Latex Photoimmunoassay of Serum Ferritin

A basic analysis including recovery, reproducibility and dilution tests and clinical analysis of the latex photoimmunoassay, LPIA, produced acceptable results. One sample could be processed in a few minutes, which is a much shorter period of time than is required by the RIA or EIA, anzyme immunoassay. Sensitivity was a few nanograms per milliliter. The correlation coefficient with the IRMA was 0.973. Specificity was high and without the influence of various interfering factors in serum. The LPIA, therefore, seems to be a simple but reliable tool for estimating iron storage conditions and a tumor marker for rapidly screening of malignant diseases

Optimal Collection of Peripheral Blood Stem Cells By Assessing CD34+ cells in Cancer Patients Administered with G-CSF after Chemotherapy

The mobilization of stem cells from bone marrow to peripheral blood in can-cer patients administered with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulat-ing factor (G-CSF) were examined. Eight patients were injected with G-CSF subcutaneously at a dosage of 250 μg/body daily from WBC nadir by chemother-apy. The quantity of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) was assessed by the colony assay of CFU-GM, which peaked on the third to fifth day after the com-mencement of daily G-CSF administration. G-CSF significantly amplified the amount of PBSC in five of eight patients. These results suggest that a sufficient amount of stem cells for transplantation (1.7 × 105-5.4 × 105 CFU-GM/Kg) can be obtained in such cases if 5 L of blood was processed by leukapheresis. A flow cytometry analysis revealed that CD34+ cells measured by mononuclear cell gat-ing coincidentaly increased with the peak of CFU-GM and therefore their assess-ment may serve an useful index for rapid monitoring of PBSC. And, days 3-5 after the commencement of G-CSF injection may be the optimal timing for PBSC collection

MRI for Advanced Gastric Cancer : Especially for Scirrhous Cancer of the Stomach

We conducted MRI examinations in 92 patients with advanced gastric cancer, and evaluated the clinical potential of MRI for diagnosis of scirrhous cancer of the stomach. The feature of scirrhous cancer of stomach by MRI are ; 1) thick-ened gastric wall, 2) shortening of T1 and T2 values ; and 3) clear contrast between the gastric mucosae and cancer areas found in the T1 and T2 weighted images (preservation of the mucosae). MRI for scirrhous cancer of the stomach is thought a useful image diagnosis as an adjunct method to gastric X-ray and gastric endoscopy

A CRAF/glutathione-S-transferase P1 complex sustains autocrine growth of cancers with KRAS and BRAF mutations

The Ras/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway is an essential signaling cascade for various refractory cancers, such as those with mutant KRAS (mKRAS) and BRAF (mBRAF). However, there are unsolved ambiguities underlying mechanisms for this growth signaling thereby creating therapeutic complications. This study shows that a vital component of the pathway CRAF is directly impacted by an end product of the cascade, glutathione transferases (GST) P1 (GSTP1), driving a previously unrecognized autocrine cycle that sustains proliferation of mKRAS and mBRAF cancer cells, independent of oncogenic stimuli. The CRAF interaction with GSTP1 occurs at its N-terminal regulatory domain, CR1 motif, resulting in its stabilization, enhanced dimerization, and augmented catalytic activity. Consistent with the autocrine cycle scheme, silencing GSTP1 brought about significant suppression of proliferation of mKRAS and mBRAF cells in vitro and suppressed tumorigenesis of the xenografted mKRAS tumor in vivo. GSTP1 knockout mice showed significantly impaired carcinogenesis of mKRAS colon cancer. Consequently, hindering the autocrine loop by targeting CRAF/GSTP1 interactions should provide innovative therapeutic modalities for these cancers