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)

We sought to determine the functional significance of the c-kit receptor (Kit) in melanoma, breast carcinoma, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To explore these issues, we first screened cell lines of each type for c-kit mRNA expression using a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. We found that WM-39 melanoma cells, HTB-22 breast carcinoma cells, and A549 NSCLC cells all expressed c-kit mRNA. Of interest, all of these cells expressed the c-kit ligand, Steel factor (SF). We then assessed the functional significance of c-kit and SF expression by disrupting the gene's expression with antisense (AS) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) targeted to c-kit mRNA codons 1-6 and SF mRNA codons 2-7, respectively. Nonhybridizing sequences [sense (5) and scrambled (SCR)] were also employed as controls. WM-39, HTB-22, and A549 cells were exposed to ODN (approximately 25 microM) for 5-7 days. Downregulation of c-kit and SF mRNA, and c-kit protein was demonstrated in cells treated with AS ODN. Effects on viable cell growth were demonstrated by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) or 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4 -sulfophenyl)- 2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay. In fact, c-kit antisense ODN inhibited the viable cell growth of A549 cells 66% and 79% compared to sense and untreated controls (P = .0003; P < .0001). Additionally, WM-39 cell growth was inhibited 48% and 21% (P < .0001, P < .03) and HTB-22 cell growth was inhibited 50% (P < .001) compared to sense and untreated controls. Viable cell growth was also significantly inhibited by SF AS ODN compared to S and SCR controls in all cell lines. These results demonstrate that WM-39, HTB-22, and A549 NSCLC cells all express the c-kit and SF protooncogenes and suggest that the encoded receptor and ligand are important for cell growth. By finding the presence, and functional importance, of both the receptor and ligand in these cells, this study suggests the existence of an autocrine loop growth mechanism worthy of further study.
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PMID:Evidence for a functional kit receptor in melanoma, breast, and lung carcinoma cells. 917 36

The protooncogene HER2/neu encodes a 185-kDa transmembrane protein with extensive homology to the epidermal growth factor receptor. It is overexpressed in several human cancers of epithelial origin, such as pancreatic cancer. Previously, we demonstrated that cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) derived from breast, ovarian, and non-small cell lung cancer recognized a peptide derived from HER2/neu. To evaluate whether this HLA-A2-binding peptide is a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) in pancreatic cancer, the ability of HER2/neu-reactive CTL to lyse human pancreatic carcinoma cells was tested. CTL were generated from tumor-associated T lymphocytes from HLA-A2+ HER2/neu+ breast and ovarian cancer patients. All CTL recognized autologous and allogeneic HER2/ neu+ tumor cells in an HLA-A2-restricted fashion. Furthermore, all CTL recognized p654-662 (GP2) derived from HER2/neu. These CTL also recognized HER2/neu+ pancreatic cancer cells in an HLA-A2-restricted fashion. HER2/neu+ HLA-A2- pancreatic cancer were not or only poorly lysed. Repeated stimulation of HLA-A2+ PBL from pancreatic cancer patients using the HER2/neu-derived peptide resulted in specific recognition of this peptide and, more importantly, HER2/neu+ pancreatic tumors in an HLA-A2-restricted fashion. Autologous HLA-A2+ fibroblasts or HLA-A2+ malignant melanoma cells were not recognized. HLA-A2- peptide-stimulated T lymphocytes showed no significant cytotoxicity. These results demonstrate that this HER2/neu-derived peptide is a shared TAA among several adenocarcinomas including pancreatic carcinoma, suggesting a common mechanism of recognition of these human tumors by T lymphocytes. The identification of the HER2/neu-derived peptide GP2 as a TAA in pancreatic cancer provides an opportunity for the design of novel immunotherapy and vaccine strategies.
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PMID:The HER2/neu-derived peptide p654-662 is a tumor-associated antigen in human pancreatic cancer recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. 917

