Evaluation of the anti-cancer activity of a curcumin analogue alone and in combination with current chemotherapeutics

Melanoma is an aggressive malignancy that arises from melanocytes in the deeper skin layers. It is responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths globally. Current treatment options include surgical excision, chemotherapies including cisplatin and taxol, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. Despite these treatments, the survival rate for malignant melanoma remains relatively low. Curcumin is naturally available as Curcuma longa (turmeric) and has thus far shown to have pharmacologic activity against melanoma cell lines in early studies. However, due to poor bioavailability and stability, naturally occurring curcumin is not an effective treatment for melanoma. These issues are avoided by synthesizing derivatives of curcumin (analogues). In this study we aim to assess the ability of one such analogue, compound A, to kill melanoma cells and to investigate if compound A works synergistically with the known chemotherapies taxol and cisplatin. I plan to use morphological and biochemical assays to determine cell viability, apoptosis (cell suicide), and autophagy in cancer cells following treatment. Preliminary results have shown that compound A is effective in inducing apoptosis in melanoma cells, and further work will determine its interactions with common chemotherapeutics. The result of this work could lead to a more effective and safer treatment using compound A alone or in combination with taxol and cisplatin

32622 Imaging technologies for presurgical margin assessment of basal cell carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer worldwide. Mohs micrographic surgery is a highly used BCC treatment, involving staged resection of the tumor with complete histologic evaluation of the peripheral margins. A reduction in the number of Mohs stages would significantly improve care and could result in substantial economic benefits, estimated at $36 million USD in savings per annum. Noninvasive imaging modalities can potentially streamline the surgical management of skin cancers by refining presurgical assessments of tumor size. We assessed the current imaging techniques in dermatology and their application for tumor margin assessment of BCCs prior to Mohs micrographic surgery. These include dermoscopy, photodynamic diagnosis (PDD), high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), and optical polarization imaging (OPI). Each technology is limited or strengthened by its resolution, depth, speed of imaging, field of view, maneuverability, and billing. RCM, and a combination of RCM with video mosaicking technique and OCT, appear to be promising imaging techniques in pre-surgical margin assessment because of the superior resolution of RCM and the enhanced depth of imaging of OCT. OPI is also favorable for margin assessment based on its field of view and maneuverability. Further research and efficacy studies are necessary before such techniques can be implemented widely. It is imperative that general dermatologists and Mohs surgeons alike are well informed regarding the existing technologies given the increasing incidence of skin cancer and the associated rising costs

Enthalpies of Mixing of Polyoxyethylene Glycols in Benzene, Carbon Tetrachloride, Methyl Alcohol & Ethyl Alcohol

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Evaluating the Anti-cancer Efficacy of a Synthetic Curcumin Analog on Human Melanoma Cells and Its Interaction with Standard Chemotherapeutics

Melanoma is the leading cause of skin-cancer related deaths in North America. Metastatic melanoma is difficult to treat and chemotherapies have limited success. Furthermore, chemotherapies lead to toxic side effects due to nonselective targeting of normal cells. Curcumin is a natural product of Curcuma longa (turmeric) and has been shown to possess anti-cancer activity. However, due to its poor bioavailability and stability, natural curcumin is not an effective cancer treatment. We tested synthetic analogs of curcumin that are more stable. One of these derivatives, Compound A, has shown significant anti-cancer efficacy in colon, leukemia, and triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer cells. However, the effects of Compound A against melanoma cells have not been studied before. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated the efficacy of Compound A for the selective induction of apoptosis in melanoma cells and its interaction with tamoxifen, taxol, and cisplatin. We found that Compound A induced apoptosis selectively in human melanoma cells by increasing oxidative stress. The anti-cancer activity of Compound A was enhanced when combined with tamoxifen and the combination treatment did not result in significant toxicity to noncancerous cells. Additionally, Compound A did not interact negatively with the anti-cancer activity of taxol and cisplatin. These results indicate that Compound A could be developed as a selective and effective melanoma treatment either alone or in combination with other non-toxic agents like tamoxifen

Kinetic Turbulence

The weak collisionality typical of turbulence in many diffuse astrophysical plasmas invalidates an MHD description of the turbulent dynamics, motivating the development of a more comprehensive theory of kinetic turbulence. In particular, a kinetic approach is essential for the investigation of the physical mechanisms responsible for the dissipation of astrophysical turbulence and the resulting heating of the plasma. This chapter reviews the limitations of MHD turbulence theory and explains how kinetic considerations may be incorporated to obtain a kinetic theory for astrophysical plasma turbulence. Key questions about the nature of kinetic turbulence that drive current research efforts are identified. A comprehensive model of the kinetic turbulent cascade is presented, with a detailed discussion of each component of the model and a review of supporting and conflicting theoretical, numerical, and observational evidence.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures, 99 references, Chapter 6 in A. Lazarian et al. (eds.), Magnetic Fields in Diffuse Media, Astrophysics and Space Science Library 407, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (2015

Imaging Technologies for Pre-surgical Margin Assessment of Basal Cell Carcinoma

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer worldwide, necessitating the development of techniques to decrease treatment costs through efficiency and efficacy. Mohs micrographic surgery, a specialized surgical technique involving staged resection of the tumor with complete histologic evaluation of the peripheral margins, is highly utilized. Reducing stages by even 5-10% would result in significant improvement in care and economic benefits. Non-invasive imaging could aid in both establishing the diagnosis of suspicious skin lesions and streamlining the surgical management of skin cancers by improving pre-surgical estimates of tumor size. Herein, we review the current state of imaging techniques in dermatology and their application for diagnosis and tumor margin assessment of basal cell carcinoma prior to Mohs micrographic surgery

Evaluating the Anti-cancer Efficacy of a Synthetic Curcumin Analog on Human Melanoma Cells and Its Interaction with Standard Chemotherapeutics

Melanoma is the leading cause of skin-cancer related deaths in North America. Metastatic melanoma is difficult to treat and chemotherapies have limited success. Furthermore, chemotherapies lead to toxic side effects due to nonselective targeting of normal cells. Curcumin is a natural product of Curcuma longa (turmeric) and has been shown to possess anti-cancer activity. However, due to its poor bioavailability and stability, natural curcumin is not an effective cancer treatment. We tested synthetic analogs of curcumin that are more stable. One of these derivatives, Compound A, has shown significant anti-cancer efficacy in colon, leukemia, and triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer cells. However, the effects of Compound A against melanoma cells have not been studied before. In this study, for the first time, we demonstrated the efficacy of Compound A for the selective induction of apoptosis in melanoma cells and its interaction with tamoxifen, taxol, and cisplatin. We found that Compound A induced apoptosis selectively in human melanoma cells by increasing oxidative stress. The anti-cancer activity of Compound A was enhanced when combined with tamoxifen and the combination treatment did not result in significant toxicity to noncancerous cells. Additionally, Compound A did not interact negatively with the anti-cancer activity of taxol and cisplatin. These results indicate that Compound A could be developed as a selective and effective melanoma treatment either alone or in combination with other non-toxic agents like tamoxifen