Stage I epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) represents about 10% of all EOCs and is characterized by good prognosis with fewer than 20% of patients relapsing. As it occurs less frequently than advanced-stage EOC, its molecular features have not been thoroughly investigated. We have demonstrated that in stage I EOC can predict patients' outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn vivo use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has become a mainstay of routine clinical practice in the treatment of various human diseases. A number of molecules can serve as targets, according to the condition being treated. Now entering human clinical trials, CD38 molecule is a particularly attractive target because of its peculiar pattern of expression and its twin role as receptor and ectoenzyme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs have been found to be deregulated in several diseases and, due to their high stability in body fluids, represent promising noninvasively detectable biomarkers. However, numerous technical variables can affect accurate measurement of circulating miRNAs. Using a microarray-based method we assessed the: (i) adequate intra- and inter-array reproducibility of miRNA profiling; (ii) feasibility of using archival plasma samples stored for an extended period of time and available in limited amounts; (iii) good correlation between different batches; and (iv) time-dependent increase of background signals close to the chip expiration date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as anastrozole, are established in the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer. However, ∼20% of patients with hormone receptor-positive breast tumors treated with anastrozole do not respond and it remains impossible to accurately predict sensitivity. Since polymorphisms in the aromatase gene may influence the response to inhibitory drugs, we evaluated the presence of rs6493497 and rs7176005 polymorphisms (mapping in the 5'-flanking region of the CYP19A1 gene coding for the aromatase protein) in a cohort of 37 patients with postmenopausal breast cancer who received three-month neoadjuvant treatment with anastrozole.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have developed a cellular system constituted of human telomerase immortalized fibroblasts that gradually underwent neoplastic transformation during propagation in culture. We exploited this cellular system to investigate gene and miRNA transcriptional programs in cells at different stages of propagation, representing five different phases along the road to transformation, from non-transformed cells up to tumorigenic and metastatic ones. Here we show that gene and miRNA expression profiles were both able to divide cells according to their transformation phase.
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