Social functioning of elderly persons with malignant diseases.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Malignant disease, its treatment and consequences of treatment can often lead to social marginalization and reduced quality of life. The aim of this research was to determine how elderly patients with malignant diseases function in their social environment. METHODS: Sociodemographic questionnaire and interview were used to investigate a group of 49 elderly persons undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy treatment against early carcinomas (P1), and a group of 51 elderly persons with advanced stages of cancer undergoing systemic chemotherapy (P2). There were two cycles of assessment: one just before the beginning of the first cycle of adjuvant or systemic chemotherapy, and the other three months later. The research paradigm was based on the relation between individual treatment and the impact of the malignant disease on functional and social incompetence. The obtained findings were compared with the group of 50 healthy elderly people (K) who share the same relevant features but do not suffer from malignant diseases. RESULTS: It was found that most healthy older people live in share house, whereas those who suffer from malignant diseases mostly live in separate households. In both groups of patients and healthy group older people are mostly taken care of by their children. Individuals in both groups of patients have been frequently visited by their relatives during initial stages of treatment, unlike the elderly people in the control group. However, the difference did not reach a statistical significance. Three months after the beginning of chemotherapy, there was a statistically relevant difference in favor of the group undergoing adjuvant treatment. Home visits eventually become less frequent, whereas communication by telephone becomes more frequent. It was also found that visits by friends and neighbors are statistically more frequent among subjects who undergo adjuvant treatment, both before the treatment began and three months later when compared to other groups. CONCLUSION: Our research shows that elderly people are subject to social exclusion, especially those with malignant diseases. Special care should be dedicated to monitoring of social functioning during treatment of patients with malignant disease considering the detected trend of deterioration and significance for further recover and cure.

Trefoil factor 1 in early breast carcinoma: a potential indicator of clinical outcome during the first 3 years of follow-up.

BACKGROUND: A role of an estrogen-regulated, autocrine motogenic factor was assumed to be a major biological role of trefoil factor 1 (TFF1) in breast cancer. TFF1 is regarded as a predictive factor for positive response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to examine TFF1 level distribution in breast carcinomas in order to distinguish estrogen-independent from estrogen-dependent TFF1 expression and to evaluate clinical usefulness of TFF1 status in early breast cancer during the first 3 years of follow-up. METHODS: The study included 226 patients with primary operable invasive early breast carcinomas for whom an equal, a 3-year follow-up was conducted. TFF1 levels as well as estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were measured in cytosolic extracts of tumor samples by immunoradiometric assay or by use of classical biochemical method, respectively. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied for data analyses. RESULTS: Statistical analysis revealed that TFF1 levels were significantly higher in premenopausal patients (p=0.02), or in tumors with: lower histological grade (p<0.001), positive ER or PR status (p<0.001, in both cases). On the basis of TFF1 level distribution between ER-negative and ER-positive postmenopausal patients with tumors of different histological grade, 14 ng/mg was set as the cut-off value to distinguish estrogen-independent from estrogen-dependent TFF1 expression in breast cancer. Depending on menopausal and PR status, positive TFF1 status identified patients at opposite risk for relapse among ER-positive patients with grade II tumors. Among ER- and PR-positive premenopausal patients with grade II tumors, TFF1 status alone identified patients at opposite risk for relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Determination of TFF1 status might identify patients at different risk for relapse and help in making decision on administering adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer patients during the first 3 years of follow-up.

Attitudes of young patients with breast cancer toward fertility loss related to adjuvant systemic therapies. EORTC study 10002 BIG 3-98.

OBJECTIVE: Infertility due to anticancer treatments is a major source of distress for young patients with cancer. A survey was performed among breast cancer patients younger than 35 years, to evaluate the acceptance of chemotherapy in the context of infertility risk. METHODS: After obtaining written informed consent, we asked 400 premenopausal, early stage breast cancer patients aged ≤35 years to complete a short, previously pilot-tested questionnaire. Three hundred and eighty-nine patients were evaluable. The association between the explanatory variables and the outcome variables was assessed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-eight (59%) participants wanted to have (more) children in the future, whereas 158 (41%) did not. Fifty-seven (36%) of the latter did not want additional children because of fear of cancer recurrence. Thirty-two women (8%) stated they would not accept chemotherapy should it reduce their fertility. This was dependent upon already having children, the wish to have (further) children, geographical area, disease stage, and already planned chemotherapy. One hundred and seventy-one women who would agree to chemotherapy (48%) would accept a risk of infertility of 76-100%. This acceptance was dependent on already having children and the wish to have (more) children. Of the 355 participants (91%) accepting chemotherapy, 48 would accept it only for ≥20% gain in cure. CONCLUSION: For the majority of young patients with breast cancer, cure remains their first priority; for this, they are willing to accept a considerable decrease in future fertility, and only less than 10% will forego chances of cure to preserve fertility.

