Asymptomatic papillary fibroelastoma of the Aortic valve in a young woman - a case report

Echocardiography represents an invaluable diagnostic tool for the detection of intracardiac masses while simultaneously provides information about their size, location, mobility and attachment site as well as the presence and extent of any consequent hemodynamic derangement

The prognostic influence of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Background:Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are often found in tumours, presumably reflecting an immune response against the tumour. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis, aiming to establish pooled estimates for survival outcomes based on the presence of TILs in cancer.Methods:A Pubmed and Embase literature search was designed. Studies were included, in which the prognostic significance of intratumoural CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and FoxP3+ lymphocytes, as well as ratios between these subsets, were determined in solid tumours.Results:In pooled analysis, CD3+ TILs had a positive effect on survival with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.43-0.78) for death, as did CD8+ TILs with a HR of 0.71 (95% CI 0.62-0.82). FoxP3+ regulatory TILs were not linked to overall survival, with a HR of 1.19 (95% CI 0.84-1.67). The CD8/FoxP3 ratio produced a more impressive HR (risk of death: HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.34-0.68), but was used in relatively few studies. Sample size and follow-up time seemed to influence study outcomes.Conclusion:Any future studies should be carefully designed, to prevent overestimating the effect of TILs on prognosis. In this context, ratios between TIL subsets may be more informative.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 31 May 2011; doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.189 www.bjcancer.com

Ovarian cancer immunotherapy: opportunities, progresses and challenges

Due to the low survival rates from invasive ovarian cancer, new effective treatment modalities are urgently needed. Compelling evidence indicates that the immune response against ovarian cancer may play an important role in controlling this disease. We herein summarize multiple immune-based strategies that have been proposed and tested for potential therapeutic benefit against advanced stage ovarian cancer. We will examine the evidence for the premise that an effective therapeutic vaccine against ovarian cancer is useful not only for inducing remission of the disease but also for preventing disease relapse. We will also highlight the questions and challenges in the development of ovarian cancer vaccines, and critically discuss the limitations of some of the existing immunotherapeutic strategies. Finally, we will summarize our own experience on the use of patient-specific tumor-derived heat shock protein-peptide complex for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer

Tumor-Infiltrating T Cells Correlate with NY-ESO-1-Specific Autoantibodies in Ovarian Cancer

BACKGROUND: Tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells are correlated with prolonged progression-free and overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). A significant fraction of EOC patients mount autoantibody responses to various tumor antigens, however the relationship between autoantibodies and tumor-infiltrating T cells has not been investigated in EOC or any other human cancer. We hypothesized that autoantibody and T cell responses may be correlated in EOC and directed toward the same antigens. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We obtained matched serum and tumor tissue from 35 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Serum samples were assessed by ELISA for autoantibodies to the common tumor antigen NY-ESO-1. Tumor tissue was examined by immunohistochemistry for expression of NY-ESO-1, various T cell markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, FoxP3, TIA-1 and Granzyme B) and other immunological markers (CD20, MHC class I and MHC class II). Lymphocytic infiltrates varied widely among tumors and included cells positive for CD3, CD8, TIA-1, CD25, FoxP3 and CD4. Twenty-six percent (9/35) of patients demonstrated serum IgG autoantibodies to NY-ESO-1, which were positively correlated with expression of NY-ESO-1 antigen by tumor cells (r = 0.57, p = 0.0004). Autoantibodies to NY-ESO-1 were associated with increased tumor-infiltrating CD8+, CD4+ and FoxP3+ cells. In an individual HLA-A2+ patient with autoantibodies to NY-ESO-1, CD8+ T cells isolated from solid tumor and ascites were reactive to NY-ESO-1 by IFN-gamma ELISPOT and MHC class I pentamer staining. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that tumor-specific autoantibodies and tumor-infiltrating T cells are correlated in human cancer and can be directed against the same target antigen. This implies that autoantibodies may collaborate with tumor-infiltrating T cells to influence clinical outcomes in EOC. Furthermore, serological screening methods may prove useful for identifying clinically relevant T cell antigens for immunotherapy

Personalized Dendritic Cell Vaccines-Recent Breakthroughs and Encouraging Clinical Results.

With the advent of combined immunotherapies, personalized dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccination could integrate the current standard of care for the treatment of a large variety of tumors. Due to their proficiency at antigen presentation, DC are key coordinators of the innate and adaptive immune system, and have critical roles in the induction of antitumor immunity. However, despite proven immunogenicity and favorable safety profiles, DC-based immunotherapies have not succeeded at inducing significant objective clinical responses. Emerging data suggest that the combination of DC-based vaccination with other cancer therapies may fully unleash the potential of DC-based cancer vaccines and improve patient survival. In this review, we discuss the recent efforts to develop innovative personalized DC-based vaccines and their use in combined therapies, with a particular focus on ovarian cancer and the promising results of mutanome-based personalized immunotherapies

Pływanie i kąpiele w Czechosłowacji do roku 1938

Pływanie i kąpiele w Czechach i Słowacji zaczęły sie formować u progu XIX wieku. Począt-kowo korzystano z odpowiednich warunków naturalnych, stąd pierwsze kąpieliska budowano przede wszystkim w korytach rzek. Pierwsze zawody pływackie zorganizowano w 1845 roku na Wełtawie, a w 1890 roku założono w AC Prague Sports Club sekcję pływacką, która obejmowała również pływanie wyczynowe. W 1914 roku założono Czeski Związek Pływacki, a w 1919 zmie-niono jego nazwę na Czechosłowackie Towarzystwo Amatorów Pływania. Liczba basenów pły-wackich była w tamtych czasach niewielka, warunki stworzone czechosłowackim pływakom nie by-ły idealne, a to sprawiło, że ich wyniki w międzynarodowych zawodach pływackich nie były imponujące.Swimming and bathing in Czechoslovakia started to take shape at the beginning of the 19th century. At first, suitable locations in nature were used, with the first swimming baths built later on, primarily on rivers. The first competitive swimming races were held in 1845 on the Vltava River and in 1890, the AC Prague Sports Club founded a swimming department which also in-cluded competitive swimming races. In 1914, the Czech Union of Swimming was founded and in 1919 it was renamed as the Czechoslovak Amateur Swimming Association. The number of swimming pools at this time was very low, the conditions of Czechoslovak swimmers were not ideal, and their results at international swimming competitions suffered as a result

Imunohistochemicke vysetreni prognostickych markeru u ovarialniho karcinomu.

Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most common female cancers. The high mortality is mostly due to the fact that the tumour is frequently diagnosed late, in advanced stages. The aim of this study was to find immunohistochemically detectable significant prognostic markers for invasive ovarian carcinoma. There were four areas of research: the expression of hormonal receptors by tumour cells, the examination of proliferation activity of the tumour cell by means of antibodes Ki-67, the expression of apoptosis-related oncoproteins p53 and bcl-2, and assessment of the angiogenic potential of ovarian carcinoma by means of immunohistochemical detection of vascular endothelial growth factor, and by quantification of capillaries at sites of the highest angiogenic activity - hot spots.Available from STL Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi