Intermittent androgen suppression for rising PSA level after radiotherapy.

Background: Intermittent androgen deprivation for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) elevation after radiotherapy may improve quality of life and delay hormone resistance. We assessed overall survival with intermittent versus continuous androgen deprivation in a noninferiority randomized trial.

Methods: We enrolled patients with a PSA level greater than 3 ng per milliliter more than 1 year after primary or salvage radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

Transplanted bone marrow mononuclear cells and MSCs impart clinical benefit to children with osteogenesis imperfecta through different mechanisms.

Transplantation of whole bone marrow (BMT) as well as ex vivo-expanded mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) leads to striking clinical benefits in children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI); however, the underlying mechanism of these cell therapies has not been elucidated. Here, we show that non-(plastic)-adherent bone marrow cells (NABMCs) are more potent osteoprogenitors than MSCs in mice. Translating these findings to the clinic, a T cell-depleted marrow mononuclear cell boost (> 99.

Stamp test delivers message on erectile dysfunction after high-dose intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Objective: To evaluate erectile function after high-dose radiotherapy for prostate cancer using the International Index of Erectile Function, Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite, and stamp test.

Methods: Men with favorable and intermediate-risk prostate cancer were assigned to receive prostate intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) versus an erectile tissue-sparing IMRT technique in a Phase III randomized, prospective study. The stamp test and International Index of Erectile Function and Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite questionnaires were completed at baseline and 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after IMRT.

Day treatment of patients with severe work-related complaints.

A day treatment program was developed for patients suffering with severe work-related complaints who were unable to function at work because of this. The program consisted of a number of treatment modalities, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, protocolized nonverbal therapies, and activation. The main objective of all these therapies was to analyze participants' personal qualities and vulnerabilities when functioning at work and to teach them new coping strategies and social skills to reduce their vulnerability in stressful situations.

Evaluating real-life clinical and economical burden of amphotericin-B deoxycholate adverse reactions.

Background: Amphotericin-B (AMB) is associated with toxicity such as renal impairment, hypokalemia and infusion-related events (IRE). With the advent of AMB lipid formulations and newer antifungal drugs, presenting improved safety profiles, it was suggested that using the conventional deoxycholate (AMB-D) formulation should no longer be regarded acceptable.

Objectives: Evaluation of real-life incidence of AMB-D-related adverse-drug effects (ADE) and associated costs.

Aspirin and statin nonuse associated with early biochemical failure after prostate radiation therapy.

Purpose: To present the largest retrospective series investigating the effect of aspirin and statins, which are hypothesized to have antineoplastic properties, on biochemical failure (nadir plus 2 ng/mL) after prostate radiation therapy (RT).

Methods And Materials: Between 1989 and 2006, 2051 men with clinically localized prostate cancer received definitive RT alone (median dose, 76 Gy). The rates of aspirin use and statin use (defined as any use at the time of RT or during follow-up) were 36% and 34%, respectively.

Assessment of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging (sixth and seventh editions) for clinically localized prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy and comparison with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk-stratification method.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the prognostic value of the sixth and seventh editions of the American Joint Cancer Committee (AJCC) Cancer Staging Manual and the risk-stratification model of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Methods: Two-thousand four hundred twenty-nine men who received definitive radiotherapy with or without androgen-deprivation therapy (median follow-up, 74 months) were analyzed.

Results: There was a migration of stage II patients to stage I with AJCC seventh edition (stage I increased from 1% to 38%, and stage II decreased from 91% to 55%).

Long-term survival and late deaths after hematopoietic cell transplantation for primary immunodeficiency diseases and inborn errors of metabolism.

It is uncertain whether late mortality rates after hematopoietic cell transplantation for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), non-SCID primary immunodeficiency diseases (non-SCID PIDD), and inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) return to rates observed in the general population, matched for age, sex, and nationality. We studied patients with SCID (n = 201), non-SCID PIDD (n = 405), and IEM (n = 348) who survived for at least 2 years after transplantation with normal T cell function (SCID) or >95% donor chimerism (non-SCID PIDD and IEM). Importantly, mortality rate was significantly higher in these patients compared with the general population for several years after transplantation.

