ERCC1 and TS Expression as Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers in Metastatic Colon Cancer.

In patients with metastatic colon cancer, response to first line chemotherapy is a strong predictor of overall survival (OS). Currently, oncologists lack diagnostic tests to determine which chemotherapy regimen offers the greatest chance for response in an individual patient. Here we present the results of gene expression analysis for two genes, ERCC1 and TS, measured with the commercially available ResponseDX: Colon assay (Response Genetics, Los Angeles, CA) in 41 patients with de novo metastatic colon cancer diagnosed between July 2008 and August 2013 at the University of California, San Diego.

Soluble ErbB3 levels in bone marrow and plasma of men with prostate cancer.

Purpose: Prostate cancer tends to metastasize to bone and induce osteoblastic lesions. We identified a soluble form of ErbB3 (sErbB3), p45-sErbB3, in bone marrow supernatant from men with prostate cancer bone metastasis and showed that p45-sErbB3 enhances bone formation. We aimed to understand clinical implications of sErbB3 by establishing an ELISA to detect sErbB3 levels in bone marrow and plasma samples.

The central role of osteoblasts in the metastasis of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men. Although mortality from PCa has been declining over the past decade, metastasis can substantially shorten survival time and remains a major challenge in maintaining quality of life for survivors. PCa cells preferentially metastasize to bone and typically result in osteoblastic lesions.

The consanguinity effect on QF-PCR diagnosis of autosomal anomalies.

Objectives: Quantitative Fluorescent PCR (QF-PCR) is a simpler and faster method of detecting common chromosomal abnormalities when compared to cytogenetic analysis. The aim of our study is to investigate the applicability of this methodology in a population where consanguineous marriages are common and to estimate the heterozygous frequency of the PCR markers used.

Methods: Four hundred and twenty-three DNA samples were extracted from uncultured amniocytes and amplified with 18 short tandem repeats (STR) markers specific to chromosomes 13, 18 and 21.

Inflammatory breast cancer in a male.

Male breast cancer is very rare, especially inflammatory breast cancer, which is an aggressive, rapidly proliferating manifestation of primary breast carcinoma. We present a case report of a 56-year-old man in Lebanon who died 8 months after being diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.