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)

Lithium salt compounds are used to limit the degree and duration of neutropenia in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a cytokine which possesses promoting activities on hematopoiesis and is also involved in antitumor response, activating NK, CTL and LAK cells. In this study we analyzed IL-15 production by monocyte cultures treated with lithium chloride (LiCl). Monocytes were obtained from patients affected by non-metastatic and metastatic breast cancer. LiCl treatment induced IL-15 production by monocytes mainly from non-metastatic patients. Combined lipopolysaccharide/LiCl treatment of monocyte cultures up-regulated IL-15 release compared to those treated with LPS alone (p<0.0001). The modulation of LiCl-induced IL-15 could counteract the immunosuppression state of cancer patients, which should be taken into account when developing new immunotherapeutic strategies.
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PMID:In vitro effect of lithium chloride on interleukin-15 production by monocytes from IL-breast cancer patients. 1087 22

Randomized controlled studies have demonstrated that both docetaxel and Herceptin are capable of increasing survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The two agents show synergy in vitro, and their use in combination is not likely to be associated with the problem of enhanced cardiotoxicity. In two trials of Herceptin plus docetaxel in patients with advanced breast cancer, preliminary data are available for 35 patients. These early results show that the combination is well-tolerated. No symptomatic cardiotoxicity has occurred. The preliminary response rates (RR) in these first- and second-line patients are 44% in one study and 63% in the other. In the subgroups of patients who were HER-2 3+ overexpressers, the RRs are currently 55% and 73%. In an attempt to maximize the efficacy of Herceptin, its use has also been studied in combination with docetaxel and a platinum salt, producing a preliminary RR of 78% in patients positive for HER-2 on the fluorescence in situ hybridization assay. These data are sufficiently promising to justify a study of the role of Herceptin in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy regimens containing docetaxel or docetaxel plus a platinum. The combination of Herceptin with adjuvant therapy containing docetaxel and a platinum may provide a helpful alternative to the potentially cardiotoxic Herceptin/anthracycline-containing regimens currently under investigation.
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PMID:Docetaxel and herceptin: foundation for future strategies. 1134 81

Overexpression of the p185/HER2 protein is seen in 20%-25% of primary breast cancers and is associated with poor prognosis. Recent phase II and III clinical trials demonstrate that trastuzumab is active against breast tumors, both as a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy. In patients with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer, use of trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy is associated with a 20% reduction in relative risk of death and an increase in median survival from 20.3 to 25.1 months compared to chemotherapy alone. Side effects include fever and chills and an unexpected increase in doxorubicin/trastuzumab-associated cardiomyopathy. Clinical development is now focused on trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy regimens that do not contain an anthracycline. Trastuzumab in combination with docetaxel is synergistic in vitro. Data from ongoing clinical trials are consistent with this finding. Preliminary data from 3 phase II studies suggest a 44%-63% response rate when the combination is used first or second line in HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. The combination of docetaxel with trastuzumab is well tolerated and has not been associated with significant cardiotoxicity. Given in vitro evidence that platinum salts act synergistically with trastuzumab and docetaxel, and phase II data suggesting clinical efficacy and good tolerability, the combination of platinum salt plus trastuzumab and docetaxel is now being assessed in adjuvant trials
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PMID:Combining the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab with taxanes in breast cancer: results and trial considerations. 1197 Jul 40

Docetaxel (Taxotere) has been intensively investigated for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, where it has proved to be one of the most active agents. Initial phase II studies in anthracycline-resistant metastatic breast cancer demonstrated impressive response rates that have been confirmed in phase III randomized trials. Docetaxel remains the only single agent to demonstrate a survival benefit in anthracycline-resistant patients. More recently, the combination of docetaxel with capecitabine (Xeloda) has demonstrated additional improvement in survival over docetaxel alone in a randomized phase III trial. In patients previously treated with an alkylating agent, docetaxel is the only single drug to demonstrate improved efficacy over doxorubicin in a randomized trial. Docetaxel has been investigated in combination with the anthracyclines doxorubicin and epirubicin in randomized trials. The docetaxel-containing regimens have consistently demonstrated improvement over the non-docetaxel-containing regimens. The efficacy and safety of weekly docetaxel has extended the line of investigation for combinations with agents normally administered on a weekly basis, such as vinorelbine [Navelbine], gemcitabine [Gemzar], and trastuzumab [Herceptin], with promising findings. In addition, the results of the triple-drug combination of docetaxel, a platinum salt (cisplatin or carboplatin), and trastuzumab have resulted in impressive response rates and time to progression in a population of metastatic breast cancer patients with HER2/neu-positive tumors. The consistent demonstration of a high level of efficacy with manageable toxicity ensures the continued widespread investigation of docetaxel in metastatic breast cancer.
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PMID:The current status of docetaxel for metastatic breast cancer. 1210 94

HER2 is the target of a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer using the humanized monoclonal antibody (MAb) trastuzumb (Herceptin). A novel alpha-particle emitting (213)Bi-Herceptin construct, targeting the HER2 extracellular domain on breast cancer cells, was produced by chelation and characterized in vitro in this study. We used Western blot and flow cytometry analysis to examine the expression of HER2 in a panel of established human metastatic breast cancer cell lines (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt) MTS assay to evaluate the cytotoxicity and the TUNEL assay to analyze cellular apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that the human breast cancer cell lines BT-474 and SK-BR-3 express high levels of HER2 protein while MDA-231 expresses low levels of HER2. (213)Bi-Herceptin alpha conjugate (AC) was specifically cytotoxic to these cell lines in a HER2 level-dependent fashion, resulting in the cellular death through apoptosis. These results suggest that (231)Bi-Herceptin AC could be a novel agent for the treatment of breast cancer cell clusters or micro-metastases with high levels of HER2 expression.
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PMID:Cytotoxicity of breast cancer cells overexpressing HER2/neu by 213Bi-Herceptin radioimmunoconjugate. 1567 Aug 95

The chloride salt of cesium, a group 1A element, is gaining popularity as an alternative treatment of advanced cancers. Cesium chloride has primarily been used in cardiovascular research for arrhythmogenesis in animals because of its potassium-blocking effects. The present report describes a 45-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer who experienced repeated episodes of torsades de pointes polymorphic ventricular tachycardia after several months of oral cesium therapy. There was a clear temporal relationship between cesium ingestion and the arrhythmia, which later resolved following discontinuation of cesium therapy. Serial cesium plasma and whole blood levels were measured over the ensuing six months and pharmacokinetic analysis was performed.
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PMID:Cesium chloride-induced torsades de pointes. 1974 53

There are few reports about the treatment of moderate to severe hyponatremia associated with malignant liver metastasis. Here, we report using intravenous salt poor albumin infusion to treat hypervolemic cirrhosis related hyponatremia. A 58-year-old female with ascites secondary to metastatic breast cancer was referred to our department with symptomatic hyponatremia (serum sodium concentration of 121 mEq/L). The serum sodium level was corrected slowly over 2 days with intravenous albumin infusion and the patient's symptoms - fatigue, nausea, dizziness and headache improved.
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PMID:Intravenous albumin infusion is an effective therapy for hyponatremia in patient with malignant ascites. 2457 34