Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0278488 (metastatic breast cancer)
 7,812 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) immune response has been well documented in melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and ovarian cancer. Conflicting evidence exists regarding the existence of tumor-specific CTL populations in breast cancer. Tumor cells and tumor-associated lymphocytes (TAL) were isolated from the pleural effusions of six consecutive patients with metastatic breast cancer. After solid-phase anti-CD3 stimulation, TAL cultures were expanded with weekly autologous tumor stimulation and low-dose IL-2 for 3 wk. T cell populations were characterized using flow cytometric analysis and ranged from 49 to 91% CD8+, > 98% CD3+, and < 3% CD16+. Functionally, tumor-stimulated TAL showed tumor-specific recognition of autologous tumor cells (241 +/- 142 LU20/10(7)) and no detectable lysis of autologous fibroblasts, Daudi or K562. Cytotoxicity of TAL against HLA-A2+ allogeneic targets was significantly higher when compared with HLA-A2- tumor cell lines (127 +/- 76 vs 6 +/- 18 LU, p = 0.0001). This cytotoxicity against autologous and allogeneic tumor cells was blocked by anti-HLA-A2 mAb and cold HLA-A2+ targets in cold-target inhibition assays. TAL from all HLA-A2+ patients recognized GP2, a known, HER2/neu-derived tumor-associated peptide Ag that is HLA-A2 restricted. We have shown that TAL obtained from metastatic effusions of breast cancer patients contain lymphocytes that can recognize and lyse autologous and allogeneic tumor cells in a tumor-specific, HLA-A2-restricted fashion. In addition, tumor-specific TAL derived from breast cancer patients can selectively lyse HLA-A2+ pancreatic and ovarian tumor cell targets, suggesting a common HLA-A2-restricted tumor-associated Ag between these distinct epithelial cancers. Further elucidation of the cell-mediated immune response to breast cancer and the identification of shared TAA could result in the development of broadly applicable vaccine therapies for many cancers.
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PMID:Tumor-specific and HLA-A2-restricted cytolysis by tumor-associated lymphocytes in human metastatic breast cancer. 759 11

Cytokine-supported ex vivo expansion of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) offers new perspectives for autografting after high-dose chemotherapy. One of the potential advantages is the possibility to reduce the volume of blood processed from the patient, thus allowing reduction of the overall tumor cell number in the final autograft. However, ex vivo expansion will only be advantageous if contaminating tumor cells are not expanded concomitantly. This question has not previously been addressed. Therefore, we analyzed unseparated PBPC preparations, CD34(+)-selected cell fractions, and ex vivo-expanded cell preparations from stage IV (n = 16) and high-risk stage II/III (n = 8) breast cancer patients for the presence of human epithelial antigen- (HEA) or cytokeratin (CK)-positive tumor cells. We found that three of 16 (18.8%) of the unseparated PBPC products from stage IV patients were HEA- and/or CK-positive, whereas none of the stage II/III patients were found to be positive after two cycles of induction chemotherapy with etoposide (VP16), ifosfamide, cisplatin, and epirubicin (VIP-E). After CD34+ cell selection (Ceprate SC; CellPro, Bothell, WA) and stem-cell factor (SCF), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-3, IL-6, and erythropoietin (EPO)-mediated ex vivo expansion of the CD34+ cells for 14 to 21 days, no tumor cells could be detected in these primary breast cancer patients at a sensitivity of 1 tumor cell per 4 x 10(5) nucleated cells. Thus, to answer the question of whether tumor cells are expanded concomitantly on ex vivo expansion of normal CD34+ cells, we cocultured defined numbers of primary renal carcinoma cells (RS-85), xenograft-derived breast cancer cells, and small-cell lung cancer cells with CD34+ cells selected from normal donors or cancer patients, either in serum or serum-free culture media. We found that none of the three epithelial tumor cell types increased significantly in number during a 14-day coculture period when compared with normal CD34+ cells alone or tumor cells alone, which increased 110- +/- 77-fold and 45- +/- 26-fold, respectively. However, during coculture, the tumor cells did not undergo cell death and were able to regrow when maintained in serum for longer time periods. We conclude that cytokine-supported expansion cultures of positively selected CD34+ PBPCs from primary high-risk stage II/III or stage IV breast cancer patients do not contain detectable tumor cells, which suggests that there is no increased risk of concomitantly expanding tumor cells. Moreover, cocultures of exogenously mixed tumor cell lines with normal CD34+ cells showed a relative disadvantage of tumor cell growth compared with the growth of hematopoietic cells, again without an apparent risk of concomitantly expanding tumor cells. However, considering the pronounced heterogeneity of tumor cell kinetics, ex vivo-expanded PBPC from cancer patients should be monitored for minimal residual disease.
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PMID:Ex vivo expansion of CD34+ peripheral blood progenitor cells: implications for the expansion of contaminating epithelial tumor cells. 883 66

We evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of a reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen of fludarabine and melphalan to achieve rapid complete donor chimerism after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in patients with metastatic solid tumors. Between January 1999 and January 2003, 8 patients with metastatic breast cancer (BC) and 15 with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) underwent allogeneic SCT after an RIC regimen of 5 days of fludarabine and 2 days of melphalan. Filgrastim-mobilized stem cells from HLA-identical related or unrelated donors were infused. Prophylaxis for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) consisted of tacrolimus and methotrexate. All 22 evaluable patients had 100% donor chimerism at day 30 and at all measurement times thereafter. One patient died 19 days after SCT. Nine patients (39%) had grades II to IV acute GVHD and 10 patients (43%) had chronic GVHD. Five patients (22%) died of nonrelapse treatment-related complications. Treatment-related disease response was seen in 10 patients (45%), with 3 complete responses, 2 partial responses, and 5 minor responses. Fludarabine-melphalan is a feasible and effective RIC regimen for allogeneic SCT in metastatic BC and RCC. It induces rapid complete donor chimerism without the need for donor lymphocyte infusion. Tumor regression associated with GVHD is consistent with graft-versus-tumor effect.
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PMID:Rapid induction of complete donor chimerism by the use of a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen composed of fludarabine and melphalan in allogeneic stem cell transplantation for metastatic solid tumors. 1288 8

An international meeting on 'New Drugs in Cancer Therapy' was held at the National Tumor Institute of Naples, on 17-18 June 2004. The first session of the meeting focused on analogs of conventional anti-cancer drugs, such as taxanes, platinum compounds, anthracyclines and topoisomerase I inhibitors. The data of a phase II trial of BMS-247550, an epothilone B analog, in patients with renal cell carcinoma were reported. Data were also presented on BBR-3464, a trinucleate platinum analog which was developed on the grounds of greater potency, a more rapid rate of DNA binding and the ability to induce apoptosis regardless of the p53 status of the cell. Pegylated-coated liposomal formulation doxorubicin (Caelyx) has shown efficacy in metastatic breast cancer and in advanced ovarian cancer; sabarubicin is a third-generation anthracycline with equal or superior potency to doxorubicin or idarubicin in a variety of human tumor cell lines of different histotypes. The main mechanisms of resistance to topoisomerase I inhibitors were discussed; data on diflomotecan were reported, showing a narrow therapeutic index of the drug. The second session of the meeting focused on the ErbB family as a target for anti-cancer therapy. Recent evidence of a correlation between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations at exons 18-21 and clinical response of advanced non-small cell lung cancer to gefitinib therapy was commented on. The issue of the association between ErbB2 expression and gefitinib activity was addressed, while clinical data of a phase II study of gefitinib in advanced breast cancer were presented. Monoclonal antibodies targeting EGFR represent another worthwhile way to interfere with EGFR-driven signal transduction. Cetuximab is reaching market registration in advanced colorectal cancer; in particular, due to the results of the BOND study. The recently presented results of the Bonner study strongly support the activity of this drug in head and neck cancer. A step forward in the research on anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies may be represented by humanized monoclonal antibodies, such as EMD 72000 and ABX-EGF. Imatinib mesylate is probably the most outstanding example of an effective targeted therapy--its activity in gastrointestinal stromal tumors was so exciting that the drug reached the market without undergoing phase III evaluation. The third session of the meeting was on angiogenesis inhibitors. Drugs may interfere with the angiogenic process via different mechanisms and there is a sound rationale for combining anti-angiogenic agents with chemotherapy or multiple anti-angiogenic strategies. Clinical results obtained with direct anti-angiogenic agents have been negative up to now, but some exciting results have been seen with bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). A few VEGF-tyrosine kinase inhibiting small molecules, such as ZD6474, AZD2171 and PTK/ZK, are undergoing clinical trials. The fourth session of the meeting was on interference with intracellular signal transduction. Farnesyl transferase inhibitors exert their action by interfering with either pro-Ras or RhoB farnesylation. Several clinical studies of different phases with compounds belonging to this class have been carried out, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy; unfortunately, all of them have turned out to be negative. Cell cycle inhibitors, such as CYC-202 and BMS-387032, represent a class of interesting compounds which are in the early phase of development and whose clinical results are eagerly awaited. Another strategy to achieve cell cycle inhibition is to target heat shock protein 90, a molecular chaperone required for protein folding. Clinical data on depsipeptide, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with activity in T cell lymphoma, were presented. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid is another small molecular weight inhibitor of HDAC activity. Phase I/II clinical trials have shown low toxicity and evidence of anti-tumor activity; on the other hand, this compound has potential for synergism with radiotherapy, chemotherapy and biologicals.
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PMID:New drugs in cancer therapy, National Tumor Institute, Naples, 17-18 June 2004. 1565 20

