Serum sE-selectin levels and carcinoembryonic antigen mRNA-expressing cells in peripheral blood as prognostic factors in colorectal cancer patients

This study analyzed the possible prognostic value of presurgical serum soluble (s)E-selectin levels and/or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA positivity in predicting the disease-free survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients

Prognostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen and vascular endothelial growth factor tumor tissue content in colorectal cancer

This study was designed to assess the prognostic significance of the combined measurement of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) tissue content with respect to relapse-free and overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC)

Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor tumor tissue content of colorectal cancer

A longitudinal study was designed to quantify tumor tissue content of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to evaluate its prognostic value in respect to the relapse-free and overall survivals

Epitaxial Growth of VO2_{2} by Periodic Annealing

We report the growth of ultrathin VO$_{2}$ films on rutile TiO$_{2}$ (001) substrates via reactive molecular-beam epitaxy. The films were formed by the cyclical deposition of amorphous vanadium and its subsequent oxidation and transformation to VO$_{2}$ via solid-phase epitaxy. Significant metal-insulator transitions were observed in films as thin as 2.3 nm, where a resistance change {\Delta}R/R of 25 was measured. Low angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy was used in conjunction with electron energy loss spectroscopy to study the film/substrate interface and revealed the vanadium to be tetravalent and the titanium interdiffusion to be limited to 1.6 nm.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Prognostic significance of adiponectin levels in non-metastatic colorectal cancer

Circulating adiponectin levels are inversely correlated with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study was designed to evaluate the association between adiponectin levels and the clinicopathological variables of CRC and to analyze the possible prognostic value of adiponectin in predicting relapse-free survival

Prognostic value of soluble P-selectin levels in colorectal cancer

Measurement of soluble (s) P-selectin levels has been proposed as a diagnostic tool for monitoring the clinical course of human neoplasms. Thus, our study was aimed at analyzing the role of sP-selectin in association with clinicopathological variables in 181 patients with primary (n =149) or metastatic (n = 32) colorectal cancer (CRC), 34 patients with benign diseases and 181 control subjects. The results obtained showed that sP-selectin levels were higher in patients with CRC compared either to patients with benign disease (p = 0.006) or controls (p = 0.003). No differences were observed between the latter and patients with benign diseases. Increased median sP-selectin levels were significantly associated with the presence of distant metastasis (68.2 ng/ml vs. 48.6 ng/ml, p = 0.002). Of interest, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were independently associated to sP-selectin (regression coefficient = 0.28, p < 0.002). Cox's proportional hazards survival analysis of primary CRC patients demonstrated that beside the stage of disease sP-selectin levels had an independent prognostic role in predicting recurrent disease (HR = 2.22, p = 0.019) and mortality from CRC (HR = 3.44, p= 0.017). These results suggest that measurement of plasma sP-selectin might represent a prognostic indicator in the management of patients with CRC

Soluble CD40 ligand plasma levels in lung cancer

: Tumor-induced platelet activation may cause the release of various cytokines, including CD40 ligand (CD40L). Activation of the CD40/CD40L pathway in human tumors may result in thrombin generation, which is known to be involved in angiogenesis. Thus, we investigated whether soluble (s)CD40L levels are increased in patients with lung cancer as a result of platelet and/or coagulation activation. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Citrated plasma samples were obtained from 120 patients with different stages and histotypes of lung cancer and 60 age- and sex-matched control subjects. sCD40L, sP-selectin (marker of platelet activation), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, and thrombin-antithrombin III complex levels (both markers of coagulative activation) were measured in all samples. RESULTS: Patients with lung cancer had median sCD40L levels higher than in control subjects (0.46 versus 0.13 ng/ml; P < 0.0001), although correlation with the stage of disease was not evident. Nonetheless, sCD40L levels were significantly higher in squamous cancer compared with adenocarcinoma (0.75 versus 0.27 ng/ml; P < 0.05). Moreover, median sCD40L levels were higher in stage IV compared with nonmetastatic squamous lung cancer (1.02 versus 0.61 ng/ml; P < 0.05). sCD40L levels significantly correlated with sP-selectin (P < 0.001), prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (P < 0.001), or thrombin-antithrombin III complex (P < 0.05) in squamous lung cancer, but only sP-selectin (P = 0.011) was independently related to sCD40L. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that elevated sCD40L levels can be preferentially found in patients with advanced squamous cancer and provide evidence that increased levels of this cytokine are associated to the occurrence of in vivo platelet activatio

