Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:Q06643 (non-Hodgkin's lymphoma)
 11,307 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Molecular characterization of neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma of the skin. Review of the literature and report of three cases. Although neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin (NECS) is comparatively a rare clinical-histological entity, numerous morphological and ultrastructural studies have been carried out since the tumor was identificated by Toker (1972). Recently immunocytochemistry has allowed a better molecular characterization (immunophenotype) of this tumor and a more exact diagnosis. The main problem for the pathologist is the differential diagnosis between NECS and skin neoplasms--both primitive and metastatic--which require a more aggressive treatment. Often the classical morphological criteria do not distinguish NECS from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, amelanotic melanomas, cutaneous metastases of lung small cell carcinoma or of neuroblastoma. The co-expression of cytokeratins and neurofilaments constantly found in NECS, is surely the best differential criterion from non-neuroendocrine carcinomas. Furthermore, the typical paranuclear location of both the intermediate filaments in NECS is a distinctive peculiarity as opposed to lung microcytoma, where cytokeratins and neurofilaments, when present, show widespread perinuclear positivity. Chromogranin A is found only in a small percentage of tumor cells, whilst synthesis of calcitonin, somatostatin, gastrin, ACTH, is very rare. Finally, the lack of common leukocyte antigen (CLA), S-100 protein and vimentin in NECS rules out the diagnoses of lymphoma, melanoma and sarcoma respectively.
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PMID:[Molecular characterization of cutaneous neuroendocrine (Merkel cell) carcinoma. Review of the literature and presentation of a caseload]. 209 Oct 10

Optimization of therapy for individual patients remains a goal of clinical practice. Radionuclide imaging can identify those patients who may benefit from subsequent targeted therapy by providing regional information on the distribution of the target. An ideal situation may be when the imaging and the therapeutic compounds are the same agent. Two antibodies ([ [90Y]ibritumomab, [131I]tositumomab) are now approved for the systemic radiotherapy of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The main hurdle is to deliver higher absorbed doses to the more refractory solid tumors paying particular regard to the bone marrow toxicity. The low dose is thought to be a result of the large size of antibodies slowing delivery to the target. Peptides having high affinity to receptors expressed on cancer cells are a promising alternative. They are usually rapidly excreted from the body through renal and/or hepatobiliary excretion thus creating a prolonged accumulation of the radioactivity in the kidneys, which represents a recognized issue for systemic radiotherapy. The first radiopeptide developed was a somatostatin analogue, which led to a major breakthrough in the field. Beside the kidney issue, somatostatin use remains limited to few cancers that express receptors in sufficiently large quantities, mainly neuroendocrine tumors. The gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) receptor is an attractive target for development of new radiopeptides with diagnostic and therapeutic potential. This is based upon the functional expression of GRP receptors in several of the more prevalent cancers including prostate, breast, and small cell lung cancer. This review covers the efforts currently underway to develop new and clinically promising GRP-receptor specific molecules labeled with imageable and therapeutic radionuclides.
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PMID:Lutetium-177-labeled gastrin releasing peptide receptor binding analogs: a novel approach to radionuclide therapy. 1704 28