Experimental studies have demonstrated that thalidomide has anti-tumor activity mediated by blockage of angiogenesis, with clinical efficacy in multiple myeloma, glioblastoma multiforme, and renal cell cancer. We investigated the therapeutic activity and toxicity of thalidomide in patients with progressive metastatic breast cancer pretreated with chemotherapy. Inclusion criteria were metastatic breast cancer in progression of disease after at least two lines of chemotherapy, age > or = 18 years, performance status < or = 2, and adequate hematologic, renal, and hepatic functions. Twelve patients entered the study, eight of whom were pretreated with three or more lines of chemotherapy (66.7%). Thalidomide was well tolerated: the most common side effects were constipation and somnolence (58.3% of patients). No objective response or durable stable disease was observed. Median time to progression and median overall survival were 8 weeks (range, 4-10 weeks) and 16 weeks (range, 8-54 weeks), respectively. In conclusion, thalidomide is an ineffective treatment in patients with progressive metastatic breast cancer heavily pretreated with chemotherapy.
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PMID:Thalidomide is inactive in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer. 1605 69

Bevacizumab (Avastin) has unprecedented survival benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Trials are already in progress to investigate the potential of bevacizumab in indications including metastatic renal cell cancer (RCC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer, breast and ovarian cancer. Bevacizumab offers the potential to increase survival without substantially altering the toxicity profile in these tumor types. Bevacizumab has shown activity in patients with refractory metastatic RCC, where progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer in patients treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg every 2 weeks) than those treated with placebo (hazard ratio=2.55, p<0.001). In addition, combining bevacizumab with erlotinib (Tarceva) has shown a median time to progression of more than 11 months. In NSCLC, a phase II trial revealed that adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy increased therapeutic benefit compared with chemotherapy alone. Adverse events were mild and easily managed, but six patients receiving bevacizumab developed severe hemoptysis. Entry criteria for NSCLC trials have been adjusted to exclude patients with squamous cell histology to try to avoid this issue. Adding bevacizumab (10 mg/kg) to the current standard of care, gemcitabine, in stage IV pancreatic cancer has also shown promising efficacy. Partial responses were seen in 19% of patients, with a further 48% having stable disease. Several ongoing clinical trials are also studying bevacizumab with various chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimens. Bevacizumab combined with carboplatin (Paraplatin)/paclitaxel (Taxol) was further examined in a phase III randomized trial that accrued 878 patients with advanced non-squamous cell NSCLC. Patients given chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) plus bevacizumab had a higher response rate, longer PFS and an increase in survival compared with patients on chemotherapy alone. Both regimens were generally well tolerated. Bevacizumab has also shown activity in patients with metastatic breast cancer. In 715 patients, a significant, 2-fold increase in response rate was observed in patients receiving bevacizumab plus paclitaxel compared with paclitaxel alone. Median PFS was also significantly increased (p<0.001). Bevacizumab has the potential to provide significant efficacy benefits for patients with metastatic RCC, NSCLC, pancreatic cancer, and other tumor types when used first line in combination with standard therapy.
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PMID:Investigating the potential of bevacizumab in other indications: metastatic renal cell, non-small cell lung, pancreatic and breast cancer. 1630 35