A phase I/II study of CY and topotecan in patients with high-risk malignancies undergoing autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation: the St Jude long-term follow-up.

Fifty-eight consecutive children with high-risk malignancies were treated with CY, and targeted topotecan followed by autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) in a phase I/II Institutional Review Board-approved study. Twelve participants enrolled in phase I; 5 received dose level 1 of topotecan 3 mg/m(2) per day, with subsequent doses targeted to total systemic exposure of 100±20 ng h/mL and CY 750 mg/m(2) per day. Seven participants received dose level 2.

Prostate bed motion during intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment.

Purpose: Conformal radiation therapy in the postprostatectomy setting requires accurate setup and localization of the prostatic fossa. In this series, we report prostate bed localization and motion characteristics, using data collected from implanted radiofrequency transponders.

Methods And Materials: The Calypso four-dimensional localization system uses three implanted radiofrequency transponders for daily target localization and real-time tracking throughout a course of radiation therapy.

A survey of current clinical practice in permanent and temporary prostate brachytherapy: 2010 update.

Purpose: To help establish patterns of care and standards of care of interstitial permanent low-dose-rate (LDR) and temporary high-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer and to compare the results with a similar 1998 American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) survey.

Methods And Materials: A comprehensive questionnaire intended to survey specific details of current clinical brachytherapy practice was provided to the participants of the seventh ABS Prostate Brachytherapy School. Responses were tabulated and descriptive statistics are reported.

American Brachytherapy Society consensus guidelines for transrectal ultrasound-guided permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To provide updated American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) guidelines for transrectal ultrasound-guided transperineal interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy (PPB).

Methods And Materials: The ABS formed a committee of brachytherapists and researchers experienced in the clinical practice of PPB to formulate updated guidelines for this technique. Sources of input for these guidelines included prior published guidelines, clinical trials, published literature, and experience of the committee.

NKp46-mediated killing of human and mouse hepatic stellate cells attenuates liver fibrosis.

Background: Liver fibrosis, which involves activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC), is a major health problem and is the end outcome of all chronic liver diseases. The liver is populated with lymphocytes, among which are natural killer (NK) cells, whose activity is controlled by inhibitory and activating receptors. NKp46, one of the major NK activating receptors expressed by NK cells, is also a specific NK marker that discriminates NK cells from all other lymphocyte subsets.

Chemical trapping of vancomycin: a potential strategy for preventing selection of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci.

Emergence of antimicrobial resistance is among the most worrisome issues in public health worldwide. Vancomycin resistance is rapidly spreading, resulting in increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare-associated costs. Multiple strategies are required to preserve the effectiveness of this essential antibiotic.

PSA Doubling Time Predicts for the Development of Distant Metastases for Patients Who Fail 3DCRT Or IMRT Using the Phoenix Definition.

PURPOSE: PSA doubling time (PSADT) is commonly used as an indication for salvage androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for PSA failure following RT. Previously, we had shown that PSADT of <12 months is an important predictor of distant metastasis following 3DCRT using the ASTRO definition of BF. We sought to determine if this approach is still valid using the Phoenix definition.

Understanding tumor-stroma interplays for targeted therapies by armed mesenchymal stromal progenitors: the Mesenkillers.

A tumor represents a complex structure containing malignant cells strictly coupled with a large variety of surrounding cells constituting the tumor stroma (TS). In recent years, the importance of TS for cancer initiation, development, local invasion and metastases has become increasingly clear allowing the identification of TS as one of the possible ways to indirectly target tumors. Inside the heterogeneous stromal cell population, tumor associated fibroblasts (TAF) play a crucial role providing both functional and supportive environments.

