Informe preliminar sobre la prospección de la Vall del Barxell -Polop (Alcoi-Alcant)

Dins del projecte d'estudi del procés de neolitització a les comarques centromeridionals del País Valencià. es presenten els resultats preliminars obringuts en la prospecció sistemàtica deI la capçalera del riu Serpis, la Vall de Barxell-Polop (Alcoi-Alacant).Within the survey project of neolithization in the central and southern regions of the Valencian Country, we present herein the preliminary results achieved so far in the systematic prospecting at the source of the Serpis River, located in the Barxell-Polop Valley, within the municipal boundary of Alcoi, in the Alicante area.Dentro del proyecto de estudio del proceso de Neolitización en las comarcas centromeridionales del País Valenciano. se presentan los resultados preliminares obtenidos en la prospección sistemática de la cabecera del río Serpis, valle del Barxell-Polop (Alcoi. Alacant)

[(18)F] fluoromisonidazole and [(18)F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in response evaluation after chemo-/radiotherapy of non-small-cell lung cancer: a feasibility study

BACKGROUND: Experimental and clinical evidence suggest that hypoxia in solid tumours reduces their sensitivity to conventional treatment modalities modulating response to ionizing radiation or chemotherapeutic agents. The aim of the present study was to show the feasibility of determining radiotherapeutically relevant hypoxia and early tumour response by ([(18)F] Fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) and [(18)F]-2-fluoro-2'-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET. METHODS: Eight patients with non-small-cell lung cancer underwent PET scans. Tumour tissue oxygenation was measured with FMISO PET, whereas tumour glucose metabolism was measured with FDG PET. All PET studies were carried out with an ECAT EXACT 922/47(® )scanner with an axial field of view of 16.2 cm. FMISO PET consisted of one static scan of the relevant region, performed 180 min after intravenous administration of the tracer. The acquisition and reconstruction parameters were as follows: 30 min emission scanning and 4 min transmission scanning with 68-Ge/68-Ga rod sources. The patients were treated with chemotherapy, consisting of 2 cycles of gemcitabine (1200 mg/m(2)) and vinorelbine (30 mg/m(2)) followed by concurrent radio- (2.0 Gy/d; total dose 66.0 Gy) and chemotherapy with gemcitabine (300–500 mg/m(2)) every two weeks. FMISO PET and FDG PET were performed in all patients 3 days before and 14 days after finishing chemotherapy. RESULTS: FMISO PET allowed for the qualitative and quantitative definition of hypoxic sub-areas which may correspond to a localization of local recurrences. In addition, changes in FMISO and FDG PET measure the early response to therapy, and in this way, may predict freedom from disease, as well as overall survival. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results warrant validation in larger trials. If confirmed, several novel treatment strategies may be considered, including the early use of PET to evaluate the effectiveness of the selected therapy

Expression of VEGF and semaphorin genes define subgroups of triple negative breast cancer.

PMC3648524Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are difficult to treat due to a lack of targets and heterogeneity. Inhibition of angiogenesis is a promising therapeutic strategy, but has had limited effectiveness so far in breast cancer. To quantify heterogeneity in angiogenesis-related gene expression in breast cancer, we focused on two families--VEGFs and semaphorins--that compete for neuropilin co-receptors on endothelial cells. We compiled microarray data for over 2,600 patient tumor samples and analyzed the expression of VEGF- and semaphorin-related ligands and receptors. We used principal component analysis to identify patterns of gene expression, and clustering to group samples according to these patterns. We used available survival data to determine whether these clusters had prognostic as well as therapeutic relevance. TNBC was highly associated with dysregulation of VEGF- and semaphorin-related genes; in particular, it appeared that expression of both VEGF and semaphorin genes were altered in a pro-angiogenesis direction. A pattern of high VEGFA expression with low expression of secreted semaphorins was associated with 60% of triple-negative breast tumors. While all TNBC groups demonstrated poor prognosis, this signature also correlated with lower 5-year survival rates in non-TNBC samples. A second TNBC pattern, including high VEGFC expression, was also identified. These pro-angiogenesis signatures may identify cancers that are more susceptible to VEGF inhibition.JH Libraries Open Access Fun