[F] FDG PET/CT can improve the diagnostic accuracy for aortic endograft infection.

Purpose: Aortic endograft infection (EI) can result in potentially life-threatening vascular complications. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain a correct diagnosis at an early stage in many patients. This report aims at validating the use of [F] FDG PET/CT imaging for suspected endograft infections in a prospectively collected cohort of patients treated with EVAR and TEVAR.

DNAJB1-PRKACA-positive metastatic fibrolamellar carcinoma with unknown primary in a pediatric patient.

Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare variant of hepatocellular carcinoma, occurring in children and young adults without underlying liver disease. The diagnosis is based on morphological characteristics of the tumor, supplemented by immunohistochemistry and/or genetic testing. Recently, the presence of a characteristic DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion gene has been associated with FLC.

Analysis of the pen pressure and grip force signal during basic drawing tasks: The timing and speed changes impact drawing characteristics.

Writing is a complex fine and trained motor skill, involving complex biomechanical and cognitive processes. In this paper, we propose the study of writing kinetics using three angles: the pen-tip normal force, the total grip force signal and eventually writing quality assessment. In order to collect writing kinetics data, we designed a sensor collecting these characteristics simultaneously.

Classifying smoking urges via machine learning.

Background And Objective: Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and diseases in the developed world, and advances in modern electronics and machine learning can help us deliver real-time intervention to smokers in novel ways. In this paper, we examine different machine learning approaches to use situational features associated with having or not having urges to smoke during a quit attempt in order to accurately classify high-urge states.

Methods: To test our machine learning approaches, specifically, Bayes, discriminant analysis and decision tree learning methods, we used a dataset collected from over 300 participants who had initiated a quit attempt.

Atopic dermatitis-like disease and associated lethal myeloproliferative disorder arise from loss of Notch signaling in the murine skin.

Background: The Notch pathway is essential for proper epidermal differentiation during embryonic skin development. Moreover, skin specific loss of Notch signaling in the embryo results in skin barrier defects accompanied by a B-lymphoproliferative disease. However, much less is known about the consequences of loss of Notch signaling after birth.

Canonical notch signaling is dispensable for the maintenance of adult hematopoietic stem cells.

Gain-of-function experiments have demonstrated the potential of Notch signals to expand primitive hematopoietic progenitors, but whether Notch physiologically regulates hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis in vivo is unclear. To answer this question, we evaluated the effect of global deficiencies of canonical Notch signaling in rigorous HSC assays. Hematopoietic progenitors expressing dominant-negative Mastermind-like1 (DNMAML), a potent inhibitor of Notch-mediated transcriptional activation, achieved stable long-term reconstitution of irradiated hosts and showed a normal frequency of progenitor fractions enriched for long-term HSCs.

Notch1 engagement by Delta-like-1 promotes differentiation of B lymphocytes to antibody-secreting cells.

Notch signaling regulates B and T lymphocyte development and T cell effector class decision. In this work, we tested whether Notch activity affects mature B cell activation and differentiation to antibody-secreting cells (ASC). We show increased frequency of ASC in cultures of splenic B cells activated with LPS or anti-CD40 when provided exogenous Notch ligand Delta-like-1 (Dll1).

Hierarchy of Notch-Delta interactions promoting T cell lineage commitment and maturation.

Notch1 (N1) receptor signaling is essential and sufficient for T cell development, and recently developed in vitro culture systems point to members of the Delta family as being the physiological N1 ligands. We explored the ability of Delta1 (DL1) and DL4 to induce T cell lineage commitment and/or maturation in vitro and in vivo from bone marrow (BM) precursors conditionally gene targeted for N1 and/or N2. In vitro DL1 can trigger T cell lineage commitment via either N1 or N2.

[Treatment planning visit in oncology: factors predictive of satisfaction with the meeting with the physician and benefits of a second interview with a nurse].

Objective: Effective patient-physician communication is essential in life-threatening diseases. This is why a specific process, the so-called "diagnosis disclosure visit", is included in the management protocol for cancer patients. The distress engendered by the news may, however, hinder the information process.

