Inhibin immunoreactivity in gonadal and non-gonadal tumors

Abstract Inhibin immunoreactivity was estimated in a number of gonadal and non-gonadal tumors. Dog Sertoli cell tumors and human granulosa cell and Leydig cell tumors contained high concentrations of inhibin-like material. Levels, comparable with those in normal testes and ovaries were detected in human testicular non-seminomas and in ovarian cystadenomas, thecomas and adenofibromas. No activity was found in human testicular Sertoli/Leydig cell tumors and seminomas and in ovarian adenocarcinomas, teratomas and a dysgerminoma. Furthermore, human adrenal cortical tissue (tumor and hyperplastic adrenal) contained inhibin immunoreactivity. No activity was found in human tumors of the stomach, gut, liver, kidney, pancreas and mammary gland or in meningiomas. It is concluded that inhibin is not a good marker for specific gonadal tumors. Inhibin might have intratumor actions a growth or differentiation factor

Radiofrequency Ablation vs Endoscopic Surveillance for Patients With Barrett Esophagus and Low-Grade Dysplasia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Barrett esophagus containing low-grade dysplasia is associated with an increased risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma, a cancer with a rapidly increasing incidence in the western world.Objective To investigate whether endoscopic radiofrequency ablation could decrease the rate of neoplastic progression.Design, Setting, and Participants Multicenter randomized clinical trial that enrolled 136 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Barrett esophagus containing low-grade dysplasia at 9 European sites between June 2007 and June 2011. Patient follow-up ended May 2013.Interventions Eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either endoscopic treatment with radiofrequency ablation (ablation) or endoscopic surveillance (control). Ablation was performed with the balloon device for circumferential ablation of the esophagus or the focal device for targeted ablation, with a maximum of 5 sessions allowed.Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was neoplastic progression to high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma during a 3-year follow-up since randomization. Secondary outcomes were complete eradication of dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia and adverse events.Results Sixty-eight patients were randomized to receive ablation and 68 to receive control. Ablation reduced the risk of progression to high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma by 25.0% (1.5% for ablation vs 26.5% for control; 95% CI, 14.1%-35.9%; P

Effect of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy on health-Related quality of life in esophageal or junctional cancer: Results from the randomized CROSS trial

Purpose To compare pre-agreed health-related quality of life (HRQOL) domains in patients with esophageal or junctional cancer who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery or surgery alone. Secondary aims were to examine the effect of nCRT on HRQOL before surgery and the effect of surgery on HRQOL. Patients and Methods Patients were randomly assigned to nCRT (carboplatin plus paclitaxel with concurrent 41.4-Gy radiotherapy) followed by surgery or surgery alone. HRQOL was measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire–Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and –Oesophageal Cancer Module (QLQ-OES24) questionnaires pretreatment and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively. The nCRT group also received preoperative questionnaires. Physical functioning (PF; QLQ-C30) and eating problems (EA; QLQ-OES24) were chosen as predefined primary end points. Predefined secondary end points were global QOL (GQOL; QLQ-C30), fatigue (FA; QLQ-C30), and emotional problems (EM; QLQ-OES24). Results A total of 363 patients were analyzed. No statistically significant differences in postoperative HRQOL were found between treatment groups. In the nCRT group, PF, EA, GQOL, FA, and EM scores deteriorated 1 week after nCRT (Cohen’s d: 20.93, P, .001; 0.47, P, .001; 20.84, P, .001; 1.45, P, .001; and 0.32, P = .001, respectively). In both treatment groups, all end points declined 3 months postoperatively compared with baseline (Cohen’s d: 21.00, 0.33, 20.47, 20.34, and 0.33, respectively; all P, .001), followed by a continuous gradual improvement. EA, GQOL, and EM were restored to baseline levels during follow-up, whereas PF and FA remained impaired 1 year postoperatively (Cohen’s d: 0.52 and 20.53, respectively; both P, .001). Conclusion Although HRQOL declined during nCRT, no effect of nCRT was apparent on postoperative HRQOL compared with surgery alone. In addition to the improvement in survival, these findings support the view that nCRT according to the Chemoradiotherapy for Esophageal Cancer Followed by Surgery Study–regimen can be regarded as a standard of care

Detection of canine intestinal allograft rejection by in vivo electrophysiologic monitoring1

The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of in vivo measurements of electrophysiologic parameters for the detection of canine small bowel (SB) allo-graft rejection. In dogs of group I (n=17) a heterotopic SB autotransplantation was performed. Dogs of group II (n=8) received a heterotopic SB allograft in a fully mismatched donor-recipient combination. No immune-suppression was given. All grafts were monitored regularly by in vivo measurements of transepithelial potential differences (PDs) and by biopsies of the grafts. The overall technical failure rate was 36% caused by thrombosis at the vascular anastomosis in most cases. All successful autografts survived the experimental period and showed physiologic PD responses after stimulation by both a theophylline solution and a glucose solution. The successful allografts survived 5.5±0.2 days (mean ± SEM); the transepithelial PDs showed normal responses at postoperative day 3, but showed decreased responses at day 5 (P&lt;0.05) and reversed responses at day 6 (P&lt;0.05). The diminished PD responses correlated well with the onset of histologic alterations characteristic of rejection. This study demonstrates that serial monitoring of transepithelial PD responses is a non- invasive method to detect acute SB allograft rejection.</p

Increased IL-6 and IL-8 levels in cervicovaginal secretions of patients with cervical cancer

Objective. Conflicting data exist on IL-6 production by human papillomavirus (HPV) immortalized cell lines and several cervical carcinoma cell lines. However, no information has been reported on the levels of cytokines in cervicovaginal washings in relation to cervical neoplasia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether local production of IL-6 could be found and whether the level of this cytokine was related to the severity of cervical neoplasia. IL-8 was measured to obtain additional information on an inflammatory cytokine with possible epithelial origin. Methods. Cervicovaginal washings and sera were obtained from 35 patients with invasive cervical cancer, 62 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 25 control subjects. IL-6 and IL-8 levels were determined by ELISA. HPV DNA in cervical smears was detected by a HPV-16-specific PCR method and additionally by CPI/IIG PCR. Histological analysis of the inflammatory infiltrate was performed on hematoxylin-eosin-stained tissue sections. Results. In the patients with cervical cancer, those with CIN, and the controls, the median IL-6 concentration in cervicovaginal washings was 171 pg/ml (interquartile range: 54-780), 22 pg/ml (<2-73), and < 2 pg/ml (<2- <2), respectively. For IL-8, the levels were 2756 pg/ml (1651-7107), 489 pg/ml (248-1158), and 631 pg/ml (346-897), respectively. In most subjects the local levels were much higher than in serum. Local IL-6 and IL-8 levels were significantly higher in patients with cervical carcinoma compared with CIN patients and controls. Likewise, local IL-6 levels were increased in patients with CIN compared with controls. No relation was found between cytokine levels and CIN grade or between cytokine levels and the inflammatory infiltrate scored by histological analysis. Conclusions. There is local production of IL-6 and IL-8 in cervicovaginal secretions, and the production of IL-6 was related to the severity of cervical neoplasia