Potent cytotoxic effects of Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy. More than 60% of the patients are presenting the disease in stage III or IV. In spite of combination of chemotherapy and surgery the prognosis stays poor for therapy regimen.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The leaves of a plant endemic to Australia, <it>Calomeria amaranthoides</it>, were extracted and then fractionated by column chromatography. <it>In vitro </it>cytotoxicity tests were performed with fractions of the plant extract and later with an isolated compound on ovarian cancer cell lines, as well as normal fibroblasts at concentrations of 1-100 μg/mL (crude extract) and 1-10 μg/mL (compound). Cytotoxicity was measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by using a non-fluorescent substrate, Alamar blue.</p> <p><it>In vivo </it>cytotoxicity was tested on ascites, developed in the abdomen of nude mice after inoculation with human OVCAR₃cells intraperitoneally. The rate of change in abdomen size for the mice was determined by linear regression and statistically evaluated for significance by the unpaired t test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two compounds were isolated by chromatographic fractionation and identified by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and mass spectrometry analyses, EPD, an α-methylene sesquiterpene lactone of the eremophilanolide subtype, and EPA, an α-methylene carboxylic acid.</p> <p>Cytotoxicity of EPD for normal fibroblasts at all time points IC₅₀was greater than 10 μg/mL, whereas, for OVCAR₃cells at 48 hours IC₅₀was 5.3 μg/mL (95% confidence interval 4.3 to 6.5 μg/mL).</p> <p>Both, the crude plant extract as well as EPD killed the cancer cells at a final concentration of 10 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL respectively, while in normal cells only 20% cell killing effect was observed. EPA had no cytotoxic effects.</p> <p>Changes in abdomen size for control versus Cisplatin treated mice were significantly different, P = 0.023, as were control versus EPD treated mice, P = 0.025, whereas, EPD versus Cisplatin treated mice were not significantly different, P = 0.13.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For the first time both crude plant extract from <it>Calomeria amaranthoides </it>and EPD have been shown to have potent anti-cancer effects against ovarian cancer.</p

Systematic Evaluation of Candidate Blood Markers for Detecting Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer is a significant cause of mortality both in the United States and worldwide, due largely to the high proportion of cases that present at a late stage, when survival is extremely poor. Early detection of epithelial ovarian cancer, and of the serous subtype in particular, is a promising strategy for saving lives. The low prevalence of ovarian cancer makes the development of an adequately sensitive and specific test based on blood markers very challenging. We evaluated the performance of a set of candidate blood markers and combinations of these markers in detecting serous ovarian cancer.We selected 14 candidate blood markers of serous ovarian cancer for which assays were available to measure their levels in serum or plasma, based on our analysis of global gene expression data and on literature searches. We evaluated the performance of these candidate markers individually and in combination by measuring them in overlapping sets of serum (or plasma) samples from women with clinically detectable ovarian cancer and women without ovarian cancer. Based on sensitivity at high specificity, we determined that 4 of the 14 candidate markers--MUC16, WFDC2, MSLN and MMP7--warrant further evaluation in precious serum specimens collected months to years prior to clinical diagnosis to assess their utility in early detection. We also reported differences in the performance of these candidate blood markers across histological types of epithelial ovarian cancer.By systematically analyzing the performance of candidate blood markers of ovarian cancer in distinguishing women with clinically apparent ovarian cancer from women without ovarian cancer, we identified a set of serum markers with adequate performance to warrant testing for their ability to identify ovarian cancer months to years prior to clinical diagnosis. We argued for the importance of sensitivity at high specificity and of magnitude of difference in marker levels between cases and controls as performance metrics and demonstrated the importance of stratifying analyses by histological type of ovarian cancer. Also, we discussed the limitations of studies (like this one) that use samples obtained from symptomatic women to assess potential utility in detection of disease months to years prior to clinical detection

Intratumoral CRH modulates immuno-escape of ovarian cancer cells through FasL regulation

Although corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and Fas ligand (FasL) have been documented in ovarian carcinoma, a clear association with tumour progression and immuno-escape has not been established. FasL plays an important role in promoting tumour cells' ability to counterattack immune cells. Here, we examined immunohistochemically the expression of CRH, CRHR1, CRHR2 and FasL in 47 human ovarian cancer cases. The ovarian cancer cell lines OvCa3 and A2780 were further used to test the hypothesis that CRH might contribute to the immune privilege of ovarian tumours, by modulating FasL expression on the cancer cells. We found that CRH, CRHR1, CRHR2 and FasL were expressed in 68.1, 70.2, 63.8 and 63.8% of the cases respectively. Positivity for CRH or FasL expression was associated with higher tumour stage. Finally, CRH increased the expression of FasL in OvCa3 and A2780 cells through CRHR1 thereby potentiated their ability to induce apoptosis of activated peripheral blood lymphocytes. Corticotropin-releasing hormone produced by human ovarian cancer might favour survival and progression of the tumour by promoting its immune privilege. These findings support the hypothesis that CRHR1 antagonists could potentially be used against ovarian cancer

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia: clinical aspects and preventive and therapeutic strategies

