Comparative evaluation of the treatment efficacy of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer cells from patients

BACKGROUND: In most patients with ovarian cancer, diagnosis occurs after the tumour has disseminated beyond the ovaries. In these cases, post-surgical taxane/platinum combination chemotherapy is the "gold standard". However, most of the patients experience disease relapse and eventually die due to the emergence of chemotherapy resistance. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are novel anticancer agents that hold promise to improve patient outcome. METHODS: We compared a prototypic histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), and paclitaxel for their treatment efficacy in ovarian cancer cell lines and in primary patient-derived ovarian cancer cells. The primary cancer cells were isolated from malignant ascites collected from five patients with stage III ovarian carcinomas. Cytotoxic activities were evaluated by Alamar Blue assay and by caspase-3 activation. The ability of SAHA to kill drug-resistant 2780AD cells was also assessed. RESULTS: By employing the cell lines OVCAR-3, SK-OV-3, and A2780, we established SAHA at concentrations of 1 to 20 μM to be as efficient in inducing cell death as paclitaxel at concentrations of 3 to 300 nM. Consequently, we treated the patient-derived cancer cells with these doses of the drugs. All five isolates were sensitive to SAHA, with cell killing ranging from 21% to 63% after a 72-h exposure to 20 μM SAHA, while four of them were resistant to paclitaxel (i.e., <10% cell death at 300 nM paclitaxel for 72 hours). Likewise, treatment with SAHA led to an increase in caspase-3 activity in all five isolates, whereas treatment with paclitaxel had no effect on caspase-3 activity in three of them. 2780AD cells were responsive to SAHA but resistant to paclitaxel. CONCLUSION: These ex vivo findings raise the possibility that SAHA may prove effective in the treatment of paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer in vivo

Emil Krönings Scheidenpulverbläser - Geschichte und Anwendung von Scheidenpulverbläsern zur Kontrazeption im gesellschaftlichen Umfeld Deutschlands an der Schwelle des 20. Jahrhunderts

Emil Krönings Scheidenpulverbläser- Geschichte und Anwendung von Scheidenpulverbläsern zur Kontrazeption im gesellschaftlichen Umfeld Deutschlands an der Schwelle des 20. Jahrhunderts Der Scheidenpulverbläser war die erste kontrazeptive Methode überhaupt, die auf einer wissenschaftlichen Tagung 1896 in Deutschland vorgestellt wurde. Er ist aber auch als kontrazeptives Mittel als erstes wieder in Vergessenheit geraten. Die zur Kontrazeption verwendeten Scheidenpulverbläser sind eine deutsche Entwicklung aus dem Jahre 1895. Da der Erfinder des Scheidenpulverbläsers unter einem Pseudonym publizierte ist, seine wahre Identität unbekannt. Die Hauptanwendungszeit der Scheidenpulverbläser lag zwischen 1898 bis ca. Ende der 20er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts. Das wesentliche Prinzip der ursprünglichen Scheidenpulverbläser bestand in einer mechanischen Aufspreizung des Scheidengewölbes und der Applikation von Pulver in Form pulversierter Säuren auf den Muttermund. Die Anwendung fand vor der Kohabitation statt. Obgleich die kontrazeptive Wirksamkeit der Scheidenpulverbläser von Beginn an angezweifelt und eine Effektivität nie auch nur annähernd nachgewiesen wurde, haben sie sich dennoch etwa 30 Jahre lang mehr oder weniger behaupten können. Die verschiedenen Scheidenpulverbläser, die mit dem Namen Kröning in Verbindung standen, sind die am häufigsten in der Literatur beschrieben Instrumente gewesen. Fast alle anderen Scheidenpulverbläser sind als Plagiate der Kröning- Modelle anzusehen. Hinter dem Namen Kröning verbirgt sich eine sehr verworrene Familiengeschichte, die nicht bis in alle Einzelheiten geklärt werden konnte. In der geburtshilflich- gynäkologischen Sammlung an der Klinik und Poliklinik für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe des Klinikums der Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald sind insgesamt 10 Scheidenpulverbläser ausgestellt. Das Material ist in seinem Umfang als einmalig anzusehen.The “Emil Kröning Vaginal Powder Blower“ – History of the Device and its Use for Contraception in Germany During the Early 20th Century Despite the fact that it was the first contraceptive system ever introduced at a scientific conference in Germany in 1896, the vaginal powder blower became quickly forgottten. The vaginal powder blower was developed in Germany in 1895 as a contraceptive device. Since the inventor published all related material under a pseudonym, the author’s real name remains a mystery. For contraception, vaginal powder application was primarily used from 1898 until the late 20s of the 20th century. The original vaginal device comprised a mechanism for opening up the vaginal vault in addition to the actual blower which applied powdered acids to the cervix. The system was intended to be used prior to sexual intercourse. Although immediate doubts arose with respect to the contraceptive value of the vaginal powder blower and despite any reasonable proof of the method’s efficacy, the system remained in current use for about 30 years. The various vaginal powder blowers associated with the name “Kröning“ are the most frequently described instruments. Nearly all other vaginal powder blowers were plagiarized from the Kröning models. Kröning is the name of a family with a highly confusing history that remains to be completely elucidated. Ten vaginal powder blowers are on display at the gynecologic-obstetric collection of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald Medical School Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics. This is a unique collection -- not only because of its size

Non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer: A multicentric phase II trial

Patients with non-platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer have a poor prognosis. Non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Myocet (R)) is a promising drug that may be able to improve treatment for such patients. In the current study, patients with recurrent ovarian cancer relapsing within 12 months after primary treatment received non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin at 75 mg/m(2) d1q22 and 60 mg/m2 d1q22 after study dose modification, respectively. There were 29 patients enrolled in the trial, and 124 cycles of non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin were administered in total. All 29 patients were evaluable for toxicity. The clinical benefit rate (defined as the proportion of patients with either complete remission or partial remission, or with stable disease for >6 months) was 50%. The predominant non-hematological toxicity was nausea and vomiting (18 patients, grade I/II), whilst no palmar plantar erythrodysesthesia was observed. In 3 patients, a grade III hematological toxicity occurred, and the treatment schedule was consequently modified to 60 mg/m2 d1q22. The findings suggest that non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin administered in a schedule of 60 mg/m(2) d1q22 is well-manageable and is associated with tolerable non-hematological toxicities (predominantly nausea)