The value of ADC, T2 signal intensity, and a combination of both parameters to assess Gleason score and primary Gleason grades in patients with known prostate cancer.

Background: The ability to non-invasively analyze tumor aggressiveness is an important predictor for individual treatment stratification and patient outcome in prostate cancer (PCA).

Purpose: To evaluate: (i) whether apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the T2 signal intensity (SI), and a combination of both parameters allow for an improved discrimination of Gleason Score (GS) ≥7 (intermediate and high risk) and GS <7 (low risk) in PCA; and (ii) whether ADC may distinguish between 3 + 4 and 4 + 3 PCA (primary Gleason grades [pGG]).

Material And Methods: Prostatectomy specimens of 66 patients (mean age, 63 ± 5.

MRI-guided biopsy of the prostate: correlation between the cancer detection rate and the number of previous negative TRUS biopsies.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate prostate cancer detection rate of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsy and to elucidate possible relations to the number of prior negative transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)-guided biopsies.

Materials And Methods: Eighty-seven consecutive patients (mean age, 65.0 years; mean prostate-specific antigen, 13.

Effective inhibition of metastases and primary tumor growth with CTCE-9908 in esophageal cancer.

Background: In spite of multimodular treatment, the therapeutic options for esophageal carcinoma are limited, and metastases remain the leading cause of tumor-related mortality. Expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 significantly correlates with poor survival rates in patients with esophageal carcinoma and is associated with lymph node and bone marrow metastases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the CXCR4 antagonist CTCE-9908 on metastatic homing and primary tumor growth in vitro and in vivo in an orthotopic xenograft model of esophageal cancer.

Involvement of CXCR4 chemokine receptor in metastastic HER2-positive esophageal cancer.

A functional linkage of the structurally unrelated receptors HER2 and CXCR4 has been suggested for breast cancer but has not been evaluated for esophageal carcinoma. The inhibition of HER2 leads to a reduction of primary tumor growth and metastases in an orthotopic model of esophageal carcinoma. The chemokine receptor CXCR4 has been implicated in metastatic dissemination of various tumors and correlates with poor survival in esophageal carcinoma.

Expression parameters of the metabolic pathway genes pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-1 (PDK-1) and DJ-1/PARK7 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Purpose: Metabolic adaptations, such as increases in glucose and energy metabolism, play a pivotal role in the biology of RCC. PDK-1 and DJ-1/PARK7 are thought to control metabolic pathways in cancer. We investigated the expression of PDK-1 and DJ-1/PARK7 in RCC and their prognostic relevance.

High lymph vessel density and expression of lymphatic growth factors in peritoneal endometriosis.

To investigate the occurrence of lymph vessels and lymphangiogenic growth factors in peritoneal lesions, we performed immunohistochemical staining of peritoneal lesions of 37 patients with antibodies against podoplanin (D2-40), lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE-1), prospero homeobox protein 1 (Prox-1), vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF)-C/VEGF-D. Overall, 10 lesions were double stained against D2-40 and von Willebrand factor. The lymph vessel density in peritoneal lesion was significantly higher in comparison with healthy peritoneum.

VEGFR-1 expression levels predict occurrence of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow of patients with esophageal carcinoma.

Blocking angiogenesis by inhibiting VEGF represents an established therapeutic strategy in many cancers. The role of placental growth factor (PlGF) and of its receptor VEGFR-1 in tumor biology remain more elusive. Currently, humanized monoclonal antibodies against PlGF are studied in early phase clinical trials because PlGF inhibition blocked murine tumor growth and angiogenesis.

Immunohistochemical characterization of endometriosis-associated smooth muscle cells in human peritoneal endometriotic lesions.

Background: Smooth muscle cells (SMC) are common components of endometriotic lesions. SMC have been characterized previously in peritoneal, ovarian and deep infiltrating endometriotic lesions and adenomyosis. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the extent of differentiation in endometriosis-associated SMC (EMaSMC) in peritoneal endometriotic lesions.

