ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The correlation between telomerase activity and antitumor effects was investigated in cell lines of human gastric (MKN-28, MKN-45, and MKN-74) and breast (T-47D, MCF-7, ZR75-1) cancers to evaluate the possibility of utilizing this enzyme to predict tumor response to chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After culture with various concentrations of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or doxorubicin (DOX) for 3 days, cell viability (trypan blue exclusion), cell cycle distribution (flow cytometry), and telomerase (TRAP-EZE) were measured. RESULTS: Telomerase activity correlated significantly with the number of viable cells. After drug exposure, this activity decreased rapidly in a dose-dependent fashion in most cell lines. There was no correlation between telomerase activity and the distribution of cells in the cell cycle. CONCLUSIONS: As the assay for telomerase activity is extremely sensitive and is virtually specific to cancer cells, this method may prove useful for the sensitivity testing of small specimens of human tumors.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor/methods , Neoplasm Proteins/analysis , Telomerase/analysis , Adenocarcinoma/pathology , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Doxorubicin/pharmacology , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Female , Fluorouracil/pharmacology , Humans , Stomach Neoplasms/pathology , Tumor Cells, Cultured/drug effectsABSTRACT
A combination chemotherapy with intra-peritoneal infusion of CDDP and continuous intravenous infusion of 5-FU was used with a total of 16 gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis (P 2 or P 3). Infuse A-port was inserted at the time of operation, CDDP 70 mg/m2 was administered intra-peritoneally at day 1, and 5-FU 700 mg/m2 was continuously administered intravenously at day 1-5. This treatment was repeated twice. Toxicity was evaluated according to the criteria from JCOG. Major toxicities of this regimen were anemia, leukocytopenia and nausea/vomiting. Except for one patient with Grade 3 venous thrombosis, all toxicities were less than Grade 2 and well tolerable. Median survival time was 343 days, but, one patient has survived more than 6 years. According to the multivariate analyses, depth of invasion was selected as an independent prognostic factor for this treatment. This therapy is considered to be a safe and effective treatment modality for gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Peritoneal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Peritoneal Neoplasms/secondary , Stomach Neoplasms/pathology , Adult , Aged , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Combined Modality Therapy , Drug Administration Schedule , Female , Fluorouracil/administration & dosage , Humans , Infusions, Intravenous , Infusions, Parenteral , Male , Middle Aged , Peritoneal Neoplasms/mortality , Prognosis , Stomach Neoplasms/surgery , Survival RateABSTRACT
This study was designed to evaluate the usefulness of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and sialyl-Tn antigen (STN) levels in peritoneal washings in gastric cancer patients. At the time of laparotomy, peritoneal washings were collected from 96 gastric cancer patients and CEA and STN levels were determined. Patients with elevated CEA (100 ng/g protein) had a high incidence for peritoneal metastasis, lymph node metastasis and serosal invasion. In addition, prognosis in patients with high CEA level was significantly poorer than in those without it. The peritoneal CEA is a prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate/analysis , Ascitic Fluid/chemistry , Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis , Carcinoembryonic Antigen/analysis , Peritoneal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Peritoneal Neoplasms/secondary , Stomach Neoplasms/pathology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Lymphatic Metastasis , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Peritoneal Neoplasms/chemistry , Peritoneal Neoplasms/mortality , Prognosis , Stomach Neoplasms/chemistry , Stomach Neoplasms/mortality , Survival RateABSTRACT
So-called carcinosarcoma of the esophagus is rare malignant tumors composed of carcinoma and sarcomataous components. We described a case of so-called carcinosarcoma and reviewed some literature. A 67-year-old man visited our hospital because of difficulty in swallowing, general fatigue, and sore throat. Barium swallow esophagogram showed a large polypoid lesion in the middle, lower thoracic esophagus. Endoscopy also demonstrated a pedunculated polypoid tumor. Histological examination of the biopsy specimen revealed malignant findings. Thoracic esophagectomy with cervical, thoracic, abdominal dissection was performed. A polypoid tumor, 10.5 x 5.2 x 3.5 cm in size, was removed. In the polypoid lesion, spindle-shaped cells made interlacing bundles similar to sarcoma and surrounded nests of squamous cell carcinoma. Near the pedicle, squamous cell carcinoma invaded muscularis mocosae. And lymph node metastasis was detected. Epitherial membrane antigen (EMA) was detected in some parts of the polypoid lesion. So according to Guide Lines for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Carcinoma of the Esophagus, this case was diagnosed as so called carcinosarcoma.
