Use of tumor volume as measured on F18FDG-PET/CT scan as a predictive biomarker for head and neck cancer

e17019

Background: Functional imaging, PET and its fusion with anatomical modalities, PET/CT promise to improve detection and characteristic disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate metabolic tumor volume as measured on F-18 FDG-PET/CT and its association with treatment response and prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: The study population consisted of patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for a maximum of three cycles followed by radiation therapy. Before treatment patients were taken FDG-PET/CT scan, SUVmax, tumor volume, metastasis were recorded. Results: We enrolled 59 patients with stage III ann IV head and neck cancer. The median age was 66 years (range 47–81). There were 32 patients with stage III and 27 with stage IV. The mean SUVmax was 8.8 (range, 1.478). The mean tumor volume was 21.3 cm3 (range, 0.2–170). There was no correlation between tumor volume and SUVmax (correlation coefficient 0.295). Higher SUVmax was not associated with an increased risk of lymph node and distant metastasis at diagnosis (p = 0.968). But higher tumor volume was associated with an increased risk of lymph node and distant metastasis at diagnosis (p = 0.063). The metabolic tumor volume as measured on PET/CT scans was predictor of treatment response and disease -free survival. The response rate were 84% (21/25) for an SUVmax <5.5, 55% (19/34) for an SUVmax > 5.5 (p = 0.038). The disease free survival were 31.1month for an SUVmax <5.5, 4.6months for an SUVmax > 5.5 (p = 0.025). Conclusions: The metabolic tumor volume as measured on F-18FDG-PET/CT is a predictive biomarker of treatment response and disease free survival for patients with head and neck cancer.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Density control of electrodeposited Ni nanoparticles/nanowires inside porous anodic alumina templates by an exponential anodization voltage decrease

Porous alumina templates have been fabricated by applying an exponential voltage decrease at the end of the anodization process. The time constant η of the exponential voltage function has been used to control the average thickness and the thickness distribution of the barrier layer at the bottom of the pores of the alumina structure. Depending on the η value, the thickness distribution of the barrier layer can be made very uniform or highly scattered, which allows us to subsequently fine tune the electrodeposition yield of nickel nanoparticles/nanowires at low voltage. As an illustration, the pore filling percentage with Ni has been varied, in a totally reproducible manner, between ∼3 and 100%. Combined with the ability to vary the pore diameter and repetition step over ∼2 orders of magnitude (by varying the anodization voltage and electrolyte type), the control of the pore filling percentage with metal particles/nanowires could bring novel approaches for the organization of nano-objects.

Phase II study of capecitabine and irinotecan combination chemotherapy in patients with advanced gastric cancer

14037

Background: Several studies have shown the efficacy of capecitabine and irinotecan combination chemotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer, while no results have yet been reported for advanced gastric cancer. Accordingly, the current study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a combination regimen of capecitabine plus irinotecan in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods: Patients with previously untreated metastatic or recurrent, measurable gastric cancer received oral capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 twice daily from day 1 to 14 and intravenous irinotecan 100 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, based on a 3-week cycle. Results: Forty-one patients were enrolled in the current study, among whom 38 were assessable for efficacy and 40 assessable for toxicity. Three complete responses and 16 partial responses were confirmed, giving an overall response rate of 46.3%. At a median follow-up of 269 days, the median time to progression and overall survival were 5.1 months and 8.6 months, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in 4 patients and grade 3 febrile neutropenia was observed in 2 patients. Grade 3 diarrhea and grade 2 hand-foot syndrome occurred in 6 patients and 8 patients, respectively. Conclusions: The combination of capecitabine and irinotecan was found to be well tolerated and effective in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Accordingly, this regimen can be regarded as an important first-line treatment option for advanced gastric cancer.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Measurement of the neutron fluence and dose spectra using an extended bonner sphere and a tissue-equivalent proportional counter

A conventional Bonner Sphere (BS) set consisting of six polyethylene spheres was modified to enhance its response to a high-energy neutron by putting a lead shell inside a polyethylene moderator. The response matrix of an extended BS was calculated using the MCNPX code and calibrated using a 252Cf neutron source. In order to survey the unknown photon and neutron mixed field, a spherical tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) was constructed and assembled as a portable measurement system. The extended BS and the self-constructed TEPC were employed to determine the dosimetric quantities of the neutron field produced from the thick lead target bombarded by the 2.5 GeV electron beam of Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) and the neutron calibration field of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).

