Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027819 (neuroblastoma)
 27,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The incidence of documented infections after autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells transplantation (PBPCT) was retrospectively evaluated in 86 consecutive patients (47 males 39 females; median age 36 years, range, 18-63) treated in our institution; 83 patients had refractory hematological malignancies (40 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 19 Hodgkin's disease, 17 multiple myeloma, 7 acute myeloblastic leukemia) and 3 had solid tumors (1 rabdomyosarcoma, 1 neuroblastoma, 1 osteosarcoma). All patients developed fever after transplantation lasting a median of 2 days (range 1-17); 20 instances of documented sepsis developed in 17 patients (19.7%). Gram positive microorganisms were implicated in all but 4 cases. There were no fatalities directly due to infections and no correlation was found between the risk of infection and reaching PMN > 0, 1 x 10(9)/L, PMN > 0.5 x 10(9)/L. In addition no specific risk factors related to age, disease, conditioning regimen, use of central venous catheter (CVC), type of transplant, and isolation measures were identified.
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PMID:Incidence of sepsis after peripheral blood progenitor cells transplantation: analysis of 86 consecutive hemato oncological patients. 966 90

High-dose therapy with autografting of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) has become an accepted treatment modality. However, gene-marking studies in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and neuroblastoma have revealed that malignant cells reinfused along with leukapheresis products (LPs) contribute to relapse. Thus, a reduction in the number of malignant cells in autografts is desirable. We analyzed the percentage of malignant cells and the number of CD34+ PBSCs in LPs mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) alone (LP-S) compared with high-dose cyclophosphamide plus G-CSF (LP-CY) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). A quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay involving CDR3-specific primers based on the method of limiting dilutions was used to determine the tumor loads of LPs. Sixteen LPs from eight patients with MM were analyzed intraindividually in matched pairs. The percentage of malignant cells was lower in LP-CY (p = 0.017; median 0.0067 vs. 0.009%), whereas the number of CD34+ cells was higher (p = 0.012; median 0.3 vs. 0.095%). The calculated number of malignant cells per CD34+ cell was significantly lower in LP-CY as well (p = 0.017). We conclude that mobilization by cyclophosphamide plus G-CSF leads to a lower number of malignant cells per CD34+ cell in LPs compared with G-CSF alone.
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PMID:Leukapheresis products in multiple myeloma: lower tumor load after mobilization with cyclophosphamide plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) compared with G-CSF alone. 972 32

Gene transfer is a potentially powerful tool for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. The transfer of these genes is achieved by utilizing a variety of vectors, including retroviral, adenoviral, adeno-associated virus (AAV) and a number of non-viral mechanisms. Numerous studies have successfully demonstrated transduction of genes into target cells with a variety of vectors, and have provided 'proof-in-principle' that gene transfer can result in prolonged in vivo expression of transduced genes, albeit at low quantities. Furthermore, gene marking studies in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and neuroblastoma have elegantly demonstrated that gene-marked tumor cells contribute to relapse following autologous transplantation. However none of the studies examining the therapeutic benefit of gene therapy has definitively demonstrated a clinically meaningful benefit. Nonetheless, the results of studies involving gene transfer for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), melanoma and lung cancer highlight the potential benefit of this strategy. This review will discuss mechanisms of achieving gene transfer into target cells. It will examine some of the pre-clinical and clinical results to date and will discuss some of the potential uses of gene transfer for therapeutic purposes.
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PMID:Gene transfer: a review of methods and applications. 983 7

We recently demonstrated that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, the rate-limiting enzyme of de novo cholesterol synthesis, was a potential mediator of the biological effects of retinoic acid on human neuroblastoma cells. The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, lovastatin, which is used extensively in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, induced a potent apoptotic response in human neuroblastoma cells. This apoptotic response was triggered at lower concentrations and occurred more rapidly than had been previously reported in other tumor-derived cell lines, including breast and prostate carcinomas. Because of the increased sensitivity of neuroblastoma cells to lovastatin-induced apoptosis, we examined the effect of this agent on a variety of tumor cells, including leukemic cell lines and primary patient samples. Based on a variety of cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays, the 6 acute lymphocytic leukemia cell lines tested displayed a weak apoptotic response to lovastatin. In contrast, the majority of the acute myeloid leukemic cell lines (6/7) and primary cell cultures (13/22) showed significant sensitivity to lovastatin-induced apoptosis, similar to the neuroblastoma cell response. Of significance, in the acute myeloid leukemia, but not the acute lymphocytic leukemia cell lines, lovastatin-induced cytotoxicity was pronounced even at the physiological relevant concentrations of this agent. Therefore, our study suggests the evaluation of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors as a therapeutic approach in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.
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PMID:Increased sensitivity of acute myeloid leukemias to lovastatin-induced apoptosis: A potential therapeutic approach. 994 74

