Eribulin for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment: a retrospective, multicenter study based in Campania, south Italy (Eri-001 trial).

Background: On the basis of the results of two pivotal phase III clinical trials, eribulin mesylate is currently approved in EU for the treatment of advanced breast cancer (aBC) in patients who have previously received an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or the metastatic setting, and at least one chemotherapeutic regimen for metastatic disease.

Methods: In our study, we investigated the efficacy and tolerability of eribulin as second or further line chemotherapy in 137 women affected by aBC.

Results: Eribulin as monotherapy provided benefit in terms of progression-free survival (PFS), response rate (RR) and disease control rate (DCR) independently of its use as second or late-line therapy.

Alpha-interferon induces depletion of intracellular iron content and upregulation of functional transferrin receptors on human epidermoid cancer KB cells.

We have demonstrated that interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) upregulates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) on human epidermoid carcinoma cells. Here we report that IFN alpha induces growth inhibition and upregulation of transferrin receptor (TRF-R) on epidermoid cancer KB cells. IFN alpha does not alter TRF-R affinity for its ligand and induces a two-fold increase of TRF binding sites.

5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine induces growth inhibition and upregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor on human epithelial cancer cells.

Background: The epidermal growth factor (EGF-R) receptor is an important growth regulator of epithelial cancer cells, and is presently considered a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) which is overexpressed by several human cancers and barely detectable in most normal tissues. Since TAA density at the tumor cell surface is a critical factor regulating the efficiency of immunotargeting procedures, a therapeutic advantage may derive from the pharmacologic enhancement of membrane expression of such antigens on tumor cells.

Materials And Methods: Utilizing a panel of different human cancer cell lines of epithelial derivation, we have investigated in the in vitro effects of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5azaCdR), an antineoplastic agent able to induce gene activation and phenotypic modulation, on the surface expression of EGF-R by tumor cells.

Cytosine arabinoside increases the binding of 125I-labelled epidermal growth factor and 125I-transferrin and enhances the in vitro targeting of human tumour cells with anti-(growth factor receptor) mAb.

We report that cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C), a cytosine analogue that at low doses causes phenotypical changes on human leukemia cells in vitro and in vivo, induces growth inhibition of oropharyngeal cancer KB and lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell lines. An increase in the number of epidermal growth factor and transferrin receptors (EGFR, TrfR) is induced by Ara-C on these cells. Maximal EGFR up-regulation occurs 96 h after the beginning of Ara-C exposure while maximal TrfR up-regulation is detected 24 h later.

Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induces resistance of human melanoma cells to natural-killer- and lymphokine-activated-killer-mediated cytotoxicity.

Human melanoma cells are sensitive to the lytic activity of natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells in vitro. The events resulting in tumour cell killing by lymphocytic effectors have not been completely clarified, and the same target cell determinants regulating responsiveness to immune cytolysis have not yet been identified. Indeed, changes in the differentiative status of leukemia cells as well as in the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens have been described to modulate sensitivity to cytotoxic effectors; moreover surface expression of adhesion factors or extracellular matrix proteins by the cancer cells can promote the activation of the cytolytic effectors and has been described to correlate with tumour cell sensitivity to cytolytic cells.

Reversal of adriamycin resistance by recombinant alpha-interferon in multidrug-resistant human colon carcinoma LoVo-doxorubicin cells.

Reversal of the drug resistance phenotype by the use of agents which induce cell differentiation offers an experimental approach to the study of chemoresistance. In numerous in vitro models, alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN) has been shown to induce phenotypical changes and to modulate the growth of cancer cells. The aim of the present study was to define the effect of alpha-IFN on the Adriamycin sensitivity of the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, LoVo, and its Adriamycin-resistant variant, LoVo/DX.

Verapamil upregulates sensitivity of human colon and breast cancer cells to LAK-cytotoxicity in vitro.

Pretreatment of human colon cancer LoVo-H cells and human breast cancer ZR-75 1A cells with low doses of verapamil, a Ca2+ channel blocker, for 48 h has a slight growth stimulatory effect and substantially increases cell sensitivity to lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) mediated cytotoxicity in the standard 51Cr release assay. The role of intracellular Ca2+ levels in determining verapamil effect is demonstrated by cytochemical evidence of intracellular Ca2+ lowering in verapamil-treated cells and by the reversal by the Ca2+ ionophore A-23187 of verapamil-induced sensitivity to LAK-mediated cytotoxicity.

The treatment of metastatic pleural effusion in breast cancer: report of 25 cases.

We report our experience in the treatment of pleural effusion in 25 patients with metastatic breast cancer. Seventeen patients received initial systemic therapy and in 13 of them local intrapleural therapy was subsequently employed; the remaining 8 patients received local therapy only. Several modalities of local treatment were used: intrapleural chemotherapy with thiotepa and 5-fluorouracil; the production of pleural adhesion by the use of chest drainage alone or associated with instillation of sclerosing agents, such as nitrogen mustard or tetracycline.

An unusual case of primary hormone-secreting germ cell tumor of the retroperitoneum.

An unusual case of primary retroperitoneal germ cell tumor is presented. Criteria for considering such a diagnosis in patients with apparent poorly differentiated carcinomas are discussed. An interesting hypothesis is presented to explain the hormonal abnormalities observed.

[Serum concentration of T3, T4, FT3, FT4, TSH during cycloergometer muscular exercise].

The serum concentrations of total and free thyroid hormones and of TSH have been determined in 10 trained subjects before, during and after exercise on a bicycle ergometer. The concentrations of T4 and FT4 increase during the muscular exercise and reduce 30 minutes after the end of work; the decrease is statistically meaningful for the T4. The concentrations of TSH and T3 reduce 30 minutes after the end of work on a bicycle ergometer.