Discontinuation of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a case series.

Purpose: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) play a pivotal role in the modern treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Depending on the course and the response, the targeted therapy may last for years. Thus the question arises, if a successful treatment leading to a complete response or at least a stable disease after a partial remission, may be discontinued.

Long lasting efficacy of sorafenib in a heavily pretreated patient with thymic carcinoma.

Thymoma and thymic carcinoma are rare neoplasms of the mediastinum, arising from the epithelial cells of the thymus. While surgical resection is the treatment of choice in early stages, platin-based chemotherapy is mainly used in patients with advanced or metastatic disease; however, the prognosis is poor. Here we present the case of a 54 year old female patient suffering from a CD117-negative thymic carcinoma with widespread metastases.

The effect of C1-esterase inhibitor in definite and suspected streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Report of seven patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of adjunctive C1-esterase inhibitor substitution therapy on clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Design: Observational.

Setting: Medizinische Poliklinik, University of Bonn, Germany.

Regulation of rDNA transcription during endothelin-1-induced hypertrophy of neonatal cardiomyocytes. Hyperphosphorylation of upstream binding factor, an rDNA transcription factor.

Treatment of cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes with endothelin-1 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) results in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. However, the signal transduction pathways involved in this process are poorly understood. Because increased ribosome biogenesis is a requisite for hypertrophy, we sought to (1) confirm the hypothesis that these two hypertrophic agents did indeed induce rRNA synthesis and (2) examine the mechanism through which this induction was accomplished.

Regulation of ribosomal DNA transcription during contraction-induced hypertrophy of neonatal cardiomyocytes.

Cardiac hypertrophy requires protein accumulation. This results largely from an increased capacity for protein synthesis, which in turn is the result of an elevated rate of ribosome biogenesis. The process of ribosome formation is regulated at the level of transcription of the ribosomal RNA genes.