Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C1261473 (sarcoma)
 25,952 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Neocarzinostatin (NCS) is an antibiotic from streptomyces carzinostaticus which inhibits DNA synthesis. Clinical trials in Japan began in 1971. NCS is active against S-180, Ehrlich tumor, L1210, Yoshida sarcoma, and a range of ascitic hepatomas. In rabbit NCS is distributed at high concentrations in the kidney, skin, stomach, pancreas, lung, and muscles. The high distribution in the pancreas and the stomach suggested possible effectiveness in human tumors at these sites. In clinical studies NCS has been shown to be active against acute leukemia. As a single agent 9 out of 51 obtained a CR with 9 more achieving a PR. Anorexia, nausea, and vomiting were the most frequent side effects. NCS has been tried in combination with Ara-C, daunorubicin and prednisolone and CR was ssen in 11 out of 14. In stomach cancer responses of some kind were observed in 12 out of 141 cases, while in the case of pancreatic tumors there were 10 out of 68.
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PMID:Clinical investigations of neocarzinostatin in Japan. 15 99

"BAR" therapy is a combined therapy with BUdR (Radiosensitizer), Antimetabolites (5-FU, FT-207 etc.) and Radiation for malignant tumours. How radiation can be reduced as far as possible and how the effects of treatment can be increased as much as possible are the objectives of this study of combining radiation and BUdR therapy. The authors attempted to irradiate 3-5 days after the BUdR and antimetabolite had been infused via the superficial temporal artery, in 12 malignant oral tumours (11 squamous cell carcinomas and 1 reticulum-cell sarcoma). BUdR 50-250 mg/day, antimetabolites (5-FU) 10-250 mg/day and a total irradiation dose of 6000 rads by 6 MeV Linac X-ray or Co-60 gamma ray, 200 rads/day were given. 9 marked responses, 2 moderate responses and 1 no response (2 cases were operated on by local resection) were obtained by the authors. Side effects of treatment were observed during the course of "BAR" therapy. Stomatitis was found in all patients and it occurred on the mucosa of the tumour-affected site especially. Dermatitis of the skin of the face was noted in 6 cases, resembling irradiation dermatitis. Fever was observed in 4 cases and it always occurred after irradiation. Diarrhoea was noted in 3 cases and occurred before irradiation, 2 out of 3 were given BUdR 0.1 g and the remaining one was given BUdR 1 g, and 5-FU lg. In addition, there were: 1 loss of appetite, 1 nausea and 1 exfoliation of nails.
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PMID:The effects of "BAR" therapy on oral malignant tumors. 35 11

Tumor growth is accompanied by an anorexia mediated by humoral factors that appear to influence appetitive mechanisms in the brain. Because tumor resection is followed by resumption of normal food intake, the circulating anorexigenic substance(s) are produced either by the neoplastic tissue or by the host in response to the tumor. Increased levels of plasma free tryptophan and plasma ammonia have been proposed to mediate cancer anorexia. With animal models, it is often difficult to ascertain whether changes in food intake depend upon metabolic changes or the progressively increasing tumor mass per se. The feeding patterns and biochemical changes that occur during tumor growth were evaluated in 96 male Fischer rats that were inoculated with 10(6) methylcholanthrene sarcoma cells or saline (controls). Rats were placed into metabolic cages equipped with an Automated Computerized Rat Eater Meter to continuously determine meal size and meal number. Plasma free tryptophan and ammonia were evaluated 6, 10, 16, 18, 22, and 26 days after tumor inoculation. Anorexia developed by day 17-18, when food intake started to decrease via a decrease in meal size but not meal number and reached 60% of control by day 26. However, long before anorexia developed, free tryptophan was significantly higher 6 days after tumor inoculation, and the greatest increase occurred after 18 days. Ammonia did not differ from control at any time. Data confirm tumor-associated increases in plasma free tryptophan that occurred before the manifestation of anorexia and support a possible role of brain serotonin in cancer anorexia.
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PMID:The early cancer anorexia paradigm: changes in plasma free tryptophan and feeding indexes. 128 25

The cause of cancer cachexia is unclear. Tumors may be competing with the host for ingested nutrients or may be releasing some factor that actively inhibits energy utilization. To explore these questions, plasma was sterilely collected and pooled from 103 terminally cachectic Fischer 344 rats implanted with an experimental sarcoma. Control plasma was collected in similar fashion from 138 nontumor-bearing rats (NTBP). Plasma from tumor-bearing rats (TBP) or NTBP was continuously infused in a randomized, blinded fashion for 4 days into 20 normal rats. During infusion, food intake and nitrogen excretion were measured daily. At sacrifice, body weight and organ masses were determined. Rats receiving TBP demonstrated an immediate and profound anorexia compared with those receiving NTBP. Total food intake during treatment was 31.2 +/- 3.3 (g +/- SEM) in the TBP group versus 48.2 +/- 2.8 in the NTBP group (P less than 0.001 by t test). Likewise, the total decline in body weight was greater in the TBP group as compared with the NTBP group (-35.2 +/- 3.4 versus -14.6 +/- 4.0, P less than 0.001). Mean daily nitrogen balance during treatment was negative in the rats receiving TBP (-14.5 +/- 20.1 mg +/- SEM) while remaining highly positive in the rats receiving NTBP (110.7 +/- 19.3, P less than 0.002). Finally, cardiac and gastrocnemius muscle masses were decreased, while hepatic mass was unaffected. These data demonstrate that the syndrome of cancer-associated cachexia is transmissible in plasma and therefore may be mediated by a circulating molecule or molecules. Identification and purification of the molecule(s) responsible for this effect would have obvious clinical benefits.
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PMID:Cancer cachexia is transmissible in plasma. 159 73

