High levels of class III β-tubulin expression are associated with aggressive tumor features in breast cancer.

Overexpression of class III β-tubulin (TUBB3), a factor that confers dynamic properties to microtubules, is a candidate biomarker for resistance to microtubule-targeting chemotherapeutics in breast and other types of solid cancer. Discrepant results from previous studies, with respect to the association of TUBB3 expression levels with breast cancer phenotype and patient prognosis, prompted the present study to investigate TUBB3 expression in a large cohort of breast cancer cases, with available clinical follow-up data. A preexisting breast cancer prognosis tissue microarray, containing a single 0.

Systemic treatment of vulvar cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva is a rare disease, accounting for approximately 5% of cancers of the female genital tract. Standard therapy for early-stage vulvar cancer mainly comprises of surgery of the vulva and groins. In locally advanced or metastatic vulvar cancer, neoadjuvant or definitive chemoradiation is often considered as an alternative treatment option.

Adjuvant therapy in node-positive vulvar cancer.

Due to an increasing incidence with concurrently decreasing age at onset, vulvar cancer represents a current challenge for gynecologic oncologists. Positive lymph nodes of the groins have been proven to be the most important prognostic factor for affected patients, significantly impairing overall survival. Distinct criteria for indication of adjuvant therapy following primary tumor resection and groin surgery are still under debate.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta serum concentrations during first-line therapy in ovarian cancer.

Objectives: Angiogenesis plays an important role in ovarian cancer. The interaction of platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta (PDGFR-β) with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the process of angiogenesis may represent an essential feature in the progression of the disease.

Methods: Patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, who underwent primary surgery and platinum-based first-line chemotherapy, were included.

Surgical management and perioperative morbidity of patients with primary borderline ovarian tumor (BOT).

Background: Surgery is the cornerstone for clinical management of patients with borderline ovarian tumors (BOT). As these patients have an excellent overall prognosis, perioperative morbidity is the critical point for decision making when the treatment strategy is developed and the primary surgical approach is defined.

Methods: Clinical and surgical parameters of patients undergoing surgery for primary BOT at our institutions between 1993 and 2008 were analyzed with regard to perioperative morbidity depending on the surgical approach (laparotomy vs.

Management of patients with vulvar cancer: a perspective review according to tumour stage.

Treatment of patients with vulvar cancer is challenging for gynaecologic oncologists. Owing to the localization in a sensitive area, surgical radicality and the indication for adjuvant treatment have to be balanced with psychosocial aspects to treat patients adequately. Clinical management is therefore highly dependent on the tumour stage.

Health economic impact of risk group selection according to ASCO-recommended biomarkers uPA/PAI-1 in node-negative primary breast cancer.

Invasion factors uPA/PAI-1 are guideline-recommended (ASCO, AGO) biomarkers for decision support regarding adjuvant chemotherapy (CTX) in women with primary breast cancer. They define a high-risk group with strong benefit from adjuvant CTX and a low-risk group with uncertain benefit and excellent survival without CTX. In a target population (age > 35/N0/G2/HR+/HER2-), administration of adjuvant CTX is not mandatory in Germany and other countries.

Fetal development of complex autonomic control evaluated from multiscale heart rate patterns.

Development of the fetal autonomic nervous system's integrative capacity in relation to gestational age and emerging behavioral pattern is reflected in fetal heart rate patterns. Conventional indices of vagal and sympathetic rhythms cannot sufficiently reflect their complex interrelationship. Universal behavioral indices of developing complex systems may provide additional information regarding the maturating complex autonomic control.

Secondary sentinel node biopsy after previous excision of the primary tumor in squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.

Background: To reduce morbidity of radical groin dissection, the sentinel-node (SLN) procedure was implemented for the treatment of vulvar cancer. It has been proven to be a safe alternative in early-stage disease. Feasibility and safety of the procedure after previous vulvar surgery remain unclear.

BIRC2 amplification in squamous cell carcinomas of the uterine cervix.

Oncogene amplification is a key step in cell transformation towards malignancy. Chromosomal aberrations involving the long arm of chromosome 11, including amplifications at 11q13 and 11q22, have been previously reported in cervical cancer. While the role of the CCND1 gene as the driver gene for 11q13 amplification is well established in different tumor types, the significance of the 11q22 amplicon is less clear.

