Enhancement of the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy by the pineal hormone melatonin and its relation with the psychospiritual status of cancer patients.

Background: The anti-oxidant and immunomodulating natural agents may enhance the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. One of the most important agents is the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) which may exert both anti-oxidant and antiproliferative immunostimulating anticancer effects. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of a biochemotherapeutic regimen in metastatic cancer patients, and its therapeutic activity in relation to the psychospiritual status of patients.

Psychoneuroendocrine modulation of regulatory T lymphocyte system: in vivo and in vitro effects of the pineal immunomodulating hormone melatonin.

Background: At present, it is known that cancer-related immunosuppression would mainly depend on an immunosuppressive action mediated by a subtype of CD4+ lymphocytes, the so-called regulatory T lymphocytes (T-reg), which are identified as CD4+CD25+ cells. Moreover, it has been shown that anticancer immunity is under psychoneuroendocrine regulation, mainly mediated by the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT). This study was performed to investigate the in vivo and in vitro effects of MLT on T-reg generation.

Synchronization of cortisol circadian rhythm by the pineal hormone melatonin in untreatable metastatic solid tumor patients and its possible prognostic significance on tumor progression.

Background: Cancer progression has been associated with neuroendocrine alterations involved in the control of the circadian rhythms, particularly those of cortisol. Moreover, the evidence of an altered cortisol rhythm may predict a poor prognosis in cancer patients. Finally, cancer progression has been proven to be associated with alterations in the pineal gland, which plays a fundamental role in the control of circadian biological rhythms.

HER2 expression in breast cancer: correlation with endocrine function and psychological status in operable and metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Node involvement, negative estrogen receptor (ER) and HER2 expression are the main negative prognostic factors for breast cancer. Prolactin (PRL) is involved in the control of breast cancer growth and differentiation. Surgery-induced hyperprolactinemia seems to be a positive prognostic factor for operable breast cancer, whereas high PRL levels may predict a poor prognosis in women with metastatic breast cancer.

A randomized study of chemotherapy versus biochemotherapy with chemotherapy plus Aloe arborescens in patients with metastatic cancer.

Background: The recent advances in the analysis of tumor immunobiology suggest the possibility of biologically manipulating the efficacy and toxicity of cancer chemotherapy by endogenous or exogenous immunomodulating substances. Aloe is one of the of the most important plants exhibiting anticancer activity and its antineoplastic property is due to at least three different mechanisms, based on antiproliferative, immunostimulatory and antioxidant effects. The antiproliferative action is determined by anthracenic and antraquinonic molecules, while the immunostimulating activity is mainly due to acemannan.

The endocannabinoid anandamide neither impairs in vitro T-cell function nor induces regulatory T-cell generation.

Background: The cannabinoids have been proposed in the treatment of cancer. Generally, the cannabinoids are believed to be useful only in the palliative therapy of cancer-related symptoms, namely pain, anorexia and cachexia. However, preliminary experiments would also suggest an inhibitory effect of cannabinoids on cancer growth, whereas their influence on anticancer immunity is still controversial.

Interleukin-2 immunotherapy action on innate immunity cells in peripheral blood and tumoral tissue of pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients.

Background And Aims: Innate immunity cells play a crucial role in host anticancer defense: cancer patients with high levels of natural killer (NK) cells and eosinophils have a better prognosis. Recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) immunotherapy stimulates innate immunity cells. This study aims to evaluate the toxicity of pre- and postoperative rIL-2 treatment and the effects on innate immunity both in peripheral blood and in cancer tissue of patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Neuroimmunomodulation in medical oncology: application of psychoneuroimmunology with subcutaneous low-dose IL-2 and the pineal hormone melatonin in patients with untreatable metastatic solid tumors.

Background: Anticancer immunity is under psychoneuroendocrine regulation, mainly via the pineal gland and brain opioid system, which may stimulate and inhibit antitumor immunity respectively. Cancer-related immuno-suppression does not depend only on functional damage of immune cells, but also on alterations of systems responsible for the neuroimmunomodulation, the most frequent of wich is a decline in blood levels of the pineal hormone melatonin (MLT).

