ISRN Oncology

Purpose. We evaluated the impact a prior cancer diagnosis had on the risk of prostate-cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) and all-cause mortality (ACM) in men with PC. Methods. Using the SEER data registry, 166,104 men (median age: 66) diagnosed with PC between 2004 and 2007 comprised the study cohort. Competing risks and Cox regression were used to evaluate whether a prior cancer diagnosis impacted the risk of PCSM and ACM adjusting for known prognostic factors PSA level, age at and year of diagnosis, race, and whether PC treatment was curative, noncurative, or active surveillance (AS)/watchful waiting (WW)...

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) results from the clonal expansion of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells containing the active BCR/ABL fusion gene produced by a reciprocal translocation of the ABL1 gene to the BCR gene. The BCR/ABL protein displays a constitutive tyrosine kinase activity and confers on leukemic cells growth and proliferation advantage and resistance to apoptosis. Introduction of imatinib (IM) and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has radically improved the outcome of patients with CML and some other diseases with BCR/ABL expression...

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common cancers and the second leading cause of mortality from cancer in Colombian men. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups have been associated with the risk of PC. Several studies have demonstrated dramatic differences regarding the risk of PC among men from different ethnic backgrounds. The present study was aimed at assessing the relationship between mtDNA haplogroups and PC. The mitochondrial DNA hypervariable segment I (HSV-1) was sequenced in a population-based study covering 168 cases (CA) and 140 unrelated healthy individuals as a control group (CG)...

Treatment planning is a trial and error process that determines optimal dwell times, dose distribution, and loading pattern for high dose rate brachytherapy. Planning systems offer a number of dose calculation methods to either normalize or optimize the radiation dose. Each method has its own characteristics for achieving therapeutic dose to mitigate cancer growth without harming contiguous normal tissues. Our aim is to propose the best suited method for planning interstitial brachytherapy. 40 cervical cancer patients were randomly selected and 5 planning methods were iterated...

Aim. To evaluate the dosimetric benefits of flattening filter-free (FFF) photon beams in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and Rapid Arc (RA) over conventional CSI methods. Methods and Materials. Five patients treated with IMRT using static multileaf collimators (MLC) were randomly selected for this retrospective study. Dynamic MLC IMRT, RA, and conformal therapy (3DCRT) were iterated with the same CT data sets with and without flattening filter photons. Total dose prescribed was 28.80 Gy in 16 fractions...

Background. The aim of this systematic review is to attempt to provide a descriptive analysis for cases of synovial sarcoma (SS) arising in the mediastinum and to analyze prognostic factors. Methods. We performed PubMed database search in July 2013. Twenty-two studies, which included 40 patients, form the basis of this review. Demographic and disease-related factors were analyzed for possible influence on survival. Findings were compared with extremity SS studies reported in literature. Results. Sixteen cases (40%) presented with locally advanced unresectable disease, 2 (5%) with metastatic disease, and 22 (55%) with localized resectable disease...

Recognizing the importance of identifying patients at high risk for inherited cancer predisposition, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has outlined specific family history patterns associated with an increased risk for BRCA mutations. However, national data indicate a need to facilitate the ability of primary care providers to appropriately identify high risk patients. Once a patient is identified as high risk, it is necessary for the patient to undergo a detailed genetics evaluation to generate a differential diagnosis, determine a cost-effective genetic testing strategy, and interpret results of testing...

In previous studies we found that uveal melanoma cells grown in extracellular matrix (ECM)-containing three-dimensional (3D) cultures have increased resistance against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-mediated destruction relative to cells cultured without ECM. Using additional tumor cell types including MB-231 human breast cancer cells, PC-3 human prostate cancer cells, and P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma cells, we show here that tumor cell lines other than melanoma are also more resistant to HSV-1-mediated destruction in 3D cultures than cells grown in 2D...

Background. Assessment of the ratio between tumour volume and breast volume in therapeutic mammoplasty is paramount. Traditionally based on clinical assessment and conventional breast imaging, the role of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in this context has not been established. Methods. Data was collected from all women undergoing therapeutic mammoplasty (TM) between 2006 and 2011. Each case was discussed at an MDT where MRI was considered to facilitate surgical planning. The contribution of MRI to disease assessment and surgical outcome was then reviewed...

Although the functions of chemokines in the regulation of immune processes have been studied in some detail, the role of these biomolecules in cancer is not fully understood. Chemokines mediate migration of immune cells and other functions related to immunity. They are also involved in oncogenesis and in tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis through mechanisms similar to their roles in immune functions. Various chemokines also promote cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis of stressed cells. Consequently, chemokines and their receptors present potential therapeutic targets for anticancer drugs...