This study was conducted to identify tumor types warranting Phase II clinical trials of oxaliplatin using the human tumor cloning assay. Oxaliplatin was tested at concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 50.0 microg/ml in 1-h and 14-day continuous exposures along with 1.4 microg/ml carboplatin and 0.2 microg/ml cisplatin for comparison. We defined in vitro response as tumor growth inhibition >50% of control. In the 1-h exposure schedule, in vitro responses were observed in 9 of 116 (8%), 18 of 115 (16%), 38 of 103 (37%), and 7 of 13 (54%) tumor specimens at concentrations of 0.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 50.0 microg/ml oxaliplatin, respectively. In the 14-day exposure schedule, in vitro responses were observed in 10 of 121 (8%), 37 of 121 (31%), 57 of 106 (54%), and 15 of 15 (100%) tumor specimens at concentrations of 0.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 50.0 microg/ml oxaliplatin, respectively. Activity was observed against colon cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, and melanoma colony-forming units. In both cisplatin-resistant and cisplatin-sensitive tumors, the activity of oxaliplatin was concentration and time dependent. A 1-h exposure to 5.0 and 10.0 microg/ml oxaliplatin led to 7.4 and 23.4% in vitro responses, respectively, in specimens resistant to 1-h exposure of 0.2 microg/ml cisplatin. Moreover, 1-h exposures to 5.0 microg/ml and 10.0 microg/ml oxaliplatin showed in vitro antitumor responses in 10.2 and 24.3%, 17.2 and 34.5%, 10.0 and 20.0%, 6.7 and 16.7%, and 11.4 and 34.3% of specimens resistant to 1.4 microg/ml carboplatin, 6.0 microg/ml 5-fluorouracil, 3.0 microg/ml irinotecan, 10.0 microg/ml paclitaxel, and 0.04 microg/ml doxorubicin, respectively. The effect in those drug-resistant specimens was improved when oxaliplatin was used on the protracted exposure regimen. Our data indicate that oxaliplatin is an active drug in vitro against a large variety of human tumors. Both concentration and duration of exposure are important factors for oxaliplatin cytotoxicity. The broad spectrum of activity and the in vitro activity against some tumors primarily resistant to conventional anticancer drugs encourage further clinical investigations of oxaliplatin in patients with advanced cancer refractory to conventional chemotherapy.
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PMID:Activity of oxaliplatin against human tumor colony-forming units. 956 98

Recent data suggest that somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) are expressed on various tumor cells. High-level expression of SSTR on the tumor cell surface provides the basis for the successful clinical use of radiolabeled ligands for the in vivo localization of tumor sites. We have characterized the in vitro binding properties of the novel SSTR ligand 99mTc-P829 using primary human tumors (carcinoids, breast cancers, intestinal adenocarcinomas, pheochromocytomas, small cell and non-small cell lung cancer, and melanomas; n = 28), various tumor cell lines, and COS7 cells transfected with the human SSTR (hSSTR) subtypes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 99mTc-P829 bound to primary tumor cells and tumor cell lines with high affinity and high capacity. The dissociation constants (Kd) ranged between 1 and 20 nM. 99mTc-P829 also bound with high affinity to the transfected hSSTR2 (Kd, 2.5 nM), hSSTR5 (Kd, 2 nM), and hSSTR3 (Kd, 1.5 nM). Binding of 99mTc-P829 to hSSTR3 was found to be displaceable by unlabeled P829/([ReO]-P829), SST-14, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP; IC50, 2 nM) and, less effectively, by Tyr3-octreotide (IC50, 20 nM). In contrast, the binding of 99mTc-P829 to hSSTR2 and hSSTR5 could be displaced by P829/([ReO]-P829) and Tyr3-octreotide but not by VIP. 99mTc-P829 scintigraphy revealed in vivo binding to primary or metastatic tumor sites in seven of eight patients with breast cancer and six of six patients with melanoma. In summary, our data show that 99mTc-P829 binds with high affinity to many different types of primary and cloned tumor cells. Furthermore, our data identify hSSTR2, the VIP acceptor hSSTR3, and hSSTR5 as the respective target receptors. Because these receptors are frequently expressed at high levels on primary tumor cells, 99mTc-P829 appears to be a promising novel peptide tracer for tumor imaging.
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PMID:Somatostatin receptor subtype specificity and in vivo binding of a novel tumor tracer, 99mTc-P829. 958 24

Neuroendocrine differentiation of lung tumours is characterised by the expression of several neuroendocrine markers and is confined mostly to specific histological subtypes, i.e. small cell carcinomas and carcinoids. One of the markers seen in neuroendocrine tumours, high activity of the aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), is helpful in distinguishing the classic and variant small cell lung tumour subtypes. Here, we have analysed the expression and quantified the level of mRNA coding for AADC in human tumour cell lines by use of the reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). High amounts of mRNA were detected in classic small cell lung carcinomas and a neuroblastoma cell line. Other cell lines (melanomas, non-small cell lung carcinomas and osteosarcoma) also showed AADC expression, but the levels were 2-3 orders lower. Also, the tissue-specific (neuronal versus liver-specific) mRNA type has been estimated. Small cell lung carcinomas, neuroblastoma and melanoma expressed messenger RNA specific for neuronal tissues. Importantly, the non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines expressed either liver-specific (non-neuronal) mRNA (cell line A549) or predominantly the neuronal (cell line NCI-H520) AADC message. These data indicate that a range of tumour cell lines transcribe the AADC gene and that two distinct types of AADC mRNA which reflect the embryonal (neuronal or non-neuronal) origin of the tumour may be produced in non-small cell lung cancer cells.
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PMID:Expression of the aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase mRNA in human tumour cell lines of neuroendocrine and neuroectodermal origin. 961 91

