Kanker in context

Inauguratie van prof.dr. Marc A.G.G. Vooijs, benoemd in de Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences tot bijzonder hoogleraar Signalering in de tumor micro-omgevin

The Association between Primary Endometrioid Carcinoma of the Ovary and Synchronous Malignancy of the Endometrium

Objective. Ovarian and endometrial cancers coincide rather frequently in the same patient. Few data are available on the involvement of the specific morphological subtypes. To identify histological pathways in the synchronous occurrence, a population-based study was performed in The Netherlands. Methods. Using the national pathology database (PALGA) information of ovarian cancers and of earlier or later cancer in the endometrium was obtained. 5366 Patients were identified with primary malignant epithelial or borderline malignancy. Results. In 157 cases (2.9%) a new primary malignancy in the endometrium was diagnosed (146 within 1 year). The ratio of observed versus expected number of synchronous malignancy in the endometrium was estimated at 3.6 (95% CI: 2.7–4.7). Among 460 ovarian endometrioid carcinoma patients 53 cases showed a second primary endometrial cancer; 40 out of these 53 cases (75.5%) showed at both organ sites an endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Conclusion. These findings suggest an important role for the endometrioid subtype and prompt to mechanism-based studies incorporating molecular techniques

The influence of a PHI-5-loaded silicone membrane, on cutaneous wound healing in vivo

This study investigated whether a novel ionogenic substance, containing amongst others zinc and rubidium (PHI-5; Dermagenics Inc, Memphis, TN, USA), could improve the healing of full-thickness skin wounds. Uniform wounds were created on the right flank of guinea pigs. Micro-grooved silicone rubber membranes, containing 0 (controls), 1.25, 5.00, or 10.00 μg PHI-5, were sutured onto this wound. Standardized digital wound photographs were made after 1, 3, and 6 weeks. Also, wound biopsies were taken after 3 and 6 weeks for histological and histomorphometrical evaluation. For all study groups, 6 animals were used. Analysis of the 1-week digital photographs showed that the surface area of the wounds decreased significantly, with an increasing PHI-5 concentration. No other differences were found in the wound photographs. Also, no differences were measured in histomorphometry at 3 and 6 weeks. Concluding, in our study model a single application of PHI-5 did have a significant positive influence on initial wound healing

Identification of numerical chromosome aberrations in archival tumours by in situ hybridization to routine paraffin sections: Evaluation of 23 phaeochromocytomas

We have applied non-isotopic in situ hybridization (ISH) to interphase cell nuclei of 23 phaeochromocytomas (18 primary and 5 metastatic tumours) within routine paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Each tumour was screened for numerical aberrations with a defined alphoid repetitive DNA probe set containing DNA probes specific for chromosomes 1, 7, 15, and Y. Normal adrenal medullas and other normal human cell types served as cytogenetic controls. Preservation of tissue morphology enabled targeted analysis of tumour cells. The presence of numerical chromosome changes in the tumour cells could easily be evaluated by comparing the ISH results of the DNA probes. Numerical abnormalities not previously reported in this neoplasm included overrepresentation of chromosomes 1 and 7, loss of chromosome 15, and both gain and loss of chromosome Y (P values <0.01). The percentage of aneuploid cell nuclei in a tumour correlated well with the percentage of cells in the 4C peak of flow cytometric DNA histograms from these neoplasms. We conclude that interphase ISH can be used for the identification of new and reported cytogenetic changes in tumour cell nuclei within archival tissue sections. This novel procedure also allows for retrospective analysis of previously not karyotyped material

Epigenetics in radiotherapy: Where are we heading?

Radiotherapy is an important component of anti-cancer treatment. However, not all cancer patients respond to radiotherapy, and with current knowledge clinicians are unable to predict which patients are at high risk of recurrence after radiotherapy. There is therefore an urgent need for biomarkers to guide clinical decision-making. Although the importance of epigenetic alterations is widely accepted, their application as biomarkers in radiotherapy has not been studied extensively. In addition, it has been suggested that radiotherapy itself introduces epigenetic alterations. As epigenetic alterations can potentially be reversed by drug treatment, they are interesting candidate targets for anticancer therapy or radiotherapy sensitizers. The application of demethylating drugs or histone deacetylase inhibitors to sensitize patients for radiotherapy has been studied in vitro, in vivo as well as in clinical trials with promising results. This review describes the current knowledge on epigenetics in radiotherapy

Detection of child abuse in emergency departments: a multi-centre study

Objective: This study examines the detection rates of suspected child abuse in the emergency departments of seven Dutch hospitals complying and not complying with screening guidelines for child abuse. Design: Data on demographics, diagnosis and suspected child abuse were collected for all children aged ≤18 years who visited the emergency departments over a 6-month period. The completion of a checklist of warning signs of child abuse in at least 10% of the emergency department visits was considered to be compliance with screening guidelines. Results: A total of 24 472 visits were analysed, 54% of which took place in an emergency department complying with screening guidelines. Child abuse was suspected in 52 children (0.2%). In 40 (77%) of these 52 cases, a checklist of warning signs had been completed compared with a completion rate of 19% in the total sample. In hospitals complying with screening guidelines for child abuse, the detection rate was higher (0.3%) than in those not complying (0.1%, p<0.001). Conclusion: During a 6-month period, emergency department staff suspected child abuse in 0.2% of all children visiting the emergency department of seven Dutch hospitals. The numbers of suspected abuse cases detected were low, but an increase is likely if uniform screening guidelines are widely implemented