Influence of labor on neonatal neutrophil apoptosis, and inflammatory activity.

Neutrophil apoptosis is impaired in neonates, and this contributes to prolonged inflammation and tissue injury in infants after infection or trauma. In the present studies, we investigated whether labor generates mediators that further suppress apoptosis. We found that neutrophil apoptosis was reduced in neonates exposed to labor, when compared with infants delivered by cesarean section before labor.

Salvage therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer continue to have a poor prognosis; most die from the disease within 1 year. Chemotherapy is beneficial for some patients in the first-line metastatic setting. Three agents, namely docetaxel, pemetrexed, and erlotinib, are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as treatment in the second-line setting.

A phase II trial of olanzapine, dexamethasone, and palonosetron for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a Hoosier oncology group study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the control of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC) and highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) with the combined use of palonosetron and olanzapine, and dexamethasone with the dexamethasone given on day 1 only.

Materials And Methods: Forty chemotherapy-naive patients received on the day of chemotherapy, day 1, an anti-emetic regimen consisting of dexamethasone, palonosetron, and olanzapine. Patients continued olanzapine for days 2-4 after chemotherapy administration.

The impact of induction chemotherapy on the outcome of second-line therapy with pemetrexed or docetaxel in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: Using data from a large phase III study of previously treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that showed similar efficacy for pemetrexed and docetaxel, this retrospective analysis evaluates the impact of first-line chemotherapy on the outcome of second-line chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: In all, 571 patients with advanced NSCLC were randomly assigned to receive pemetrexed 500 mg/m(2) or docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Comparisons were made based on type of first-line therapy [gemcitabine + platinum (GP), taxane + platinum (TP), or other therapies (OT)], response to initial therapy, time since initial therapy, and clinical characteristics.

Low-dose radiotherapy as a chemopotentiator of gemcitabine in tumors of the pancreas or small bowel: a phase I study exploring a new treatment paradigm.

Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose of upper abdominal low-dose fractionated radiotherapy (<1.0 Gy per fraction) given in combination with, and as a chemopotentiator for, gemcitabine.

Methods And Materials: Gemcitabine was given at 1,250 mg/m(2) at 10 mg/m(2)/min on Days 1 and 8 of a 3-week cycle.

Phase II trial of cetuximab in patients with previously treated non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of cetuximab in patients with recurrent or progressive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after receiving at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.

Patients And Methods: This was an open-label, phase II study of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) -positive and EGFR-negative advanced NSCLC with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 1. Patients received cetuximab 400 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) during 120 minutes on week 1 followed by weekly doses of cetuximab 250 mg/m2 IV during 60 minutes.

Elderly patients benefit from second-line cytotoxic chemotherapy: a subset analysis of a randomized phase III trial of pemetrexed compared with docetaxel in patients with previously treated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Numerous prospective and retrospective studies have concluded that elderly patients (> or = 70 years old) achieve a similar survival benefit, with acceptable toxicity, from first-line cytotoxic chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with their younger counterparts. However, few published data exist on the efficacy and tolerability of second-line cytotoxic therapy in this population.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis of a large second-line trial was performed.

Evaluation of rabbit tracheal inflammation using optical coherence tomography.

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an evolving technology that is capable of delivering real-time, high-resolution images of tissues. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using OCT for detecting airway pathology in a septic animal model.

Methods: The tracheas of New Zealand white rabbits were inoculated endobronchially with various concentrations of live Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

Phase II study of BBR 3464 as treatment in patients with sensitive or refractory small cell lung cancer.

BBR 3464 is a novel triplatinum compound that has exhibited anti-tumor activity in both cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant, as well as in p53 mutant tumor models. In phase I testing, the dose-limiting toxicities have included myelosuppression and diarrhea. Both an intermittent (day 1 every 21-28 days) and a continuous (dailyx5 days) schedule have been studied, and the intermittent schedule has been chosen for further development.

Feasibility of three-dimensional optical coherence tomography and optical Doppler tomography of malignancy in hamster cheek pouches.

Objective: Hamster cheek pouches (HCP) with various degrees of 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA)-induced dysplasia and malignancies were imaged with OCT/ODT in vivo and in vitro to assess the potential for three-dimensional high-resolution optical localization of airway malignancy.