Bisphosphonates are used in oncology as a means of decreasing complications due to bone metastases, in association with anticancer treatment, especially in patients with breast cancer, prostate cancer and myeloma. Little is known about the effects of bisphosphonates on bone metastases from other tumors and in particular from tumors for which no effective treatment is available. We conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of oral clodronate in patients with bone metastases from tumors poorly responsive to chemotherapy, with the aims of evaluating the effects of this drug on symptoms control and bone metastases evolution. Sixty-six patients with poorly responsive tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), bladder cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, kidney cancer, melanoma and metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin entered the study. Patients were randomized to receive either clodronate 1,600 mg/day for one year or identical placebo-containing tablets. Various parameters such as Karnofsky performance status, pain score (measured by a visual-analogue scale) and analgesic requirement were recorded at monthly intervals. Of the 66 patients enrolled, 9 were observed for one month or less; 7 were followed for two months; only 50 patients were followed for more than 2 months and could be adequately evaluated. At 3 months both clodronate and placebo-treated patients had a decrease in Karnofsky performance status, with the decrease being more evident in the placebo group. Mean pain scores showed an increase of pain in patients receiving placebo and a decrease of pain in patients receiving clodronate, although the difference failed to be statistically significant. Analgesics requirement increased in both groups, but significantly more in patients receiving placebo (p = 0.042), in whom increase in opioid requirements was particularly evident. Toxicity was low, with occasional gastroenteric discomfort in both groups. The main problem of this study was the difficulty in recruiting an adequate number of patients and following them for a sufficient period of time: general conditions rapidly deteriorated in many patients, and approximately 25% of the 66 enrolled were not considered evaluable; few patients survived for the length of the study, one year. This might partly account for the lack of significance of some of the parameters under study. With these limits, oral clodronate demonstrated some efficacy in symptom control and in reducing the need for analgesics.
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PMID:A double blind randomized study of oral clodronate in the treatment of bone metastases from tumors poorly responsive to chemotherapy. 970 May 83

Amifostine (WR-2721, Ethyol), S-2[3-aminopropylamino]-ethyl-phosphorothioic acid, was selected as a clinically usable radioprotector from more than 4,400 compounds in the 1950s. A considerable amount of preclinical work suggested that amifostine, or its activated thiol WR-1065, protected normal cells effectively against the adverse effects of irradiation and several anticancer drugs without exhibiting tumor protection. In non-randomized and randomized trials in malignant melanoma, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and epithelial ovarian carcinoma, amifostine significantly reduced the hematological and non-hematological toxicity of DNA-damaging agents such as alkylators, platinum compounds, or mitomycin C. In more recent studies, the drug also protected patients from side effects produced by taxanes or topoisomerase I inhibitors and is thus likely to allow higher cytostatic doses to be administered. Currently, there is no evidence that amifostine compromises the antineoplastic effect of the drugs studied. Otherwise, W/R-2721 may even improve the therapeutic efficacy of agents like cisplatin, carboplatin, or paclitaxel. Moreover, amifostine appears to produce growth-factor like properties resulting in growth-promoting effects on primitive blood progenitor cells ex vivo. Amifostine offers a rational approach to protect patients against chemotherapy-specific and often dose-limiting effects and is thus likely to improve therapeutic outcome significantly. Future studies should be focused on both new indications like childhood cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes, dose-intensified or high- dose chemotherapy, and multimodality approaches and optimization of amifostine dosage in order to reduce dose-limiting side effects. Then, the drug may play a major role in more specific and individualized oncologic strategies.
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PMID:Chemoprotection in anticancer therapy: the emerging role of amifostine (WR-2721). 970 84