[An interactive and evolutive software program to personalize treatment schedule : implication on daily life: the Centre Léon Bérard experience].

The second plan against cancer, initiated by the French President in 2003, has introduced a two-step procedure to announce cancer to the patient. During initial visit, the doctor tells the patient about his disease. On the second visit, the doctor elaborates the treatment strategy and proposes an individualized treatment plan for each patient.

Notch activation is an early and critical event during T-Cell leukemogenesis in Ikaros-deficient mice.

The Ikaros transcription factor is both a key regulator of lymphocyte differentiation and a tumor suppressor in T lymphocytes. Mice carrying a hypomorphic mutation (Ik(L/L)) in the Ikaros gene all develop thymic lymphomas. Ik(L/L) tumors always exhibit strong activation of the Notch pathway, which is required for tumor cell proliferation in vitro.

Paradigms of notch signaling in mammals.

Notch proteins regulate a broad spectrum of cell fate decisions and differentiation processes during fetal and postnatal life. These proteins are involved in organogenesis during embryonic development as well as in the maintenance of homeostasis of self-renewing systems. The paradigms of Notch function, such as stem and progenitor cell maintenance, lineage specification mediated by binary cell fate decisions, and induction of terminal differentiation, were initially established in invertebrates and subsequently confirmed in mammals.

Jagged1-dependent Notch signaling is dispensable for hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation.

Jagged1-mediated Notch signaling has been suggested to be critically involved in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal. Unexpectedly, we report here that inducible Cre-loxP-mediated inactivation of the Jagged1 gene in bone marrow progenitors and/or bone marrow (BM) stromal cells does not impair HSC self-renewal or differentiation in all blood lineages. Mice with simultaneous inactivation of Jagged1 and Notch1 in the BM compartment survived normally following a 5FU-based in vivo challenge.

Ikaros regulates neutrophil differentiation.

The Ikaros gene encodes a zinc finger transcription factor that is selectively expressed by all hematopoietic cells. Although Ikaros is required for lymphocyte differentiation, its role in the myeloid lineage is unclear. We show here that Ikaros expression is temporally regulated during neutrophil differentiation: Ikaros is primarily expressed at immature stages and significantly less so in mature neutrophils.

A phase I/II study of 4 monthly courses of high-dose cyclophosphamide and thiotepa for metastatic breast cancer patients.

This pilot phase I/II study intended to determine the maximum tolerated dose of cyclophosphamide and thiotepa administered on four consecutive courses with peripheral blood progenitor cell and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor support, as first-line therapy for hormone-refractory metastatic breast cancer patients. Twenty-eight patients were entered in the study. After two courses of epirubicin (120 mg m(-2)) and cyclophosphamide (2 g m(-2)) followed by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor injection and leukaphereses, patients received four cycles of cyclophosphamide and thiotepa.

[Huriet law: application in a regional cancer centre (Centre Léon-Bérard, Lyon)].

Clinical research is one of the main activities in cancer centres and is submitted in France to a specific law (named "loi Huriet") which includes good clinical practices. We are now conducting a general program of quality evaluation and improvement in the regional cancer centre of Lyon (centre Léon-Bérard). Part of this program is an audit of the application of the Huriet law.

Multivariable analysis of prognostic factors for toxicity and survival for patients enrolled in phase I clinical trials.

Background: Patients with advanced solid tumors may be included in phase I clinical trials. In such studies, the benefit expected is generally lower than the likelihood of toxicity and may even be non-existent if the patient's life expectancy is too short. This study was performed to identify prognostic variables for toxicity and survival in patients who participate in phase I clinical trials.

Phase I clinical and pharmacokinetic study of S9788, a new multidrug-resistance reversal agent given alone and in combination with doxorubicin to patients with advanced solid tumors.