Abstract Background Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the result of a complex process in which several prenatal and/or postnatal factors interfere with lower respiratory tract development, leading to a severe, lifelong disease. In this review, what is presently known regarding BPD pathogenesis, its impact on long-term pulmonary morbidity and mortality and the available preventive and therapeutic strategies are discussed. Main body Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is associated with persistent lung impairment later in life, significantly impacting health services because subjects with BPD have, in most cases, frequent respiratory diseases and reductions in quality of life and life expectancy. Prematurity per se is associated with an increased risk of long-term lung problems. However, in children with BPD, impairment of pulmonary structures and function is even greater, although the characterization of long-term outcomes of BPD is difficult because the adults presently available to study have received outdated treatment. Prenatal and postnatal preventive measures are extremely important to reduce the risk of BPD. Conclusion Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a respiratory condition that presently occurs in preterm neonates and can lead to chronic respiratory problems. Although knowledge about BPD pathogenesis has significantly increased in recent years, not all of the mechanisms that lead to lung damage are completely understood, which explains why therapeutic approaches that are theoretically effective have been only partly satisfactory or useless and, in some cases, potentially negative. However, prevention of prematurity, systematic use of nonaggressive ventilator measures, avoiding supraphysiologic oxygen exposure and administration of surfactant, caffeine and vitamin A can significantly reduce the risk of BPD development. Cell therapy is the most fascinating new measure to address the lung damage due to BPD. It is desirable that ongoing studies yield positive results to definitively solve a major clinical, social and economic problem

How to improve cytologic screening for endocervical adenocarcinoma?

Aim: A retrospective study was undertaken to investigate how to improve the diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma in screening programs. Material and Methods: The study group consisted of 29 slides of women diagnosed with cancer but who had negative smears. The slides were subdivided in 12 smears taken less than one year before diagnosis by histology and 17 smears taken between one and 10 years prior to diagnosis. A hundred smears of healthy women were used for comparison. All smears were studied macroscopically after which both groups of smears were scanned by the Neural Network Scanner (NNS). Differences between groups were studied for statistical significance using Pearson's Chi-squared test. Findings: The macroscopic parameter of these smears found to be present most frequently was a heavy admixture, of blood. The presence of blood (lysed or not) in the smears was equally consistently highlighted by the NNS. Statistical significance of the association of this parameter, with the presence of cancer, was demonstrated. Conclusion: The awareness of blood as a background feature of adenocarcinoma of the cervix will help to select cases needing special attention. These difficult bloody smears, studied by light microscopy and by NNS images can also be selected for additional MiB-1 staining. With this approach, blood in smears, otherwise frequently leading to a compromise of classification, can become a blessing in disguise. The diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma in screening smears will therefore be improved

How to improve cytologic screening for endocervical adenocarcinoma?

Aim: A retrospective study was undertaken to investigate how to improve the diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma in screening programs. Material and Methods: The study group consisted of 29 slides of women diagnosed with cancer but who had negative smears. The slides were subdivided in 12 smears taken less than one year before diagnosis by histology and 17 smears taken between one and 10 years prior to diagnosis. A hundred smears of healthy women were used for comparison. All smears were studied macroscopically after which both groups of smears were scanned by the Neural Network Scanner (NNS). Differences between groups were studied for statistical significance using Pearson's Chi-squared test. Findings: The macroscopic parameter of these smears found to be present most frequently was a heavy admixture, of blood. The presence of blood (lysed or not) in the smears was equally consistently highlighted by the NNS. Statistical significance of the association of this parameter, with the presence of cancer, was demonstrated. Conclusion: The awareness of blood as a background feature of adenocarcinoma of the cervix will help to select cases needing special attention. These difficult bloody smears, studied by light microscopy and by NNS images can also be selected for additional MiB-1 staining. With this approach, blood in smears, otherwise frequently leading to a compromise of classification, can become a blessing in disguise. The diagnosis of endocervical adenocarcinoma in screening smears will therefore be improved

OVX1, macrophage-colony stimulating factor, and CA-125-II as tumor markers for epithelial ovarian carcinoma - A critical appraisal

BACKGROUND. Ovarian carcinoma remains the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy in Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States. CA-125-II, the most widely used serum marker, has limited sensitivity and specificity for detecting small-volume, early-stage disease. Therefore, a panel of three serum tumor markers-OVX1, CA-125-II, and macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF)-has been used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of multiple markers for the detection of early-stage ovarian carcinoma. METHODS. Preoperative serum levels of OVX1, CA-125-II, and M-CSF were measured in 281 patients with primary ovarian epithelial tumors of different histotypes. Among these tumors, 175 were malignant, 29 were of borderline malignancy, and 77 were benign. The three markers also were measured in sera from 117 apparently healthy women. Marker levels were considered abnormal at CA-125-II > 35 U/mL, OVX1 > 7.2 U/mL, and M-CSF > 3.5 ng/mL. RESULTS. Among 175 women with malignant ovarian tumors, at least one of the three serum markers was elevated in 85%, whereas CA-125-II was elevated in 80% (P = 0.008). In 58 patients with Stage I ovarian carcinoma, at least one of the three serum markers was elevated in 76%, whereas CA-125 levels were elevated in 66% (P = 0.04). For patients with borderline and benign tumors, a combination of the three antigens had slightly higher sensitivity compared with CA-125-II, but the differences were not statistically significant. Among 117 apparently healthy women, CA-125-II was elevated in 4%, and one of the three markers was positive in 17%. CONCLUSIONS. The sensitivity of a combination of three serum markers was significantly greater than the sensitivity of the CA-125-II assay alone in patients with primary ovarian epithelial tumors of different histotypes. This was true for all stages, including early-stage, potentially curable disease. When used as single markers, however, only the CA-125-II assay could distinguish invasive Stage I tumors from apparently healthy women. Cancer 2001;92:2837-44. (C) 2001 American Cancer Society