Serum tumor markers may be helpful in early diagnosis of cancer, in the initial assessment of the extent of the disease, and in monitoring the tumor growth or tumor volume reduction once cancer has been diagnosed and treatment started. Recent studies have focused on a new family of markers -hematopoietic growth factors, especially on granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). A number of investigations have shown autologous production of GM-CSF in various human cell lines derived from melanoma, gastric or ovarian cancer, and in certain tumors of nonhematopoietic origin. In this study serum level of GM-CSF was measured using a sensitive sandwich ELISA system in 34 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) before and 10, 30, 90, 180 and 270 days after surgical operation. Additionally common accepted tumor markers such as CEA and CYFRA 21.1 were also assayed. Preoperative level of GM-CSF was significantly increased in cancer patients relative to the normal sera (p < 0.02). Concentration of GM-CSF and CYFRA 21.1 were decreased on 10th day, but CEA on 30th day after surgical treatment, although upon comparison of pre- and postoperative tumor markers serum levels significant difference was observed for CYFRA 21.1 (p < 0.05). Levels of GM-CSF were increased in 85%, CEA in 62% and CYFRA 21.1 in 51%. The diagnostic sensitivity and serum levels of GM-CSF were related to the stage of the disease and the combined use of two markers increased the sensitivity compared with the use of only one. These results suggest that GM-CSF, especially in the combination with CYFRA 21.1., may be useful in the diagnostic and monitoring of patients with NSCLC.
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PMID:[Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in diagnosis and monitoring of non-small cell lung cancer]. 976 Aug 5

A phase I study of a 96 h paclitaxel infusion with filgrastim support was performed to determine the toxicity, maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) and pharmacokinetics in patients with refractory solid tumors. In this phase I trial, the initial paclitaxel dose was 140 mg/m2/96 h followed by filgrastim (5 microg/kg/day s.c.) beginning 24 h after the paclitaxel and continued until granulocyte recovery. Cycles were repeated every 21 days. Patients with refractory solid tumors were eligible; however, only one previous chemotherapy regimen was allowed. The dose of paclitaxel was escalated by 20 mg/m2/96 h in subsequent cohorts until dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) occurred. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed by quantitating paclitaxel concentrations at baseline, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after the start of the paclitaxel infusion. Twenty-one patients were entered into this trial of which 19 were evaluable. A total of 52 treatment cycles were administered. DLT was seen in two of four patients at 200 mg/m2/96 h, and consisted of diarrhea, mucositis and granulocytopenic infection. The MTD of the 96 h paclitaxel infusion was 180 mg/m2 with filgrastim support. Mucosal and granulocyte toxicity were correlated with steady-state paclitaxel concentrations (Css) greater than 0.100 micromol/l. In the presence of liver function test 1.5 times or lower than normal, metastatic liver disease did not alter paclitaxel Css. Objective responses were observed in non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and melanoma. The recommended phase II dose of paclitaxel infused over 96 h with filgrastim support is 180 mg/m2. Paclitaxel Css correlate with mucosal and granulocyte toxicity. In the presence of normal enzymatic function, metastatic liver disease does not affect paclitaxel clearance.
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PMID:Phase I trial of a 96 h paclitaxel infusion with filgrastim support in refractory solid tumor patients. 977 5

We determined the expression of a newly recognized drug resistance gene, the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) gene, [Cole et al., Science (Washington DC), 258: 1650-1654, 1992], in normal human tissues and in >370 human tumor biopsies using a quantitative RNase protection assay and immunohistochemistry. MRP mRNA appeared to be ubiquitously expressed at low levels in all normal tissues, including peripheral blood, the endocrine glands (adrenal and thyroid), striated muscle, the lymphoreticular system (spleen and tonsil), the digestive tract (salivary gland, esophagus, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, and colon), the respiratory tract (lung), and the urogenital tract (kidney, bladder, testis, and ovary). The human cancers analyzed could be divided into three groups with regard to MRP expression. Group 1 consists of tumors that often exhibit high to very high MRP mRNA levels (e.g., chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Group 2 comprises the tumors that often exhibit low, but occasionally exhibit high MRP mRNA expression (e.g., esophagus squamous cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and acute myelocytic leukemia). Group 3 comprises the tumors with predominantly low levels of MRP mRNA, comparable to the levels found in normal tissues (e.g., other hematological malignancies, soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma, and cancers of the prostate, breast, kidney, bladder, testis, ovary, and colon). Using the MRP-specific mAbs MRPr1 and MRPm6, we confirmed the elevated MRP mRNA levels in tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry. We conclude that hyperexpression of MRP is observed in several human cancers, and that additional studies are needed to assess the clinical relevance of MRP.
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PMID:Expression of the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) gene in human cancers. 981 25


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