Efficacy and safety of tunneled pleural catheters in adults with malignant pleural effusions: a systematic review.

Background: Malignant pleural effusions (MPE) are a frequent cause of dyspnea and discomfort at the end of cancer patients' lives. The tunneled indwelling pleural catheter (TIPC) was approved by the FDA in 1997 and has been investigated as a treatment for MPE.

Objective: To systematically review published data on the efficacy and safety of the TIPC for treatment of MPE.

K-RasG12D expression induces hyperproliferation and aberrant signaling in primary hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

Defining how cancer-associated mutations perturb signaling networks in stem/progenitor populations that are integral to tumor formation and maintenance is a fundamental problem with biologic and clinical implications. Point mutations in RAS genes contribute to many cancers, including myeloid malignancies. We investigated the effects of an oncogenic Kras(G12D) allele on phosphorylated signaling molecules in primary c-kit(+) lin(-/low) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.