The role of mast cells on angiogenesis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective: Angiogenesis or neovascularization has long been known to aid in progression and metastasis of malignant tumors. Tumor angiogenesis is a complex event mediated by angiogenic factors released from cancer cells and or by host immune cells. Mast cells may induce tumor progression and potentiate metastasis by stimulating angiogenesis. The purpose of the present study was to validate topographic distribution of micro vessel density (MVD) and mast cell density (MCD) and help to elucidate the possible role of mast cells in tumor angiogenesis and correlating this with advanced disease parameters. Study Design: MVD and MCD were investigated in tumor specimens from 30 patients diagnosed with different histologic grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Intratumor vessels were stained with collagen Type IV antibody and mast cells with Toluidine blue before being measured by light microscopy. Results: There was a significant correlation between MVD and disease progression and number of blood vessels increased from well to poorly differentiated OSCC where as MCD decreased. Conclusions: These findings suggest that angiogenesis indeed occur in OSCC and might be used as an index to inflect the aggression of the disease however mast cells make up only a part of complex process of angiogenesis along with other factors secreted by tumor.

Key words:Angiogenesis, mast cells, oral squamous cell carcinoma, progression, metastasis.

Antiretroviral therapy prescribing in hospitalized HIV clinic patients

OBJECTIVES

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication prescribing errors in hospitalized patients still remain common. This study aimed to examine the initial prescribing of antiretroviral drug regimens for HIV clinic patients admitted to an urban academic teaching hospital.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review of all patients with a discharge diagnosis of HIV or AIDS was performed. Only patients actively managed by the hospital out-patient HIV clinic at the time of discharge were included in the final analysis. We compared the ART initially prescribed during hospitalization with the clinic records. Medication errors were separated by type and the prescriber's area of specialty was noted.

RESULTS

From 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009, 90 admissions in 62 patients were included in the final analysis. In 47 of those admissions, the patient had an initial regimen considered to be incorrectly prescribed; in 17 of these 47 admissions, the patient was not prescribed any ART, and in the remainder the errors were related to drug omissions, incorrect frequency/dose, and prescription of the wrong drug. The majority of admissions were by an internal medicine or non-infectious disease (ID) specialist. Average time to ART initiation was comparable among all prescribers. No statistically significant correlation was found between the number of admissions per patient or the prescriber's area of specialty and the percentage of incorrect regimens ordered.

CONCLUSION

Hospital HIV medication management still remains an area of focus because of the complexity of regimens, poor medication reconciliation and limited non-HIV/ID specialist knowledge.

A qualitative systematic review of the evidence base for non-cross-resistance between steroidal and non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors in metastatic breast cancer

AIMS

The most effective sequence of tamoxifen and both steroidal (SAIs) and non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors (NSAIs) has been extensively studied in the adjuvant setting. However, treatments for women who have failed initial aromatase inhibitor therapy in the metastatic setting have received relatively little attention. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the use of SAIs and NSAIs in metastatic breast cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library were searched using free text and MeSH terms. Studies assessing the cross-resistance, efficacy and safety of SAIs and NSAIs for postmenopausal women with advanced metastatic breast cancer confirmed by histology/cytology were included. Patients had progressed/relapsed from previous adjuvant, first- or second-line aromatase inhibitor treatment and had undergone treatment with at least two regimens consisting of aminoglutethimide, anastrozole, letrozole and/or exemestane.

RESULTS

Nine studies reported results for patients treated with an SAI after treatment failure with an NSAI. For SAI after NSAI, clinical benefit was the most frequently reported outcome. The clinical benefit for exemestane (SAI) after any NSAI failure or before treatment ranged from 12% (complete response not recorded, partial response 2%, stable disease 10%) to 55% (complete response 6%, partial response 13%, stable disease 35%) Survival outcomes were infrequently reported; four studies reported disease progression. The time to progression ranged from 3.7 to 5.2 months. Only one study reported a median overall survival with exemestane at 15.2 months. Only one study reported information for an NSAI after SAI and an NSAI followed by another NSAI.

