Preoperative CYFRA 21-1 and CEA as Prognostic Factors in Patients with Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: To validate the prognostic value of preoperative levels of CYFRA 21-1, CEA and the corresponding tumor marker index (TMI) in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Two hundred forty stage I NSCLC patients (80 in pT1 and 160 in pT2; 100 squamous cell carcinomas, 91 adenocarcinomas, 32 large-cell carcinomas, 17 with other histologies; 171 males and 69 females) who had complete resection (R0) between 1986 and 2004 were included in the analysis. CYFRA 21-1 and CEA were measured using the Elecsys system (Roche) and AxSym-System (Abbott), respectively. Univariate analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method to identify potential associations between survival and age, gender, CYFRA 21-1, CEA and TMI. Results: Overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 74 and 64%, respectively. Male gender (p = 0.0009) and age 1 70 years (p = 0.0041) were associated with a worse prognosis; there were no differences between pT1 and pT2 nor between histological subtypes. Three- year survival was 72% for CYFRA 21-1 levels > 3.3 ng/ml versus 75% for levels 6.7 ng/ ml versus 75% for CEA 70 years were associated with a worse outcome, but elevated levels of CEA and CYFRA 21-1, and TMI risk were not. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

SPECIFIC TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGENS OF MOUSE SARCOMAS INDUCED BY ADENOVIRUS TYPE 12

A specific isograft resistance against three different mouse adeno 12 sarcomas was demonstrated in mice treated with four to eight doses of viable or X-ray-killed adeno 12 mouse tumors. Whole-body X-ray irradiation with 350 R 24 hr previous to the test challenge did not abolish the resistance, indicating that it was due to a true anamnestic immune reaction. This was further proven by the finding that similar treatment with tumors of other origin did not induce any immunity, nor did the treatment with adeno 12 tumor material induce any immunity against two neoplasms of Schmidt-Ruppin-Rous viral origin. The previous report by Trentin et al. (17) that adeno 12 infection leads to a specific transplantation immunity was fully confirmed. When the specificity of this virus-induced immunity was studied it was discovered that besides adeno virus type 12, type 7 and probably type 18 also gave the same type of resistance while adenovirus type 5 did not. A contamination of the adeno 7-infected mice with adeno type 12 was excluded by testing pooled sera from these animals for anti-adeno 12 CF or HI antibodies

3D Model Retrieval with Spherical Harmonics and Moments

We consider 3D object retrieval in which a polygonal mesh serves as a query and similar objects are retrieved from a collection of 3D objects. Algorithms proceed first by a normalization step in which models are transformed into canonical coordinates. Second, feature vectors are extracted and compared with those derived from normalized models in the search space. In the feature vector space nearest neighbors are computed and ranked. Retrieved objects are displayed for inspection, selection, and processing. Our feature vectors are based on rays cast from the center of mass of the object. For each ray the object extent in the ray direction yields a sample of a function on the sphere. We compared two kinds of representations of this function, namely spherical harmonics and moments. Our empirical comparison using precision-recall diagrams for retrieval results in a data base of 3D models showed that the method using spherical harmonics performed better

High levels of nucleotide diversity and fast decline of linkage disequilibrium in rye (Secale cereale L.) genes involved in frost response

