Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) have been cultured from a variety of human tumors, and some melanoma TIL have demonstrated specific, MHC-restricted recognition of autologous tumor in short term lysis assays. The current study investigates cytokine release by TIL as an indicator of specific tumor recognition. We have identified two of four melanoma and one of seven breast carcinoma TIL cultures that specifically release granulocyte-macrophage-CSF, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma after autologous tumor stimulation. The other cultures either do not secrete cytokine or secrete cytokine in a nonspecific fashion. The amount of specific cytokine released is directly related to the number of TIL and stimulating tumor cells. Studies of TIL, from two melanoma patients, separated into CD4+ and CD8+ populations revealed that CD8+ cells were responsible for virtually all of the specific cytokine secretion, although both populations released cytokines when activated by immobilized anti-CD3 antibody. Specific cytokine release by CD8+ TIL was inhibited by anti-MHC class I mAb. Specific cytokine release was also detected from a CD4+ breast cancer TIL culture, and this was inhibited by anti-MHC class II mAb. The clinical significance of this specific mode of immune antitumor reactivity is currently under investigation.
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PMID:Specific release of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and IFN-gamma by human tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after autologous tumor stimulation. 190 60

Lymphocyte blastogenesis (LB) with PHA, CON-A, PWM, VII (homologous tumor extract) plus T/B ratio for pre-IT, post-IT (2 months), and 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months prior to each VII booster are reported. Pre-IT and post-IT LB-PHA were similar for Stage I (ST I) or Stage II (ST II) breast cancer (BC) patients who expired or survived. The pre-booster results were similar except that prior to death, stimulation with PHA decreased. Melanoma (MM) patients LB-PHA pre-IT showed less stimulation for ST I patients than for ST II patients (survivors and expired). LB-CON-A and LB-PWM showed similar results with slight variations. When compared to survivors, LB-VII for BC patients who expired showed no stimulation. MM patients showed different results in LB-VII. T/B ratios for BC patients during the first 3 months showed 72% normal (N), 14% below N, and 14% above N for survivors and 40% normal (N), 60% below N, and 0 above N for expired. MM T/B ratio were not remarkable. LB anamnestic response to immune stimulation evaluated in 16 of the 62 BC and 10 of 81 MM patients showed increased peak levels over trough for survivors and a decrease for expired. The significance of data as in vitro correlates of clinical response is discussed.
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PMID:Immune responsiveness of patients with malignant melanoma and carcinoma of the breast. 192 55

Levamisole has been used in a wide array of clinical research and treatment settings over the past two decades, ranging from such diseases as helminthic infestations to various autoimmune diseases. Numerous preclinical evaluations and clinical trials with levamisole in the cancer arena have been sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and other agencies worldwide with the hopes of demonstrating anticancer activity. Trials in advanced breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma, and lymphoproliferative diseases have generally been negative or inconclusive. However, there is some indication that levamisole may be useful by itself as an adjuvant therapy for resected melanoma; recently it has been shown to be effective in combination with fluorouracil (5-FU) as adjuvant therapy for tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage III (Dukes' C) colon carcinoma. In the aggregate, the past 20 years of clinical experience with levamisole has resulted in as many questions as answers. However, further testing of the anticancer activity of levamisole can be expected in clinical research trials over the next few years. Hopefully, these future trials will include studies of the mechanisms of action of this agent.
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PMID:Levamisole: known effects on the immune system, clinical results, and future applications to the treatment of cancer. 194 Oct 64

A combination of 2 or 3 tumor markers was determined in the serum of 478 patients with malignant tumors. In 195 out of 213 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and without relapse or metastases, the Tg concentration has undetectable. In 9 patients with nonfunctioning thyroid metastases the Tg level was correlated with the progress of the disease or the success of the treatment. In 114 patients with gastrointestinal cancer CA 19-9, TPA and IAP were measured simultaneously. The highest discrepancies between patients with relapse or metastases (increased values in 1/2 of patients) and patients without relapse or metastases (increased values in 1/4 of patients) were given by CA 19-9. In the serum of 90 patients with breast cancer increased CA 15-3 values were found in 2/3 of patients with relapse or metastases and in 1/4 of patients without signs of tumor. A combination of universal tumor markers TPA and IAP had no value in monitoring 26 patients with melanoma.
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PMID:Tumor marker determinations. 195 Jun 43