Cathepsin D as an indicator of clinical outcome in early breast carcinoma during the first 3 years of follow-up.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical usefulness of cathepsin D status in early breast cancer during the first 3 years of follow-up. PATIENTS & METHODS: The study included 226 patients with histologically verified, primary operable invasive early breast carcinomas. Concentrations of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in breast tumor cytosols were measured by use of the classical biochemical method. The concentration of three cathepsin D forms (52-, 48- and 34-kDa proteins) was determined by a radioimmunoassay RESULTS: On the basis of differences in cathepsin D levels either within an ER(-)/PR(-) phenotype or between this and either ER(+)/PR(+) or ER(+)/PR(-) phenotypes, a concentration of 39 pmol/mg was determined as the cutoff value for distinguishing estrogen-regulated cathepsin D expression. Estrogen-regulated cathepsin D expression was recognized as a high-risk biomarker for low-risk (histological grade I) breast cancer patients and as a low-risk biomarker for high-risk patients (pN(+) pT2,3). CONCLUSION: Determination of cathepsin D status in breast cancer might identify patients at different risk for relapse and might facilitate the selection of more or less aggressive adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer patients during the first 3 years of follow-up.

Treatment response to preoperative anthracycline-based chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer: the relevance of proliferation and apoptosis rates.

Objectives were to evaluate the relevance of proliferating fraction (Ki-67) along with apoptotic index (AI) which denoted growth index (Ki-67/AI ratio, GI) to predict pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy, and the pattern of their modifications following chemotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer. Archival material of diagnostic biopsies and surgical specimens from 106 patients were examined. Response rate to chemotherapy in this group was 95 %, eight (8 %) patients achieved a pathological complete remission (pCR) and five (5 %) had a progressive/stable disease (PD/SD). The expression of Ki-67 and AI were assessed using immunohistochemistry and in situ DNA nick labeling assay respectively. Higher baseline level of Ki-67 and GI were associated with an improved pathological response (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.008), but the degree of correlation with GI was no greater than that with Ki-67 alone. Ki-67 below 1 % highly indicated a lack of tumor response. High AI which characterized the opposite chemo-sensitive tumors, pCR vs. PD/SD (p = 0.72) implied that treatment response was not influenced by the "presence" or "absence" of apoptosis. A significant decrease in Ki-67 (p < 0.001), AI (p = 0.035) and GI (p = 0.008) was found following chemotherapy, but percentage change in biomarker values revealed an increase in a number of cases. Higher initial Ki-67 and AI was associated with profound reduction of GI and raising value of GI after treatment, respectively. Such a variance of a given parameter elicited by chemotherapy may have various impact on disease outcome.

Randomized phase III placebo-controlled trial of letrozole plus oral temsirolimus as first-line endocrine therapy in postmenopausal women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Recent data showed improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) when adding everolimus to exemestane in patients with advanced breast cancer experiencing recurrence/progression after nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy. Here, we report clinical outcomes of combining the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor temsirolimus with letrozole in AI-naive patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This phase III randomized placebo-controlled study tested efficacy/safety of first-line oral letrozole 2.5 mg daily/temsirolimus 30 mg daily (5 days every 2 weeks) versus letrozole/placebo in 1,112 patients with AI-naive, hormone receptor-positive advanced disease. An independent data monitoring committee recommended study termination for futility at the second preplanned interim analysis (382 PFS events). RESULTS: Patients were balanced (median age, 63 years; 10% stage III, 40% had received adjuvant endocrine therapy). Those on letrozole/temsirolimus experienced more grade 3 to 4 events (37% v 24%). There was no overall improvement in primary end point PFS (median, 9 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.07; P = .25) nor in the 40% patient subset with prior adjuvant endocrine therapy. An exploratory analysis showed improved PFS favoring letrozole/temsirolimus in patients ≤ age 65 years (9.0 v 5.6 months; HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.93; P = .009), which was separately examined by an exploratory analysis of 5-month PFS using subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot methodology (P = .003). CONCLUSION: Adding temsirolimus to letrozole did not improve PFS as first-line therapy in patients with AI-naive advanced breast cancer. Exploratory analyses of benefit in younger postmenopausal patients require external confirmation.