Rare oncogenic mutations of predictive markers for targeted therapy in triple-negative breast cancer.

Women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) do not benefit from endocrine therapy or trastuzumab. Chemotherapy is the only systemic therapy currently available. To reduce the elevated risk of disease progression in these patients, better treatment options are needed, which are less toxic and more targeted to this patient population.

EGFR gene copy number increase in vulvar carcinomas is linked with poor clinical outcome.

EGFR copy number increases have been frequently reported in cancer including vulvar carcinomas. Co-amplification of cancer genes plays an important role in the development of many tumour types. To better understand the effect of EGFR aberrations on vulvar cancer phenotype and patient prognosis, the authors analysed EGFR copy number changes using fluorescence in situ hybridisation and EGFR expression by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray containing 183 squamous cell carcinomas of vulva.

Health-related quality of life and patient-defined benefit of clobetasol 0.05% in women with chronic lichen sclerosus of the vulva.

Background: This study investigates the health-related quality of life in patients with vulvar lichen sclerosus (LS) and the patient-defined therapeutic benefit of clobetasol.

Methods: A survey analysis of 96 women with LS after treatment with clobetasol was performed. Quality of life was assessed with the Skindex-29.

Clinical management of primary vulvar cancer.

Aims: Vulvar cancer is a rare disease with increasing incidence over the last decades. Treatment includes surgical, radio- and chemotherapeutical options; however, due to the low incidence of the disease and the lack of randomised trials many questions regarding indication of different treatment approaches remain unanswered. This article discusses the current literature to elaborate recommendations for the management of primary vulvar cancer in clinical routine.

Fetal development assessed by heart rate patterns--time scales of complex autonomic control.

The increasing functional integrity of the organism during fetal maturation is connected with increasing complex internal coordination. We hypothesize that time scales of complexity and dynamics of heart rate patterns reflect the increasing inter-dependencies within the fetal organism during its prenatal development. We investigated multi-scale complexity, time irreversibility and fractal scaling from 73 fetal magnetocardiographic 30min recordings over the third trimester.

Prognostic value of pathological resection margin distance in squamous cell cancer of the vulva.

Background: A tumor-free resection margin of at least 8 mm is considered state of the art in vulvar cancer. This standard is based on small and heterogeneous patient cohorts, and its implementation can result in mutilation.

Methods: One hundred two consecutive patients with primary squamous cell vulvar cancer were analyzed.

Prospective evaluation of prognostic factors uPA/PAI-1 in node-negative breast cancer: phase III NNBC3-Europe trial (AGO, GBG, EORTC-PBG) comparing 6×FEC versus 3×FEC/3×Docetaxel.

Background: Today, more than 70% of patients with primary node-negative breast cancer are cured by local therapy alone. Many patients receive overtreatment by adjuvant chemotherapy due to inadequate risk assessment. So far, few clinical trials have prospectively evaluated tumor biology based prognostic factors.

Prognostic and predictive relevance of CA-125 at primary surgery of ovarian cancer.

Introduction: Despite radical surgery and chemotherapy, most patients with ovarian cancer develop recurrence and die due to progressive disease. To stratify patients for optimal therapy, prognostic and predictive factors are needed. We examined the role of pre- and postoperative CA-125 in this context.

Serum carbonic anhydrase IX and its prognostic relevance in vulvar cancer.

Introduction: Therapeutic options in advanced or recurrent vulvar cancer are limited. The identification of new prognostic factors and markers for therapy stratification is therefore highly desirable. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is up-regulated in various solid tumors and a promising new target.

Carbonic anhydrase IX in tumor tissue and sera of patients with primary cervical cancer.

Background: Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a membranous expressed metalloenzyme involved in pH homeostasis and cell adhesion. The protein is overexpressed in a variety of tumors and potentially associated with negative outcome. This study was designed to investigate the prognostic role of CAIX in serum and tumor tissue of patients with primary cervical cancer.

Clinical management of borderline ovarian tumors.

Borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) are epithelial tumors of the ovaries characterized by cellular proliferation and nuclear atypia but without an infiltrative growth pattern. As they frequently affect younger patients the clinical management is complicated by considerations such as preserving fertility and reducing postoperative morbidity. Over the past several decades surgical therapy has shifted from a radical approach to more conservative treatment.