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)

The aim of the current pilot study was to determine whether placental isoferritin (PLF) can be detected in the serum of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Sera were obtained from breast cancer patients with metastatic disease (n = 100), from breast cancer with no evidence of disease (n = 70) and from healthy female controls (n = 34). PLF and total serum ferritin levels were independently measured using specific monoclonal antibody ELISAs in a double-blind study. It was found that the mean serum PLF levels were significantly elevated only in patients with visceral metastases (lung, liver, brain) compared with the levels of patients with non-visceral metastases (bone, skin) or with healthy controls. Contrary to this, analysis of total serum ferritin levels did not reveal significant differences between these groups. Considering 0-10 units/ml as a PLF negative result, it was found that PLF was negative in 87.5% of healthy controls and in 96% of breast cancer patients with no evidence of disease. In contrast, PLF was positive in 73% of the patients with visceral metastases and in 29.7% of those with non-visceral metastases. The striking difference between visceral and non-visceral metastases is not yet understood. It could result from a difference in the degree of vascularisation or, alternatively, a difference in the cell types and genes expressed by cells metastasizing to visceral or non-visceral organs.
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PMID:Monoclonal antibody CM-H-9 detects circulating placental isoferritin in the serum of patients with visceral metastases of breast cancer. 188 72

Early detection and surgical removal of breast cancer are most effective in managing a disease that may affect up to one in ten women in North America and Western Europe. However, one of the most important prognostic indicators for breast cancer is the presence of neoplastic cells in the axillary lymph nodes. The dissemination of cells from a primary lesion, resulting in the progressive growth of metastatic carcinoma in distant sites (including bone, lungs, liver, and brain) is the most common cause of death in breast cancer patients. Experimental studies on the biology of metastatic breast cancer have used rodent tumor systems, and, in recent years, the transplantation of human breast carcinoma cells into athymic mice. The results of such studies, combined with clinical observations, suggest that metastasis is not a random event. The formation of secondary lesions is the result of a sequence of selective events. A better understanding of the metastatic phenotype from cellular and molecular analyses will provide a basis for rational approaches to preventing and treating this most lethal aspect of breast cancer.
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PMID:The biology of metastatic breast cancer. 220 59

Voltage-gated Na(+) channel (VGSC) diversity is achieved through a number of mechanisms: multiple subunits, multiple genes encoding the pore-forming VGSC alpha-subunit and multiple gene isoforms generated by alternative splicing. A major type of VGSCalpha alternative splicing is in D1:S3, which has been proposed to be developmentally regulated. We recently reported a D1:S3 spliced form of Na(v)1.5 in human metastatic breast cancer cells. This novel 'neonatal' isoform differs from the counterpart 'adult' form at seven amino acids (in the extracellular loop between S3-S4 of D1). Here, we generated an anti-peptide polyclonal antibody, named NESOpAb, which specifically recognised 'neonatal' but not 'adult' Na(v)1.5 when tested on cells specifically over-expressing one or other of these Na(v)1.5 spliced forms. The antibody was used to investigate developmental expression of 'neonatal' Na(v)1.5 (nNa(v)1.5) in a range of mouse tissues by immunohistochemistry. Overall, the results were consistent with nNa(v)1.5 protein being more abundantly expressed in selected tissues (particularly heart and brain) from neonate as compared to adult animals. Importantly, NESOpAb blocked functional nNa(v)1.5 ion conductance when applied extracellularly at concentrations as low as 0.05 ng/ml. Possible biological and clinical applications of NESOpAb are discussed.
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PMID:A novel polyclonal antibody specific for the Na(v)1.5 voltage-gated Na(+) channel 'neonatal' splice form. 1611 63