Different associations of estrogen receptor ß isoforms, ERß1 and ERß2, expression levels with tumor size and survival in early- and late-onset breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: In breast cancer, little is known about the consequences of co-expression of ERα with the second estrogen receptor, ERß, and its isoforms in light of their joint prognostic value. Previously reported correlations have been based mostly on independent ERα and ERß expression levels in breast tumors. PURPOSE: To address whether the expression ratio of ERα and ERß and its isoforms may be a more important parameter than their absolute levels, we analyzed relative mRNA expression ratios of ERß1 to ERß2 and ERα in 74 clinical samples of invasive breast cancer including 39 early-onset and 35 late-onset breast cancers. Expression levels were correlated with clinical and histopathological parameters and disease-free interval. RESULTS: A specific correlation of ERß1 expression levels with tumor size was detected in early-onset breast cancer patients and of ERß2 levels with tumor size in late-onset patients. Expression of both ERß isoforms inversely correlated with expression of the two estrogen regulated genes, progesterone receptor and pS2 in both groups. Higher levels of ERß2 than ERß1 isoform were associated with a better outcome in late-onset patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that different isoforms of ERß may be involved in suppression of tumor growth in young and elder patients and may have different prognostic values.

C-myc as a predictive marker for chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer.

C-myc is considered to have an important role in cancerogenesis and tumor progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate a possible significance of c-myc amplification as a clinically useful prognostic/predictive parameter in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Eighty-seven MBC patients with known clinicopathological parameters were included in the study, at the time of diagnosis of metastatic disease. In metastatic setting, 52% of patients received CMF, 34% received FAC, and 32% received hormonal therapy (tamoxifen). C-myc amplification was analyzed by chromogenic in situ hybridization, according to the manufacturer's instructions. C-myc amplification was detected in 26% cases and showed a strong correlation with ER status, stage of disease (initial) and existence of distance metastasis. There was no statistically significant difference in MBC (post-relapse) survival between c-myc-nonamplified and c-myc-amplified subgroups regardless of or regarding the treatment. However, correlation was found between c-myc status and individual patient's outcomes. Patients with c-myc amplification treated with chemotherapy (CMF and FAC) had clinical benefit (complete remission, partial remission or stable disease) in contrast to patients without amplification. Lack of significant difference in MBC (post-relapse) survival according to c-myc status could be due to a better response of patients to appropriate treatment (chemotherapy). It is possible that negative prognostic impact of c-myc amplification is masked with increased responsiveness to chemotherapy.

[The role of hormonal ovarian ablation in adjuvant treatment of premenopausal breast cancer].

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant disease in women with about 25% compared to all malignant tumours. Chemotherapy, antiestrogen and ovarian ablation/ supression present effective adjuvant approach for premenopausal women diagnosed with hormonal depended, operable breast cancer. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate benefits of combined chemo/hormonal therapy that is undutiful, but optimal application has not yet been clearly determined. METHODS: Thirty-six women were divided into three therapy groups. The first group (13 women) was treated with six cycles of adjuvant FAC chemotherapy followed by regular check-ups; the second group (13 women) after six cycles of adjuvant FAC chemotherapy continued treatment with a two-year application of goserelin given by subcutaneous injections (FAC-Z); the third group (10 women), after six cycles of adjuvant FAC chemotherapy continued with once per month application of gorselin for two years and a daily application of 20 mg tamoxifen for five years (FAC-Z-T). The length of overall disease free period and survival were analyzed in all three groups. RESULTS: The benefit of LH-RH analogues in premenopausal women with hormone-dependent breast cancer was found to be low, and probably limited to smaller subgroups of patients, possibly such as those with either both steroid receptors positive (ER and PR) or those with an extremely high level of steroid receptors. In our paper, analyses of such subgroups could not been performed due to a small sample of patients. The effect of therapy is better in patients, who developed amenorrhoea, regardless of the type of later hormonal therapy. CONCLUSION: Ovarial ablation, whatever the method, should be probably applied as early as possible within the treatment of early breast cancer, especially in patients in whom chemotherapy induced amenorrhoea is not expected, i.e. in very young female patients.

Estrogen-regulated cut-off values of pS2 and cathepsin D expression in breast carcinomas.

