WNT1 (wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 1)

Review on WNT1, with data on DNA/RNA, on the protein encoded and where the gene is implicated

The experience of First Sexual Intercourse: an Exploratory Study in Greek Women

Background: A young person's first sexual intercourse is often a remarkable and memorable experience.However, little information exists regarding contextual factors of this first experience and the possible effects ontheir subsequent sexual lifeObjective: This study explored the conditions of and women’s emotional reactions to first sexual intercourse(FSI), as well as FSI’s impact on their future sexual experiences.Methodology: Participants were 899 women aged 19 to 40 yrs, registered in 23 arbitrarily selected GPs privatepractices. They completed a 30-item questionnaire regarding their first sexual intercourse experience.Results: It was found that information sources for sexual issues (family vs media) significantly influence both theadoption of responsible sexual behaviours and the formation of feelings preceding sexual initiation (p<0.05). Thestudy also demonstrated that even when FSI is perceived as voluntary other correlates (e.g. woman’s and /orpartner’s age, contraceptive use etc.) affect women’s emotional reaction to first coital experience and theirresponse to future sexual encounters.Conclusions: The findings of this study provide initial data to suggest that the first sexual intercourse experiencesignificantly impacts women’s sexual life. Health professionals should be aware of this information in thedevelopment of programs focusing on the promotion of sexual health for adolescents or parents; education

The evolving role of oestrogen receptor beta in clinical breast cancer

Controversy surrounds the potential clinical importance of oestrogen receptor (ER)β in breast cancer, and three recent papers have sought to resolve this. In the present issue of Breast Cancer Research Novelli and colleagues explored the significance of ERβ1 expression in 936 breast cancer patients, and they showed diverse relationships according to lymph node status. A second paper examined 442 breast cancers in which ERβ1 was an independent predictor of recurrence, disease-free survival and overall survival. Finally a third paper showed that ERβ2 was a powerful prognostic indicator in 757 breast cancers but this was dependent on cellular location, with nuclear ERβ2 expression predicting good survival whilst cytoplasmic expression predicted worse outcome. These papers point to a clinical role for ERβ in breast cancer and shall be discussed

An exploratory study of sunitinib plus paclitaxel as first-line treatment for patients with advanced breast cancer

Background: Sunitinib has shown single-agent activity in patients with previously treated metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We investigated the safety of the combination of sunitinib and paclitaxel in an exploratory study of patients with locally advanced or MBC

The influence of thermo-chemotherapy on bladder tumours: an immunohistochemical analysis

To study the influence of microwave induced thermo-chemotherapy on high-grade urothelial cell carcinomas. Five groups of each three patients were formed of whom initial biopsies and cystectomy samples were collected. Patients were treated 2 days prior to cystectomy with mitomycin-C (group 1), hyperthermia (group 2) or thermo-chemotherapy (group 3). Group 4 patients had been treated with a cycle of six thermo-chemotherapy treatments prior to cystectomy and group 5 patients served as control (no treatment). Tumour samples were stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin, monoclonal antibody Ki-67 and the monoclonal antibody p53. In six out of the nine patients treated with hyperthermia a decrease in proliferation activity in the tumour was found. Seven out of nine patients treated with hyperthermia showed a decrease in p53 activity. A decrease in proliferation activity and p53 activity illustrate the potential role of thermo-chemotherapy as a promising intravesical treatment

Prognostic Significance of High Expression of ER-beta in Surgically Treated ER-Positive Breast Cancer Following Endocrine Therapy

Purpose: This study evaluated estrogen receptor (ER)-beta mRNA and ER-beta protein expression and its prognostic implications in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Methods: Paraffin sections from 139 hormone receptor-positive breast cancer cases were prepared. The expression of ER-beta mRNA and protein were analyzed by branched-chain assay and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively. Results: The Allred score of ER-beta IHC was correlated with smaller tumor size (p=0.043), the Allred score of ER-alpha IHC (p&lt;0.001), and the Allred score of progesterone receptor (PR) IHC (p=0.022) but not with the HER2 IHC score. ER-beta mRNA level was correlated with PR mRNA levels (p&lt;0.001) but not with the Allred score of ER-beta IHC, ER-alpha IHC, and PR IHC, nor with the HER2 IHC score and ER-alpha mRNA level. In survival analysis, high expression of ER-beta mRNA was associated with worse disease-free survival along with poor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and absence of PR protein expression in univariate analysis (p = 0.040, p = 0.002, p = 0.018, and p = 0.007, respectively) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.044, p = 0.002, p = 0.035, and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: High expression of ER-beta mRNA is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in hormone-receptorpositive breast cancer

The prognostic impact of COX-2 expression in breast cancer depends on oral contraceptive history, preoperative NSAID use, and tumor size

The association between tumor cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression and breast cancer prognosis has been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of COX-2 tumor expression according to adjuvant treatment, and potential effect modifications of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and other tumor and lifestyle factors. A prospective cohort of 1,116 patients with primary breast cancer in Lund, Sweden, included 2002-2012 was followed until June 2014 (median 5 years). Tumor-specific COX-2 expression was evaluated on tissue microarrays using immunohistochemistry. Associations between COX-2 intensity (negative, weak-moderate, high) and patient and tumor characteristics as well as prognosis were analyzed. Tumor-specific COX-2 expression was available for 911 patients and was significantly associated with higher age at diagnosis and less aggressive tumor characteristics. Higher COX-2 expression was associated with lower risk for breast cancer events during the first five years of follow-up, adjHR 0.60 (95%CI: 0.37-0.97), per category. The association between COX-2 expression and prognosis was significantly modified by oral contraceptive (OC) use (Pinteraction=0.048), preoperative NSAID use (Pinteraction=0.009), and tumor size (Pinteraction=0.039). COX-2 negativity was associated with increased risk for events during the first five years in ever OC users, adjHR 1.94 (1.01-3.72) and during the 11-year follow-up in preoperative NSAID users, adjHR 4.51 (1.18-11.44) as well as in patients with large tumors, adjHR 2.57 (1.28-5.15). In conclusion, this study, one of the largest evaluating COX-2 expression in breast cancer, indicates that the prognostic impact of COX-2 expression depends on host factors and tumor characteristics