Purpose: The objectives of this phase I study were to evaluate the toxic effects and the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of S9788, a new modifier of multidrug resistance (MDR), when given alone and in combination with doxorubicin to patients with advanced solid tumors; to achieve a potentially active plasma concentration of S9788; and to study the pharmacokinetics of both drugs.

Methods: A total of 26 patients (median age 58 years) entered the study. S9788 was given alone as a 30-min infusion at day 1 and in combination with a 50-mg/m2 bolus of doxorubicin at days 8 and 29.

[Efficacy of massage and mobilization of the upper limb after surgical treatment of breast cancer].

We have compared different modes of rehabilitation after breast cancer surgery on a population of 257 patients treated at the Institute Gustave-Roussy in 1990 and 1991. The mode of rehabilitation was randomized according to a 2 X 2 design, between physiotherapy alone, shoulder movement alone, both or neither. Treatment began the day after breast surgery and continued for 7 days.

Phase I studies of combined paclitaxel/epirubicin and paclitaxel/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide in patients with metastatic offast cancer: the French experience.

In an attempt to develop new, active, and convenient outpatient combination-chemotherapy regimens for patients with metastatic breast cancer, we performed two phase I studies combining paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) plus anthracycline for the first-line treatment of metastatic disease, without the use of hematopoietic growth factors. Study I was designed to test the tolerability and antitumor activity of a 3-hour infusion of paclitaxel in combination with an epirubicin intravenous bolus. Study 2 explored a three-drug chemotherapy regimen: a 3-hour paclitaxel infusion with epirubicin and cyclophosphamide.

Phase I study of paclitaxel and epirubicin in patients with metastatic breast cancer: a preliminary report on safety.

Attempting to develop a new active, convenient regimen, we initiated a phase I study of paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) combined with epirubicin (Farmitalia Carlo Erba, Milan, Italy) in patients with metastatic breast cancer. In addition to standard eligibility criteria, patients with chemotherapy-naive metastasis and at least one measurable lesion had to have left ventricular ejection fractions of at least 50%; the metastatic relapse had to have occurred more than 6 months after adjuvant treatment. Anthracycline-pretreated patients could not have received cumulative doses of more than 300 mg/m2 doxorubicin, 450 mg/m2 epirubicin, or 70 mg/m2 mitoxantrone.

Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of irinotecan (CPT-11) administered daily for three consecutive days every three weeks in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Background: We conducted a phase I and pharmacokinetic study to determine the maximum tolerable dose (MTD), toxicities, pharmacokinetic profile, and antitumor activity of Irinotecan (CPT-11) in patients with refractory solid malignancies.

Patients And Methods: Forty-six patients were entered in this phase I study. CPT-11 was administered intravenously over 30 minutes for 3 consecutive days every 3 weeks.

Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of a novel mitomycin C analog KW-2149.

KW-2149 is a new, semisynthetic, C-7-N-substituted, mitomycin C (MMC) analog showing equal or superior antitumor activity in both in vitro and in vivo assays. The preclinical activity profile combined with the hematological toxicity data in rodents and the water solubility of the compound compare favorably with MMC. The aim of this phase I study was to determine the toxicity profile and the optimal dosage of KW-2149.

Phase I study of RP 49532A, a new protein-synthesis inhibitor, in patients with advanced refractory solid tumors.

Giroline (RP 49532A) is a new protein-synthesis inhibitor with broad antitumor activity in experimental models. In the present phase I study, Giroline was given by 24-h i.v.

A phase I antiemetic study of MDL 73,147EF, a novel 5-hydroxytryptamine antagonist in cancer patients receiving emetogenic chemotherapy.

Background: We conducted a phase I study with MDL 73,147EF, a new 5 hydroxytryptamine 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist, in 25 patients requiring emetogenic chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: 5 groups of 5 patients received rising unit doses of MDL 73,147EF (10 to 50 mg) intravenously before chemotherapy, with two additional doses per day if needed. Nausea was assessed by a patient-completed visual analogue scale and episodes of vomiting were recorded by an independent observer.