The purpose of the study was to asses the expression of estrogen-induced pS2 and cathepsin D (CD) that might facilitate biological subgrouping of patients with breast carcinomas (BC) and its potential applicability in clinical oncology. The study included 226 patients with histologically verified BC. Clinico-pathological findings were classified according to age, menopausal status, tumor size, histologic grade, and regional lymph node status. Estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR), as well as CD and pS2 protein concentrations were assayed on the same cytosolic extract in accordance with the recommendation of EORTC. Statistically significant direct correlations were observed between CD expression and axillary node status and between pS2 expression and histologic grade, while the expression of both proteins was related to both ER and PR status. Baseline levels of CD expression were found in patients with SR-negative status and node-negative or tumors less than 2cm. Unfavorable carcinoma subgroups, in relation to pS2 expression, were defined as pre- and postmenopausal carcinomas with histologic grade III. The highest CD level observed in SR-negative unfavorable subgroups (38.7 pmol/mg) and the highest pS2 level observed in ER(-) unfavorable subgroups (14.7 ng/mg) were considered as the cut-off values. These values defined estrogen-regulated expression of CD and pS2 protein that might enable the identification of patients at high risk of disease progression, for whom more aggressive adjuvant approach would be warranted, as well as the identification of patients whose prognosis is so good that adjuvant therapy would not be cost-beneficial.

Cell culture conditions potentiate differences in the response to ionising radiation of peripheral blood leukocytes isolated from breast cancer patients and healthy subjects.

To compare the effects of ionising radiation on leukocytes from breast cancer patients and healthy subjects ex vivo, the level of NF-kappaB and the antioxidant enzymes manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), copper/zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) and catalase (CAT) in combination with flow cytometric analysis of CD4+ lymphocytes was performed. The level of Mn-SOD protein was significantly increased in the breast cancer study group both before (P < 0.001) and after (P < 0.001) irradiation when compared with healthy subjects. Measurements in parallel indicated that the level of CAT protein was significantly higher in the breast cancer study group after irradiation (2 Gy [P < 0.001] and 9 Gy [P < 0.05]) when compared with healthy subjects. Although the initial number of lymphocytes in the blood of breast cancer patients was not different from healthy subjects, the percentage of apoptotic CD4+ cells was significantly (P < 0.001) lower both before and after irradiation indicating that cell culture conditions induced radioresistance of CD4+ cells in the blood of breast cancer patients. The data presented in this current study indicate that brief ex vivo culture of peripheral blood leukocytes potentiates oxidative stress imposed by a breast cancer tumour.

Expression of estrogen receptor beta wt isoform (ERbeta1) and ERbetaDelta5 splice variant mRNAs in sporadic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: In addition to Estrogen Receptor alpha (ERalpha) and Progesterone Receptor (PR), the Second Estrogen Receptor (ERbeta) appears to play an important role not only in estrogen signaling, but also in the pathogenesis of cancer in estrogen dependent tissues. The existence of various isoforms and splice variants of both ERs additionally complicates elucidation of their physiological role and involvement in the process of carcinogenesis. METHODS: In this study, the expression of ERbeta1 mRNA (wild type of beta receptor) and splice variant ERbetaDelta5 mRNA (which codes for truncated protein) was measured by the quantitative RT-PCR (q RT-PCR) in the 60 samples of Breast Cancer (BC) and correlated with ERalpha and PR protein levels and with clinical and histopathological parameters. RESULTS: We found the inverse correlation of ERbetaDelta5 mRNA expression with the levels of PR and ERalpha proteins in the group of postmenopausal patients; we also report the lower expression of ERbeta1 and ERbetaDelta5 mRNA in the larger tumors (>20 mm, T2, and T3) than in smaller ones (< or =20 mm, T1). The decrease of ERbetaDelta5 mRNA expression in larger tumors is found to arise from ER-positive breast carcinomas. In addition, the portion of tumors with concomitant high expression of both transcripts matches up the known percentage of tumors resistant to endocrine therapy in patients with different ER/PR status. CONCLUSIONS: As far as we know, this is the first study in which ERbetaDelta5 mRNA splice variant was quantified by real-time RT-PCR in the clinical samples of breast cancer tissue. Until now, the focus of clinical reports was the level of ERbeta1, ERbeta2, and ERbeta5 isoforms. The higher expression of ERbetaDelta5 mRNA is associated with the indicators of low biological aggressiveness of tumor (low tumor size within ER-positive status in our study) suggesting that the uncontrolled local tumor growth may occur as the expression of ERbetaDelta5 mRNA decreases in estrogen-dependent breast cancer.

