Synthesis and styrene copolymerization of novel alkoxy ring-substituted isobutyl phenylcyanoacrylates

Novel alkoxy ring-substituted isobutyl phenylcyanoacrylates, RPhCH=C(CN)CO2CH2CH(CH3)2 (where R is 2-methoxy, 3-methoxy, 4-methoxy, 2-ethoxy, 3-ethoxy, 4-ethoxy, 4-propoxy, 4-butoxy, 4-hexyloxy) were prepared and copolymerized with styrene. The acrylates were synthesized by the piperidine catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and isobutyl cyanoacetate and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR. All the acrylates were copolymerized with styrene in solution with radical initiation (ABCN) at 70C. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis, and the structures were analyzed by IR, 1H and 13C-NMR. Thermal properties of the copolymers are characterized by DSC and TGA. Decomposition of the copolymers in nitrogen occurred in two steps, first in the 200-500ºC range with residue (1.8-3.3% wt.), which then decomposed in the 500-800ºC range

Combining Immunotherapy and Radiation for Prostate Cancer

AbstractRadiotherapy has conventionally been viewed as immunosuppressive, which has precluded its use in combination with immunotherapy for prostate and other cancers. However, the relationship between ionizing radiation and immune reactivity is now known to be more complex than was previously thought, and data on the use of radiotherapy and immunotherapy are accumulating. Herein, we review this topic in the light of recently available data in the prostate cancer setting. Recent research has shown no significant lymphopenia in patients undergoing radiotherapy for high-risk adenocarcinoma of the prostate. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that radiotherapy can have immunostimulatory effects, and that tumor cell death, coupled with related changes in antigen availability and inflammatory signals, can affect lymphocyte and dendritic cell activation. Initial studies have focused on combinations of tumor irradiation and immunotherapy, such as the autologous cellular immunotherapy sipuleucel-T and the monoclonal antibody ipilimumab, in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. These combinations appear to have clinical promise, and further investigation of the potentially synergistic combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy is continuing in clinical trials