Is there any diagnostic value of serum caveolin-1 levels on the determination of pancreatic adenocarcinoma?

BACKGROUND: Caveolin-1 (CAV-1) is a vital component in cancer pathogenesis, as its expression determines the survival of patients with cancer. This study investigates CAV-1 serum levels in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) patients and their role in tumor progression and prognostic factors. METHOD: The trial included 33 patients with pathologically confirmed pancreatic cancer (PC). The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to measure the concentrations of CAV-1 in the blood. The study also included 20 healthy subjects. The statistical analysis was two-sided, and a P value of ≤ 0.05 was determined as statistically significant. RESULTS: The median age of the subjects was 59 years (32-84 years) at the time of diagnosis. There were 13 (39%) female participants. In 21 (63%) patients, the primary focus was the pancreatic head. In 23 stage IV patients, hepatic metastasis (n = 19, 83%) was observed. Only one patient (3%) was still alive at the end of the study period. Palliative chemotherapy (CTx) was provided, with 39% of the 23 patients responding to it. The overall survival (OS) rate in this cohort was 41.3 ± 8.3 weeks at a 95% confidence interval (CI), after 25-58 weeks. Serum baseline CAV-1 values among patients with PA were significantly higher compared with controls (p = 0.009). Patients with poor performance status, a pancreatic head tumor, lower albumin levels, higher serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, and higher CA 19.9 levels had significantly higher serum CAV-1 levels (p = 0.01, P = 0.05, P = 0.03, P = 0.02, and P = 0.04, respectively). However, CAV-1 did not show any prognostic value (p = 0.75). CONCLUSION: Although serum CAV-1 is a useful diagnostic marker in PC patients, it is not a prognostic or predictive marker.

PRAME Expression and Its Clinical Relevance in Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES: Although Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is one of the most curable cancers in adult patients, new targets have to be defined in cases resistant to traditional chemotherapy. The preferentially expressed antigen of melanoma (PRAME) is a cancer testis antigen and its expression is very scarce or absent in normal tissues. For this reason PRAME is a promising candidate for tumor immunotherapy. The aim of this study is to understand the correlation of PRAME expression with prognostic factors in HL, to determine the utility of PRAME as a targeted molecule for immunotherapy and to compare real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for the detection of PRAME. METHODS: In 82 patients, PRAME was studied using real-time PCR and IHC. Data analyses were performed using statistical methods such as t test, Mann-Whitney U test, χ 2 test, Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: PRAME was detected in 15 (18.3%) patients using IHC and in 8 (9.8%) patients using real-time PCR. A correlation was found between PRAME positivity and higher International Prognostic Score (p = 0.039). PRAME positivity detected using real-time PCR was found to be correlated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS, p = 0.0005). DISCUSSION: The demonstration of PRAME especially in histiocytes and Reed-Sternberg cells may provide guidance for immunotherapy. Although PRAME positivity increases the risk for death (3.56), independent risk factors that affected DFS and OS occurred in advanced age and high-risk groups. CONCLUSION: Although real-time PCR is sensitive in the detection of PRAME, IHC can be another useful method. Despite the need for studies conducted on larger patient samples, PRAME expression is considered as a poor prognostic parameter in HL.

Abdominal actinomycosis with multiple myeloma: A case report.

Actinomycosis is a chronic suppurative infection, for which immune suppression is a predisposing factor. In unusual cases, this disease may present as an abdominal wall involvement simulating a soft tissue tumor as seen in the present case. The presented patient had no signs of trauma or surgical approach and the pathology was considered to be a primary abdominal wall actinomycosis. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of clinical presentation, radiographic and laboratory findings. Surgery combined with antibiotic treatment is a curative approach for this relatively rare infection. Surgeons must be aware of this disease in order to ensure correct diagnosis and to prevent performing any unnecessary procedures. The present study describes a case of abdominal actinomycosis with multiple myeloma, together with a review of important points related to this disease.

Association of serum fetuin-A levels with heart valve calcification and other biomarkers of inflammation among persons with acute coronary syndrome.

PURPOSE: Fetuin-A is a multifunctional hepatic secretory protein that inhibits dystrophic vascular and valvular calcification. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship among fetuin-A levels, heart valve calcification and other biomarkers of inflammation in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: The associations among serum fetuin-A concentrations, mitral annular (MAC) and aortic valve calcification and other biomarkers of inflammation (hs-CRP, ferritin, fibrinogen, white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), albumin levels) were evaluated in ACS patients and healthy controls. The study included 95 patients (mean age 61.8 ± 12.10 years) and 81 healthy controls (mean age 48.33 ± 9.19 years). RESULTS: Fetuin-A levels were significantly lower in patients with ACS than in healthy controls (0.76 ± 0.23 and 1.10 ± 0.45 g/L, respectively; p < 0.001). Fetuin-A was lower in patients with mitral annular calcification (p = 0.007) and aortic (p = 0.001) valve calcification. In patients with ACS, there was a negative correlation among serum urea (r = -0.377; p < 0.001) and creatinine (r = -0.232; p = 0.024) levels and fetuin-A, and a negative correlation among WBC (r = -0.156; p = 0,132), ESR (r = -0.214; p = 0.037), hs-CRP (r = -0.220; p = 0.032) levels and fetuin-A. A positive correlation was seen between albumin and fetuin-A (r = 0.362; p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that fetuin-A was the variable that had a significant effect on ACS (p = 0.020 OR = .015; (95% CI)(0.000-0.520). CONCLUSION: Fetuin-A levels decrease in patients with acute coronary syndromes, independent of heart valve calcification. Fetuin-A may therefore act as a negative acute phase protein after myocardial infarction.