Avoiding pitfalls in applying prediction models, as illustrated by the example of prostate cancer diagnosis.

Background: The use of different mathematical models to support medical decisions is accompanied by increasing uncertainties when they are applied in practice. Using prostate cancer (PCa) risk models as an example, we recommend requirements for model development and draw attention to possible pitfalls so as to avoid the uncritical use of these models.

Content: We conducted MEDLINE searches for applications of multivariate models supporting the prediction of PCa risk.

Is there an optimal prostate-specific antigen threshold for prostate biopsy?

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) remains the best biomarker available for early prostate cancer (PCa) detection. Increasing PSA values are associated with increasing PCa risk. The traditional PSA cut-off of 4 µg/l was lowered because the PCa detection rates are similar in the PSA ranges 2-4 and 4-10 µg/l.

Comprehensive comparison of various techniques for the analysis of elemental distributions in thin films.

The present work shows results on elemental distribution analyses in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films for solar cells performed by use of wavelength-dispersive and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) in a scanning electron microscope, EDX in a transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron, angle-dependent soft X-ray emission, secondary ion-mass (SIMS), time-of-flight SIMS, sputtered neutral mass, glow-discharge optical emission and glow-discharge mass, Auger electron, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, by use of scanning Auger electron microscopy, Raman depth profiling, and Raman mapping, as well as by use of elastic recoil detection analysis, grazing-incidence X-ray and electron backscatter diffraction, and grazing-incidence X-ray fluorescence analysis. The Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films used for the present comparison were produced during the same identical deposition run and exhibit thicknesses of about 2 μm. The analysis techniques were compared with respect to their spatial and depth resolutions, measuring speeds, availabilities, and detection limits.

Comparison of drug resistance scores for tipranavir in protease inhibitor-naive patients infected with HIV-1 B and non-B subtypes.

Genotypes of samples from protease inhibitor-naïve patients in Frankfurt's HIV Cohort were analyzed with five tipranavir resistance prediction algorithms. Mean scores were higher in non-B than in B subtypes. The proportion of non-B subtypes increased with increasing scores, except in weighted algorithms.

[Introduction of interdisciplinary prostate cancer centers based on the recommendations of the German Cancer Society. A cost-benefit analysis 3 years after accreditation].

The introduction of prostate cancer treatment centers according to the criteria of the German Cancer Society ("Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft", DKG) aims at improving the quality of care for patients with prostate cancer. Systematic analyses of the effects and costs are lacking as yet. Three years after certification of the Interdisciplinary Prostate Cancer Center at the Charité Hospital Berlin we observed a decrease in the rate of positive surgical margins (tumor stage pT2), but other parameters of treatment quality including patient satisfaction remained unchanged.

Creating a human brain proteome atlas--13th HUPO BPP Workshop March 30-31, 2010, Ochang, Korea.

The HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) held its 13th workshop in Ochang from March 30th to 31st, 2010 prior to the Korean HUPO 10th Annual International Proteomics Conference. The principal aim of this project is to obtain a better understanding of neurodiseases and aging with the ultimate objective of discovering prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers, in addition to the development of novel diagnostic techniques and new medications. The attendees came together to discuss progress in the clinical neuroproteomics of human and to define the needs and guidelines required for more advanced proteomics approaches.

MicroRNAs as regulators of signal transduction in urological tumors.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that have been shown to play pivotal roles in carcinogenesis. In the past decade, miRNAs have been the focus of much research in oncology, and there are great expectations for their utility as cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Content: In this review we examine how miRNAs can regulate signal transduction pathways in urological tumors.

Decreased RECK and Increased EMMPRIN expression in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder are associated with tumor aggressiveness.

Objective: Urothelial bladder carcinomas show a divergent biological behavior, which significantly complicates risk stratification and clinical management. The MMP repressor RECK and the MMP activator EMMPRIN regulate the invasive potential by metalloproteinase-induced stromal degradation. Data on RECK in urothelial bladder cancer are lacking and information on EMMPRIN is sparse.

Between-method differences in prostate-specific antigen assays affect prostate cancer risk prediction by nomograms.

Background: To date, no published nomogram for prostate cancer (PCa) risk prediction has considered the between-method differences associated with estimating concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

Methods: Total PSA (tPSA) and free PSA were measured in 780 biopsy-referred men with 5 different assays. These data, together with other clinical parameters, were applied to 5 published nomograms that are used for PCa detection.

Spatial distribution of the risk of dengue fever in southeast Brazil, 2006-2007.

Background: Many factors have been associated with circulation of the dengue fever virus and vector, although the dynamics of transmission are not yet fully understood. The aim of this work is to estimate the spatial distribution of the risk of dengue fever in an area of continuous dengue occurrence.

Methods: This is a spatial population-based case-control study that analyzed 538 cases and 727 controls in one district of the municipality of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, from 2006-2007, considering socio-demographic, ecological, case severity, and household infestation variables.

The rainbow cohort: 96 week follow-up of saquinavir-containing regimens in previously antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive and pre-treated but protease inhibitor (PI)-naive HIV-infected patients.