Polymelia with two extra forelimbs at the right scapular region in a male Korean native calf

In a male Korean native calf 14 days of age, polymelia (notomelia) was observed macroscopically and radiographically. External features included two normal forelimbs, two normal hindlimbs and two undeveloped extra forelimbs. The extra forelimbs were attached to the caudal regions of the right scapula and devoid of muscular tissues. In the extra forelimbs, a scapula-like bone formed a joint with the incompletely duplicated humerus. The humerus fused with the incompletely duplicated radius. The ulna, carpal bones, metacarpal bones and phalanges were completely duplicated. But one set of the duplicated carpal bones consisted of five bones: radial, accessory, fourth carpal, fused second and third carpal, and fused ulnar and intermediate carpal bones. The hoof and the rudimentary hoof of accessory digit were duplicated.

HBV polymerase interacts independently with N-terminal and C-terminal fragments of Hsp90beta

Hsp90 is an abundant chaperone protein that assists the folding of specific proteins, such as steroid receptors, protein kinases, and so on, for their proper function. TP and RT domains of HBV polymerase have been also shown to be associated with Hsp90. Therefore, the identification of the binding sites within Hsp90, responsible for forming Hsp90/HBV Pol complex, is important for the understanding of HBV replication. In this study, cotransfection and immunoprecipitation experiments were performed to localize the binding sites of HBV pol to Hsp90. Our data show that HBV pol interact independently with both N-terminal and C-terminal fragments of Hsp90. Further analysis showed that N-terminal fragment (1-302) of Hsp90 interacts with both TP and RT domains of HBV pol, whereas C-terminal fragment (438-723) interacts with only RT domain. In conclusion, we showed that HBV pol independently interacts with N-terminal and C-terminal fragments, but not the middle fragment (327-438) of Hsp90.

Constructing high complexity synthetic libraries of long ORFs using in vitro selection

We present a method that can significantly increase the complexity of protein libraries used for in vitro or in vivo protein selection experiments. Protein libraries are often encoded by chemically synthesized DNA, in which part of the open reading frame is randomized. There are, however, major obstacles associated with the chemical synthesis of long open reading frames, especially those containing random segments. Insertions and deletions that occur during chemical synthesis cause frameshifts, and stop codons in the random region will cause premature termination. These problems can together greatly reduce the number of full-length synthetic genes in the library. We describe a strategy in which smaller segments of the synthetic open reading frame are selected in vitro using mRNA display for the absence of frameshifts and stop codons. These smaller segments are then ligated together to form combinatorial libraries of long uninterrupted open reading frames. This process can increase the number of full-length open reading frames in libraries by up to two orders of magnitude, resulting in protein libraries with complexities of greater than 10(13). We have used this methodology to generate three types of displayed protein library: a completely random sequence library, a library of concatemerized oligopeptide cassettes with a propensity for forming amphipathic alpha-helical or beta-strand structures, and a library based on one of the most common enzymatic scaffolds, the alpha/beta (TIM) barrel.

Localization of HSP90 binding sites in the human hepatitis B virus polymerase

The fact that HSP90 proteins and their chaperonin partners play an important role in epsilon RNA binding of duck HBV Pol protein during duck HBV replication has been reported. To elucidate the molecular basis of HBV Pol/HSP90 interaction, we have characterized the HSP90 interaction to HBV Pol. We found that human HBV Pol protein upon synthesis in rabbit reticulocyte lysate formed a complex with HSP90 in vitro as duck HBV Pol did. In addition, HSP90 protein was copurified with MBP/POL protein expressed in HepG2 cells, suggesting that human HBV Pol protein is associated with HSP90 in vivo. To localize the HSP90 interaction site region, several deletion mutants of HBV Pol translated in vitro were immunoprecipitated with anti-HSP90 antibody. The result indicates that C-terminal regions of the TP and RT domains interact with HSP90 independently.

C/EBP alpha and C/EBPbeta play similar roles in the transcription of the human Cu/Zn SOD gene

Copper/zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) is one of the essential enzymes that protects cells in aerobic conditions. To understand the mechanism of transcriptional regulation of the human Cu/Zn SOD gene, the proximal promoter region of Cu/Zn SOD has been investigated. In a previous study, it was found that transcription factors of the Sp1 and C/EBP family are associated with the expression of human Cu/Zn SOD [Seo et al. (1996). Gene, 178, 177-180]. Of the four known C/EBP activators, the effects of C/EBP alpha and C/EBPbeta on the transcription of Cu/Zn SOD were examined. Usually, one of the two C/EBP factors, C/EBP alpha or C/EBPbeta, exclusively stimulates the target gene, but, unexpectedly, C/EBP alpha and C/EBPbeta stimulated the expression of Cu/Zn SOD to a similar extent in our experiments. LIP, a dominant negative regulator of the C/EBP family, inhibited the transcriptional activation of Cu/Zn SOD stimulated by C/EBP alpha and C/EBPbeta. These results suggest that C/EBP alpha and C/EBPbeta can substitute each other and play similar roles on the transcription of Cu/Zn SOD.

