What is the benefit of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy in patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal malignancies?

The aim of this retrospective analysis was to investigate the efficacy and adverse effects of the monoclonal antivascular endothelial growth factor antibody bevacizumab (Avastin(R)) combined with chemotherapeutic agents in non-protocol patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal malignancies. Using our databases, we identified patients treated with bevacizumab combination therapy since June 2005. Responses were evaluated with Response evaluation Criteria in Solid tumors and serum CA125 Rustin criteria. Toxicity was assessed according to the Common toxicity Criteria (CTC) v.3.0. Data from 64 patients were included. The median patient age was 58 years, and they had undergone a median of 4.5 (range, 1-10) prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens. The median length of follow-up was 8 months (range, 2-29). The most commonly used combinations were bevacizumab plus taxanes (26.6%) and plus cyclophosphamide (26.6%). A median of 4 cycles of therapy with a median bevacizumab dose of 3,600 mg (range, 500-18,240) were administered. An overall response rate of 21.3% was observed in 13 patients with partial response, and another 42.6% of patients had stable disease. Among the patients with elevated pretreatment serum CA125 concentration, an overall response rate of 46.3% (25/54) was observed according to modification of the Rustin criteria. Fifteen (23.4%) patients had grades 3 or 4 adverse events. Gastrointestinal perforations occurred in 2 (3.1%) patients. Seventeen (26.6%) patients had improved performance status scores. Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy showed promising clinical benefits, with significant response of serum CA125 concentration and moderate adverse effects.

A novel allele, HLA-A*110203, was identified in a Chinese individual

This allele is characterized by a nucleotide substitution (C>T) in exon 4 at position nt 672, codon 200 (ACC>ACT), no coding change.

A frame shift due to a two-nucleotide deletion results in an HLA-B null allele, B*9549N

This report describes the identification of a new human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I null allele, B*9549N, resulting from a premature stop codon in exon 3.

A novel HLA-B*37 allele, B*370105, was identified in a Chinese Han individual

We report here the sequence of a novel human leukocyte antigen B*37 allele, B*370105, which is identical to B*370101 except for a single nucleotide substitution in exon 3 at nucleotide 558 where C>A, codon 162 GGC>GGA, no coding change.

Resonant nonlinear damping of quantized spin waves in ferromagnetic nanowires: a spin torque ferromagnetic resonance study

We use spin torque ferromagnetic resonance to measure the spectral properties of dipole-exchange spin waves in Permalloy nanowires. Our measurements reveal that geometric confinement has a profound effect on the damping of spin waves in the nanowire geometry. The damping parameter of the lowest-energy quantized spin-wave mode depends on applied magnetic field in a resonant way and exhibits a maximum at a field that increases with decreasing nanowire width. This enhancement of damping originates from a nonlinear resonant three-magnon confluence process allowed at a particular bias field value determined by quantization of the spin-wave spectrum in the nanowire geometry.

Origin of the inverse spin switch effect in superconducting spin valves

Known as the spin switch effect (SSE), the resistance of a ferromagnet/superconductor/ferromagnet (F/S/F) spin valve near its superconducting transition temperature T c is different for parallel (R P) and antiparallel (R AP) configurations of the F layers. Here, we report the observation of the coexistence of the standard (RP>RAP) and inverse (RP<RAP) SSE in Ni81Fe19/Nb/Ni81Fe19/Ir25Mn75 spin valves. Our measurements reveal that the inverse SSE arises from a dissipative flow of vortices induced by stray magnetic fields from Néel domain-wall pairs in the F layers.

The role of secondary cytoreductive surgery for recurrent mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer (mEOC)

BACKGROUND

Mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer (mEOC) may exhibit a distinct biological behavior in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The role of secondary cytoreductive surgery was evaluated in patients with recurrent mEOC, and the prognosis was assessed.

METHODS

Twenty-one patients with stages IIc to IV mEOC who experienced disease recurrence and received secondary cytoreductive surgery at Fudan University Cancer Hospital between Jan. 1997 and Dec. 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the significant comparison of survival rate was estimated by the log-rank test.

RESULTS

The median progression-free interval (PFI) was 14 months (range, 5-46 months) after the first cytoreduction. Seven patients (33%) who received secondary cytoreductive surgery were optimally cytoreduced with residual disease less than or equal 1cm, and the other 14 patients (67%) underwent suboptimal surgical cytoreduction. The overall median survival time was 27 months (range, 8-64 months). The median survival time after recurrence was 10 months (range, 3-32 months). There was no significant statistical difference in median survival between patients with optimal and suboptimal secondary surgical cytoreduction, with an estimated survival of 10 months and 9.8 months, respectively (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Optimal primary cytoreductive surgery for advanced mEOC was very important. Once it recurs, the prognosis is very poor. Patients with recurrent mEOC should be carefully assessed before performing secondary cytoreductive surgery, as this may have limited impact on the overall survival rates.

