Telomerase activity in melanocytic lesions: A potential marker of tumor biology.

Telomerase activation, being a cardinal requirement for immortalization, is a crucial step in the development of malignancy. With a view toward diagnostic and biological aspects in melanocytic neoplasia, we investigated the relative levels of telomerase activity in 72 nevi and 16 malignant melanomas by means of a modified telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay, including an internal amplification standard. We further compared telomerase activity with the expression of two different proliferation-specific proteins, Ki-67 and repp86, a protein expressed exclusively in the cell cycle phases S, G2, and M.

Nicotinamide and methionine reduce the liver toxic effect of methotrexate.

Methotrexate is widely used as a therapeutic agent in different diseases. This therapy is connected with various side effects, including liver toxicity. We have developed a mouse model to demonstrate the toxic effects of methotrexate: mice were given 50 mg/kg acetaminophen, which itself has no effect on the liver.

[Adjuvant therapy of malignant melanoma].

The goal of adjuvant therapy after routine surgery of malignant melanoma is the effective suppression of progression of disease caused by clinically inapparent micrometastases. While individual small and mostly retrospective clinical studies comparing adjuvant chemotherapy with untreated historical controls suggested a possible benefit for treated patients, large and multicenter prospective, randomized studies failed to clearly demonstrate a benefit for treated patients in regard to improvement of disease free or overall survival. Therefore, adjuvant chemotherapy can no longer be recommended for patients with malignant melanoma outside of controlled clinical studies.

Prognostic significance of serum S100B detection compared with routine blood parameters in advanced metastatic melanoma patients.

Recent reports on the use of a quantitative measurement of S100B protein for the detection of metastatic melanoma have yielded promising results. In this study we evaluated 489 serum samples from 64 patients suffering from advanced melanoma (UICC/AJCC stage IV) to compare the sensitivity of a S100B immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) with that of conventional blood parameters as well as other known clinical prognostic factors. In a univariate statistical analysis, gender, bone metastasis, and lactate dehydrogenase and S100B levels in serum samples were found to be significant prognostic markers (P<0.

Predictive value of serum S100B for monitoring patients with metastatic melanoma during chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy.

In the immunohistology of malignant melanoma the use of polyclonal antibodies against protein S100 is well established. Recently, it was shown that S100B, a subunit of the S100 protein family, is detectable in the serum of melanoma patients and correlates with the stage of the disease in patients with metastatic melanoma. In the present study, the first evaluation of a large number of treatment observations (n = 77) in 64 different patients during chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy for advanced metastatic melanoma (stage IV) is presented.

S100B protein detection in serum is a significant prognostic factor in metastatic melanoma.

The serum detection of S100B, a new melanoma marker, has shown clinical significance in early studies. The aim of our study of 1, 339 serum samples from 412 different melanoma patients and 107 control patients was to prove the prognostic value of serum S100B levels in melanoma patients at different stages of disease and at follow-up (median: 30 months). Using a cutoff level of 0.

Enhancing the inhibitory effect of nicotinamide upon collagen II induced arthritis in mice using N-acetylcysteine.

We could show that both nicotinamide and N-acetylcysteine inhibit collagen induced arthritis in mice. In the present paper, using lower doses of each, we applied combinations of these two substances. We were able to confirm potentiating effects of these combinations.

Enhancement of the effect of methotrexate on collagen II induced arthritis in mice by nicotinamide.

Treatment with a combination of 10 mg/kg i.p. methotrexate and 100 mg/kg i.

Detection of circulating melanoma cells by specific amplification of tyrosinase complementary DNA is not a reliable tumor marker in melanoma patients: a clinical two-center study.

Purpose: Recently, the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of tyrosinase messenger RNA (mRNA) was reported to be a useful tool for the detection of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of melanoma patients. Our aim was to evaluate critically the diagnostic value of this marker by investigating a significant number of patients in different stages of the disease in a two-center study.

Patients And Methods: Different techniques of blood collection, RNA isolation, and RT-PCR were compared, and the detectability of tyrosinase mRNA was tested using nine different melanoma cell lines.

Thalidomide therapy of established collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) not accompanied by an evident Th2 shift.

Thalidomide, a drug likely to affect the cytokine pattern, was administered orally to mice at various stages of CIA. Treatment (150 mg/kg per day by gavage, 5 days/week), started 6 weeks post-immunization, i.e.

[Mucous membrane melanomas of the upper aerodigestive tract. An analysis of 34 cases].

Background: Malignant mucosal melanoma of the upper aerodigestive tract is a rare disease. The prognosis is expected to be significantly worse than the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma and so far no uniform therapeutic concept exists. Publications about mucosal melanoma are scarce and reported patient groups are usually small.

[Merkel cell carcinoma: follow-up of 10 patients. Current diagnosis and therapy].

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neoplasm of the skin predominantly found on the head and extremities. Clinically MCC presents as a rapidly growing red or violaceous, dome-shaped, solitary tumor. The clinical and histological diagnosis of MCC remains difficult.

Eruptive vellus hair cysts and steatocystoma multiplex. variants of one entity?

Eruptive vellus hair cysts and steatocystoma multiplex are two clinically similar conditions which show multiple papules and nodules, mainly located over the anterior chest wall. Most cases can be differentiated on histological examination, but in some patients overlapping histological features have been described. We present a patient who showed features of both entities and interpret this as suggesting that eruptive vellus hair cysts and steatocystoma multiplex are variants of one disorder which originates in the pilosebaceous duct.