Background Data: Optical coherence tomography (OCT)/optical doppler tomography (ODT) provide potential capability for real-time in vivo high-resolution (2-20 microm) cross-sectional imaging of tissues and spatially resolved blood flow in microvasculature for pathology diagnostics.

Methods: DMBA was applied to the right side of the cheek pouch (HCP), and mineral oil (control) to the left side three times weekly for 10-18 weeks in Syrian Golden Hamsters using a standard protocol for malignancy induction.

Pharmacokinetics and tumor localization of (111)in-labeled HuCC49DeltaC(H)2 in BALB/c mice and athymic murine colon carcinoma xenograft.

The primary limitation of IgG antibodies for radioimmunotherapy of solid tumors is their prolonged serum half-life, leading to dose-limiting bone marrow toxicity at doses providing inadequate radiation to the tumor. A humanized C(H)2 domain-deleted variant of the anti-TAG-72 antibody CC49 (HuCC49DeltaC(H)2) has faster blood clearance, compared to the IgG, while retaining tumor targeting. We compared the pharmacokinetics and tumor uptake of (111)In-HuCC49DeltaC(H)2 in BALB/c mice and a colon carcinoma (LS-174T) mouse xenograft with that of (111)In-labeled chimeric CC49 (cCC49), an antibody with pharmacokinetics similar to the humanized CC49 parent.

Randomized phase III trial comparing irinotecan/cisplatin with etoposide/cisplatin in patients with previously untreated extensive-stage disease small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Etoposide and cisplatin (EP) has been a standard treatment for extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). An earlier phase III trial reported improved survival for patients receiving irinotecan plus cisplatin (IP) versus EP. Our trial was designed to determine if a modified weekly regimen of IP would provide superior survival with less toxicity than EP.

Survival outcomes of resected patients who demonstrate a pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced esophageal cancer.

A variety of strategies, using chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical resection have been employed in the treatment of locally advanced esophageal cancer. No strategy has proven superior, and poor long-term survival is anticipated. A survival benefit has been suggested for patients who achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

Reduced phosphatase activity of SHP-2 in LEOPARD syndrome: consequences for PI3K binding on Gab1.

LEOPARD (LS) and Noonan (NS) are overlapping syndromes associated with distinct mutations of SHP-2. Whereas NS mutations enhance SHP-2 catalytic activity, we show that the activity of three representative LS mutants is undetectable when assayed using a standard protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) substrate. A different assay using a specific SHP-2 substrate confirms their decreased PTP activity, but also reveals a significant activity of the T468M mutant.

Gefitinib in patients with chemo-sensitive and chemo-refractory relapsed small cell cancers: a Hoosier Oncology Group phase II trial.

Background: Gefitinib has demonstrated activity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Clinical trials have not demonstrated a relationship between response to gefitinib and over-expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Although, EGFR is not over-expressed in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), we postulated that gefitinib might affect tumor growth through other mechanisms.

Randomized phase II study of neoadjuvant combined-modality chemoradiation for distal rectal cancer: Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Trial 0012.

Purpose: To evaluate the rate of pathologic complete response and toxicity of neoadjuvant chemoradiation for advanced T3/T4 distal rectal cancers in a randomized phase II study

Patients And Methods: Patients with clinical T3/T4 distal rectal cancers were randomly assigned in a phase II study to receive combined neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgical resection. Patients were randomly assigned to receive continuous venous infusion (CVI) fluorouracil (FU) 225 mg/m2 per day, 7 days per week, plus pelvic hyperfractionated radiation 55.2 to 60 Gy at 1.

Is there a role for palliative gastrectomy in patients with stage IV gastric cancer?

Patients with metastatic gastric cancer are currently not considered operative candidates and are most often offered systemic therapy. Palliative resection of the primary tumor has been considered irrelevant to the outcome and has been recommended only for palliation of symptoms. We have examined the role of palliative gastrectomy and its impact on survival in patients with stage IV gastric cancer at initial diagnosis between 1990 and 2000.

Evidence for interleukin-10-mediated inhibition of cyclo- oxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin production in preterm human placenta.

Problem: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is thought to be a key cytokine for the maintenance of pregnancy. Here we examined the expression profiles of IL-10 and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), and the effect of IL-10 on COX-2 expression and prostaglandin release in the human placenta from preterm labor deliveries associated with chorioamnionitis.

Method Of Study: Placental tissues from preterm labor and term labor deliveries were processed for ex vivo placental explant culture system.