Pharmacogenetic analyses of a phase III trial in metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma with fluorouracil and leucovorin plus either oxaliplatin or cisplatin: a study of the arbeitsgemeinschaft internistische onkologie.

Purpose: To evaluate the association of germ-line polymorphisms of genes that may impact treatment outcome of platinum and fluorouracil combination chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer (AGC).

Patients And Methods: Blood samples of 156 patients enrolled onto a phase III study comparing fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin with fluorouracil, leucovorin, and cisplatin were collected. Polymorphisms within genes of TS, MTHFR, MTR, OPRT, XPD, ERCC1, XRCC1, XPA, GSTP1, GSTT1, and GSTM1 were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-based techniques.

Spontaneous CD8 T cell responses against the melanocyte differentiation antigen RAB38/NY-MEL-1 in melanoma patients.

The melanocyte differentiation Ag RAB38/NY-MEL-1 was identified by serological expression cloning (SEREX) and is expressed in the vast majority of melanoma lesions. The immunogenicity of RAB38/NY-MEL-1 has been corroborated previously by the frequent occurrence of specific Ab responses in melanoma patients. To elucidate potential CD8 T cell responses, we applied in vitro sensitization with overlapping peptides spanning the RAB38/NY-MEL-1 protein sequence and the reverse immunology approach.

Melanocyte differentiation antigen RAB38/NY-MEL-1 induces frequent antibody responses exclusively in melanoma patients.

Expression pattern and immunogenicity are critical issues that define tumor antigens as diagnostic markers and potential targets for immunotherapy. The development of SEREX (serological analysis of recombinant expression libraries) has provided substantial progress in the identification of tumor antigens eliciting both cellular and humoral immune responses in cancer patients. By SEREX, we have previously identified RAB38/NY-MEL-1 as a melanocyte differentiation antigen that is highly expressed in normal melanocytes and melanoma tissues but not in other normal tissues or cancer types.

Phase II trial of biweekly infusional fluorouracil, folinic acid, and oxaliplatin in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the toxicity and activity of infusional fluorouracil (FU), folinic acid (FA), and oxaliplatin, administered every 2 weeks in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

Patients And Methods: Forty-one previously untreated patients with measurable adenocarcinoma of the stomach were eligible for the study. Patients received FU 2.