Serum cell-free DNA concentration as a possible prognostic marker in newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a fragment of DNA circulating in the blood, and its concentration is often elevated in cancer patients. To investigate the relationships between serum cfDNA concentration and clinical characteristics, including prognosis, we measured serum cfDNA concentration in 114 newly diagnosed lymphoma patients. The cfDNA concentrations in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (62.

Detection of HER2 Amplification in Circulating Tumor Cells of HER2-Negative Gastric Cancer Patients.

A key to the successful use of targeted cancer therapy is the ability to preselect patients who are likely to benefit from the treatment according to molecular markers. Assessment for predicting therapy response is mostly done using tumor biopsies. However, these might not truly represent all of the patient's malignant cells because of tumor heterogeneity and/or clonal evolution during disease progression.

A novel detection strategy for living circulating tumor cells using 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Most circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection methods have technical limitations, allowing the detection of only cells expressing epithelial antigens, and they cannot identify if the CTCs are alive or dead. Herein, we constructed a novel CTC detection system comprised of filter separation and 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-based labeling, termed "Fs-ALA". Blood specimens (7.

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) count and epithelial growth factor receptor expression on CTCs as biomarkers for cetuximab efficacy in advanced colorectal cancer.

Background/aim: The purpose of this study was to establish whether CTC count and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in CTCs predicted outcome in patients with advance colorectal cancer (ACC) receiving cetuximab as third-line treatment.

Patients And Methods: Between October 2008 and March 2011, 63 patients with KRAS wild-type ACC were treated with cetuximab-containing chemotherapy at the Cancer Institute Hospital. We measured the CTC count and EGFR expression on CTCs using the CellSearch System (Veridex LLC, NJ, USA).

Retroviral integration site analysis and the fate of transduced clones in an MDR1 gene therapy protocol targeting metastatic breast cancer.

A clinical study of an MDR1 gene therapy protocol targeting metastatic breast cancer has been conducted in which the patients received high-dose chemotherapy, a transplant of MDR1-transduced autologous CD34(+) cells, and docetaxel. We herein report the molecular results of a 6-year follow-up of an individual in this study (patient 1). HaMDR-transduced cells, which had been initially detected in the peripheral blood of this individual, were found to have gradually decreased.

Pilot study of MDR1 gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells and chemoprotection in metastatic breast cancer patients.

A major problem in high-dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is insufficient function of reconstituted bone marrow that limits the efficacy of post-transplantation chemotherapy. Because transduction of hematopoietic stem cells with the multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) gene might circumvent this problem, we conducted a pilot study of MDR1 gene therapy against metastatic breast cancer. Peripheral blood stem cells were harvested, and one-third of the cells were transduced with MDR1 retrovirus.