Determining divergence times with a protein clock: update and reevaluation

A recent study of the divergence times of the major groups of organisms as gauged by amino acid sequence comparison has been expanded and the data have been reanalyzed with a distance measure that corrects for both constraints on amino acid interchange and variation in substitution rate at different sites. Beyond that, the availability of complete genome sequences for several eubacteria and an archaebacterium has had a great impact on the interpretation of certain aspects of the data. Thus, the majority of the archaebacterial sequences are not consistent with currently accepted views of the Tree of Life which cluster the archaebacteria with eukaryotes. Instead, they are either outliers or mixed in with eubacterial orthologs. The simplest resolution of the problem is to postulate that many of these sequences were carried into eukaryotes by early eubacterial endosymbionts about 2 billion years ago, only very shortly after or even coincident with the divergence of eukaryotes and archaebacteria. The strong resemblances of these same enzymes among the major eubacterial groups suggest that the cyanobacteria and Gram-positive and Gram-negative eubacteria also diverged at about this same time, whereas the much greater differences between archaebacterial and eubacterial sequences indicate these two groups may have diverged between 3 and 4 billion years ago.

The transcriptional repression of the human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase(sod1) gene by the anticancer drug, mitomycin C(MMC)

The Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase(sod1) is one of the key enzymes that protects cells against oxidative stress. In order to investigate the effects of mitomycin C(MMC) on the induction of apoptotic cell death and on the sod1 transcription level, the CATs activity of HepG2 cells transfected with sod1 promoter-CAT(chloramphenicol acetyl transferase) fusion reporter was measured after MMC treatment. The CAT assay showed that exposure of HepG2 cells to MMC decreased the transcription level of the sod1 gene. The accumulation of p53 tumor suppressor protein by MMC treatment of HepG2 cells was noted. In order to investigate the p53-negative response element in its promoter region, a p53 cotransfection experiment with serially deleted sod1 promoter/CAT reporter constructs was performed. The results show a significant reduction of CAT activity in all deletion reporter constructs. The results show that MMC treatment inhibited sod1 gene transcription through p53-mediated transcriptional repression.

Intron distribution in ancient paralogs supports random insertion and not random loss

The intron positions of ten different protein families were examined to determine (the statistical likelihood of) whether spliceosomal introns are the result of random insertion events into previously intronless genes, on the one hand, or the result of random loss from common ancestral introns, on the other. The number of expected matches for the alternative scenarios was calculated for a binomial distribution by considering currently observed introns relative to all possible locations for insertion or loss. Introns occurring at approximately the same location (hereafter called a "match") were tallied for each of the paired proteins. Matches were identified by their positions in the multiple alignment and were defined as any two introns occurring within a window of 11 possible nucleotide positions, thereby allowing for possible alignment errors and "intron sliding." Matches were tallied from the raw data and compared with the expected number of matches for the two different scenarios. The results suggest that the distribution of introns in genes encoding proteins is due to random insertion and not random loss.

Thermal comfort properties of cotton and nonwoven surgical gowns with dual functional finish

The purpose of this study was to evaluate thermal comfort properties of surgical gowns made of dual functional finish cotton and nonwoven fabrics which have barrier properties of blood and micro-organism. Four types of surgical gowns, which were made of nonwoven fabrics with finish or without and were made of cotton with finish or without, were tested. The thermal insulations of four surgical gowns were measured with thermal manikin. Subjective experiments on thermal comfort, skin temperature and clothing microclimate were conducted. Six male subjects, between 26 and 28 years age old, participated in the wear trials tests. Typical activities for surgeons in the operation theater were simulated during the experimental sessions. Air temperature in a climate chamber was kept at 22 degrees C and its humidity was 60% RH. Air velocity was controlled at less than 0.15 m/s. Inner radiant temperature was almost equal to the air temperature. Basic thermal insulation of the dual functional finished nonwoven surgical gown was 0.87 clo, which was slightly higher than that of untreated (0.84 clo). However, the skin temperature of the subject wearing a dual functional finished surgical gown was significantly lower at P < .05. When the subject wears the dual functional finished gown, the amount of sweating was less than that when wearing untreated. Microclimate temperature and humidity of dual functional finished surgical gown were lower than untreated and it was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in subjective humid and overall comfort sensation between finished and untreated ones. Thermal sensation of dual functional finished one was significantly different from untreated one only during the first exercise. The results of this study indicate that the dual functional finish surgical gown allowed heat to be transferred from the skin of subject to the atmosphere better than untreated. The nonwoven surgical gown showed no difference in comfort properties from cotton one.