Spontaneous regression in alveolar soft part sarcoma: case report and literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sarcomas are a type of malignant tumors that arise from connective tissue. They are most of the time found in extremities</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We are presenting a case of adult male patient, who was found to have huge abdominal mass and multiple gastric and duodenal polyps. Pathological diagnosis for all lesions was Alveolar soft part sarcoma. Although he complained from metastasis to both lungs and right atrium, all these deposits regressed spontaneously. Patient stated that he used some herbs (Teucrium polium, Cat Thyme) prescribed for him. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was given. The duration of regression was about 5 months before other lesions appeared. Later on, he died secondary to brain metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ASPS is a rare type of sarcomas that affect primarily the lower limbs. This tumor does rarely metastasize to the gastrointestinal tract.</p

Efficient tumour formation by single human melanoma cells

A fundamental question in cancer biology is whether cells with tumorigenic potential are common or rare within human cancers. Studies on diverse cancers, including melanoma, have indicated that only rare human cancer cells ( 0.1 - 0.0001%) form tumours when transplanted into non- obese diabetic/ severe combined immunodeficiency ( NOD/ SCID) mice. However, the extent to which NOD/ SCID mice underestimate the frequency of tumorigenic human cancer cells has been uncertain. Here we show that modified xenotransplantation assay conditions, including the use of more highly immunocompromised NOD/ SCID interleukin- 2 receptor gamma chain null (Il2rg(-/-)) mice, can increase the detection of tumorigenic melanoma cells by several orders of magnitude. In limiting dilution assays, approximately 25% of unselected melanoma cells from 12 different patients, including cells from primary and metastatic melanomas obtained directly from patients, formed tumours under these more permissive conditions. In single- cell transplants, an average of 27% of unselected melanoma cells from four different patients formed tumours. Modifications to xenotransplantation assays can therefore dramatically increase the detectable frequency of tumorigenic cells, demonstrating that they are common in some human cancers.Howard Hughes Medical Institute ; Allen H. Blondy Research Fellowship ; Lewis and Lillian Becker ; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center ; National Institutes of Health [CA46592]; University of Michigan Flow Cytometry Core Facility ; N. McAnsh and the University of Michigan Cancer Centre Histology Core ; National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases [NIH5P60- DK20572]; Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center ; Spanish Ministry of Education ; Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship from the European Commission ; Australian National Health and Medical Research Council ; Human Frontiers Science Program and Australia PostThis work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by the Allen H. Blondy Research Fellowship. The University of Michigan Melanoma Bank was supported by a gift from Lewis and Lillian Becker. Flow cytometry was partly supported by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center grant from the National Institutes of Health CA46592. We thank: D. Adams, M. White and the University of Michigan Flow Cytometry Core Facility for support; N. McAnsh and the University of Michigan Cancer Centre Histology Core for histological studies; G. K. Smyth for assistance with statistics; and Z. Azizan for support with tissue collection. Antibody production was supported in part by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, grant NIH5P60- DK20572 to the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center. Some antibodies were provided by Caltag or by eBioscience to screen for cancer stem- cell markers. Human primary melanocyte cultures were provided by M. Soengas. Human mesenchymal stem cells were provided by Z. Wang and P. Krebsbach. E. Q. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and the Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship from the European Commission. M. S. was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Human Frontiers Science Program and Australia Post.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62970/1/nature07567.pd

RhoC-GTPase is a Novel Tissue Biomarker Associated with Biologically Aggressive Carcinomas of the Breast

Background. There is a need for reliable predictors of breast cancer aggressiveness that will further refine the staging classification and help guide the implementation of novel therapies. We have identified RhoC as being nearly always overexpressed in the most aggressive form of breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC); in subsequent work we identified RhoC to be a promising marker of aggressive behavior in breast cancers less than 1 cm in diameter. We hypothesized that RhoC expression would identify aggressive, non-IBC tumors breast cancer patients at any stage with worse outcomes defined as recurrence and/or metastasis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44231/1/10549_2005_Article_4170.pd

Molecular markers and potential therapeutic targets in non-WNT/non-SHH (group 3 and group 4) medulloblastomas

Childhood medulloblastomas (MB) are heterogeneous and are divided into four molecular subgroups. The provisional non-wingless-activated (WNT)/non-sonic hedgehog-activated (SHH) category combining group 3 and group 4 represents over two thirds of all MBs, coupled with the highest rates of metastases and least understood pathology. The molecular era expanded our knowledge about molecular aberrations involved in MB tumorigenesis, and here, we review processes leading to non-WNT/non-SHH MB formations.The heterogeneous group 3 and group 4 MBs frequently harbor rare individual genetic alterations, yet the emerging profiles suggest that infrequent events converge on common, potentially targetable signaling pathways. A mutual theme is the altered epigenetic regulation, and in vitro approaches targeting epigenetic machinery are promising. Growing evidence indicates the presence of an intermediate, mixed signature group along group 3 and group 4, and future clarifications are imperative for concordant classification, as misidentifying patient samples has serious implications for therapy and clinical trials.To subdue the high MB mortality, we need to discern mechanisms of disease spread and recurrence. Current preclinical models do not represent the full scale of group 3 and group 4 heterogeneity: all of existing group 3 cell lines are MYC-amplified and most mouse models resemble MYC-activated MBs. Clinical samples provide a wealth of information about the genetic divergence between primary tumors and metastatic clones, but recurrent MBs are rarely resected. Molecularly stratified treatment options are limited, and targeted therapies are still in preclinical development. Attacking these aggressive tumors at multiple frontiers will be needed to improve stagnant survival rates

“Applying an instructional design model on designing online lessons for Malaysian students enrolled in Arab universities”

عند النَّظر إلى اﳌﺼﺎدر التعليمية والدِّراسات البحثيَّة يُكشف لنا عن قلة اﺳـــﺘﺨﺪام اﳊﺎﺳـــﻮب ﰲ تعلم اللغات اﻷﺟﻨﺒﻴـــَّﺔ بشكل عام، وتعليم اللغة العربيَّة بشكل خاص، على الرغم من أنَّ كثيرًا من الدِّراسات التَّربوية بيَّنت أهميَّة استعمال الحاسوب في العمليَّة التَّعليميَّة، فالتَّعليم باستخدام البرمجيَّات والمناهج التي أعدت خصِّيصًا للتَّعلم من خلال القرص المدمج أو ﺷـﺒﻜﺔ الإنترنيت ما زالت تحتاج إلى اهتمام كبير من قبل المتخصِّصين في تعليم العربيَّة للنَّاطقين بغيرها. لذا يدور فلك هذا البحث في تصميم دروس إلكترونيَّة للطَّلبة الماليزيين الملتحقين بالجامعة العربية، حيث سيصمم موقع خاص لإدخال هذه الدروس لتكون نموذجا عمليا للطلبة الماليزيين الذين يلتحقون بالدراسة في الجامعات العربية. ويتوفر في هذه الدروس المعايير والمواصفات التي يجب أن تتوفر في المادَّة التَّعليميَّة الإلكترونيَّة، وإثراءها بالمشاهد التَّمثيليَّة، والأصوات وأفلام الفيديو، والتَّدريبات والأنشطة والاختبارات التَّفاعليَّة التي تحقق تعلمًا أكثر كفاءة، وتجعل تعلم العربيَّة لغير النَّاطقين بها تعلمًا ممتعًا سهلاً

توظيف المدخل الاتِّصالي الثَّقافي في تصميم وحدات دراسيَّة للنَّاطقين بغير العربية

Using cultural communicative approach in designing lesson units for non Arabic speaker