Prognostic value of HER2 gene amplification detected by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) in metastatic breast cancer.

After so many years of research, clinical value of HER2 (Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) is unclear. Perhaps the main reason is variability of testing methods that produce controversial results. There is a lack of studies regarding prognostic value of CISH especially in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) when risk evaluation is based on different parameters than for primary breast cancer. Aim of this study was to compare prognostic relevance of HER2 status in MBC tested by two different methods i.e. immunohistochemistry (IHC) and chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH). HER2 status of the same group of 107 MBC patients was determined by IHC (protein overexpression) and by CISH (gene amplification). HER2 results obtained by IHC and CISH showed significant correlation, beside the existence of discrepancies. Beside the significant correlation in two methods, there was a difference in prognostic values of compared methods during the course of metastatic disease. There was a significant difference in progression-free interval (PFI) between HER2 non-amplified and HER2 amplified cases determined by CISH, in postmenopausal subgroup and node-positive subgroup, but no significant difference for IHC stratified MBC patients. CISH seems to be accurate and more informative method than IHC regarding prognostic value of HER2 in metastatic breast cancer.

Elevated plasma TGF-beta1 levels correlate with decreased survival of metastatic breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The role of circulating TGF-beta(1) in prognosis of breast cancer (BC) was investigated with an intention to define TGF-beta(1)-dependent high risk and low risk subsets of patients. METHODS: Fifty three BC patients of all clinical stages and 37 healthy donors (HD) were analyzed for plasma TGF-beta(1) by the TbetaRII receptor-based Quantikine TGF-beta(1) ELISA kit. RESULTS: The plasma TGF-beta(1) level of Stage I/II disease (median: 0.94 ng/ml; n=10)) remained close to HD (median: 1.30 ng/ml; n=37; p>0.1). In contrast, Stage III/IV disease (median: 2.34 ng/ml; n=43) exhibited highly significant TGF-beta(1) elevation (p<0.001) relative to HD. Further analysis revealed that TGF-beta(1) increase was predominantly attributed to Stage IV, metastatic disease patients (Q3=4.23 ng/ml) rather than to the group Stage III/IV (Q3=3.58 ng/ml). Using the plasma TGF-beta(1) concentration of 3.00 ng/ml as the cut-off value, two subgroups of patients were formed. Overall 2-year survival of the first subgroup, having elevated plasma TGF-beta(1) (>3.00 ng/ml; n=10), was 10%. This was significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to 52% survival observed for the second subgroup of patients with plasma TGFbeta(1) values close to HD (<3.00 ng/ml, n=19). CONCLUSION: We have performed a pilot study to determine the relationship between overall survival and TGF-beta(1) concentration in the blood of metastatic breast cancer patients. The survival was significantly reduced in the patients with elevated plasma TGF-beta(1) levels compared to that of the patients with plasma TGF-beta(1) levels close to normal. We propose that plasma TGF-beta(1) concentration may be a new tumour marker attributed to the presence of metastatic BC cells that may be used in selection of metastatic BC patients with poor prognosis.

Systemic NF-kappaB activation in blood cells of breast cancer patients.

There is a well-established role for reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, chronic inflammation and immune response in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Complex interactions between breast cancer cells and surrounding blood vessels are prerequisites for cancer growth and invasion. Reports in the literature concerning the systemic response to, and the effect of, common breast cancer therapy on NF-kappaB and antioxidative defence enzyme expression and activity under clinical conditions are scarce. We determined these parameters in whole blood cell lysate from 16 women with breast cancer before and after combined (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil; CAF) therapy and compared the results with 16 healthy women. Significantly higher levels of NF-kappaB and Mn-SOD (both their protein level and their activity) were found in breast cancer patients before and after CAF therapy, in comparison with healthy women. In parallel measurements, no change in the level or activity of catalase (CAT) was detected. According to our findings, it appears that breast cancer creates conditions that increase the level of hydrogen peroxide in the circulating cells and that the applied CAF therapy fails to compensate, therefore creating systemic conditions that favour survival and invasion of breast cancer cells.