Hypoxic prostate/muscle PO2 ratio predicts for outcome in patients with localized prostate cancer: long-term results.

Purpose: To correlate tumor oxygenation status with long-term biochemical outcome after prostate brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: Custom-made Eppendorf PO(2) microelectrodes were used to obtain PO(2) measurements from the prostate (P), focused on positive biopsy locations, and normal muscle tissue (M), as a control. A total of 11,516 measurements were obtained in 57 men with localized prostate cancer immediately before prostate brachytherapy was given.

Young age under 60 years is not a contraindication to treatment with definitive dose escalated radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Background: It is widely believed that younger prostate cancer patients are at greater risk of recurrence following radiotherapy (RT).

Methods: From 1992 to 2007, 2168 (395 age ≤ 60) men received conformal RT alone for prostate cancer at our institution (median dose=76 Gy, range: 72-80). Multivariable analysis (MVA) was used to identify significant predictors for BF and PCSM.

Transrectal implantation of electromagnetic transponders following radical prostatectomy for delivery of IMRT.

Surgical treatment for men with localized prostate cancer -open, laparoscopic, or robotically-assisted-- remains one of the therapeutic mainstays for this group of patients. Despite the stage migration witnessed in patients with prostate cancer since the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, detection of extraprostatic disease at the time of surgery and biochemical recurrence following prostatectomy pose significant therapeutic challenges. Radiation therapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy (RP) has been associated with a survival benefit in both the adjuvant and salvage setting.

Radiotherapy doses of 80 Gy and higher are associated with lower mortality in men with Gleason score 8 to 10 prostate cancer.

Purpose: Men with Gleason score (GS) 8-10 prostate cancer (PCa) are assumed to have a high risk of micrometastatic disease at presentation. However, local failure is also a major problem. We sought to establish the importance of more aggressive local radiotherapy (RT) to ≥80 Gy.

Biochemical and clinical experience with real-time intraoperatively planned permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate patient characteristics and dosimetric parameters that predict biochemical failure (BCF) after real-time planned low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy.

Methods: From 1998 to 2008, a low-risk cohort by National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria of 341 men with a median followup of 41.6 months was analyzed.

Cytokine-induced osteopoietic differentiation of transplanted marrow cells.

Transplantation of whole bone marrow (BMT) leads to engraftment of both osteoprogenitor cells and hematopoietic cells; however, the robust osteopoietic chimerism seen early after BMT decreases with time. Using our established murine model, we demonstrate that a post-BMT regimen of either granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, growth hormone, parathyroid hormone, or stem cell factor each stimulates greater donor osteoblast chimerism at 4 months posttransplantation than saline-treated controls and approximates the robust osteopoietic chimerism seen early after BMT; however, only growth hormone led to significantly more donor-derived osteocytes than controls. Importantly, there were no adverse hematologic consequences of the different treatments.

Rapid methods for the isolation of actinides Sr, Tc and Po from raw urine.

Rapid methods for the isolation and analysis of individual actinides (Th, U, Pu, Am/Cm) and Sr, Tc and Po from small volumes of raw urine have been developed. The methods involve acidification of the sample and the addition of aluminum nitrate or aluminum chloride salting-out agent prior to isolation of the desired analyte using a tandem combination of prefilter material and extraction chromatographic resin. The method has been applied to the separation of individual analytes from spiked urine samples.

Long-term survival after radical prostatectomy versus external-beam radiotherapy for patients with high-risk prostate cancer.

Background: The long-term survival of patients with high-risk prostate cancer was compared after radical prostatectomy (RRP) and after external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with or without adjuvant androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT).

Methods: In total, 1238 patients underwent RRP, and 609 patients received with EBRT (344 received EBRT plus ADT, and 265 received EBRT alone) between 1988 and 2004 who had a pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level ≥ 20 ng/mL, a biopsy Gleason score between 8 and 10, or clinical tumor classification ≥ T3. The median follow-up was 10.