Age-specific worldwide trends in cancer mortality were reviewed, with emphasis on cancer sites where increases have been reported in the USA. Cancer rates vary by factors as high as 30 between all countries, and 5-fold within and between industrialised countries. In Italy, Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, England and Wales, and the USA, patterns of cancer mortality have shifted uniformly over the past two decades. Stomach cancer continues to decline, while brain and other central-nervous-system cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and melanoma have increased in persons aged 55 and older. Cancer of the lung is starting to decline for men under age 85 and women under age 60 in England and Wales and men under age 45 in the USA, but is still rising for men and women in other countries. All forms of cancer are increasing in persons over age 54 except lung and stomach (which together comprise between 20% and 43% of all cancer in males in these countries). Studies of the quality of ascertainment and enumeration indicate that these increases are not attributable solely to diagnostic artifacts or to increased access to health care, although both these factors may be involved. These recorded increases in cancer should be assessed in greater detail to provide better projections of health care needs and to identify causal factors that may be controlled. The changes in cancer other than lung are so great and rapid that their causes demand intensive investigation.
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PMID:International trends in cancer mortality in France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, England and Wales, and the USA. 197 9

The nm23 gene was identified in murine melanoma cells, in which its expression is associated with the cells' metastatic potential. Expression of nm23 has been detected in human breast tumors by means of hybridization and immunocytochemistry. We measured nm23 mRNA in 71 patients with primary breast cancer and found variable levels of nm23 expression. The nm23 gene was expressed at higher levels in well-differentiated tumors (P less than .02). There was a significant inverse relationship between nm23 expression and nodal status (P less than .02). Expression of nm23 was positively associated with longer disease-free survival and overall survival, and the relationships were significant (P less than .002 and P less than .003, respectively). This study showed that nm23 expression in human breast cancer was associated with good prognosis and a lack of lymph node metastasis and suggests that the nm23 gene product may play an important role in suppressing the metastatic phenotype.
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PMID:Expression of the antimetastatic gene nm23 in human breast cancer: an association with good prognosis. 199 57

Patient delay in seeking care for cancer symptoms is common and well documented by research studies. Fear and denial, lack of information about cancer, and financial considerations all contribute to this delay. Patient education may be an important factor in decreasing the length of delay and thereby improving treatment outcome. By making good use of opportunities for patient education, primary care physicians may positively influence the prognosis of several types of cancer, particularly breast cancer and malignant melanoma of the skin.
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PMID:Why patients delay seeking care for cancer symptoms. What you can do about it. 200 Mar 49

Increased sialic acid levels reflecting tumor burden are found on the surface of T-lymphocytes and in the plasma of patients with carcinoma of the mammary gland. The data of the determinations of sialic acid content and distribution on T-cells, using microanalytical methods such as HPLC and a colorimetric test, show that the total sialic acid content is increased by about 60% and that nearly 80-90% of the sialic acids consist of N-acetyl-9-O-acetyl-neuraminic acid, in comparison to the healthy controls (not containing O-acetylated neuraminic acid). Investigations on lymphocytes of malignant melanoma patients show similar changes of sialic acid content and distribution on the cell surface. Increased sialic acid levels are also found in the plasma of patients with cancer but no O-acetylated derivative can be found. Furthermore the examinations show that the separation of the T-lymphocytes from the total lymphocyte fraction is not required. Determination of sialic acids in the total lymphocyte fraction can be a simplification in carrying out further diagnostic investigations. A high level of sialic acids as "antirecognition factor" seems to be not only a marker of tumor cells but also an attribute of T-lymphocytes, involved in the defence against the malignoma (malignant melanoma, breast cancer). Considering the possible contribution of sialic acid to the immunoregulatory protective mechanism during the first stage of pregnancy, sialic acid content and distribution on T-cells of pregnant women are investigated. Both an increase and a change in the distribution of sialic acids can be excluded.
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PMID:[Change in acylneuraminic acid content of T-lymphocytes and in plasma in breast cancer]. 201 48

This study tests whether malignant melanoma (MM) patients are at higher risk of having an unrelated second cancer by comparing the observed incidence of a second cancer in a given population of MM patients with the expected number in an age-matched and sex-matched group of healthy people followed for a similar period. The analysis was based on the person-years method in which the main consideration is the follow-up period after the diagnosis of MM. Of 370 patients with histologically confirmed MM, 27 (7.3%) had a second noncutaneous invasive cancer, diagnosed either simultaneously (within 6 months, five patients) or after the diagnosis of MM (22 patients). The follow-up period for the entire MM group was 1253 person-years, a period during which the expected number of cancer cases in the normal population, according to the Israel Cancer Registry, was 6.6. The observed-expected ratio or the relative risk (RR) was 4.1 (P less than 0.01). After excluding the five patients with simultaneous diagnosis of MM and a second cancer, analysis of the remaining 22 patients in whom MM definitely preceded the second cancer showed an RR of 3.3 (P less than 0.01). For the entire group, there were nine patients with breast cancer, five with head and neck cancer (two with thyroid and three with oral cavity cancer), five with gynecologic cancer (one with uterine and four with ovarian cancer), five myeloproliferative malignancies (one with lymphoma, three with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and one with myeloma), three gastrointestinal carcinomas (two with colon and one with stomach cancer), and two soft tissue sarcomas. When the differential analysis according to gender and age was done, it was found that the RR was higher for women (5.5, P less than 0.01) than for men where the RR was 2.2 (P less than 0.05). Differential analysis for various age groups showed that the trend for second cancer was consistent in all age groups, with a slight increase in the younger ones. None of the variables of MM, such as location of the primary tumor, level of invasion, or stage, were predictive for a second cancer. Furthermore, the RR for a second cancer did not relate significantly with the treatment given to the MM patient. Concerning the type of second cancer, it was found that the RR was especially high for breast cancer--6.6. These data indicate that MM patients may be at higher risk for having a noncutaneous invasive cancer compared with the general population.
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PMID:Are malignant melanoma patients at higher risk for a second cancer? 206 89

Predisposing factors to cervical cancer development are age, smoking, socioeconomical status, parity, and number of sex partners. Long-term oral contraceptive (OC) use and less than 50 mg estrogen dose have been weakly linked to increased cancer risk. Regular examination and switching to other contraception in case of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is recommended. Estrogen in sequential pills (Ovacon) increases the risks of uterine cancer by affecting the mucosa. Predisposing factors are: absence of pregnancy (nulliparity), postmenopause, hypertension, and diabetes. Parity reduces the risk. The risk is reduced in combined pills and after use of 1 year. Protection is offered by the progesterone component for 10-20 years after cessation of use. Ovarian cancer is prevented by parity and OC use even 10 years later. High estrogen levels inducing frequent ovulation damage the ovaries. Promoting factors are: old age, avoidance of breast feeding, and overweight. Breast cancer promoters are 1st pregnancy in older age, early menarche, and no pregnancy at all. OC use under age 25 and before 1st pregnancy are significant risk factors. High progesterone levels are associated with increased mitotic activity in the breast. Rare benign fibrocysts can develop into breast cancer. OC use is connected to hepatoma development mainly estrogen-induced. Liver cancer was found twice as high in OC users. Hepatoma often ruptures causing hemorrhage. 8% of liver tumors are malignant with a survival rate of 50% of patients to 4.8 years. The possible association of OCs to skin melanoma and hypophysial tumors could not be confirmed. OCs regulate menstruation, reduce bleeding, protect against uterine and ovarian cancer, but cervical and breast cancers have been influenced by them.
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PMID:[The contraceptive pill and cancer]. 207 68


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