The Vascular System of Xenotransplanted Tumors -Scanning Electron and Light Microscopic Studies-

A widely used model for investigating basic tumor characteristics and different treatment modalities preclinically is the immune-deficient, athymic nude mouse. This model offers many morphological parallelisms to the clinical situation. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the vascularization pattern of xenotransplanted human melanomas and sarcomas using different methods. Xenotransplanted tumors of 62 congenital thymusaplastic nude mice were examined ultrastructurally and topographically after corrosion cast and tissue preparation. Quantitative measurements of tumors injected with India ink were carried out to obtain comparable information on the vascular densities in the tumors. Quantitative measurements showed that there is no zonal, topographic arrangement of the vascular densities. Comparisons of the vascular densities in the centers of tumors with the densities in the periphery showed an extreme heterogeneity in tumor vessel distribution, which does not generally support the idea of a better vascularisation in the tumor periphery. Neither in the periphery nor in the center of the tumor regular vessels are to be seen consisting of intimal, medial and adventitial layers. Even the largest peripheral vessels, which often take a tortuous course, consist mainly of an endothelial layer and some perivascular connective tissue only. Areas with high vascular densities could be seen just beneath areas almost free of vessels. Besides endothelial-lined vessels numerous irregular, tumor cell-lined sinusoids are visible both in sarcomas and melanomas. The morphology of the vessels found scanning electron microscopically is generally in agreement with many features described transmission electron microscopically

Combination of celecoxib with percutaneous radiotherapy in patients with localised prostate cancer – a phase I study

BACKGROUND: Current approaches for the improvement of bNED for prostate cancer patients treated with radiotherapy mainly focus on dose escalation. However molecularly targeted approaches may also turn out to be of value. In this regard cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors have been shown to exert some anti-tumour activities in human prostate cancer in vivo and in vitro. Although in vitro data indicated that the combination of COX-2 inhibition and radiation was not associated with an increased toxicity, we performed a phase I trial using high dose celecoxib together with percutaneous radiation therapy. METHODS: In order to rule out any increases of more than 20% incidence for a given side effect level 22 patients were included in the trial. Celecoxib was given 400 mg twice daily with onset of the radiation treatment. Risk adapted radiation doses were between 70 and 74 Gy standard fractionation. RTOG based gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) acute toxicity scoring was performed weekly during radiation therapy, at six weeks after therapy and three month after completing radiation treatment. RESULTS: Generally no major increase in the level and incidence of side effects potentially caused by the combined treatment was observed. In two cases a generalised skin rash occurred which immediately resolved upon discontinuation of the drug. No grade 3 and 4 toxicity was seen. Maximal GI toxicity grade 1 and 2 was observed in 85% and 10%, respectively. In terms of GU toxicity 80 % of the patients experienced a grade 1 toxicity and 10 % had grade 2 symptoms. CONCLUSION: The combination of irradiation to the prostate with concurrent high dose celecoxib was not associated with an increased level of side effects

Irradiation specifically sensitises solid tumour cell lines to TRAIL mediated apoptosis

BACKGROUND: TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand) is an apoptosis inducing ligand with high specificity for malignant cell systems. Combined treatment modalities using TRAIL and cytotoxic drugs revealed highly additive effects in different tumour cell lines. Little is known about the efficacy and underlying mechanistic effects of a combined therapy using TRAIL and ionising radiation in solid tumour cell systems. Additionally, little is known about the effect of TRAIL combined with radiation on normal tissues. METHODS: Tumour cell systems derived from breast- (MDA MB231), lung--(NCI H460) colorectal--(Colo 205, HCT-15) and head and neck cancer (FaDu, SCC-4) were treated with a combination of TRAIL and irradiation using two different time schedules. Normal tissue cultures from breast, prostate, renal and bronchial epithelia, small muscle cells, endothelial cells, hepatocytes and fibroblasts were tested accordingly. Apoptosis was determined by fluorescence microscopy and western blot determination of PARP processing. Upregulation of death receptors was quantified by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The combined treatment of TRAIL with irradiation strongly increased apoptosis induction in all treated tumour cell lines compared to treatment with TRAIL or irradiation alone. The synergistic effect was most prominent after sequential application of TRAIL after irradiation. Upregulation of TRAIL receptor DR5 after irradiation was observed in four of six tumour cell lines but did not correlate to tumour cell sensitisation to TRAIL. TRAIL did not show toxicity in normal tissue cell systems. In addition, pre-irradiation did not sensitise all nine tested human normal tissue cell cultures to TRAIL. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the in vitro data, TRAIL represents a very promising candidate for combination with radiotherapy. Sequential application of ionising radiation followed by TRAIL is associated with an synergistic induction of cell death in a large panel of solid tumour cell lines. However, TRAIL receptor upregulation may not be the sole mechanism by which sensitation to TRAIL after irradiation is induced

Frequent induction of chromosomal aberrations in in vivo skin fibroblasts after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: hints to chromosomal instability after irradiation