The development of brain metastases is often viewed as the end stage of a disease course and engenders skepticism about the efficacy of treatment. Aggressive management of brain metastases is effective in both symptom palliation and the prolongation of life. The majority of patients with controlled intracranial metastases will expire from systemic disease rather than from recurrence of these metastases. Single brain metastases should be treated with surgical resection or stereotactic radiosurgery, though it is unclear at this time if one modality is more effective than the other. Surgical resection is preferred when a pathologic diagnosis is needed, for tumors larger than 3.5 cm, or when immediate tumor mass decompression is required. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) should be applied for single tumors less than 3.5 cm in surgically inaccessible areas and for patients who are not surgical candidates. Small tumors (ie, < 3.5 cm) that cause minimal edema and are surgically accessible may be treated with either surgery or SRS. There is controversy over whether whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) can be omitted following surgical resection or SRS. Omission of WBRT increases intracranial tumor recurrence; however, this has not been correlated with decreased survival. Clinicians who choose to omit upfront WBRT are obligated to monitor the patient closely for intracranial recurrence, at which time further salvage therapy in the form of surgery, SRS, or WBRT may be considered. Histology is of particular importance when considering WBRT for patients with radioresistant tumors such as melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, or sarcoma. WBRT may be of less clinical benefit in this setting. Chemotherapy has been demonstrated to improve response rates when used as an adjunct to radiation therapy. These improvements in response rates have not been correlated with an improvement in median survival. Noncytotoxic radiosensitizing agents such as motexafin and efaproxiral show promise. Phase III trials to assess the benefit of motexafin in patients with metastatic lung cancer and efaproxiral in patients with metastatic breast cancer are ongoing. Targeted therapies offer promise in achieving therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects. Surgical adjuncts such as BCNU (carmustine) wafers and the GliaSite Radiation System (Cytyc Corporation, Marlborough, MA) may be useful in the future in achieving optimal local tumor control.
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PMID:Current therapeutic approaches in patients with brain metastases. 1703 60

