An early viral response to standard interferon-alpha identifies resistance to combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin in patients infected by HCV genotype 1.

As combination therapy with peginterferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin has a high morbidity, identifying individuals with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who will not respond to the treatment would be beneficial. The early responses of serum HCV RNA levels to standard interferon (IFN) and PEG-IFN were examined to determine if it was possible to identify resistance to combination therapy. One hundred thirty-one patients infected with HCV genotype 1b were enrolled.

Targeting solid tumors with non-pathogenic obligate anaerobic bacteria.

Molecular-targeting drugs with fewer severe adverse effects are attracting great attention as the next wave of cancer treatment. There exist, however, populations of cancer cells resistant to these drugs that stem from the instability of tumor cells and/or the existence of cancer stem cells, and thus specific toxicity is required to destroy them. If such selectivity is not available, these targets may be sought out not by the cancer cell types themselves, but rather in their adjacent cancer microenvironments by means of hypoxia, low pH, and so on.

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who have normal alanine aminotransferase values.

The importance of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in the progression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a subject of debate. This study sought to identify independent risk factors involved in development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in patients with chronic HBV infection who have normal ALT values. Data from 381 consecutive hepatitis B patients were analyzed with average ALT integration values < or = 40 IU/L and follow-up periods of > 3 years.

Transient reappearance of serum hepatitis C virus RNA observed by real-time PCR during antiviral therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin in patients with HCV genotype 1b.

Background: The "response-guided therapy" based on response of hepatitis C virus (HCV) during antiviral combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin is important for patients with HCV genotype 1. However, the sensitivity of previous assays for serum HCV RNA is limited.

Objectives: We evaluated the changes in serum HCV RNA during the combination therapy using a novel method for measurement based on real-time PCR.

[The treatment of medullary thyroid cancer].

Medullary thyroid cancer( MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor arising from neural-crest-derived, calcitonin-secreting parafollicular C cells within the thyroid. Serum calcitonin (CT) is the most specific and sensitive marker for MTC for both the primary diagnosis and postsurgical follow-up. MTC may occur either sporadically or as part of a hereditary disease such as multiple endocrine neoplasia Type 2A (MEN 2A), multiple endocrine neoplasia Type 2B (MEN 2B) or familial medullary thyroid cancer(FMTC).

Evaluation of a new method for the diagnosis of alterations of Lens culinaris agglutinin binding of thyroglobulin molecules in thyroid carcinoma.

Background: The measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is widely used as a marker for recurrence of thyroid carcinoma following total thyroidectomy. However, this method cannot differentiate between benign and malignant disease. We focused on the sugar chain in the Tg molecule and investigated the usefulness of Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-reactive Tg ratios in sera and wash fluids obtained during fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for the detection of thyroid carcinoma.

Phase II study of S-1 as first-line treatment for elderly patients over 75 years of age with advanced gastric cancer: the Tokyo Cooperative Oncology Group study.

Purpose: This prospective multicenter phase II study was carried out to investigate the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of S-1 monotherapy in elderly patients over 75 years of age, with unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer.

Methods: Patients had measurable or evaluable lesions according to the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma. S-1 (25-60 mg determined by the body surface area and creatinine clearance) was given orally, twice daily.

Differences in viral kinetics between genotypes 1 and 2 of hepatitis C virus after single administration of standard interferon-alpha.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) kinetics were determined after a single administration of standard interferon (IFN) according to the HCV genotype that affects the response to antiviral therapy with IFN/peginterferon. A total of 208 patients were investigated. All patients received a single administration of 6 megaunits of standard IFN-alpha.

Psychological states and coping strategies after bereavement among the spouses of cancer patients: a qualitative study.

Objective: Encouraging coping strategies that contribute to positive psychological states in bereaved individuals is assumed to be desirable; however, little is known about the components of positive psychological states and bereavement-specific coping strategies. The purpose of this study was to describe the components of psychological states and coping strategies after bereavement among the spouses of cancer patients.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted among bereaved spouses of cancer patients.

Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C carriers with normal alanine aminotransferase levels.

Background/aims: This study sought to identify the independent risk factors involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who have normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

Methods: A total of 519 patients with average ALT integration values less than or equal to 40 IU/L over 10 years were included. Baseline ultrasound was done in all patients and 68 patients underwent liver biopsy at the start of this study.

Preferences of cancer patients regarding communication of bad news: a systematic literature review.

Most physicians regard the communication of bad news to be a difficult issue in clinical oncology practice. The optimal manner of communicating bad news to patients so that physicians can create maximal understanding in patients and facilitate their psychological adjustment is unknown. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to clarify available knowledge on patient preferences regarding the communication of bad news and associated factors.

Long-term follow-up of patients with hepatitis C with a normal alanine aminotransferase.

An attempt was made to identify factors influencing the cumulative probability of an increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level and hepatocarcinogenesis in hepatitis C patients with a normal ALT level initially. A total of 398 consecutive patients with a normal ALT level initially for 6 months or more and follow-up period longer than 3 years during the period January 1995 to December 2004 were included. Patients were classified by ALT level into three groups: Group A (3-20 IU/L), Group B (21-30 IU/L), and Group C (31-35 IU/L).

Bilateral synchronous spindle cell, apocrine and scirrhous carcinoma breast cancer in a case or malignant lymphoma.