BACKGROUND: Total body irradiation (TBI) has been part of standard conditioning regimens before allogeneic stem cell transplantation for many years. Its effect on normal tissue in these patients has not been studied extensively. METHOD: We studied the in vivo cytogenetic effects of TBI and high-dose chemotherapy on skin fibroblasts from 35 allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients. Biopsies were obtained prospectively (n = 18 patients) before, 3 and 12 months after allogeneic SCT and retrospectively (n = 17 patients) 23-65 months after SCT for G-banded chromosome analysis. RESULTS: Chromosomal aberrations were detected in 2/18 patients (11 %) before allogeneic SCT, in 12/13 patients (92 %) after 3 months, in all patients after 12 months and in all patients in the retrospective group after allogeneic SCT. The percentage of aberrant cells was significantly higher at all times after allogeneic SCT compared to baseline analysis. Reciprocal translocations were the most common aberrations, but all other types of stable, structural chromosomal aberrations were also observed. Clonal aberrations were observed, but only in three cases they were detected in independently cultured flasks. A tendency to non-random clustering throughout the genome was observed. The percentage of aberrant cells was not different between patients with and without secondary malignancies in this study group. CONCLUSION: High-dose chemotherapy and TBI leads to severe chromosomal damage in skin fibroblasts of patients after SCT. Our long-term data suggest that this damage increases with time, possibly due to in vivo radiation-induced chromosomal instability

hints to chromosomal instability after irradiation

Background Total body irradiation (TBI) has been part of standard conditioning regimens before allogeneic stem cell transplantation for many years. Its effect on normal tissue in these patients has not been studied extensively. Method We studied the in vivo cytogenetic effects of TBI and high-dose chemotherapy on skin fibroblasts from 35 allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients. Biopsies were obtained prospectively (n = 18 patients) before, 3 and 12 months after allogeneic SCT and retrospectively (n = 17 patients) 23–65 months after SCT for G-banded chromosome analysis. Results Chromosomal aberrations were detected in 2/18 patients (11 %) before allogeneic SCT, in 12/13 patients (92 %) after 3 months, in all patients after 12 months and in all patients in the retrospective group after allogeneic SCT. The percentage of aberrant cells was significantly higher at all times after allogeneic SCT compared to baseline analysis. Reciprocal translocations were the most common aberrations, but all other types of stable, structural chromosomal aberrations were also observed. Clonal aberrations were observed, but only in three cases they were detected in independently cultured flasks. A tendency to non-random clustering throughout the genome was observed. The percentage of aberrant cells was not different between patients with and without secondary malignancies in this study group. Conclusion High-dose chemotherapy and TBI leads to severe chromosomal damage in skin fibroblasts of patients after SCT. Our long-term data suggest that this damage increases with time, possibly due to in vivo radiation-induced chromosomal instability

Magnetic resonance thermometry: methodology, pitfalls and practical solutions

Clinically established thermal therapies such as thermoablative approaches or adjuvant hyperthermia treatment rely on accurate thermal dose information for the evaluation and adaptation of the thermal therapy. Intratumoural temperature measurements have been correlated successfully with clinical end points. Magnetic resonance imaging is the most suitable technique for non-invasive thermometry avoiding complications related to invasive temperature measurements. Since the advent of MR thermometry two decades ago, numerous MR thermometry techniques have been developed, continuously increasing accuracy and robustness for in vivo applications. While this progress was primarily focused on relative temperature mapping, current and future efforts will likely close the gap towards quantitative temperature readings. These efforts are essential to benchmark thermal therapy efficiency, to understand temperature-related biophysical and physiological processes and to use these insights to set new landmarks for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. With that in mind, this review summarises and discusses advances in MR thermometry, providing practical considerations, pitfalls and technical obstacles constraining temperature measurement accuracy, spatial and temporal resolution in vivo. Established approaches and current trends in thermal therapy hardware are surveyed with respect to potential benefits for MR thermometry

Severe skin reaction secondary to concomitant radiotherapy plus cetuximab

The therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is specifically associated with dermatologic reactions of variable severity. Recent evidence suggests superiority of the EGFR inhibitor (EGFRI) cetuximab plus radiotherapy compared to radiotherapy alone in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Although not documented in a study population, several reports indicate a possible overlap between radiation dermatitis and the EGFRI-induced skin rash. We here present a case of severe skin reaction secondary to the addition of cetuximab to radiotherapy

Thermal magnetic resonance: physics considerations and electromagnetic field simulations up to 23.5 Tesla (1GHz)

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malign brain tumor. The 5-year survival rate after tumor resection and adjuvant chemoradiation is only 10 %, with almost all recurrences occurring in the initially treated site. Attempts to improve local control using a higher radiation dose were not successful so that alternative additive treatments are urgently needed. Given the strong rationale for hyperthermia as part of a multimodal treatment for patients with glioblastoma, non-invasive radio frequency (RF) hyperthermia might significantly improve treatment results. Methods: A non-invasive applicator was constructed utilizing the magnetic resonance (MR) spin excitation frequency for controlled RF hyperthermia and MR imaging in an integrated system, which we refer to as thermal MR. Applicator designs at RF frequencies 300 MHz, 500 MHz and 1GHz were investigated and examined for absolute applicable thermal dose and temperature hotspot size. Electromagnetic field (EMF) and temperature simulations were performed in human voxel models. RF heating experiments were conducted at 300 MHz and 500 MHz to characterize the applicator performance and validate the simulations. Results: The feasibility of thermal MR was demonstrated at 7.0 T. The temperature could be increased by ~11 °C in 3 min in the center of a head sized phantom. Modification of the RF phases allowed steering of a temperature hotspot to a deliberately selected location. RF heating was monitored using the integrated system for MR thermometry and high spatial resolution MRI. EMF and thermal simulations demonstrated that local RF hyperthermia using the integrated system is feasible to reach a maximum temperature in the center of the human brain of 46.8 °C after 3 min of RF heating while surface temperatures stayed below 41 °C. Using higher RF frequencies reduces the size of the temperature hotspot significantly. Conclusion: The opportunities and capabilities of thermal magnetic resonance for RF hyperthermia interventions of intracranial lesions are intriguing. Employing such systems as an alternative additive treatment for glioblastoma multiforme might be able to improve local control by "fighting fire with fire". Interventions are not limited to the human brain and might include temperature driven targeted drug and MR contrast agent delivery and help to understand temperature dependent bio- and physiological processes in-vivo