Results of three analytical approaches on long-term efficacy of etanercept for psoriasis in daily practice.

Background: A problem encountered when analyzing long-term efficacy is that the number of patients in follow-up decreases with time for different reasons. The method used to account for missing observations for the therapy under analysis has a great influence on the inference of efficacy.

Objective: To describe the long-term efficacy of etanercept for psoriasis in daily practice using 3 analytical approaches.

High GATA2 expression is a poor prognostic marker in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia.

In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aberrant expression and mutations of transcription factors have been correlated with disease outcome. In the present study, we performed expression and mutation screening of GATA2, which is an essential transcription factor for regulation of myeloid lineage determination, in de novo pediatric AML patients. GATA2 mutations were detected in 5 of 230 patients, representing a frequency of 2.

Clinical characteristics of cutaneous melanoma and second primary malignancies in a dutch hospital-based cohort of cutaneous melanoma patients.

The increasing number of living cutaneous melanoma patients and the increased risk of developing a second primary tumour incited us to analyse the clinical characteristics of cutaneous melanoma and define the frequency, site, and type of second primary cancers in cutaneous melanoma patients. We collected data on patients who visited the Department of Dermatology at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and were newly diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma or metastasis of melanoma with unknown primary localization between 2002 and 2006. A total of 194 cases were included; eleven patients developed a subsequent melanoma, 24 had at least one basal cell carcinoma, three had at least one squamous cell carcinoma, and 21 patients had a second non-cutaneous primary malignancy.

Bone marrow mononuclear cells of MDS patients are characterized by in vitro proliferation and increased apoptosis independently of stromal interactions.

Enhanced proliferation of MDS progenitors is abrogated by increased apoptosis of their progeny in vivo. We investigated whether bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) of MDS patients also showed enhanced proliferation and apoptosis in vitro in comparison with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and normal BM (NBM). NBM showed a decrease in the number of clusters in time due to apoptosis of clusters and due to development of clusters into colonies with low apoptotic level.

Programmed cell death is an intrinsic feature of MDS progenitors, predominantly found in the cluster-forming cells.

Objective: Bone marrows (BM) of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients show increased proliferation and premature programmed cell death (PCD) in vivo as well as in vitro. We explored the proliferative capacity and apoptotic propensity of CD34+ progenitor cells of MDS patients excluding accessory cell interference.

Materials And Methods: CD34+/CD3-/CD19- cells of 5 MDS patients and 5 normal BM were sorted as single cells into single wells and were cultured in liquid medium.

Functional characterization of beta1-integrin-positive epidermal cell populations.

Epidermal keratinocytes are heterogeneous and can be divided into stem cells (strong beta1-integrin expression) with unlimited clonogenic potential, transient amplifying cells (weaker beta1-integrin expression) with restricted proliferative capacity and terminally differentiated cells (no beta1-integrin expression) that have lost the capacity to divide. We tested the hypothesis that cell kinetic characteristics of the epidermal subpopulations differ. Single cell suspensions from small human skin punch biopsies were sorted flow cytometrically into a beta1-integrin weakly positive (dim) and strongly positive (bright) subpopulation and the clonogenic potential was compared in cell culture experiments.

Systemic treatment of psoriatic patients with bexarotene decreases epidermal proliferation and parameters for inflammation, and improves differentiation in lesional skin.

Background: Bexarotene, a novel synthetic retinoid X receptor (RXR)-selective retinoid, has been reported to have antiproliferative and apoptotic stimulating effects in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In benign, hyperproliferative, and retinoid sensitive disorders, such as psoriasis, bexarotene has not been evaluated so far and no information on these parameters is available.

Objective: In the present study, immunohistochemical parameters for proliferation, differentiation, inflammation, and apoptosis were investigated in a group of bexarotene-treated psoriatic patients.