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)

Sixteen metastatic breast cancer patients were immunized with a low dose (5 micrograms) of a 16 amino acid MUC1 peptide (GVTSAPDTRPAPGSTA) conjugated to KLH (BP16-KLH) plus DETOX adjuvant and evaluated for antibody titers against MUC1 peptide and KLH and for cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) activity using class 1 HLA-matched MUC1-positive tumor targets. All patients generated strong anti-KLH IgG responses. Only 3 patients developed an anti-MUC1 IgG response, which was weak in magnitude. As it is controversial whether human cancer patients generate class-1-restricted CTL against MUC1, we examined anti-MUC1 CTL activity of PBLs following 4 immunizations with BP16-KLH. The generation of MUC1-specific CTLs required only a 6-day in vitro stimulation of patients' T-cells with synthetic MUC1-peptide-pulsed autologous APCs. The assay for CTL activity was a 4 hour 51Cr release from labeled adenocarcinoma target cells. Eleven of the 16 immunized patients were tested for CTL activity using class-1-matched adenocarcinoma target cell lines. Evidence for class-1-restricted killing of MUC1-expressing tumor cell lines was obtained in 7 of these 11 patients.
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PMID:Anti-MUC1 class I restricted CTLs in metastatic breast cancer patients immunized with a synthetic MUC1 peptide. 962 47

The aim of the present study was to establish a robust, reliable and fully automated immunofluorometric assay for the breast cancer serum marker MUC1. This would further serve as a prototype assay for evaluation of other MUC1 assays based on new antibody combinations. Using time-resolved fluorescence as tracer signal we developed an automated immunofluorometric assay for MUC1 (MUC1 IFMA). This assay was compared with two commercial assays. The CA15-3 EIA (CanAg) which use the same antibodies as the MUC1 IFMA, and the ETI-CA-15-3 K (Sorin) which use the original antibodies defining the CA 15-3 assay. The three assays showed comparable results. The coefficient of variation was below 10% from 9 to 2,400 kU/l for the MUC1 IFMA, from 15 to 250 kU/l for the CA15-3 EIA, and from 25 to 200 kU/l for the ETI-CA-15-3 K assay. At a specificity of 0.94 the overall diagnostic sensitivities for the MUC1-IFMA, CA15-3 EIA and ETI-CA-15-3 K assays were 0.40, 0.37, and 0.38, respectively. When applied to metastatic breast cancer, all assays had sensitivities close to 0.80. There was a close correlation (Spearman rank = 0.99) between results from the new assay and the CA15-3EIA. The new automated assay was not strictly immunometric as we could not achieve conditions where solid phase or tracer antibodies were in apparent excess. However, the assay performed well at a wide range of assay conditions. The automation, which minimizes imprecision in pipetting and handling of samples, and the high capacity of the AutoDELFIA instrument enabling measurement of all samples in a single run, were important aspects for establishing a reliable assay. The principle of the new automated immunofluorometric assay will be used as a rapid and reliable evaluation of a wide range of monoclonal antibody combinations in our search for the optimal MUC1 assay. This new automated immunofluorometric assay will be useful in the rapid and reliable evaluation of a wide range of monoclonal antibody combinations in our search for the optimal MUC1 assay.
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PMID:Automated immunofluorometric assay for MUC1. 1127 95

The serum tumor markers CA 125, MUC1 and CEA were measured in 221 breast cancer patients over a period of 2 years. Patients examined on at least three occasions were included in the study. Thirty-three patients had increasing or continuously high concentrations of CA 125. Thirty (91%) of these had involvement of the pleura, either as pleural metastasis or metastasis in surrounding tissue i.e. bone structures in the thorax cavity or lung parenchyma. MUC1 and CEA were elevated in 27 (82%) and 24 (73%) of the 33 patients, respectively. Increased concentrations of these two markers did not relate to the site of metastasis. However, the three tumor markers complemented each other in detecting early metastases. Increased CA 125 was associated with metastasis in or near the pleura, and in stage IV breast cancer it was related to poor prognosis.
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PMID:Elevated CA125 in breast cancer--A sign of advanced disease. 1139 47