An unusual case of synchronous bilateral breast cancer occurring during combination chemotherapy and radiation to the outside of the breast for malignant lymphoma is reported. Two histologically rare carcinomas, spindle cell carcinoma and apocrine carcinoma, were observed in this case. A 77-year-old woman, who had been treated for stage IIIA non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, developed bilateral breast tumors.

A case report of metastasizing myoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland arising in a recurrent pleomorphic adenoma.

Myoepithelial carcinoma, arising in a recurrent or in a pre-existing pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland is an extremely rare cancer. We herein report the case of myoepithelial carcinoma occurring in a recurrent pleomorphic adenoma, which showed a high metastatic potential. A 53-year-old male, who had undergone a superficial parotidectomy of the pleomorphic adenoma 2 years previously, presented with recurrent parotid swelling and with multiple coin lesions in the lung.

Identification of novel deletion polymorphisms in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in females worldwide and it has long been known that multiple genetic rearrangements correlate with complex biology and clinical behavior. In addition, copy number variations (CNVs) of DNA sequences account for a significant proportion of normal phenotypic variation and may have an important role in human pathological variation. In this study, we carried out a high-density oligonucleotide array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analyses in a series of breast cancer cell lines to identify novel homozygous deletion loci.

[Anaerobic bacteria as a gene delivery system for breast cancer therapy].

A fundamental obstacle in systemic therapy for metastatic breast cancer patients is specific targeting of therapy directly to a solid tumor. Hypoxic or necrotic regions are characteristic of solid tumors in many murine and human tumors, including the majority of primary tumors of the breast. A strain of anaerobic bacteria such as Bifidobacterium or Clostridium selectively localizes to and proliferates in solid tumors after systemic application.

The attitudes of primary school children to breastfeeding and the effect of health education lectures.

Objective: To assess attitudes to breastfeeding among children in primary education and to evaluate the influence of educational lectures on their knowledge.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 503 students of both sexes from the fourth to the eighth grades of five different schools. The children were divided into two groups: control (n = 215) and intervention (n = 288) in order to evaluate the influence of educational lectures.

Neoadjuvant paclitaxel for operable breast cancer: multicenter phase II trial with clinical outcomes.

Aim: To determine the efficacy of preoperative weekly paclitaxel for patients with operable breast cancer tumors greater than 3 cm.

Patients And Methods: Paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 weekly x 3 times every 4 weeks for 3 cycles was administered to 53 patients. Twenty-two patients were stage 11, 26 stage III, 5 stage IV Median age (range) was 53 (24-73) years, and 32 patients were negative for estrogen receptor.

Regio- and diastereo-selectivity of montmorillonite-catalyzed oligomerization of racemic adenosine 5'-phosphorimidazolide.

Clay is a possible candidate for an effective catalyst in prebiotic chemical evolution of biomolecules. Montmorillonite was reported to effectively catalyze oligomerization of racemic adenosine 5'-phosphorimidazolide (DL-ImpA). In the oligomerization reaction, considerable amounts of cyclic dimers as well as linear dimers were produced in the oligomerization reactions.

Placing and imaging individual carbon nanotubes on Cu(111) clean surface using in situ pulsed-jet deposition-STM technique.

We report pulsed-jet deposition of single-wall and double-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs and DWNTs; CNTs) onto a clean Cu(111) surface and their scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations under ultra-high vacuum (UHV). The clean Cu(111) surface prepared by a repeated Ar-sputtering and annealing is introduced into a load-lock chamber kept at a 10(-5)-Pa range vacuum, and the CNTs dispersed in a chloroform solution by ultrasonication are pulse-injected onto the surface. Since the substrate is annealed at 700 K to remove the residual solvent molecules, high resolution lattice images of the CNTs are successfully observed by STM.

Exogenous cytosine deaminase gene expression in Bifidobacterium breve I-53-8w for tumor-targeting enzyme/prodrug therapy.

Bifidobacteria are nonpathogenic, anaerobic domestic bacteria with health-promoting properties for the host. In our previous study, Bifidobacterium longum (B. longum) were found to be localized selectively and to proliferate within solid tumors after systemic application.

Plasma interleukin-6 and fatigue in terminally ill cancer patients.

Fatigue is one of the most distressing symptoms among terminally ill cancer patients. However, no effective intervention has been established. Several studies have suggested the role of cytokines in fatigue in cancer patients receiving anti-cancer treatment, patients with metastatic cancer, and cancer survivors, but not in terminally ill cancer patients.

Significance of tumor-associated stroma in promotion of intratumoral lymphangiogenesis: pivotal role of a hyaluronan-rich tumor microenvironment.

Stromal cells, together with extracellular matrix components, provide a tumor microenvironment that is pivotal for cancer cell growth and progression. In our previous study using a conditional transgenic mouse model of breast cancer, the overproduction of hyaluronan, a major extracellular constituent, accelerated tumor angiogenesis through stromal cell recruitment. This finding led us to investigate the role of hyaluronan in the lymphatic vessel system.

Characterization and microarray analysis of genes in human lymphatic endothelial cells from patients with breast cancer.

We successfully isolated human lymphatic endothelial cells from afferent lymph vessels (HALEC) of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer by using trypsin digestion. The cells were cultured in EGM-2 medium with 10% FBS under the condition of 5% O2, 5% CO2, and 90% N2 at 37 degrees C. The cultured cells exhibited a monolayer with cobblestone appearance and a marked phagocytosis of Dil-Ac-LDL.