Synthesis of titania monoliths for chromatographic separations.

Titania monoliths inside capillary columns were prepared from a mixture of titanium propoxide, hydrochloric acid, formamide and water. Several synthesis parameters such as hydrolysis ratio, porogen type, precursor concentration, and drying step have been identified and controlled in order to obtain a macroporous titania monolith, efficient for liquid chromatography, inside a silica capillary. Pure titania monolith with a 10 times higher permeability as compared to a classical packed column was produced, and was able to separate a xanthine test mixture in the LC mode.

[Neoadjuvant chemotherapy FEC-HD in locally advanced breast cancer].

The tolerance and the clinical and histological efficacy of a neoadjuvant chemotherapy FEC-HD including hematopoietic growth factors have been studied in 40 patients with stade II or III breast cancer between February 1991 and February 1997. Four courses were given, every 21 days, with 5-fluorouracil (750 mg/m2/day D1 to D4 by continuous infusion), epirubicin (35 mg/m2/day D2 to D4) and cyclophosphamide (400 mg/m2/day D2 to D4) with G-CSF (5 mug/kg/day D6 to D15). The surgery was performed 3 or 4 weeks after the end of the chemotherapy.

[Clinical value of the estimation of growth kinetics of primary ovarian cancer recurrences by CA125 doubling time].

The aim of this retrospective work was to study the clinical importance of growth rate determination for ovarian cancer primary recurrence in term of CA125 doubling time (dt). Fifty-one patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma stage III or IV who developed a recurrence were included. Eighteen spontaneous dt values were calculated in non-treated patients during follow-up and 33 apparent dt values were estimated in patients undergoing treatment during CA125 increase before the clinical and/or radiological diagnosis of recurrence.

Loss of heterozygosity at the TP53 gene: independent occurrence from genetic instability events in node-negative breast cancer.

TP53 abnormalities have been reported as an early event in the process of cellular transformation of human breast cancers, and involved in mammary-tumor evolution, from in situ to invasive disease. In this study, node-negative (N-) tumors were examined for TP53 allelic loss in relation to different genetic instability events, including allelic loss at chromosome 17p13.3 and c-H-ras-1 loci, as well as alteration of the c-myc and c-erbB-2/neu oncogenes.

p53 gene alterations are associated with a decreased responsiveness to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in human breast cancer.

Recent evidence indicates that alterations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene can modulate the response of tumor cells to DNA-damaging agents and increase drug resistance. To evaluate whether p53 alterations affect response to chemotherapy in breast cancer, we examined the p53 status before and after treatment of primary tumors from 44 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. p53 status was determined by gene mutations and by mRNA expression levels.