Active specific immunotherapy (ASI) is a promising approach to treating cancer. Numerous studies in the laboratory have demonstrated that various cancer vaccines can stimulate antibody and cell mediated immune responses against tumour-associated antigens [1-9]. Yet few studies have demonstrated convincing clinical responses. Sialyl-Tn (STn) is a carbohydrate associated with the MUC1 mucin on a number of human cancer cells and is associated with more aggressive disease. Consequently, STn is an ideal candidate for ASI therapy. Theratope vaccine is a cancer vaccine that was designed by Biomira, Inc. (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) by incorporating a synthetic STn antigen that emulates the carbohydrate seen on human tumours. The clinical trials conducted to date with Theratope vaccine are outlined in this report. Overall, Theratope vaccine has been well-tolerated with minimal toxicity. The most common side effects have been in duration and erythema at the site of injections. Both in a non-transplant setting following low dose iv. cyclophosphamide and high dose autologous transplant setting, there has been a trend toward Theratope vaccine decreasing the risk for relapse, prolonging the time to relapse and thus impacting on overall survival. The definitive Phase III trial comparing the outcome of patients with metastatic breast cancer receiving vaccinations with Theratope vaccine versus vaccination with the nonspecific immune stimulants Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) and Detox -B stable emulsion (Detox-B) (now called Enhanzyn Immunostimulant) was closed to enrolment on March 30, 2001. Over 1000 women with distant metastatic breast cancer were enrolled into the program.
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PMID:Theratope vaccine (STn-KLH). 1172 22

Thirty HLA-A2 women with metastatic breast cancer received up to 14 vaccinations with MDA-MB-231-CD80, an HLA-A2 allogeneic breast cancer cell line, which had been lipofected with the cDNA for the CD80 costimulatory molecule. Tumor cells were administered with BCG or GM-CSF as an adjuvant. Sera obtained before and after vaccination were analyzed for antibodies to tumor cell lysate, MUC1, HER2/neu and p53. Since the cell line was grown in fetal bovine serum (FBS), sera were also analyzed for antibodies to FBS. Eighteen of 24 patients for whom sera were available exhibited anti-FBS activity at baseline. Eleven of these 18 patients and all six patients without baseline anti-FBS activity showed an increased titer after vaccination. The anti-FBS activity required that serum samples be absorbed in excess FBS to detect specific antibodies to tumor cell lysate. A two-fold increase in the titer of IgG specific to tumor cell lysate was observed in 6 patients. Eight of 24 patients made an antibody response to HER-2/neu, four of 24 to MUC1 and one of 24 to p53. Although antibody production to a variety of tumor cell-associated antigens was detected our results suggest that a whole cell vaccine comprising a CD80-transfected allogeneic breast cancer cell line with adjuvant BCG or GM-CSF was not a reliable method to induce significant antibody responses in women with advanced breast cancer.
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PMID:Identification of tumor-specific antibodies in patients with breast cancer vaccinated with gene-modified allogeneic tumor cells. 1261 8

The success of high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem-cell rescue as treatment for breast and ovarian cancer is limited by a high incidence of relapse. After autologous transplantation, patients are likely to have a low tumor burden and thus would be more likely to respond immunologically to a cancer vaccine. Sialyl-Tn (STn) is a carbohydrate associated with the MUC1 mucin on breast and ovarian cancer and is an ideal candidate for vaccine immunotherapy. Sialyl-Tn-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (STn-KLH) vaccine (Theratope) incorporates a synthetic STn antigen that mimics the unique tumor-associated STn carbohydrate and is designed to stimulate tumor antigen-specific immune responses in patients with mucin-expressing tumors. Between 1995 and 2000, 70 patients (16 with stage II/III breast cancer, 17 with stage III/IV ovarian cancer, and 37 with stage IV breast cancer) were treated with 2 different formulations of STn-KLH. Toxicity, outcome, and immune response data are reported. STn-KLH was well-tolerated with minimal toxicity. The most common side effects were indurations and erythema at the sites of injections. Humoral and cellular responses were elicited in the majority of patients. Overall, these data indicate that post-autologous transplant patients are able to mount an effective immune response to vaccine immunotherapy with minimal side effects, and that vaccine immunotherapy may be a useful addition to high-dose chemotherapy regimens.
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PMID:The role of cancer vaccines following autologous stem cell rescue in breast and ovarian cancer patients: experience with the STn-KLH vaccine (Theratope). 1262 Jan 52