HLA-A*3318, a novel allele, identified by sequence-based typing in a Chinese individual

We report a novel human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A allele, officially named as A*3318, which was found during high-resolution sequence-based typing in a Chinese potential hematopoietic stem cell transplantation donor. Compared with the HLA-A*330301 sequence, the A*3318 has one nucleotide substitution in exon 3: at nt 413 where A-->G resulting in an amino acid substitution from Q (CAG) to R (CGG) at codon 114.

Potential therapy of Fc-antigen combination-encoding DNA vaccination in mouse allergic airway inflammation

Vaccination with allergen-encoding DNA has been proposed as having potential for allergen-specific immunotherapy. In this study, we examine the therapeutic effect of allergen-encoding DNA vaccination directly to dendritic cells (DCs) on allergen-induced allergic airway inflammation in a mouse model and explore potential mechanism. Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized and challenged mice were immunized with DNA vaccine and received bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) 1 day after the last challenge, to measure BAL levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, interferon (IFN)-gamma and differential cell count. Pulmonary DCs and Spleen DCs were purified and sorted according to the expression of CD(11c) (+)CD(80) (+) and CD(11c) (+)CD(86) (+) co-stimulatory molecules. Our data demonstrated that DNA vaccine therapy with OVA-Fc-pcDNA(3.1) significantly prevented OVA-increased levels of IL-4, IL-5 and the percentage of eosinophils and OVA-decreased level of IFN-gamma. OVA-Fc-pcDNA(3.1)-treated mice had less severity of airway inflammation, and lower expression of CD(11c) (+)CD(80) (+) and CD(11c) (+)CD(86) (+) on pulmonary DCs, as compared with animals with OVA-pcDNA(3.1,) pcDNA(3.1) and OVA respectively. DNA vaccine encoding both Fc and OVA was shown to be more effective than DNA vaccine encoding OVA alone. Our data indicate that Fc-antigen combination-encoding DNA vaccination has better preventive effects on antigen-induced airway inflammation by regulating DCs, and may be a new alternative therapy for asthma.

Functional whole-colony screening method to identify antimicrobial peptides

A high throughput method for screening cDNA libraries has been developed to identify putative antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). It is based on a rapid dye inclusion assay for assessing antagonism of bacterial viability. Colonies are grown on a membrane on a permissive medium until full colony size is reached. The membrane, supporting the array of colonies, is transferred onto an inductive medium containing a vital dye. Upon expression of any antagonizing peptides, the cell membrane becomes compromised allowing dye infusion to permit visual identification of deleterious peptides. Our approach was validated by screening a synthetic oligonucleotide library expressed in Escherichia coli. A random oligonucleotide library, containing inserts of up to 75 nucleotides in length was constructed and expressed in E. coli. From a potential pool of 100000 peptides, in a single round of screening, three were found to be antimicrobial: L1, L3, and L8. Peptide L1 was shown to have a concentration-dependent bactericidal effect against Gram-negative E. coli and moderate biostatic activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. L8 was found to have bacteriostatic, and possibly bactericidal effect against E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium. These results validated this high throughput AMP identification assay based on filter bound colony array libraries and vital dye inclusion.

Surgical treatment for patients with different origins of Krukenberg tumors: outcomes and prognostic factors

AIMS

We sought to investigate survival impacts of metastasectomy in women with Krukenberg tumors of the ovary and survival benefits in different origins (gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, or others).

METHODS

All patients diagnosed with Krukenberg tumors of the ovary who underwent surgical treatment at a single institution between 1997 and 2003 were retrospectively evaluated. Survival analyses and comparisons were performed using Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.

RESULTS

A total of 54 patients with Krukenberg tumors of the ovary were identified. The estimated 5-year survival was 12.1%. The median survival in patients with microscopic residual disease after metastasectomy was 29.6 months, compared to 10 months in those with visible residual disease (P<0.01). The median survival among patients with Krukenberg tumors of gastric origin, colon and rectum origin, and other origins were 13 months, 29.6 months, and 48.2 months, respectively (P=0.03). There was a significant difference in survival between patients with metastatic disease confined to the ovaries and those with extensive metastases, with an estimated median survival of 30.7 months and 10 months, respectively (P=0.02). Multivariate analysis suggested that the origin of ovarian metastatic carcinoma (P<0.01), residual disease after metastasectomy (P<0.01), and KPS (Karnofsky performance status) (P=0.03) were independent prognostic factors of survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with Krukenberg tumors from colorectal cancer experience a better prognosis than those from gastric cancer and benefit more from metastasectomy. And metastasectomy significantly lengthens overall survival in patients with primary colorectal or breast cancer, higher KPS score, and those with optimal metastasectomy.