DNAxs/DNAStatistX: Development and validation of a software suite for the data management and probabilistic interpretation of DNA profiles.

The data management, interpretation and comparison of sets of DNA profiles can be complex, time-consuming and error-prone when performed manually. This, combined with the growing numbers of genetic markers in forensic identification systems calls for expert systems that can automatically compare genotyping results within (large) sets of DNA profiles and assist in profile interpretation. To that aim, we developed a user-friendly software program or DNA eXpert System that is denoted DNAxs.

Cell cycle/apoptosis molecule expression correlates with imatinib response in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Purpose: Altered expression of cell cycle/apoptosis key regulators may promote tumor progression, reflect secondary genetic/epigenetic events, and impair the effectiveness of therapy. Their expression pattern might then identify gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patient subgroups with different response to imatinib and elucidate novel therapeutic targets.

Experimental Design: Immunohistochemical evaluation of expression of p53, p16, p21, CHK2, CCND1, BCL2, CDK4, and MDM2 was done on 353 histologically validated GIST patients enrolled into a European/Australasian phase III trial.

Multidrug resistance mediated by ABC transporters in osteosarcoma cell lines: mRNA analysis and functional radiotracer studies.

Drug resistance remains a significant impediment to successful chemotherapy and constitutes a major prognostic factor in osteosarcoma (OS) patients. This study was designed to identify the role and prognostic significance of multidrug-resistance (MDR)-related transporters, such as multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1), multidrug-resistance-associated protein (MRP1) and breast-cancer-related protein (BCRP), in OS using cationic lipophilic radiotracers. We evaluated the chemosensitivity of four OS cell lines (Saos-2, 143B, MNNG/HOS and U-2OS) to doxorubicin (DOX), cisplatin (CIS) and methotrexate.

Oral pulsed dexamethasone therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study.

Pulse therapy with high-dose glucocorticoids (GCs) is widely used as "bridging therapy" for the treatment of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Oral pulsed dexamethasone therapy has never been used for this purpose. We determined the clinical efficacy of oral pulsed dexamethasone treatment in patients with early active RA, concomitantly starting with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).