The receptor tyrosine kinase Flt3 is expressed on the blasts of a high proportion of AML cases. We were interested in the expression and function of Flt3 on various human tumors. human tumor cell lines were tested for Flt3 expression by northern blot analysis and RT-PCR using head/neck (n=3), breast (n=4), ovarian (n=4), small cell lung (n=2), non-small cell lung (n=2), gastric (n=1), colon (n=3), pancreatic (n=1) and prostate carcinoma (n=1), choriocarcinoma (n=1), glioblastoma (n=5), neuroblastoma (n=1), melanoma (n=3), lymphoma (n=1), Hodgkin's disease (n=2), and leukemic (n=6) cell lines. With no expression on the other cell samples, 3 of 6 leukemic cell lines showed expression of Flt3 mRNA. The cDNA region corresponding to the juxtamembrane domain did not show any mutation as determined by sequence analysis. In all 3 positive cell lines, protein expression was verified by immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblot analysis. Although Flt3 is functional in these cell lines, as judged by ligand-dependent receptor autophosphorylation, it only mediates a proliferative response in 2 of the 3 cell lines. In conclusion, Flt3 is expressed exclusively in hematopoietic malignancies. Although early signalling events are detectable in all Flt3-positive cell lines tested, the expression of Flt3 does not predict a proliferative response of the cell lines. No internal tandem duplication of the juxtamembrane domain can be observed.
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PMID:Expression and function of Flt3/flk2 in human tumor cell lines. 1008 27

The epithet "less is more" is usually applied to the essentials of good design, but it might be equally true of autologous blood or marrow transplantation. Ever since autologous marrow transplantation was first used to reconstitute recipients of high-dose chemotherapy or radiotherapy, there has been much discussion about the relative contribution of residual tumor cells in the graft to the occurrence of subsequent relapse. It was not until the early 1990s that this risk was finally confirmed by the use of gene marking [1]. A retroviral vector was used to mark a proportion of the autologous remission bone marrow from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) before marrow infusion after high-dose therapy. Two recipients relapsed and both had leukemic blasts with the marker, the neomycin-resistance gene. As the safety of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has increased, the use of high-dose therapy followed by stem cell "rescue" is becoming more widespread. The malignancies treated in this way include leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, neuroblastoma, breast cancer, and ovarian tumors. In each of these conditions a number of important questions should be addressed: Can we identify and quantitate tumor cells in the grafts and establish their oncogenic potential? If so, how best can we remove them? Can they be removed without compromising the graft, and will such purging produce a clinically significant reduction in relapse risk? Finally, will the procedure be cost-effective?
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PMID:"Less is More": The Role of Purging in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. 1038 58

Data from the annual survey on transplant activity 1997, collected from 457 transplant teams in 31 European countries by the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) were used to describe current status and to assess relative and absolute changes in indication, donor type and stem cell source compared to 1991. A total of 16950 patients were reported to have a first blood or marrow transplant in 1997, a total of 18 923 procedures, including re- and double transplants were performed. Of the 16950 first transplants, 4751 (28%) were allogeneic, 12199 (72%) autologous transplants. Of the autologous transplants, 829 (7%) were bone marrow derived, 11370 (93%) from peripheral blood stem cells or combined bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants. Of the allogeneic transplants, 3311 (70%) were bone marrow, 1440 (30%) were peripheral blood stem cell transplants. In 1991, the respective figures were 2175 allogeneic (44%) and 2786 (56%) autologous transplants, more than 90% of the autologous, all allogeneic transplants bone marrow derived. Main indications in 1997 were leukemias with 5253 transplants (31%), 70% allogeneic; lymphomas with 6773 transplants (40%), 94% autologous; solid tumors with 4154 transplants (24%), 99% autologous; non-malignant disorders with 770 transplants (5 %), 85 % allogeneic. There was an absolute increase of 11971 transplants since 1991. An increase was observed in all disease categories. Marked differences were found, when the relative increase index (RII) for specific disease categories over time was analyzed. In allogeneic transplants, relatively more transplants were performed in 1997 for acute myeloid leukemia beyond 1st complete remission (RII 1.28), myelodysplastic syndromes (RII 1.58), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (RII 1.33) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (RII 1.58). For autologous transplant indications, a high relative increase index was observed in myelodysplastic syndromes (RII 3.77), in multiple myeloma (RII 2.12) and carcinoma of the breast (RII 6.37) with a relative decrease in leukemias (RII 0.39) and certain solid tumors such as glioma (RII 0.27) and neuroblastoma (RII 0.46). These data present the current status of blood and marrow transplantation in Europe. They show the change from bone marrow to blood as stem cell source and highlight shifts in indication. They provide a basis for patient counselling and health care planning.
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PMID:Blood and marrow transplantation activity in Europe 1997. European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). 1045 92

