Breast cancer in women with human immunodeficiency virus infection: pathological, clinical, and prognostic implications.

Background: AIDS and breast cancer have become two important public health issues for women. Of interest is the prolonged survival of patients diagnosed with HIV infection as a result of the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). With improved survival, we are likely to see more HIV-infected patients with breast cancer.

Pulmonary edema associated with methylene blue dye administration during sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an established procedure for staging early breast cancer. Recently, methylene blue dye has been advocated as a safe, efficacious and cost-effective substitute for isosulfan blue in sentinel lymph node mapping. In this case report, we describe a 44-year-old woman who developed pulmonary edema associated with the use of methylene blue dye for SLNB.

Breast cancer in women with HIV/AIDS: report of five cases with a review of the literature.

Background: The association of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection with breast carcinoma is unclear. With improved survival of HIV-infected patients due to better understanding and treatment of the disease, there is likely to be an increase in incidence of breast cancer in women with HIV infection.

Methods: The medical records of 305 patients with breast cancer seen between January 1995 and December 2000 at Harlem Hospital Center, New York, where approximately 1,000 HIV-infected patients are treated yearly, were reviewed with attention to age, breast cancer stage at presentation, and patient survival.

New strategies in immune tolerance induction.

Induction of tolerance in clinical organ transplantation that will obviate the use of chronic immunosuppression and preserve host immune response to other antigens remains the goal of transplant research. The thymus plays a critical role in the ability of the immune system to discriminate between self- and nonself-antigens or harmful and harmless alloantigens. We now know that multiple factors determine how the immune system responds to a self-antigen or foreign antigen.

Role of TAP-1 and/or TAP-2 antigen presentation defects in tumorigenicity of mouse melanoma.

Mutations in transporters associated with antigen processing (TAP-1 and -2) required for the transport of cytosolic endogenous peptides to the endoplasmic reticulum correlate with increased metastatic potential and reduced host survival in several malignancies. To address the possible function of TAP as a "tumor suppressor" gene, we show that correction of TAP-1 and/or TAP-2 defects in B16 mouse melanoma enhanced the cell surface expression of MHC class I molecules and significantly reduced the rate of subcutaneous tumor growth and pulmonary metastatic burden. Cytotoxic assays confirmed increased sensitivity of TAP-1 and/or TAP-2 transfected clones of B16 melanoma to cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells mediate acquired transplant tolerance.

The Holy Grail of clinical organ transplantation is the safe induction of allograft tolerance. Transplant tolerance has been successfully induced in animal models. Since T cells play a pivotal role in graft rejection, modulating T cell function has been the primary focus of studies aimed at inducing transplant tolerance.

Role of CD41CD251 regulatory T cells from naive host thymus in the induction of acquired transplant tolerance by immunization with allo-major histocompatibility complex peptide.

Background: Immunization with allo-major histocompatibility complex peptide induces operational tolerance, whereas thymectomy abrogates this effect. We hypothesized that recent thymic emigrants with regulatory function are important in the induction of acquired transplant tolerance in this system.

Methods: In this study, we examined the possibility of restoring transplant tolerance to thymectomized (TMX) ACI recipients with concomitant adoptive transfer of syngeneic T cells indirectly primed with a single immunodominant Wistar Furth allo-major histocompatibility complex class I peptide (peptide 5, residues 93-109) and unmodified thymocytes or CD4+CD25+ thymic T cells.

Immature rat myeloid dendritic cells generated in low-dose granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor prolong donor-specific rat cardiac allograft survival.

Background: Because the differential polarization of T cells in response to antigen presentation is dependent on the maturational state of dendritic cells (DCs), we hypothesized that the adoptive transfer of immature myeloid DCs (iMDCs) would prolong graft survival.

Methods: To evaluate this hypothesis, we studied the effects of transfer of iMDCs and mature myeloid DCs (mMDCs) on rat cardiac allograft survival.

Results: Whereas iMDCs that do not express costimulatory molecules induce allogeneic T-cell hyporesponsiveness in coculture studies, mMDCs that express high levels of major histocompatibility complex class II costimulatory and maturation molecules induce a robust allostimulatory T-cell response.

Impact of a cancer screening program on breast cancer stage at diagnosis in a medically underserved urban community.

Background: Our previous report showed that the disparity in breast carcinoma survival between black and white women because of advanced stage of disease at presentation in poor black women is related to their low socioeconomic status and lack of health insurance. This observation led to establishment of a community-oriented free cancer screening service.

Study Design: To evaluate the impact of screening on breast cancer stage at diagnosis, analysis of data from the Harlem Hospital Tumor Registry between 1995 and 2000 was performed and compared with our 1964-1986 report.

Peritransplant streptavidin recipient treatment prolongs rat cardiac allograft survival.

Background: Because streptavidin shows high localization in inflamed tissues, it might also interfere with the proliferation of cells involved in allograft rejection.

Methods And Results: Treatment of naïve ACI recipients with 20 mg/kg streptavidin i.p.