This is the second of a two-part consideration of metastatic tumors to the ovary. Here, the matter is considered in 16 categories, largely site-specific. The first tumor discussed is gastric carcinoma of intestinal-type whose ovarian manifestations have been the subject of a recent paper which emphasized its differences from the Krukenberg tumor. Coverage of intestinal adenocarcinoma emphasizes the landmark 1987 paper of RH Lash and WR Hart. The section on pancreatic neoplasms reemphasizes the problems caused by metastatic ductal carcinoma, considered primarily in Part I, and discusses less common issues such as spread of neuroendocrine and acinar cell carcinomas. The limited information on spread of tumors of the gallbladder and extrahepatic bile ducts is then reviewed before more detailed consideration of hepatic neoplasms, prompted by recent contributions on hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the latter based on significant experience with this problem in Thailand. The section on appendiceal neoplasms highlights ovarian spread of diverse tumors ranging from typical intestinal-type adenocarcinoma to signet-ring cell carcinomas with various patterns which in the ovary may prompt diagnoses such as a goblet cell (mucinous) carcinoid tumor, but whose ovarian features place them in the category of a Krukenberg tumor. The diverse problems in differential diagnosis of carcinoid tumor (provoked by nested, acinar, and other patterns, including folliclelike spaces) are then reviewed. The section on breast cancer emphasizes that, although usually a manifestation of late stage disease and often not bulky in the ovaries, metastatic breast cancer may form large masses which can represent the clinical presentation. That patients with breast cancer have an increased risk of primary ovarian cancer and that the latter is more common than secondary spread of breast cancer is noted. The section on lung tumors largely reflects information in a recent paper that small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are the lung cancers that spread to the ovary most commonly. The extremely broad differential diagnosis posed by metastatic malignant melanoma ranging from that of an oxyphilic tumor, to a small cell tumor, to a follicle-forming neoplasm, is then considered. The sections on renal cell carcinoma and other urinary tract neoplasms emphasize the differential diagnosis of metastatic clear cell carcinoma and primary clear cell carcinoma, an issue usually resolvable by an awareness of the various features of the ovarian variant, rarely or never seen in the renal variant. The section on metastatic sarcomas discusses endometrial stromal sarcomas, gastrointestinal stromal neoplasms, and miscellaneous other sarcomas. The endometrial stromal tumors are problematic largely because the history of a primary tumor may be remote, in the ovaries the typical growth and vascular pattern of endometrial stromal neoplasms is not always conspicuous, and some endometrial stromal sarcomas in the ovary show sex cordlike patterns of growth. Recent information has indicated that gastrointestinal stromal tumors may rarely have significant ovarian manifestations and if the primary neoplasm is overlooked, the ovarian tumor may be misdiagnosed, usually as an ovarian fibromatous tumor, but potentially as another primary neoplasm. The sections on ovarian spread of uterine carcinomas emphasize the problems owing to cervical adenocarcinomas, which have a greater tendency to involve the ovaries than squamous cell carcinomas and can simulate primary mucinous or endometrioid cancers. The final neoplasms considered are malignant mesothelioma and the desmoplastic small round cell tumor. The microscopic features of malignant mesothelioma are so different from those of primary ovarian carcinoma in most instances that the diagnosis should be readily established on routine microscopic evaluation. The differential diagnosis of the desmoplastic small round cell tumor is more complex because of the greater overlap with the many other small cell malignant tumors that may involve the ovaries primarily or secondarily. Nonetheless, differences exist in most cases and awareness of the entity should lead to consideration of the desmoplastic neoplasm, particularly in a young female. In this area, as in a number of others considered in the review, immunohistochemistry may play a significant, sometimes crucial, role. However, as pointed out in brief concluding remarks, despite the aid of that modality, as in surgical pathology overall, careful consideration of the clinical background, distribution of disease, gross characteristics and spectrum of routine microscopic findings, will lead to the correct diagnosis in the majority of cases and at the very least lead to formulation of a considered differential diagnosis such that use of special techniques may be judicious and those results placed in context of the time-honored clinical and pathologic features.
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PMID:From Krukenberg to today: the ever present problems posed by metastatic tumors in the ovary. Part II. 1745 13

Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCE-US) using the contrast agent Sonovue and vascular recognition imaging software is a novel technique that enables the detection of microvessels and quantitative assessment of solid tumor perfusion using raw linear data. Clinical trials have shown that DCE-US can be used to assess the anticancer efficacy of antiangiogenic treatment, for which conventional efficacy criteria based on size are unsuitable. Reduction in tumor vascularization can easily be detected in responders after 1-2 weeks and is correlated with progression-free survival and overall survival. DCE-US is supported by the French Cancer National Institut. This program is currently studying the technique in metastatic breast cancer, melanoma, colon cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and renal cell carcinoma, as well as in primary hepatocellular carcinoma, to establish the optimal perfusion parameters and timing for quantitative anticancer efficacy assessments.
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PMID:Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCE-US) with quantification of tumor perfusion: a new diagnostic tool to evaluate the early effects of antiangiogenic treatment. 1837 62

Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCE-US) is a new functional technique enabling a quantitative assessment of solid tumor perfusion using raw linear data. DCE-US allows the calculation of parameters as slope of wash-in or area under the curve (AUC) representing, respectively, blood flow or blood volume. Reduction in tumor vascularization can easily be detected in responders after 1 or 2 weeks and is correlated with progression-free survival and overall survival in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). DCE-US is supported by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), which is currently studying the technique in metastatic breast cancer, melanoma, colon cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and renal cell carcinoma, as well as in primary hepatocellular carcinoma, to establish the optimal perfusion parameters and timing for quantitative anticancer efficacy assessments. Currently 490 patients are included in 20 centers and the preliminary results on 400 patients with 1,096 DCE-US demonstrated that AUC could be a robust parameter to predict response.
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PMID:Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (DCE-US): a new tool for the early evaluation of antiangiogenic treatment. 2037 90


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