Objective: We have previously reported data from the German cohort of the multinational observational prospective RAINBOW survey which assessed the tolerability and efficacy of ritonavir-boosted saquinavir (SQV/r)-containing regimens over 48 weeks in routine clinical practice. This analysis presents data from antiretroviral (ART)-naive and pretreated but protease inhibitor (PI)-naive patients treated in a long-term one line (96 weeks) follow-up of the initial study.

Methods: All ART- and PI-naive patients from the initial RAINBOW cohort who had recorded data to one line 96 weeks of treatment were eligible for inclusion in the current analysis.

The androgen-regulated Calcium-Activated Nucleotidase 1 (CANT1) is commonly overexpressed in prostate cancer and is tumor-biologically relevant in vitro.

Previously, we identified the calcium-activated nucleotidase 1 (CANT1) transcript as up-regulated in prostate cancer. Now, we studied CANT1 protein expression in a large cohort of nearly 1000 prostatic tissue samples including normal tissue, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), primary carcinomas, metastases, and castrate-resistant carcinomas, and further investigated its functional relevance. CANT1 displayed predominantly a Golgi-type immunoreactivity with additional and variable cytoplasmic staining.

Importance of brain‑type fatty acid binding protein for cell-biological processes in human renal carcinoma cells.

The molecular mechanisms underlying renal cell carcinoma (RCC) development and progression are still not completely understood. The importance of fatty acid binding proteins (FABP) for the progression of carcinomas has been shown for several tumors. However, the importance of brain-type FABP (B‑FABP) in cell-biological processes in renal carcinoma cells is unknown.

Quality meets quantity - quality control, data standards and repositories.

In recent years, standardization and quality control have become important key points in industry, e.g. in drug discovery and for developing medical products.

Effect of transmitted drug resistance on virological and immunological response to initial combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV (EuroCoord-CHAIN joint project): a European multicohort study.

Background: The effect of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) on first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) for HIV-1 needs further study to inform choice of optimum drug regimens. We investigated the effect of TDR on outcome in the first year of cART within a large European collaboration.

Methods: HIV-infected patients of any age were included if they started cART (at least three antiretroviral drugs) for the first time after Jan 1, 1998, and were antiretroviral naive and had at least one sample for a genotypic test taken before the start of cART.

On Gerasimov's plastic facial reconstruction technique: new insights to facilitate repeatability.

Gerasimov's plastic facial reconstruction method is notoriously difficult to repeat from the published literature. Primarily, this is because of the method's underlying qualitative basis but other factors contribute including: misreports in the secondary literature of Gerasimov's method essence; a lack of published details concerning Gerasimov's modeling mastic; Gerasimov's deviation from his own published nose projection prediction guidelines; and continued refinement of the methods in the 15 years following their foremost publication. As Gerasimov cannot be consulted to resolve these issues, we provide solutions via one of his five former principal students.

Skeletal identification by radiographic comparison: blind tests of a morphoscopic method using antemortem chest radiographs.

This study investigated the value of antemortem (AM) and postmortem (PM) radiographs of the claviculae and C3-T4 vertebrae to identify skeletons of missing U.S. soldiers from past military operations.

Areas suspicious for prostate cancer: MR-guided biopsy in patients with at least one transrectal US-guided biopsy with a negative finding--multiparametric MR imaging for detection and biopsy planning.

Purpose: To prospectively investigate the incremental value of multiparametric magnetic resonance (MR) imaging compared with standard T2-weighted imaging for biopsy planning.

Materials And Methods: The study was approved by the institutional review board; informed consent was obtained. Consecutive patients underwent T2-weighted imaging supplemented with multiparametric 1.

New 4-maleamic acid and 4-maleamide peptidyl chalcones as potential multitarget drugs for human prostate cancer.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of new 4-maleamic acid and 4-maleamide peptidyl chalcone derivatives against human prostate cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: From a series of 21 chalcones, the effects of the three best inhibitors of PC-3 and LNCaP cell viability on growth, including cell cycle changes, adhesion, migration, and cell invasion, as well as their ability to inhibit angiogenesis, clonogenic activity, and matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, were tested. The effects in vivo were studied in PC-3 and LNCaP xenografts.

Sarcosine in prostate cancer tissue is not a differential metabolite for prostate cancer aggressiveness and biochemical progression.

Purpose: Sarcosine in prostate cancer tissue samples was recently reported to be increased during prostate cancer progression to metastasis and suggested to be a key metabolite of cancer cell invasion and aggressiveness. We reevaluated sarcosine in prostate cancer tissue samples as a potential indicator of tumor aggressiveness, and as a predictor of recurrence-free survival.

Materials And Methods: Sarcosine in matched samples of malignant and nonmalignant tissue from 92 patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy was measured in the framework of a global metabolite profiling study of prostate cancer by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Immune response after two doses of the novel split virion, adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 influenza A vaccine in HIV-1-infected patients.

Background: To determine the rate of seroconversion after 2 doses of a novel split virion, inactivated, adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine (A/California/7/2009) in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01017172).

Methods: Diagnostic study of adult HIV-1-infected patients scheduled for H1N1 influenza A vaccination.