DISCUSSION

This review suggests that switching from an NSAI to an SAI is a reasonable option. This would be particularly important for patients who would probably respond to further endocrine manoeuvres; strongly oestrogen receptor-positive disease, non-visceral disease, a good prior response or a long duration of response. Further research to optimise the sequence of endocrine therapies in metastatic breast cancer is needed.

Use of chromosome 9p status to identify a subset of high-risk localized renal cell carcinoma

5090

Background: We investigated whether deletion of chromosome 9p in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) predicts worse disease-specific (DSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS), and if it is associated with worse prognosis in tumors < 4 cm. Methods: 316 patients undergoing nephrectomy prior to 2001 were included on a tissue microarray in whom FISH analysis using the LSI p16/CEP 9 Dual Color Probe was performed to assess chromosome 9p deletion status. An additional 389 patients undergoing nephrectomy after 2001 had 9p status determined by standard cytogenetics. Tumor grade, stage, size, 9p status, nodal involvement, and the presence of metastasis were recorded. Disease-specific and recurrence-free survival were determined, and independence was assessed using Cox proportional hazards models. Results: 9p deletions were detected in 14% of tumors. 54% of 9p-deleted tumors were high grade (G3–4) vs. 38% without 9p deletions, and 60% of 9p-deleted tumors were T3–4 vs 38% without 9p deletions (p < 0.01). 55% of those with 9p deletions had positive nodes or metastases vs. 34% of those without 9p deletions (p < 0.01). Median DSS for those with and without 9p deletions was 80 months and 37 months, respectively (p < 0.01). In localized disease, median RFS for those with 9p deletions was 53 months and was not reached in those without 9p deletions (p<0.01). In 188 patients presenting with localized RCC < 4 cm, loss of 9p occurred in 3/7 (42.9%) of patients with post-nephrectomy recurrence vs. 13/168 (7.2%) of patients without disease recurrence (p = 0.001). DSS for patients with 9p deletion in tumors < 4 cm was significantly worse than DSS in those without 9p deletions (HR 6.18; p = 0.02), and an independent effect on RFS was seen for 9p deletions in localized RCC (HR 2.3, p < 0.01). 9p status was not a significant predictor in metastatic RCC. Conclusions: Deletion of chromosome 9p in ccRCC occurs in 14% of patients and is associated with higher grade and T stage, presence of nodal and distant disease, worse prognosis, and in patients with small NOMO tumors, 9p deletions but not tumor size was independently associated with RFS. Identifying high risk patients with 9p deletions will allow better risk stratification for surveillance protocols and for adjuvant trials.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Role and extent of neck dissection for persistent nodal disease following chemo-radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer: how much is enough?

PURPOSE

Neck dissection (ND) is routinely performed for persistent nodal disease after definitive chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced head and neck cancer. This study analyzes the role and extent of ND necessary after CRT based on pathologic outcome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study is based on 42 patients undergoing 48 ND's for persistent nodal disease after CRT. Patients were treated to a median radiation dose of 70.4 Gy at 1.8-2 Gy per fraction concurrently with platinum based chemotherapy. Patients with documented residual disease in neck, based on clinical or radiological examination underwent ND at a median interval of 59 days after completion of CRT.

RESULTS

Of the 42 patients undergoing ND, 11 (26%) had positive findings on pathologic evaluation. The clinical and treatment characteristics were similar for node negative and positive patients. The involved nodal level(s) were always confined within the clinically documented persistent disease. The median percentage of positive nodes to total nodes removed was 10%. Almost 50% of positive nodes removed had only microscopic or minute viable cancer pathologically. The outcome was better for pathologically node negative patients in comparison to node positive patients.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that standard ND appears to be an excessive treatment for persistent nodal disease after CRT. Limited ND or even gross nodal resection confined to involved nodal level(s) as identified clinically or radiologically should be tested in a prospective randomized trial for reducing treatment related morbidity while maintaining excellent loco-regional control.