L1 is highly expressed in tumors of the nervous system: a study of over 8000 human tissues.

Background: L1 cell adhesion molecule (CD171) has been detected in different malignant tumors and is associated with unfavorable outcome. It thus represents a target for tumor diagnosis and therapy. In this study, we assessed L1 expression in more than 8000 normal human tissues and different types of tumors, both malignant and non-malignant, and neural and non-neural.

Expression of the stem cell markers nestin and CD133 on circulating melanoma cells.

Different molecular markers have been identified for melanoma-initiating cells including CD133 and nestin. Assuming that metastasis requires a dissemination of tumor-initiating cells, presence of circulating tumor-initiating cells should be associated with worse patient outcome. In this study, 20 ml blood was collected from 32 consecutive patients affected by metastatic melanoma and blood was enriched for circulating melanoma cells (CMCs) by CD45 depletion of the non-melanoma cell fraction.

Angiogenesis index CD105 (endoglin)/CD31 (PECAM-1) as a predictive factor for invasion and proliferation in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas.

Background: Intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas is an increasingly diagnosed entity since its definition by the World Health Organization in 1996. It has a broad clinical spectrum ranging from benign to malignant tumors. Optimum treatment is controversial and a better understanding of the development of IPMN of the pancreas and identification of potential prognostic factors will help to address this.

Effective therapeutic targeting of the overexpressed HER-2 receptor in a highly metastatic orthotopic model of esophageal carcinoma.

This study aimed to determine the targeted efficacy of trastuzumab (Herceptin) on human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2)-overexpressing metastatic esophageal cancer in an orthotopic mouse model. HER-2 overexpression and amplification of human esophageal primary and metastatic tumors were shown with HER-2-fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis and HER-2 immunostaining. Following orthotopic implantation with the HER-2-overexpressing OE19 human esophageal cancer cell line, mice were treated with trastuzumab.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor as a novel prognostic marker and its implication as a cotarget in the treatment of human adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) receptor expression has been found to be a key regulator of tumorigenesis. The purpose of our study was to establish the prognostic significance of IGF-1R in esophageal cancer and to determine the effect of IGF-1R and HER2 targeting with alpha-IR3 and Herceptin antibodies on the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells in vitro. IGF-1R expression and clinicopathological correlations were analyzed with a tissue microarray containing 234 esophageal cancer specimens (133 adenocarcinomas and 101 squamous cell carcinomas).

NY-CO-58/KIF2C is overexpressed in a variety of solid tumors and induces frequent T cell responses in patients with colorectal cancer.

NY-CO-58/KIF2C has been identified as a tumor antigen by screening antibody responses in patients with colorectal cancer. However, expression had not consequently been examined, and nothing was known about its ability to induce spontaneous T cell responses, which have been suggested to play a role in the development of colorectal cancer. We analyzed 5 colorectal cancer cell lines, and tumor samples and adjacent healthy tissues from 176 patients with epithelial cancers for the expression of NY-CO-58/KIF2C by RT-PCR and Western Blot.

Complementary use of fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging of metastatic esophageal cancer in a novel orthotopic mouse model.

We describe the development of an aggressive orthotopic metastatic model of esophageal cancer, which is visualized in real time with combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence imaging. The aim of the study was to describe the development of a novel model of metastatic tumor disease of esophageal carcinoma and use this model to evaluate fluorescence and MRI in early detection of local and metastatic disease. The human esophageal adenocarcinoma cell line PT1590 was stably transfected with green fluorescent protein (GFP).

Repeated surgery improves survival in recurrent gastrointestinal stromal tumors: a retrospective analysis of 144 patients.

Purpose: Recurrence of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) may require multimodal therapy and the role of repeated surgery in this concept is unclear.