The aim of the study was to establish reference ranges and to explore the tumor specificities of two automated assays for MUC1. Sera from 124 female blood donors, 144 patients with benign disease of the breast, 69 patients with stage I, 75 with stage II, 89 with stage III and 38 patients with stage IV breast cancer were analyzed for MUC1 levels using two automated immunometric assays employing assay antibody pairs Ma695/Ma552 and BC2/GP1.4, respectively. All subjects were female. The Ma695/Ma552 assay yielded means of 13.86 (SD 6.55) kU/l for blood donors, 15.98 (SD 8.31) kU/l for benign disease, 15.83 (SD 7.92) kU/l for stage I, 15.01 (SD 8.03) kU/l for stage II, 33.80 (SD 66.53) kU/l for stage III and 469.22 (SD 906.61) kU/l for stage IV breast cancer. The BC2/GP1.4 assay gave means of 12.00 (SD 6.41) kU/l for blood donors, 14.68 (SD 9.33) kU/l for benign disease, 14.13 (SD 8.12) kU/l for stage I, 12.10 (SD 6.61) kU/l for stage II, 19.80 (SD 29.05) kU/l for stage III and 191.04 (SD 527.16) kU/l for stage IV breast cancer. Patients with benign diseases of the breast had slightly higher values than female blood donors with both assays leading to correspondingly different reference ranges. The Ma695/Ma552 assay had higher specificity for tumor MUC1 than the BC2/GP1.4 assay for all stages, and the study thus confirms the differences in tumor specificity for MUC1 assays.
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PMID:MUC1 serum assays in breast cancer: tumor specificities and reference levels. 1267 89

Measurement of remission and progression in metastatic breast cancer by the use of serum tumour markers is simple, objective, reproducible and cost effective. The most widely used markers are a MUC1 mucin (e.g. measured as CA15.3) and CEA. A combination of markers is more sensitive than using a single marker. When CA15.3, CEA and ESR are used as a panel of serum markers in monitoring therapeutic response, over 90% of patients are biochemically assessable. A biochemical index score comprising these three markers has been devised retrospectively, validated prospectively, in a single centre and in a multicentre study. Biochemical assessment by serum markers correlates with clinical/radiological (UICC) assessment and often pre-dates remission and progression shown by UICC criteria. It is also the only validated method in monitoring metastatic breast cancer with disease unassessable by UICC criteria (e.g. sclerotic bone metastases, irradiated lesions). Future studies should aim at incorporating new markers (e.g. serum c-erbB2, markers of bone metabolism) to tailor different clinical situations, and at exploiting the use of serum markers to direct systemic therapy.
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PMID:Objective measurement of remission and progression in metastatic breast cancer by the use of serum tumour markers. 1295 47

MUC1 is expressed by glandular epithelial cells. It is overexpressed in the majority of breast tumours, making it a potential target for immune therapy. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the anti-tumour activity and tolerance of repeated administration of TG1031 (an attenuated recombinant vaccinia virus containing sequences coding for human MUC1 and the immune stimulatory cytokine IL-2) in patients with MUC1-positive metastatic breast cancer. This was an open-label, randomised study comparing two dose levels, 5 x 10E6 and 5 x 10E7, with 14 patients in each arm. The treatment was administered intramuscularly every 3 weeks for the first 4 doses and every 6 weeks thereafter, until progression. Two patients had a partial tumour regression ( > 50%), and 15 patients had stable disease as their best overall response until at least the 5th injection. Partial regression lasted for 11 months in one patient and for 12 months in the second patient who then underwent surgical resection of her hepatic metastases. The most frequent adverse events included inflammation at injection site: 7 patients, itching or pain at injection site: 5 patients, and moderate fever: 6 patients. One responding patient developed antinuclear, anti-DNA, and increased anti-TPO antibodies after the fifth injection, and which resolved at the end of treatment. The treatment regimes were well tolerated with a low toxicity profile. Although clinical efficacy remains limited, this study demonstrates the potential use of MUC1-based immune therapy in breast cancer.
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PMID:Metastatic Breast Tumour Regression Following Treatment by a Gene-Modified Vaccinia Virus Expressing MUC1 and IL-2. 1297 34

In the process of metastasis, malignant cells are released from the primary tumor and migrate to specific organs via the lymphatic and blood circulation systems. These circulating tumor cells have been characterized by immunochemistry, the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and flow cytometry. Using the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, we have developed a two-color ELISPOT assay to detect cells secreting cathepsin D protease and MUC1 glycoprotein, markers associated with the risk of metastases in breast cancer. The threshold of detection of this ELISPOT assay was one cathepsin D- or MUC1-secreting MCF7 cell per 5 ml of control blood. In 16 patients with breast carcinoma metastases, 1 to 1940 cathepsin D- or MUC1-secreting cells per 2x10(7) PBMC were enumerated, whereas none were found in 11 controls. Moreover, in six patients 6-60% of MUC1-secreting cells also expressed the CXCR4 chemokine receptor, which is involved in the homing of metastatic breast cancer cells. The ELISPOT assay described here allowed us to enumerate cathepsin D- and/or MUC1-secreting cells in the MCF-7 cell line and in the peripheral blood of patients with disseminated breast cancer. The combination of the ELISPOT assay and CXCR4-positive cell sorting identified subsets of MUC1-secreting cells in the peripheral blood of these patients.
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PMID:Characterization and enumeration of cells secreting tumor markers in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients. 1591


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