Time to Treatment Intensification in Patients Receiving DPP4 Inhibitors Versus Sulfonylureas as the First Add-On to Metformin Monotherapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: To verify whether, in patients on metformin (MET) monotherapy for type 2 diabetes (T2D), the add-on of a dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor (DPP4i) compared to a sulfonylurea (SU) can delay the time to the subsequent treatment intensification (TI). Methods: Population-based administrative data banks from four Italian geographic areas were used. Patients aged ≥18&nbsp;years on MET monotherapy receiving first DPP4i or SU dispensing between 2008 and 2015 (cohort entry) were followed up to the occurrence of TI (insulin dispensing or add-on of a third non-insulin hypoglicemic &gt;180&nbsp;days after cohort entry), treatment discontinuation, switch, cancer, death, TI occurrence within, end of data availability, end of study period (31 December 2016), whichever came first. Patients on MET + DPP4i were matched 1:1 with those on MET + SU by sex, age, year of cohort entry, and data bank. Hazard Ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated using multivariable Cox regression model including matching variables and potential confounders measured at baseline. Different sensitivity analyses were performed: i) matching at 180&nbsp;days after cohort entry, ii) intent to treat (ITT) analysis, iii) matching by duration of MET monotherapy, iv) matching by propensity score. Results: The matched study cohort included 10,600 patients. Overall, 763 TI were observed (4.5/100 person-years; mean follow-up = 1.6&nbsp;years). The primary analysis showed no difference in time to TI between the two groups (HR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.88–1.19). Sensitivity analyses confirmed this result, except from the ITT analysis (HR = 1.27; 1.13–1.43). Conclusion: The use of a DPP4i rather than a SU as add-on to MET monotherapy was not associated with a delay in treatment intensification

Correlation between tumor necrosis factor-alpha and D-dimer levels in non-small cell lung cancer patients

The present study was designed to investigate whether a correlation exists between IL-6, TNF-alpha and coagulation (Thrombin-antithrombin, TATc) or fibrinolysis (D-dimer) activation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. One hundred thirty patients with NSCLC (n=65, 53 males, mean age 65 +/- 8, adenocarcinoma n=32, squamous cancer n=33) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n=65, 51 males, mean age 67 +/- 9) were studied. As control group 65 healthy donors (51 males, mean age 61 +/- 14) were also evaluated. The results obtained showed that median D-dimer levels were higher in NSCLC patients (3.0 microg/ml) compared either to COPD patients (1.1 microg/ml, P<0.05) or controls (0.3 microg/ml, P<0.0001). Positive TNF-alpha levels (>10 pg/ml) were found in 26% of NSCLC compared to 3% of COPD (P<0.002) and 5% of controls (P<0.0005). On the other hand, positive (>8.5 pg/ml) IL-6 levels were found in 53% of NSCLC and 21% of COPD patients, compared to 5% of control subjects (P<0.001). Median TATc levels were elevated in either NSCLC (6.9 microg/l) or COPD (5.7 microg/l) patients compared to controls (1.8 microg/l, P<0.0001). Elevated D-dimer levels were significantly associated to positive TNF-alpha levels in patients without distant metastasis (F=4.3, P<0.05). Moreover, TNF-alpha levels (P<0.01) were independently related to the presence of positive D-dimer levels in patients with non-metastatic NSCLC. These results suggest that increased levels of TNF-alpha might be responsible for an activation of fibrinolysis in patients with NSCLC