A study of the pharmacokinetic interaction of istradefylline, a novel therapeutic for Parkinson's disease, and atorvastatin

The effect of steady-state istradefylline, an agent for Parkinson's disease with P-glycoprotein and CYP3A inhibitory activity, on the pharmacokinetics of atorvastatin and its metabolites was evaluated in healthy volunteers. A single 40-mg dose of atorvastatin was administered to 20 subjects. After a 4-day washout, subjects received a single 40-mg atorvastatin dose following 40 mg istradefylline (n=16) or placebo (n=4) daily for 14 days. Plasma samples collected for 96 hours after atorvastatin administration, alone and in combination, were analyzed for atorvastatin, orthohydroxy atorvastatin, and parahydroxy atorvastatin. Istradefylline increased atorvastatin C(max) (53%), AUC(0-infinity) (54%), and t((1/2)) (27%); and increased AUC(0-infinity) for orthohydroxy atorvastatin (18%), but had no significant effect on its C(max) or t((1/2)); and had minimal effect on parahydroxy atorvastatin AUC(0-infinity). The lack of inhibition by istradefylline on metabolite systemic exposure, combined with increased atorvastatin systemic exposure, suggests a predominant P-glycoprotein inhibitory effect of istradefylline.

Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast MRI and breast cancer chemotherapy response

10514

Background: Tumor microcirculation and oxygenation play critical roles in tumor growth and response to cytotoxic treatment. Assessing these parameters in vivo may provide a useful tool for evaluating therapy in real time. Deoxyhemoglobin (dHbO2) can serve as an endogenous contrast agent causing signal loss in echo planar MR images. Tumor characteristics or interventions affecting tumor oxygenation, which convert dHbO2 to HbO2 produce a BOLD signal gain, may complement conventional MRI. Material and Methods: Ten patients with locally advanced breast cancer received doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) for four cycles every 2 or 3 weeks followed by paclitaxel for 4 cycles. Prior to chemotherapy and after 1 and 4 cycles of AC, MRI was performed on a 1.5 T scanner. For the BOLD study, patients breathed room air (RA) for 45 sec, then oxygen for 6 min and finally RA again. The BOLD imaging an Echo Planar technique with TR/TE (500/41.4 ms) 256 matrix and 20cm field of view. This was followed by dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI study. Pre and 1 to 4 day post-treatment tumor biopsies for hypoxia response proteins by immunohistochemistry and global RNA by gene array expression analysis (Illumina platform) were obtained. Results: MRI showed mild BOLD contrast enhancing regions in all evaluable patients with a typical signal enhancement of ∼2%. All 3 patients with an initial high BOLD-effect (>7%) achieved a pathological response after chemotherapy compared to 4 who did not (p < 0.03). The MRI-DCE tumor response signal decreased with chemotherapy, but no correlation with pathological response was seen. No clear difference in hypoxia-induced proteins (eg. HIF1-alpha, VEGF, CAIX) was seen according to pathological response or BOLD. Distinct gene expression patterns at baseline and after therapy emerged depending on BOLD response involving development, apoptosis and cell cycle pathways. Discussion: BOLD MRI can provide a non-invasive, easily repeatable in vivo approach to assess breast tumor physiology and its sensitivity to hypoxia (vascular oxygenation) may add value by measuring hypoxia and predicting response to therapy. BOLD MRI appears promising to select ideal candidates for hypoxia targeting with anti-angiogenic agents combined with chemotherapy and such studies are under way.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

The pharmacokinetics of escitalopram after oral and intravenous administration of single and multiple doses to healthy subjects

The pharmacokinetics of escitalopram (S-citalopram) and its principal metabolite, S-demethylcitalopram (S-DCT), were investigated after intravenous and oral administration to healthy subjects. After intravenous infusion of escitalopram, the mean systemic clearance and volume of distribution were 31 L/h and 1,100 L, respectively. After oral administration of single or multiple doses, the absorption was relatively fast, with the maximum observed plasma or serum concentration (C(max)) attained after 3 to 4 hours. The mean half-lives were 27 and 33 hours, respectively; steady state was attained within 10 days. The area under the plasma or serum concentration time curve from time zero to 24 hours and C(max) was both linear and proportional to the dose. The apparent volume of distribution was around 20 L/kg. Comparison of the systemic and oral clearance implied a high absolute bioavailability. There was no evidence of interconversion from S-citalopram to R-citalopram either in plasma or in urine. Concurrent intake of food had no effect on the pharmacokinetics of escitalopram or its metabolite. All treatments were well tolerated.