[Two Cases of Carcinoma en Cuirasse, as Cutaneous Metastasis of Breast Cancer].

We present 2 cases of carcinoma en cuirasse, an uncommon clinical manifestation of metastatic cutaneous breast cancer. Case 1, a 70-year-old woman, presented with diffuse erythematous, indurated skin lesions that covered her entire anterior chest wall. Skin biopsy revealed tumor cells in the dermis which were ER and PgR positive and HER2 negative.

Radiotherapy-induced anti-tumor immunity contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of irradiation and can be augmented by CTLA-4 blockade in a mouse model.

Purpose: There is growing evidence that tumor-specific immune responses play an important role in anti-cancer therapy, including radiotherapy. Using mouse tumor models we demonstrate that irradiation-induced anti-tumor immunity is essential for the therapeutic efficacy of irradiation and can be augmented by modulation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity.

Methods And Materials: C57BL/6 mice, syngeneic EL4 lymphoma cells, and Lewis lung carcinoma (LL/C) cells were used.

Lapatinib acts on gastric cancer through both antiproliferative function and augmentation of trastuzumab-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

Background: Trastuzumab has been recently approved for clinical use to treat HER2-expressing advanced gastric cancer, and anti-HER2-targeting therapy has become a promising option for gastric cancer. Lapatinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting EGFR and HER2. The aim of the present study was to explore the utility of lapatinib for gastric cancer, with a particular focus on trastuzumab-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Expression of MHC Class I on breast cancer cells correlates inversely with HER2 expression.

HER2 is a promising target for immunotherapeutic interventions with T cell-based approaches since it is amplified and overexpressed in 20-30% of breast cancers. However, several previous studies including ours showed that HER2-overexpressing tumors may escape cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated lysis by downregulating MHC Class I and components of the antigen-processing machinery. The aims of the present study were to analyze the relationship between HER2 and MHC Class I expression and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying MHC Class I downregulation in breast cancer.

Increased prevalence of tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells is closely related to their lower sensitivity to H2O2-induced apoptosis in gastric and esophageal cancer.

Purpose And Experimental Design: Although an increase in regulatory T cells (Tregs) is observed in tumor microenvironments, the underlying mechanism is not fully clarified. Since it was suggested that Tregs showed a lower sensitivity toward oxidative stress in comparison with conventional T cells, in the present study, we investigated the H(2)O(2) production and apoptosis of Tregs in gastric and esophageal cancer tissues, employing flow cytometric analysis using fresh samples (n = 93) and immunohistochemical analysis (n = 203).

Results: The increased tumor-infiltrating Tregs coexisted with elevated H(2)O(2) production according to disease progression.

Neuroendocrine cells associated with neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast: nature and significance.

Background: The developmental mechanisms of breast neuroendocrine carcinoma (B-NEC) have not been sufficiently analysed and are not well understood.

Aims: To investigate NE cells in the background tissues surrounding B-NECs.

Methods: Three cases (four breasts) having many NE cells in the background tissues of multifocal B-NECs were identified at the University of Yamanashi Hospital and St Luke's International Hospital, Japan.

High prevalence of neuroendocrine carcinoma in breast lesions detected by the clinical symptom of bloody nipple discharge.

Aim: Bloody nipple discharge (BND) is an important clinical symptom in breast disorders, especially cancers. However, the association between this symptom and breast neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) has not been sufficiently investigated or well understood.

Methods: We clinicopathologically studied 89 cases using biopsy and/or resection in 144 patients who came to the hospital for a thorough examination of symptomatic BND.

[The effect of immune-based therapy with cytotoxic T lymphocyte and molecular targeting therapy for HER2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma].

Although esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients have recently been treated with the combined modality therapy, the prognosis remains poor. For the development of new strategies in ESCC, we examined possibilities of the immune -based therapy with cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and the molecular targeting therapy for HER2 against ESCC in this study. At first, we assessed HER2 and MHC class I expression by immunohistochemistry in ESCC patients and analyzed the correlation between them.

Lapatinib enhances herceptin-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity by up-regulation of cell surface HER2 expression.

Background: Although it was previously reported that lapatinib combined with Herceptin improved the progression-free survival rate compared with lapatinib alone for patients with Herceptin-refractory HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, the mechanism is purported to be an antiproliferative effect relating to the synergism of these two agents.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated how lapatinib interacts with Herceptin in HER2-positive breast cancer, with a particular focus on Herceptin-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Results: In an in vitro assay, lapatinib induced HER2 expression at the cell surface of HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines, leading to the enhancement of Herceptin-mediated ADCC.

H₂O₂ production within tumor microenvironment inversely correlated with infiltration of CD56(dim) NK cells in gastric and esophageal cancer: possible mechanisms of NK cell dysfunction.

Human NK cells can be divided into two subsets, CD56(dim)CD16(+)NK and CD56(bright)CD16(-)NK cells, based on their expression of CD56 and CD16. In the present study, we analyzed the relationship between CD56(dim)/CD56(bright) NK cells and H₂O₂ in tumor-infiltrating NK cells in patients with gastric (n = 50) and esophageal (n = 35) cancer. The ratio of CD56(dim) NK cells infiltrating tumors gradually decreased according to disease progression.

Immunonutritional diet modulates natural killer cell activation and Th17 cell distribution in patients with gastric and esophageal cancer.

Objective: Although randomized clinical trials have shown that immunonutrition results in the improvement of postoperative complications, the detailed mechanisms of its immunomodulation are still unclear. In the present study, we investigated if such immunonutrition could affect T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell functions, with particular focus on type 17 helper T (Th17) cells and NK cell-activating markers, in patients with esophageal and gastric cancer and in healthy volunteers.

Methods: Patients (n = 22) and healthy volunteers (n = 10) were orally administered an immunonutritional diet (Impact, 750 mL/d) in addition to a conventional diet for 5 d.

Lapatinib inhibits receptor phosphorylation and cell growth and enhances antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of EGFR- and HER2-overexpressing esophageal cancer cell lines.

Lapatinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the EGFR and HER2 tyrosine kinase domains. EGFR is expressed in 33.3% and HER2 in 30.

Distribution of Th17 cells and FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, tumor-draining lymph nodes and peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with gastric cancer.

Although Th17 cells reportedly play critical roles in the development of autoimmunity and allergic reactions, information on Th17 cells in cancer-bearing hosts is still limited. In the present study, we investigated the distribution of Th17 cells in relation to regulatory T cells (Treg) in the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), regional lymph node lymphocytes, and peripheral blood lymphocytes of gastric cancer patients. Interleukin (IL)-17-producing CD4(+) cells as Th17 cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) cells as Treg were evaluated by flow cytometry and expressed as a percentage of the total CD4(+) cells, in addition to performing a Th1/Th2 balance assay.

Six cases showing radial scar/complex sclerosing lesions of the breast detected by breast cancer screening.

Recently, the number of radial scars (RS)/complex sclerosing lesions (CSL) of the breast has been increasingly detected by mammography screening. Six RS/CSL cases encountered clinicopathologically in the last 2 years are presented. All patients were pre-menopausal.

[Complete response in a case of advanced esophageal and gastric double cancer treated by chemotherapy of TS-1 and low-dose cisplatin].

A 78-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of dysphagea on April 8, 2005. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination showed type 2 esophageal cancer in the lower thoracic area and type 3 gastric cancer in the upper body. Computed tomography showed No.