Patients And Methods: A study was performed to evaluate the influence of an exogenous administration of MLT alone or MLT plus subcutaneous (SC) low-dose interleukin-2 on tumor progression and survival time in patients with untreatable metastatic solid tumors.

[Immunotherapy in radical surgery of colorectal carcinoma].

Cancer-associated immunodeficiency is seriously worsened by surgical trauma. Short-term preoperative interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy abolishes postoperative immunodeficiency and can induce immunological control of the growth of minimal residual disease. Growth factors play an important role in oncological practice in treating neutropenia (G-CSF) or associated anaemia during chemotherapy (erythropoietin).

Impact of postoperative infections on survival in colon cancer patients.

Purpose: We investigated the prognostic significance of postoperative infections for the outcome of 192 patients with colon cancer.

Methods: The 5-year survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier technique. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to evaluate prognostic variables using Cox's proportional hazard model.

Pre-operative immunoprophylaxis with interleukin-2 may improve prognosis in radical surgery for colorectal cancer stage B-C.

Cancer-associated immunodeficiency is seriously worsened by surgical trauma. Short-term pre-operative interleukin-2 (IL-2) administration abolished post-operative immunodeficiency. The effects of a pre-operative IL-2 immunotherapy on the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients (Dukes' stages B and C), undergoing radical surgery, are reported.

Endocrine effects of erythropoietin in cancer patients.

The recent advances in the knowledge of the psychoneuroimmunological pathogenesis of human neoplasms have demonstrated the existence of feed-back mechanisms operating between interleukins and endocrine secretions, which play an important role in the regulation of the immune responses, including the anticancer immunity. In contrast, few studies only have been performed to investigate the possible relation between endocrine activities and hematopoietic growth factors. The present study was performed to analyze the acute endocrine effects of erythropoietin-alpha (EPO) on the main endocrine secretions.

Total pineal endocrine substitution therapy (TPEST) as a new neuroendocrine palliative treatment of untreatable metastatic solid tumor patients: a phase II study.

Objectives: It is known since many years that the pineal gland plays an anticancer role, and melatonin (MLT), the most investigated pineal hormone, has been proven to exert antitumor activity. However, MLT would not be the only hormone responsible for the antitumor action of the pineal gland. In fact, recent advances in the pineal investigations have shown that pineal indoles other than MLT may also exert anticancer activity, namely the three main indoles, consisting of 5-methoxytriptamine (5-MTT), 5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTP) and 5-methoxy-indole acetic acid (5-MIA).

Effects of IL-2 preoperative immunotherapy on surgery-induced changes in angiogenic regulation and its prevention of VEGF increase and IL-12 decline.

Background/aims: IL-2 preoperative immunotherapy has been proven to abrogate surgery-induced immunosuppression in cancer patients. In contrast, at present there are no data about the possible influence of IL-2 on angiogenesis-related molecular changes determined by the surgical operation. At present, it is known that VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is the main endogenous angiogenic factor, whereas the antitumor cytokine IL-12 has appeared to play an anti-angiogenetic role.

Evidence of pineal endocrine hypofunction in autistic children.

OBJECTIVE: The pineal hormone melatonin (MLT) has been proven to play a fundamental physiological regulatory role on both biological and psychic functions and alterations of the light/dark circadian rhythm of MLT have been described in several chronic immunoinflammatory diseases and in psychic disorders. Aim of the present biological explanatory study was the evaluation of MLT circadian rhythm in autistic children, in order to preliminary assess the pineal endocrine function in the autistic syndrome. METHODS: The study included 14 children suffering from classical infantile autism, who were investigated for the whole 24-hour circadian rhythm by collecting venous blood samples at 4-hour intervals.

Evidence for a neuroimmunomodulatory and a hematopoietic role of the Luschka's coccygeal body(3).

OBJECTIVES: In humans the glomus coccygeus was described in 1860 by Luschka. It is present at the coccyx tip and corresponds to a complex anastomosis between the median sacral artery and vein, and it is innervated by sympathetic fibers. In rats and mice it has been located in the tail ventral face.