Comparison between immunohistochemistry and chromogenic in situ hybridization in assessing HER-2 status in breast cancer.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) is usually determined as a potential target for breast cancer therapy. The purpose of the present study was to compare chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) with immunohistochemistry (IHC) in determination of HER-2 status, in metastatic breast cancer patients screened for the clinical study of chemotherapy +/- herceptin. It was possible to assess both CISH and IHC in 56 cases, using CISH Detection Kit (Zymed) and HercepTest (DakoCytomation), respectively. HER-2 was amplified by CISH in 32 cases (57%) while 33 (59%) were HER-2-positive by IHC. A concordance between HER-2 status determined by CISH and IHC was noted in 43 of 56 cases (77%; P = 0.00008). Gene amplification was observed in 6/16 cases (37.5%) in IHC-negative subgroup (1+), while no amplification was observed in 5/10 cases (50%) in the IHC-positive subgroup (2+). These results suggest that there was a greater heterogeneity on the genetic level and that simple IHC classification was not sufficient. It is suggested that CISH could be considered as a useful additional method to IHC in determining HER-2 status in breast cancer patients, with a recommendation for testing not only the 2+ but also the 1+ subgroup of patients.

The antitumor immune response in HER-2 positive, metastatic breast cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to determine the basis for anti-tumor immune reactivity observed in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) (3+) breast carcinoma using an in vitro model in which the role of the HER-2-specific monoclonal antibody Herceptin was also investigated. Patients with metastatic breast cancer who had their primary tumor resected were included in this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-dependent cytotoxicity in the presence or absence of Herceptin were assessed using the survival of target breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-361 cells as a parameter in a (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. We observed a significant increase in PBMC-dependent cytotoxicity when autologous serum was introduced in the assay. Furthermore, the addition of Herceptin significantly increases their cytotoxicity. These data suggest that autologous serum constitutively contains factors that might affect PBMC-dependent cytotoxic activity against HER-2 positive cancer cells.

Elevated plasma levels of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) in patients with advanced breast cancer: association with disease progression.

We examined the association between an elevated plasma TGF-beta 1 level and the disease progression of advanced breast cancer (BC) patients (n = 44). TGF-beta 1 levels were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Platelet carryover and in vitro platelet activation in our plasma samples was assessed and found to be insignificant. Plasma TGF-beta 1 values were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in stage IIIB/IV patients (median value: 2.40 ng/ml, range: 0.13-8.48 ng/ml, n = 44) compared with healthy donors (median value: 1.30 ng/ml, range: 0.41-4.93 ng/ml, n = 36). Although pronounced in metastatic patients, especially those who had been newly diagnosed, TGF-beta 1 elevation was independent of tumour mass, site of distant metastases, histopathological type, steroid receptor (SR) content and age of the BC patients. Follow-up of 6 patients indicated a relationship between the plasma TGF-beta 1 and the patient's response. This suggests that TGF-beta 1, may be a promising prognostic marker for breast cancer patients with advanced disease. Confirmatory large-scale studies are needed, particularly given the overlap of values between our different subgroups analysed.

[Association of estrogen and progesterone receptor levels and the expected response to chemotherapy and hormone therapy in breast carcinoma with increased expression of human epidermal growth factor 2]. / Zdruzeni sadrzaj receptora za estrogen i progesteron u predvidjanju odgovora na hemioterapiju u hormonsku terapiju u karcinomu dojke sa povecanom ekspresijom receptora za humani epidermalni faktor rasta dva.

The predictive value of Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER-2) on the response to chemotherapy and endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients has not yet been determined. The expression of other biomarkers in breast cancer can further influence the response to therapy. The aim of our study was to investigate if status of steroid receptors (SR) influenced the response to anthracycline-containing chemotherapy and tamoxifen in a group of HER-2 positive advanced breast cancer patients. Forty breast cancer patients, who were entered into the various prospective clinical trials conducted at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia during their metastatic phase of disease, were involved into this analysis. Steroid receptors content were determined both by biochemical method and immunohistochemical (ICH) method, while HER-2 content were determined only by ICH method. Twelve out of 40 women were sequentially treated by anthracycline-containing chemotherapy and, always upon disease progression, with antiestrogen tamoxifen. The objective response to anthracycline therapy was obtained in 4 out of 12 patients (RR = 0.33, CI 95% = 0.05-0.61). In three of them the response to tamoxifen was noticed, as well. Of 8 anthracycline resistant patients in this group, 7 patients also had disease progression as best response to tamoxifen despite the fact that most of them (5 out of 7 tamoxifen resistant women) had positive SR status. Our results showed a trend (Fisher test, p = 0.06) that clinical response to anthracycline-containing chemotherapy might be of some predictive value for the response to subsequent tamoxifen therapy in HER-2 positive advanced breast cancer patients. However, these results were obtained on a small number of patients, so further investigation is warranted.