Factors associated with improved outcomes for metastatic inflammatory breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Controversy exists regarding the role of locoregional therapy for stage IV inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). This study aims to determine indicators of prognosis, including primary tumor resection, for stage IV IBC patients.

Methods: Using the National Cancer Data Base, female patients diagnosed 2010-2013 with unilateral a priori metastatic T4d invasive adenocarcinoma of the breast were identified.

Long-Term Safety of Observation in Selected Women Following Core Biopsy Diagnosis of Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia.

Purpose: Atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) found on core biopsy is associated with an upgrade to carcinoma in 10-30 % of women, thus surgical excision remains the standard of care. This study compares the incidence of breast cancer in women with ADH who were observed with those who underwent surgical excision of the ADH site.

Methods: Our departmental, prospectively maintained registry was reviewed to identify patients with ADH diagnosed by core biopsy.

Considerations for the Treatment of Young Patients with Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer in the young patient, generally defined as younger than 40 years, is a rare but important problem. In the US, over 24,000 women under age 45 are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and nearly 2,500 young women die annually of the disease. This review is intended to address issues specific to caring for the young breast cancer patient including diagnosis, genetic counseling, tumor biology, surgery, and potential for development of contralateral breast cancer.

Treatment of Tracheoinnominate Fistula with Ligation of the Innominate Artery: A Case Report.

Introduction: Tracheoinnominate fistula, a rare complication of tracheostomy, carries high mortality regardless of treatment; therefore prevention and quick diagnosis is pertinent to survival.

Case Presentation: A 76-year-old man who underwent emergent tracheostomy placement presented on postoperative day 10 with massive hemorrhage concerning for tracheoinnominate fistula and was treated with median sternotomy and ligation of the innominate artery.

Discussion: This presentation describes a concise diagnosis and treatment plan for a rare event.

The tumor-educated-macrophage increase of malignancy of human pancreatic cancer is prevented by zoledronic acid.

We previously defined macrophages harvested from the peritoneal cavity of nude mice with subcutaneous human pancreatic tumors as "tumor-educated-macrophages" (Edu) and macrophages harvested from mice without tumors as "naïve-macrophages" (Naïve), and demonstrated that Edu-macrophages promoted tumor growth and metastasis. In this study, Edu- and Naïve-macrophages were compared for their ability to enhance pancreatic cancer malignancy at the cellular level in vitro and in vivo. The inhibitory efficacy of Zoledronic acid (ZA) on Edu-macrophage-enhanced metastasis was also determined.

Detection of colon cancer metastases with fluorescence laparoscopy in orthotopic nude mouse models.

Objective: To improve detection of colon cancer metastases using fluorescence laparoscopy (FL).

Design: An orthotopic mouse model of human colon cancer was established by intracecal injection of HCT-116 human colon cancer cells expressing green fluorescent protein into 12 mice. One group modeled early disease and the second modeled late metastatic disease.

Tumor-educated macrophages promote tumor growth and peritoneal metastasis in an orthotopic nude mouse model of human pancreatic cancer.

Background: Macrophages promote tumor growth by stimulating tumor-associated angiogenesis, cancer-cell invasion, migration, intravasation, and suppression of antitumor immune responses.

Materials And Methods: Ten transgenic nude mice, ubiquitously expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), were injected subcutaneously with the human pancreatic cancer cell line, BXPC3, stably expressing red fluorescent protein (RFP). GFP-expressing macrophages from the GFP mice with the subcutaneous BxPC3-RFP tumor were harvested and defined as "tumor-educated macrophages".

Comparative chemosensitivity of circulating human prostate cancer cells and primary cancer cells.

The chemosensitivity of circulating PC-3 human prostate cancer cells, isolated from nude mice orthotopically implanted with PC-3, was compared to that of the parental PC-3 cells. PC-3 and circulating PC-3, both labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP), were seeded in 96-well plates. The MTT assay was then performed at 24, 48, and 72 hours, comparing control cultures to cultures treated with cisplatin at 1, 2.

Inhibition of metastasis of circulating human prostate cancer cells in the chick embryo by an extracellular matrix produced by foreskin fibroblasts in culture.

We have previously demonstrated the increased metastatic potential of human prostate cancer circulating tumor cells (CTC), compared to their parental cells, in both orthotopic mouse models and the chick embryo model. In the current study, we asked whether an extracellular matrix (ECM), produced by human foreskin fibroblasts in culture, could inhibit PC-3 human prostate cancer CTC metastasis in the chick embryo model. The chorioallantoic membranes (CAM) of 18 chicken embryos were inoculated with either PC-3 human prostate cancer cells or PC-3 CTCs, both stably expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP).

Tumor-specific fluorescence antibody imaging enables accurate staging laparoscopy in an orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer.

Background/aims: Laparoscopy is important in staging pancreatic cancer, but false negatives remain problematic. Making tumors fluorescent has the potential to improve the accuracy of staging laparoscopy.

Methodology: Orthotopic and carcinomatosis models of pancreatic cancer were established with BxPC-3 human pancreatic cancer cells in nude mice.

A rapid imageable in vivo metastasis assay for circulating tumor cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are of great importance for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. It is necessary to improve the ability to image and analyze them for their biological properties which determine their behavior in the patient. In the present study, using immunomagnetic beads, CTCs were rapidly isolated from the circulation of mice orthotopically implanted with human PC-3 prostate cancer cells stably expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP).

Submillimeter-resolution fluorescence laparoscopy of pancreatic cancer in a carcinomatosis mouse model visualizes metastases not seen with standard laparoscopy.

Background: Staging laparoscopy can visualize peritoneal and liver metastases in pancreatic cancer otherwise undetectable by preoperative imaging. However, false-negative rates may be as high as 18%-26%. The aim of the present study was to improve detection of metastatic pancreatic cancer with the use of fluorescence laparoscopy (FL) in a nude-mouse model with the tumors expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP).