Feasibility of AC/EC followed by weekly paclitaxel in node-positive breast cancer in Japan.

Unlabelled: The feasibility and efficacy of adriamycin or epirubicin in combination with cyclophosphamide followed by weekly paclitaxel (AC/EC-weekly PAC) as adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer was investigated.

Patients And Methods: Node-positive breast cancer was treated with AC/ EC-weekly PAC, namely AC at 60/600 mg/m(2) or EC at 90/600 mg/m(2) x4 at three-week intervals, followed by weekly PAC (80 mg/m(2)) x 12, namely four cycles of single weekly administration for three weeks followed by a one-week rest (3 x 4 PAC) or single weekly administration for 12 consecutive weeks (12 PAC).

Results: One hundred and three of 109 consecutive patients enrolled were analyzed, of whom 96 (93.

[Efficacy of low-dose CDDP and CPT-11 for patients with intestinal type of gastric adenocarcinoma].

Background: Preclinical studies have shown that irinotecan (CPT-11) and cisplatin (CDDP) can act synergistically. Several chemotherapy regimens combining CPT-11 and CDDP for advanced gastric cancer have been reported to demonstrate high response rates and high incidence of severe toxicity.

Purpose: We conducted a combination chemotherapy regimen of low-dose CDDP and CPT-11 to prolong the time to progression with less toxicity.

False-positive and false-negative cases of fine-needle aspiration cytology for palpable breast lesions.

Background: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNA) is less traumatic and technically easy to apply to small breast tumors.

Methods: A total of 382 cases of palpable breast lesions that had undergone fine needle aspiration and histopathologic diagnosis were reviewed with an emphasis on the rate of false positive diagnoses in benign breast lesions.

Results: A diagnosis of " malignant " was made in 98 of the 382 specimens (25.

A case of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the colon with ulcerative colitis.

Follow-up colonoscopy of a 25-year-old Japanese man with ulcerative colitis (UC) who had undergone endoscopic mucosal resection twice for early colon cancers revealed the presence of a new 1.5-cm-diameter tumor in the sigmoid colon. It was diagnosed by preoperative biopsy as a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.

Matrilysin (MMP-7) degrades VE-cadherin and accelerates accumulation of beta-catenin in the nucleus of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Matrilysin, MMP-7, is an important target for anti-metastasis therapy of colorectal cancer because it is a strong proteolytic factor secreted from the cancer cell itself and it induces tumor angiogenesis. In a previous report, we showed that matrilysin accelerated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation in low serum conditioned medium. In the present study, we show that matrilysin stimulation decreased VE-cadherin expression, induced accumulation of beta-catenin in the nucleus of the HUVEC, and up-regulated matrilysin mRNA expression.

A multicenter phase II study of docetaxel 60 mg/m2 as first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer.

Purpose: Docetaxel is an active agent as first-line chemotherapy in patients with advanced breast cancer at a dosage of 100 mg/m2. However, the efficacy of this agent as a first-line drug when used at a lower dosage is unclear. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of 60 mg/m2 docetaxel for the treatment of breast cancer.

Evaluation of dynamic studies of MR mammography for the diagnosis of intraductal lesions with nipple discharge.

Objectives: We assessed the utility of dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in differentiating benign from malignant lesions of the breast and then applied MRI to diagnose intraductal breast tumors with nipple discharge.

Methods: Gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced MR mammography was performed on 74 patients with breast tumors and 8 patients with nipple discharge.

Results: The steepest slopes of the contrast medium uptake (S slope) s from time-intensity curves were significantly different between malignant and benign lesions.

Analysis of gene expression involved in brain metastasis from breast cancer using cDNA microarray.

Background: Brain metastases occur in 15% to 30% of breast cancer patients, usually as a late event. The patterns of metastases to different organs are determined by the tumor cell phenotype and interactions between the tumor cells and the organ environment.

Methods: We investigated the gene expression profile occurring in brain metastases from a breast cancer cell line.

Cross-linked collagen C- and N-telopeptides for an early diagnosis of bone metastasis from breast cancer.

Bone resorption markers have become available for the diagnosis of bone metastasis. We evaluated cross-linked collagen C-and N-telopeptides (ICTP and NTx) in diagnosing bone metastasis from breast cancer. For a threshold of 4.

Locally advanced mucinous carcinoma of the breast with sudden growth acceleration: a case report.

We report a 35-year-old woman with locally advanced mucinous carcinoma of the breast with sudden growth acceleration. A pea-sized mass developed into an ulcerated large tumor within 1 month. After the combination of chemotherapy, radiation and hyperthermia, a radical mastectomy was performed, followed by repair of the skin defect by latissimus dorsi and rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flaps.

VEGF receptor antisense therapy inhibits angiogenesis and peritoneal dissemination of human gastric cancer in nude mice.

The efficacy of a phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) for KDR/Flk-1 (KDR/Flk-1-ASO), an endothelial cell-specific vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor, was investigated on the peritoneal dissemination and angiogenesis of a human gastric cancer cell line in nude mice. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-transduced NUGC-4 (NUGC-4-GFP) human gastric cancer cells were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of nude mice. KDR/Flk-1-ASO, -SO, or phosphate-buffered saline was administrated from days 7 to 14, 200 microg/mouse, once a day.

MMP-7 (matrilysin) accelerated growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are considered to play important roles in angiogenesis. In angiogenic processes, endothelial cells secrete MMP-2 or MMP-1 to dissolve the basement membrane or connective tissue around the vessels. MMP-7 (matrilysin) is secreted from the neovasculars induced by cancer and is a metastatic factor of colorectal cancer.