Culture conditions affect the ability of ex vivo expanded peripheral blood progenitor cells to accelerate hematopoietic recovery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various ex vivo expansion conditions on the cell products and their ability to accelerate hematopoietic recovery in patients undergoing stem cell transplantation.

Patients And Methods: Unselected peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) from 43 breast cancer patients were seeded into gas-permeable bags containing serum-free media, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, stem cell factor, and pegylated megakaryocyte growth and development factor. Between 2 and 24 x 10(9) PBPCs were cultured at 1, 2, or 3 x 10(6) cells/mL for 9 to 14 days.

Ex vivo expanded unselected peripheral blood: progenitor cells reduce posttransplantation neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia in patients with breast cancer.

The safety and efficacy of administering ex vivo expanded peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) to patients with breast cancer who undergo high-dose chemotherapy and PBPC transplantation was investigated. Unselected PBPC were cultured in gas-permeable bags containing 1-L serum-free media, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, stem cell factor, and pegylated megakaryocyte growth and development factor for 9 days. Cell dose cohorts were assigned to have between 2 and 24 x 10(9) PBPC cultured at 1, 2, or 3 x 10(6) cells/mL.

Utility of fluorescence in situ hybridization in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Often the diagnosis of pancreas cancer needs to be established from limited cytology specimens or small biopsies. Most ductal adenocarcinomas are histologically well to moderately differentiated and mimicked closely by pancreatitis, and therefore the microscopic diagnosis can be difficult. In addition, there appears to be significant heterogeneity in the outcome of the patients with pancreatic cancer, which cannot be predicted accurately by current prognosticators such as the grade and stage of the tumor.

Molecular alterations associated with improved survival in pancreatic cancer patients treated with radiation or chemotherapy.

Multiple genetic alterations, several of which may be important prognostic markers, characterize the development of cancer in pancreas. We review our findings from previously published studies with regard to molecular alterations associated with survival differences in patients treated with conventional radiation and chemotherapies used as adjuvant or palliative therapy. K-ras-negative patients with pancreas cancer show improved survival with radiation therapy compared to K-ras-positive patients with pancreas cancer.

Inhibition of pancreatic tumor cell growth in culture by p21WAF1 recombinant adenovirus.

New innovations are needed for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, as current treatments do not offer significant improvements in overall survival. p21WAF1--a tumor suppressor gene--acts as a downstream effector of p53 function and mediates G1 cell cycle arrest by inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinases, which promote cell growth. p21 expression has also been shown to increase more than 20-fold in senescent cells in culture.