Consistent anorexia was first observed 33 days after inoculating Fischer 344 rats with methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma. Daily treatment of a similar group of rats with the glutamine synthetase inhibitor, methionine sulfoximine, elicited significant reductions of feeding by day 29 at a dose that had no effect on nontumor-bearing rats. Blood concentrations of ammonia were elevated in both groups of tumor-bearing rats and brain ammonia level was increased in the methionine sulfoximine-treated tumor-bearing rats. Forebrain concentrations of tyrosine, tryptophan, DOPAC and 5-HIAA were elevated in both groups of tumor-bearing rats. Since ammonia is detoxified through the glutamine synthetase reaction, these results suggest that blood and brain ammonia concentrations are more important than the neurochemical consequences of ammonia detoxification for the etiology of cancer anorexia.
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PMID:Methionine sulfoximine intensifies cancer anorexia. 168 54

A phase I trial of piritrexim was conducted by use of a prolonged, low-dose oral schedule. A number of different regimens were tested, including daily dosing for 21 days followed by 7 days of no drug therapy; continuous dosing; and daily dosing for 5 of 7 days for 3 consecutive weeks followed by a week of rest. Dose escalation was accomplished by increasing the dosing frequency from once a day to twice a day and then to three times a day and by increasing the number of days of administration. Fifty-one patients with advanced cancer were entered in the study. One hundred twenty-four (96%) of 129 courses were considered assessable. Myelosuppression proved to be the dose-limiting toxic effect. Other toxic effects included stomatitis, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, skin rash, fatigue, and elevation of liver transaminase levels. Antitumor activity was observed in patients with melanoma and bladder cancer, and disease stabilization occurred in those with sarcoma and pheochromocytoma. The recommended dosing schedule for phase II clinical trials is 25 mg three times a day for 5 days for 3 consecutive weeks followed by 1 week of no drug therapy.
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PMID:Phase I trial of piritrexim capsules using prolonged, low-dose oral administration for the treatment of advanced malignancies. 198 18

Merbarone, a nonsedating derivative of thiobarbituric acid, has demonstrated excellent activity against certain murine tumors, including L1210 and P388 leukemias, B16 melanoma, and M5076 sarcoma. Preclinical studies suggested that the antitumor effects of this drug were schedule dependent, since repeated dosing increased killing of tumor cells when compared to intermittent injections. We have completed a Phase I clinical and pharmacological study of merbarone in which the drug was administered both as a 2-h infusion and as a continuous i.v. infusion over 24 h. In view of the increased toxicity observed in animals following bolus injections and the possibility of schedule-dependent anticancer activity, a schedule of drug administration daily for 5 days was selected. Fifty patients with advanced cancer were treated at dose levels that ranged from 100 to 1500 mg/m2/day. When the drug was administered by peripheral vein, phlebitis was observed at the infusion site at daily doses greater than or equal to 150 mg/m2. Therefore, all patients who received drug doses greater than or equal to 200 mg/m2 were treated by continuous i.v. infusion using central venous catheters. Renal insufficiency, initially observed at a dose of 1000 mg/m2/day, was the dose-limiting toxic reaction at 1500 mg/m2/day. Three of five patients treated at the highest dose level were unable to complete the infusion due to this effect. Marked hypouricemia was observed in all patients. Other toxic effects were mild and included nausea, fatigue, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anorexia. Alopecia was noted in several patients who received doses greater than or equal to 1000 mg/m2/day. No major antitumor effects were observed. Dose-dependent, steady-state plasma concentrations of merbarone were reached within 24-48 h after beginning the continuous i.v. infusion. Elimination of drug from plasma followed a two-compartment model, with a t1/2 alpha of 4.2 h and a t1/2 beta of 15.3 h. Renal excretion of merbarone and its major metabolites accounted for less than 30% of the administered dose. We conclude that merbarone is relatively well tolerated with few constitutional symptoms. The current formulation of the drug causes phlebitis when administered by peripheral vein, and renal insufficiency is commonly observed at daily doses which exceed 1250 mg/m2. The recommended dose for extended Phase II evaluation is 1000 mg/m2/day daily for 5 days administered by central venous catheter.
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PMID:Phase I clinical and pharmacological study of merbarone. 229 63

This study has evaluated whether increased albumin degradation in a tumor-bearing host is dependent on previously recognized chemical and environmental modifications in the albumin molecule as observed by others and ourselves. For the purpose, adult sarcoma-bearing mice with increased albumin degradation and electrophoretic heterogeneity were used and compared to freely fed (FF) or food restricted control animals. Food restricted control animals such as pair-fed (PF) and pair-weighed (PW) served to match the anorexia and malnutrition observed in tumor-bearing animals. The serum albumin concentration was decreased (P less than 0.05) in tumor-bearing animals (33 +/- 5 g/liter) compared to pair-fed (40 +/- 3), pair-weighed (41 +/- 4), and freely fed control mice (43 +/- 3). Isoelectric focusing of plasma between pH 3 and 10 and pH 4 and 6.5 confirmed a different isoelectric point for albumin in tumor-bearing animals compared to control animals. Albumin degradation was 33% higher in tumor-bearing mice compared to freely fed controls (P less than 0.01). Tumor-bearing animals had also significantly increased turnover of albumin compared to all control animals (0.13 +/- 0.022 mg/hr/g animal vs 0.05 +/- 0.008 mg/hr/g in PW; 0.08 +/- 0.009 in PF, and 0.09 +/- 0.007 in FF). The acidic fraction of albumin had a more rapid fractional turnover than the more basic components in both tumor-bearing and control animals. However, both the anodal and the cathodal albumin in tumor-bearing mice had a higher turnover compared with corresponding fractions of albumin from control animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Increased degradation of albumin in cancer is not due to conformational or chemical modifications in the albumin molecule. 235 90

Growing rats and adult weight-stable mice bearing a transplantable methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma were compared with animals with various states of malnutrition. Heart protein synthesis was measured in vivo. Myocardial RNA, myofibrillar protein composition and the Ca2+-activated ATPase activity in heavy chains of native myosin were measured. 'Fingerprints' were made from myosin by trypsin treatment to evaluate possible structural changes in the protein. Cardiac protein-synthesis rate was decreased by 20% in growing tumour-bearing rats, by 35% in protein-malnourished (rats) and by 47% in starved rats, compared with freely fed controls (P less than 0.05). Adult tumour-bearing mice showed no significant decrease in myocardial protein synthesis. Pair-weighed control mice had significantly depressed heart protein synthesis. Protein translational efficiency was maintained in both tumour-bearing rats and mice, but was decreased in several groups of malnourished control animals. The Ca2+-activated myosin ATPase activity was decreased in all groups of malnourished animals, including tumour-bearing mice and rats, without any evidence of a change in cardiac isomyosin composition. We conclude that loss of cardiac muscle mass in tumour disease is communicated by both depressed synthesis and increased degradation largely owing to anorexia and host malnutrition. Increased adrenergic sensitivity in hearts from tumour-bearing and malnourished animals is not communicated by increased Ca2+-activated ATPase activity. This may be down-regulated in all groups with malnutrition, without any observable alterations in the isomyosin profile.
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PMID:Protein synthesis, myosin ATPase activity and myofibrillar protein composition in hearts from tumour-bearing rats and mice. 248 44

In this phase II trial, 105 eligible patients with no prior chemotherapy and advanced sarcoma received doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and dacarbazine (DTIC) with mesna uroprotection (MAID). Starting doses of these drugs were 60, 7,500, and 900 mg/m2 divided over 72 hours by continuous infusion, respectively. Mesna was given for 84 to 96 hours at 2,500 mg/m2/d. Myelosuppression was dose limiting, causing the only toxic death (sepsis). Nonhematologic toxicity consisted predominantly of anorexia and vomiting. Severe mucositis, macroscopic hematuria, renal tubular acidosis, renal failure, and CNS toxicity occurred in less than 5% of cycles. No cardiotoxicity was detected. The overall response rate (10% complete response [CR]) was 47% (95% confidence intervals, 5% to 18% and 37% to 57%, respectively). Most responses (approximately 70%) were observed within two cycles. Median times to progression were 10 and 9 months, respectively. Histologic high tumor grade, lesions less than 5 cm, and less than 1 year from diagnosis to study entry correlated with the probability of response. The median survival was 16 months. Time from diagnosis to study entry, performance status, and extent of disease, but not histologic grade, correlated with survival. Following CR, two patients remain disease-free at 32 and 16 months. Of the 15 additional patients rendered disease-free with surgery, two remain disease-free at 30 and 18 months with no further therapy. While most relapses occurred in sites of prior involvement, death from CNS metastases occurred in 11 of the 80 patients with high-grade sarcomas, of whom seven were still responding systematically (three complete responders). Because of its substantial response in this phase II trial, the MAID regimen is being compared with doxorubicin and DTIC alone in advanced sarcomas and to observation in the adjuvant treatment of high-grade sarcomas in randomized trials.
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PMID:Response to mesna, doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and dacarbazine in 108 patients with metastatic or unresectable sarcoma and no prior chemotherapy. 250 90


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