risk. Although smoking control should be continued to prevent lung cancers, further studies are required to better clarify differences in smoking-related lung cancer risk between the sexes and histologic types.