Trabectedin for Patients with Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Non-Interventional, Prospective, Multicenter, Phase IV Trial.

This non-interventional, prospective phase IV trial evaluated trabectedin in patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in real-life clinical practice across Germany. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 3 and 6 months, as defined by investigators. Overall, 128 patients from 19 German sites were evaluated for efficacy and 130 for safety.

Serum midkine correlates with tumor progression and imatinib response in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Background: A previous study identified midkine (MK) expression in primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) as a prognostic marker. The aim of the current study was to compare serum midkine (S-MK) concentrations of GIST patients with those of healthy controls and to determine if MK can serve as a prognostic serum marker for these patients.

Materials And Methods: S-MK concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in GIST patients (n = 96) and healthy controls (n = 148).

Monitoring of loss of heterozygosity in serum microsatellite DNA among patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors indicates tumor recurrence.

Background: Patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) harbor increased levels of circulating tumor DNA in their peripheral blood. In the current study, the aim was to investigate whether the frequency of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on cell-free DNA in blood may reflect tumor stage and recurrent disease of these patients.

Materials And Methods: Serum DNA and follow-up samples of 92 patients suffering from recurrent GIST were analyzed by a PCR-based fluorescence microsatellite analysis using a panel of 12 polymorphic markers.

The local cytokine and chemokine milieu within malignant effusions.

Background/aims: Malignant effusions offer a unique opportunity for the study of interactions between the human immune system and cancer. We have recently demonstrated that malignant effusions are characterized by an accumulation of T cells expressing chemokine receptors such as CCR4, which is commonly found on Th2 cells. In contrast, effector T cells expressing chemokine receptors typical for Th1 cells, such as CCR5, showed a diminished homing into malignant effusions.

Long-term survival after second-line therapy with docetaxel and carboplatin and monthly pamidronic acid in a woman with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: In patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), second-line chemotherapy induces response rates of less than 20% and median survival times between 5 and 8 months.

Case Report: In the case described here, a patient with metastatic NSCLC responded with complete remission of the primary tumor and the involved lymph nodes as well as partial remission of bone metastases to a second-line chemotherapy with docetaxel and carboplatin. Since April 2003 (33 months), no tumor progression has been observed.

Gender-specific association of alexithymia and norepinephrine/cortisol ratios. A preliminary report.

Objective: Alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might share a neuroendocrine pattern characterized by increased urinary norepinephrine (N) and decreased cortisol (C) levels, resulting in a high N/C ratio, at least among male alcoholics. We aimed to explore if this association can also be found in other populations.

Methods: Twenty-four-hour urine samples were obtained from 12 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and 23 healthy controls (HC) and tested for N and free C.

Differentiation of promyelocytic leukaemia: alterations in Fas (CD95/Apo-1) and Fas ligand (CD178) expression.

The survival of leukaemic blasts contributes to the pathological mechanism of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). While treatment of APL using retinoic acid (RA) is a model of differentiation therapy, little is known about possible effects of this treatment on the Fas/FasL system. Investigation of APL cells from patients undergoing differentiation therapy with RA and of promyelocytic HL-60 and monoblastic U-937 cells cultured with RA revealed a reduction of surface expression of both Fas and its ligand.