Platelet doubling after the first azacitidine cycle is a promising predictor for response in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients in the Dutch azacitidine compassionate named patient programme.

The efficacy of azacitidine in the treatment of high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) (20-30% blasts) has been demonstrated. To investigate the efficacy of azacitidine in daily clinical practice and to identify predictors for response, we analysed a cohort of 90 MDS, CMML and AML patients who have been treated in a Dutch compassionate named patient programme. Patients received azacitidine for a median of five cycles (range 1-19).

Prognostic role of cyclooxygenase-2 in neoadjuvant-treated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Based on our previous demonstration that elevated cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression is a prognostic factor for reduced survival in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, the aim of our study was to analyze the role of COX-2 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. We analyzed COX-2 protein expression from 117 consecutive patients by immunohistochemistry using a COX-2 specific monoclonal antibody. Eighty-one patients had not received any therapy before surgery whereas 36 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy as part of a randomized controlled trial.

Loss of heterozygosity and immunohistochemistry of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia.

Purpose: Adenocarcinomas of the distal esophagus and gastric cardia are two tumors that have many features in common. They have similar prognoses, treatment modalities, and patterns of dissemination. The etiology is different, with gastroesophageal reflux disease playing a major role for esophageal adenocarcinoma, in contrast to adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia.

Early-onset gastric carcinomas display molecular characteristics distinct from gastric carcinomas occurring at a later age.

Gastric cancer is thought to result from a combination of environmental factors and accumulation of specific genetic alterations, and consequently mainly affects older patients (>50 years of age). Fewer than 10% of patients present with the disease before 45 years of age and these young patients are thought to develop carcinomas with a different molecular genetic profile from that of sporadic carcinomas occurring at a later age. Forty early-onset gastric carcinoma resection specimens were characterized for microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity status using 22 polymorphic microsatellite markers.

Pyogenic granuloma: an unrecognized cause of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Pyogenic granuloma is a lobular capillary hemangioma that mostly occurs on the skin, but it is also encountered on the mucosal surface of the oral cavity. Only a few cases in other parts of the digestive tract have been reported in Japanese patients. In this report, two Caucasian patients are described, who presented with gastrointestinal bleeding due to the presence of a pyogenic granuloma.

Elevated cyclooxygenase-2 expression is associated with altered expression of p53 and SMAD4, amplification of HER-2/neu, and poor outcome in serous ovarian carcinoma.

Purpose And Experimental Design: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is frequently expressed in human adenocarcinomas and inhibition of COX-2 suppresses tumor formation in various animal models of carcinogenesis. We analyzed expression of COX-2 protein in human serous ovarian carcinomas by immunohistochemistry (n = 442) and by Western blotting (n = 12) and COX-2 mRNA by reverse transcriptase PCR (n = 12). COX-2 immunoreactivity was correlated to clinicopathological variables and to expression of p53 and SMAD4 as detected by immunohistochemistry and to amplification of HER-2/neu as detected by in situ hybridization.

Cyclooxygenase-2 and gastric carcinogenesis.

Epidemiological studies have shown that the use of nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with reduced risk of gastric cancer. The best-known target of NSAIDs is the cyclooxygenase (Cox) enzyme. Two Cox genes have been cloned, of which Cox-2 has been connected with gastric carcinogenesis.

Expression of microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 in intestinal type gastric adenocarcinoma and in gastric cancer cell lines.

Gastrointestinal carcinomas synthesize elevated levels of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), which has been mechanistically linked to carcinogenesis. Recently, microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) was cloned, which seems to be inducible and linked to cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) in the biosynthesis of PGE(2). We examined expression of mPGES-1 in intestinal type gastric adenocarcinomas and in gastric cancer cell lines.

Different pattern of allelic loss in Epstein-Barr virus-positive gastric cancer with emphasis on the p53 tumor suppressor pathway.

Both Helicobacter pylori (HP) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have been implicated in carcinogenesis of the stomach. Fifty-seven gastric carcinomas were tested for microsatellite instability and allelic loss at several tumor suppressor loci using 21 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry for p53 and DPC4/SMAD4 was performed.

Prognostic significance of elevated cyclooxygenase 2 expression in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

Background & Aims: Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a reduced risk of cancer in the digestive tract. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the best-known target of NSAIDs, and expression of the COX-2 isoform is elevated in esophageal carcinomas but its clinical significance remains unclear. We examined COX-2 expression in esophageal adenocarcinomas and its relation to clinicopathologic parameters.

Molecular evidence for the same clonal origin of both components of an adenosquamous Barrett carcinoma.

We describe an uncommon case of adenosquamous carcinoma arising in a Barrett esophagus in a 72-year-old white man who occasionally used alcohol, and was a nonsmoker for 34 years. Polymerase chain reaction-based microsatellite analysis was performed on the adenocarcinoma component (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma component (SC) of the tumor. The metaplastic Barrett epithelium (BE), the AC and the SC all showed loss of the same allele at 4 markers on chromosome 9p.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression during carcinogenesis in the human stomach.

The prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been associated with a reduced risk of gastric cancer. The best-known target of these drugs is cyclooxygenase (COX); the COX-2 isoform is frequently up-regulated in gastric adenocarcinomas. Using the post-gastrectomy stomach as a model, the expression of COX-2 mRNA and protein has been investigated during tumour progression in the human stomach.