Patients And Methods: A consecutive series of GIST patients treated by surgery, imatinib therapy or both was retrospectively reviewed, and long-term survival was studied by Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results: Institutional primary surgeries before 1999 necessitated reclassification of the histopathological sections and 58/78 patients were classified as having true GIST.

Signet ring cell adenocarcinoma of the oropharynx: presentation of a rare case and review of the literature.

Intracellular mucin-producing adenocarcinomas, so called signet ring cell adenocarcinomas (SRCAs), are most commonly found in the stomach or lower GI-tract. They occur far less frequently at other locations such as prostate, pancreas, mammarian gland or within the oropharyngeal cavity. We present the case of a patient who suffered from indolent cervical nodular tumour.

Subset of esophageal adenocarcinoma expresses adhesion molecule l1 in contrast to squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Esophageal adenocarcinoma is currently the most rapidly increasing cancer in Western populations. L1 (CD171), a neural cell adhesion molecule, has an essential function in tumor progression and has been shown to be expressed in the proliferating cells of the intestinal crypts in mice. The aim of the current study was to determine L1 expression in esophageal cancer and to evaluate whether L1 could serve as a potential marker and therapeutic target for this tumor type.

Combined alpha-methylacyl coenzyme A racemase/p53 analysis to identify dysplasia in inflammatory bowel disease.

Identification of dysplasia in inflammatory bowel disease represents a major challenge for both clinicians and pathologists. Clear diagnosis of dysplasia in inflammatory bowel disease is sometimes not possible with biopsies remaining "indefinite for dysplasia." Recent studies have identified molecular alterations in colitis-associated cancers, including increased protein levels of alpha-methylacyl coenzyme A racemase, p53, p16 and bcl-2.

Clinical value of loss of heterozygosity in serum microsatellite DNA of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Goals: To study the role of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in serum microsatellite DNA of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

Background: In GIST, tumor markers from peripheral blood are missing.

Study: Seventy-eight patients (59 GIST, 13 leiomyomas, 2 leiomyosarcomas, and 4 schwannomas) underwent resection at our institute between 1985 and 2006.

Direct genetic analysis of single disseminated cancer cells for prediction of outcome and therapy selection in esophageal cancer.

The increasing use of primary tumors as surrogate markers for prognosis and therapeutic decisions neglects evolutionary aspects of cancer progression. To address this problem, we studied the precursor cells of metastases directly for the identification of prognostic and therapeutic markers and prospectively analyzed single disseminated cancer cells from lymph nodes and bone marrow of 107 consecutive esophageal cancer patients. Whole-genome screening revealed that primary tumors and lymphatically and hematogenously disseminated cancer cells diverged for most genetic aberrations.

L1 is associated with micrometastatic spread and poor outcome in colorectal cancer.

L1 is a cell adhesion molecule expressed at the invasive front of colorectal tumors with an important role in metastasis. The aim of the present study was to determine L1 protein expression in a large cohort of colorectal cancer patients and its impact on early metastatic spread and survival. A total of 375 patients that underwent surgical treatment for colorectal cancer were chosen retrospectively.

Microsatellite analysis in serum DNA as a diagnostic tool for distinction of patients with unknown pancreatic masses.

The clinical distinction between cancer and chronic pancreatitis is difficult in patients with pancreatic masses. To test whether detection of aberrant serum DNA could assist in this important differential diagnosis, we tested a panel of 12 microsatellitemarkers from chromosomes 17p, 17q, 13q, 9p, 5q, and 2p in the blood of 35 pancreatic cancer patients, 22 patients with chronic pancreatitis, and 20 healthy individuals. An average of 2.

Prognostic implications of netrin-1 expression and its receptors in patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Background: To assess the interaction between the expression of netrin-1 or of its receptors to the prognosis of ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Methods: In 82 patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent curative operation, the expression patterns of netrin-1, deleted in colorectal carcinomas (DCC), UNC5H3, and neogenin were determined by immunohistochemical staining. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess the prognostic relevance of the examined expression patterns.