Surgical management of breast cancer has evolved considerably over the last two decades. There has been a major shift toward less-invasive local treatments, from radical mastectomy to breast-conserving therapy (BCT) and oncoplastic breast surgery (OBS). In order to investigate the efficacy of each of the three abovementioned methods, a literature review was conducted for measurable outcomes including local recurrence, survival, cosmetic outcome, quality of life (QOL), and health economy. From the point of view of oncological result, there is no difference between mastectomy and BCT in local recurrence rate and survival...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the clonal proliferation and accumulation of mature B lymphocytes. CLL cells show an antiapoptotic profile, suggesting the important role of apoptosis inhibition in the disease development. However, there is some population of proliferating CLL cells, which may also play a role in progression of the disease. There are several newer, biological prognostic factors in CLL. Currently, cytogenetic abnormalities with different prognostic values seem to be the most biologically relevant...

This study presents a radiobiological formalism for the evaluation of the treatment plans with respect to the probability of controlling tumours treated with stereotactic radiosurgery accounting for possible infiltrations of malignant cells beyond the margins of the delineated target. Treatments plans devised for three anaplastic astrocytoma cases were assumed for this study representing cases with different difficulties for target coverage. Several scenarios were considered regarding the infiltration patterns...

Esophageal cancer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) is the leading cancer in men with a poor prognosis. A case control study (n = 159) aimed at the histology type, gender, and risk indicators was carried out at MTRH. Mantel Haenszel chi-square and logistic regression were employed for analysis. Squamous-cell carcinoma was the common histological type occurring in the middle third portion of the oesophagus. The occurrence of the cancer in males was 1.4 times that of females. The mean age was 56.1 yrs...

Background. Paraneoplastic syndromes (PNS) such as hypercalcaemia, hypercholesterolaemia, and erythrocytosis have been described in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Aims. (1) To examine the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and survival of PNS in HCC patients and (2) to evaluate the extent to which each individual PNS impacts on patient survival. Methods. We prospectively evaluated the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and survival of PNS among 457 consecutive HCC patients seen in our department over a 10-year period and compared them with HCC patients without PNS...

Objective. To explore prognostic characteristics for locoregional recurrence, distant recurrence, and mortality in patients with breast cancer. Methods. A 5-year retrospective review of patients was conducted in two university affiliated hospitals in the north of Thailand. Prognostic characteristics and clinical outcomes were retrieved from medical registry. Death was verified by the civil database from the Ministry of Interior, direct telephone contact, or by prepaid postcard. Data were analyzed by stratified Cox's regression proposed by Lunn & McNeil, in which multiple-typed outcomes were analyzed in a single multivariable model...

THE MAJORITY OF MALIGNANT CELLS PRESENT GENETIC INSTABILITY WITH CHROMOSOME NUMBER CHANGES PLUS SEGMENTAL DEFECTS: these changes involve intact chromosomes and breakage-induced alterations. Some pathways of chromosomal instability have been proposed as random breakage, telomere fusion, and centromere fission. Chromosome alterations in tumor cells have been described in animal models and in vitro experiments. One important question is about possible discrepancies between animal models, in vitro studies, and the real events in cancer cells in vivo...

The ability to selectively and directly target activated Ras would provide immense utility for treatment of the numerous cancers that are driven by oncogenic Ras mutations. Patients with disorders driven by overactivated wild-type Ras proteins, such as type 1 neurofibromatosis, might also benefit from progress made in that context. Activated Ras is an extremely challenging direct drug target due to the inherent difficulties in disrupting the protein:protein interactions that underlie its activation and function...

Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) has emerged as a preferred treatment for gynecologic malignancies. Yet its superiority to conventional radiotherapy (2-dimensional radiotherapy (2DRT)) for gynecologic malignancies has not been well established. Data from the 2005 to 2010 National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) provided by the National Research Institutes in Taiwan were analyzed to address this issue. Patients were initially diagnosed as having cervical cancer according to the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code 180, and this clinical diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically or cytologically...

Objective. The effect of extracted crude soybean saponins on preneoplastic lesions, aberrant crypt foci (ACF), and the related mechanism were investigated. Research Methods and Procedures. Rats were assigned into five groups according to different doses of extracted crude soybean saponins and received 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) injection in week 5. In week 15, all rats were sacrificed. The number of ACFs, the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein expression, the level of prostaglandins E2 (PGE2), and the activity of β -glucuronidase were examined...