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rye (<it>Secale cereale </it>L.) is the most frost tolerant cereal species. As an outcrossing species, rye exhibits high levels of intraspecific diversity, which makes it well-suited for allele mining in genes involved in the frost responsive network. For investigating genetic diversity and the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) we analyzed eleven candidate genes and 37 microsatellite markers in 201 lines from five Eastern and Middle European rye populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 147 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and nine insertion-deletion polymorphisms were found within 7,639 bp of DNA sequence from eleven candidate genes, resulting in an average SNP frequency of 1 SNP/52 bp. Nucleotide and haplotype diversity of candidate genes were high with average values <it>π </it>= 5.6 × 10^-3and <it>Hd </it>= 0.59, respectively. According to an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), most of the genetic variation was found between individuals within populations. Haplotype frequencies varied markedly between the candidate genes. <it>ScCbf14</it>, <it>ScVrn1</it>, and <it>ScDhn1 </it>were dominated by a single haplotype, while the other 8 genes (<it>ScCbf2</it>, <it>ScCbf6</it>, <it>ScCbf9b</it>, <it>ScCbf11</it>, <it>ScCbf12</it>, <it>ScCbf15</it>, <it>ScIce2</it>, and <it>ScDhn3</it>) had a more balanced haplotype frequency distribution. Intra-genic LD decayed rapidly, within approximately 520 bp on average. Genome-wide LD based on microsatellites was low.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Middle European population did not differ substantially from the four Eastern European populations in terms of haplotype frequencies or in the level of nucleotide diversity. The low LD in rye compared to self-pollinating species promises a high resolution in genome-wide association mapping. SNPs discovered in the promoters or coding regions, which attribute to non-synonymous substitutions, are suitable candidates for association mapping.</p

Long-term and pathological outcomes of low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy: implications for active surveillance

Purpose!#!The safety of active surveillance (AS) in favorable intermediate-risk (FIR) prostate cancer (PCa) remains uncertain. To provide guidance on clinical decision-making, we examined long-term and pathological outcomes of low-risk and intermediate-risk PCa patients after radical prostatectomy (RP).!##!Methods!#!The study involved 5693 patients diagnosed between 1994 and 2019 with low-risk, FIR, and unfavorable intermediate-risk (UIR) PCa (stratification according to the AUA guidelines) who underwent RP. Pathological outcomes were compared, and Kaplan-Meier analysis determined biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. Multiple Cox regression was used to simultaneously control for relevant confounders.!##!Results!#!Those at FIR had higher rates of upgrading and upstaging (12.8% vs. 7.2%, p &amp;lt; 0.001; 19.8% vs. 12.0%, p &amp;lt; 0.001) as well as pathological tumor and node stage (≥ pT3a: 18.8% vs. 11.6%, p &amp;lt; 0.001; pN1: 2.7% vs. 0.8%, p &amp;gt; 0.001) compared to patients at low risk. The 20-year BRFS was 69%, 65%, and 44% and the 20-year CSS was 98%, 95%, and 89% in low-risk, FIR, and UIR patients. On multiple Cox regression, FIR was not associated with a worse BRFS (HR 1.07, CI 0.87-1.32), UIR was associated with a worse BRFS (HR 1.49, CI 1.20-1.85).!##!Conclusion!#!Patients at FIR had only slightly worse pathological and long-term outcomes compared to patients at low risk, whereas the difference compared to patients at UIR was large. This emphasizes AS in these patients as a possible treatment strategy in well-counseled patients

Improving prediction models with new markers: A comparison of updating strategies

Background: New markers hold the promise of improving risk prediction for individual patients. We aimed to compare the performance of different strategies to extend a previously developed prediction model with a new marker. Methods: Our motivating example was the extension of a risk calculator for prostate cancer with a new marker that was available in a relatively small dataset. Performance of the strategies was also investigated in simulations. Development, marker and test sets with different sample sizes originating from the same underlying population were generated. A prediction model was fitted using logistic regression in the development set, extended using the marker set and validated in the test set. Extension strategies considered were re-estimating individual regression coefficients, updating of predictions using conditional likelihood ratios (LR) and imputation of marker values in the development set and subsequently fitting a model in the combined development and marker sets. Sample sizes considered for the development and marker set were 500 and 100, 500 and 500, and 100 and 500 patients. Discriminative ability of the extended models was quantified using the concordance statistic (c-statistic) and calibration was quantified using the calibration slope. Results: All strategies led to extended models with increased discrimination (c-statistic increase from 0.75 to 0.80 in test sets). Strategies estimating a large number of parameters (re-estimation of all coefficients and updating using conditional LR) led to overfitting (calibration slope below 1). Parsimonious methods, limiting the number of coefficients to be re-estimated, or applying shrinkage after model revision, limited the amount of overfitting. Combining the development and marker set using imputation of missing marker values approach led to consistently good performing models in all scenarios. Similar results were observed in the motivating example. Conclusion: When the sample with the new marker information is small, parsimonious methods are required to prevent overfitting of a new prediction model. Combining all data with imputation of missing marker values is an attractive option, even if a relatively large marker data set is available

The role of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with resected pancreatic cancer: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis

Background: In patients undergoing surgery for resectable pancreatic cancer prognosis still remains poor. The role of adjuvant treatment strategies (including chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy) following resection of pancreatic cancer remains controversial. Methods: A Medline-based literature search was undertaken to identify randomized controlled trials that evaluated adjuvant chemotherapy after complete macroscopic resection for cancer of the exocrine pancreas. Five trials of adjuvant chemotherapy were eligible and critically reviewed for this article. A meta-analysis (based on published data) was performed with survival (median survival time and 5-year survival rate) being the primary endpoint. Results: For the meta-analysis, 482 patients were allocated to the chemotherapy group and 469 patients to the control group. The meta-analysis estimate for prolongation of median survival time for patients in the chemotherapy group was 3 months (95% CI 0.3-5.7 months, p = 0.03). The difference in 5-year survival rate was estimated with 3.1% between the chemotherapy and the control group (95% CI -4.6 to 10.8%, p > 10.05). Conclusion: Currently available data from randomized trials indicate that adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of pancreatic cancer may substantially prolong disease-free survival and cause a moderate increase in overall survival. In the current meta-analysis, a significant survival benefit was only seen with regard to median survival, but not for the 5-year survival rate. The optimal chemotherapy regimen in the adjuvant setting as well as individualized treatment strategies (also including modern chemoradiotherapy regimens) still remain to be defined. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

No detrimental effect of a positive family history on postoperative upgrading and upstaging in men with low risk and favourable intermediate-risk prostate cancer: implications for active surveillance

Purpose!#!To assess whether a first-degree family history or a fatal family history of prostate cancer (PCa) are associated with postoperative upgrading and upstaging among men with low risk and favourable intermediate-risk (FIR) PCa and to provide guidance on clinical decision making for active surveillance (AS) in this patient population.!##!Methods!#!Participants in the German Familial Prostate Cancer database diagnosed from 1994 to 2019 with (1) low risk (clinical T1c-T2a, biopsy Gleason Grade Group (GGG) 1, PSA &amp;lt; 10 ng/ml), (2) Gleason 6 FIR (clinical T1c-T2a, GGG 1, PSA 10-20 ng/ml), and (3) Gleason 3 + 4 FIR (clinical T1c-T2a, GGG 2, PSA &amp;lt; 10 ng/ml) PCa who were subsequently treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) were analysed for upgrading, defined as postoperative GGG 3 tumour or upstaging, defined as pT3-pT4 or pN1 disease at RP. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess whether PCa family history was associated with postoperative upgrading or upstaging.!##!Results!#!Among 4091 men who underwent RP, mean age at surgery was 64.4 (SD 6.7) years, 24.7% reported a family history, and 3.4% a fatal family history. Neither family history nor fatal family history were associated with upgrading or upstaging at low risk, Gleason 6 FIR, and Gleason 3 + 4 FIR PCa patients.!##!Conclusion!#!Results from the current study indicated no detrimental effect of family history on postoperative upgrading or upstaging. Therefore, a positive family history or fatal family history of PCa in FIR PCa patients should not be a reason to refrain from AS in men otherwise suitable

A review on data stream classification

At this present time, the significance of data streams cannot be denied as many researchers have placed their focus on the research areas of databases, statistics, and computer science. In fact, data streams refer to some data points sequences that are found in order with the potential to be non-binding, which is generated from the process of generating information in a manner that is not stationary. As such the typical tasks of searching data have been linked to streams of data that are inclusive of clustering, classification, and repeated mining of pattern. This paper presents several data stream clustering approaches, which are based on density, besides attempting to comprehend the function of the related algorithms; both semi-supervised and active learning, along with reviews of a number of recent studies