Seasonal trends in month of diagnosis have been reported for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). This seasonal variation has been suggested to represent an underlying viral aetiology for these malignancies. Some studies have shown the highest frequency of diagnoses in the summer months, although this has been inconsistent. Data from the Children's Cancer Group and the Pediatric Oncology Group were analysed for seasonal incidence patterns. A total of 20,949 incident cancer cases diagnosed in the USA from 1 January 1989 through 31 December 1991 were available for analyses. Diagnosis-specific malignancies available for evaluation included ALL, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), Hodgkin's disease, NHL, rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, Wilms' tumour, retinoblastoma, Ewings' sarcoma, central nervous system (CNS) tumours and hepatoblastoma. Overall, there was no statistically significant seasonal variation in the month of diagnosis for all childhood cancers combined. For diagnosis-specific malignancies, there was a statistically significant seasonal variation for ALL (P = 0.01; peak in summer), rhabdomyosarcoma (P = 0.03; spring/summer) and hepatoblastoma (P = 0.01; summer); there was no seasonal variation in the diagnosis of NHL. When cases were restricted to latitudes greater than 40 degrees ('north'), seasonal patterns were apparent only for ALL and hepatoblastoma. Notably, 33% of hepatoblastoma cases were diagnosed in the summer months. In contrast, for latitudes less than 40 degrees ('south'), only CNS tumours demonstrated a seasonal pattern (P = 0.002; winter). Although these data provide modest support for a summer peak in the diagnosis of childhood ALL, any underlying biological mechanisms that account for these seasonal patterns are likely complex and in need of more definitive studies.
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PMID:Seasonal variations in the diagnosis of childhood cancer in the United States. 1094 15

Incomplete response to therapy may compromise the outcome of children with advanced neuroblastoma. In an attempt to improve tumour response we incorporated 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) in the treatment regimens of selected stage 3 and stage 4 patients. Between 1986 and 1997, 43 neuroblastoma patients older than 1 year at diagnosis, 13 with stage 3 (group A) and 30 with stage 4 disease (group B) who had completed the first-line protocol without achieving complete response entered in this study. 131I-MIBG dose/course ranged from 2.5 to 5.5 Gbq (median, 3.7). The number of courses ranged from 1 to 5 (median 3) depending on the tumour response and toxicity. The most common acute side-effect was thrombocytopenia. Later side-effects included severe interstitial pneumonia in one patient, acute myeloid leukaemia in two, reduced thyroid reserve in 21. Complete response was documented in one stage 4 patient, partial response in 12 (two stage 3, 10 stage 4), mixed or no response in 25 (ten stage 3, 15 stage 4) and disease progression in five (one stage 3, four stage 4) Twenty-four patients (12/13 stage 3, 12/30 stage 4) are alive at 22-153 months (median, 59) from diagnosis. 131I-MIBG therapy may increase the cure rate of stage 3 and improve the response of stage 4 neuroblastoma patients with residual disease after first-line therapy. A larger number of patients should be treated to confirm these results but logistic problems hamper prospective and coordinated studies. Long-term toxicity can be severe.
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PMID:131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) therapy for residual neuroblastoma: a mono-institutional experience with 43 patients. 1060 36

This study evaluated male gonadal function in long-term survivors of childhood cancer and assessed the suitability of offering sperm analysis to all those patients independently of the diagnosis and treatment received. A total of 43 survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (21), acute myeloid leukemia (1), neuroblastoma (8), ganglioneuroblastoma (1), ganglioneuroma (2), Wilms' tumor (9), and mesoblastic nephroma (1) underwent sperm analysis at a mean age of 20.2 years, after a mean time off treatment of 13.6 years. Eight of the patients (19%) were azoospermic, 2 (5%) were severely oligo-asthenozoospermic, and only 16 (37%) were normozoospermic. A control group of healthy volunteers aged < or = 30 years included no azoospermic subjects, 7% severely oligo-asthenozoospermic, and 67% normozoospermic. Comparisons were also made with patients treated at our Human Reproductive Unit aged < or = 30 years (n = 373) whose percentages for the above parameters were 4, 9, and 42%, respectively. Cumulated cyclophosphamide dose and basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were identified as independent factors associated with azoospermia or severe oligo-asthenozoospermia. Azoospermic and severely oligo-asthenozoospermic survivors had significantly smaller mean testicular volume and higher basal FSH levels than the other survivors, but small testicles (sum of both testicular volume < or = 20 mL) and/or abnormally high basal FSH (> 10 mIU/mL) were present in only half of the azoospermic survivors. Male long-term survivors of childhood cancer constitute a high-risk subpopulation for altered sperm analysis. It seems justified to offer sperm analysis to all long-term survivors.
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PMID:Persistent altered spermatogenesis in long-term childhood cancer survivors. 1068 12


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