Relationship among collagen amount, distribution and architecture in the M. longissimus thoracis and M. pectoralis profundus from pigs

The relative distribution of types I and III collagens and collagen fibre architecture in the perimysium and endomysium were compared to the longissimus thoracis (LT) and pectoralis profundus (PP) muscles in pigs. The LT muscle was composed of type I myofibres 16.8%, IIA 12.9% and IIB 70.2%, and the PP muscle was 25.4, 23.1 and 51.5%, respectively. The total collagen amount differed significantly between the LT (2.66 mg/g) and PP (4.13 mg/g) muscle (P<0.001). On image analysis of the immunohistochemical preparations for types I and III collagens, the percentage area of the perimysium to the total collagen area showed significant differences between the muscles, where perimysial type I collagen occupied 25.4% of the total area in the LT muscle and 45.7% in the PP and perimysial type III 37.6 and 54.5%, respectively (P<0.001). In scanning electron microscopic photographs of the macerated preparation, very thick collagen layers composed of several fibre bands were observed in the perimysia of the PP muscle and appeared differently from the thinner perimysia with a few bands in the LT. Similar architecture of endomysial collagen fibres were observed around every myofibre type in the PP muscle and also in the LT. The fine surface cover of reticular collagen fibres around an adipocyte was shown as a global cast. These results suggested that the total collagen amount of the PP muscle was related mainly to the well developed perimysia composed of several collagen bands, indicating tougher meat compared with the LT muscle.

Risk factors to cause tooth formation anomalies in chemotherapy of paediatric cancers

This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of tooth formation anomalies in anti-cancer chemotherapies. Long-term survivors treated by conventional chemotherapy (n = 26), conventional chemotherapy with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) (n = 14), and HDC with total body irradiation (TBI) (n = 6) were analysed for the incidence of tooth agenesis, microdonts, and short-rooted teeth. The tooth agenesis and/or microdonts were found in second premolars and second molars, but not in first molars or central incisors. The ratio of subjects with tooth agenesis and/or microdonts was 66.7% and 18.2% in subjects administered conventional chemotherapy at <4 years and ≥4 years of age, respectively, while it was 100% and 25% in subjects administered HDC at <4 years and ≥4 years of age. The incidence of tooth formation anomalies did not related with the duration of conventional chemotherapy but increased by HDC. The incidence of tooth formation anomalies did not show significantly differences between the HDC with and without TBI groups, and was higher in busulfan-administered subjects than in subjects given cyclophosphamide. It may be concluded that the high-risk group of tooth agenesis is the subjects with HDC under 4 years of age. However, protocols of conventional chemotherapy are not an important risk factor to cause the tooth formation anomalies.

Abstract P3-06-26: Serum anti-p53 antibody titers predict pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy in women with HER2 positive or triple negative breast cancer

Background: In SABCS 2009, we reported that the high level of serum anti-p53 antibody titers was associated with response to preoperative chemotherapy in cases with primary breast cancer (SABCS 2009). Prognostic meaning of pathological complete response (pCR) after preoperative chemotherapy differs among various subtype, and there is a close relationship between pCR and prognosis in cases with HER2 positive or triple negative disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between the high level of serum anti-p53 antibody titers and pCR in patients with HER2-positive or triple negative breast cancer.

Patients and Methods: In this study, we analyzed 196 women with operable early stage breast cancer (T1-T3, N0-1) treated with preoperative chemotherapy and definitive curative surgery since 2002 to 2011. All of the patients received four cycles of FEC (fluorouracil 500 mg/m2, epirubicin 100 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 q3w) followed by four cycles of docetaxel (75 mg/m2 q3w). The serum anti-p53 antibody titers were assessed by ELISA with the anti-p53 EIA Kit II (MESACUP anti-53 Test: MBL) in the pre-treatment serum samples. The test's cut-off value was determined to be 1.3 IU/ml based on reference distribution in healthy control individuals. The association between serum anti-p53 antibody titers and pCR was analyzed.

Results: The subtype of tumors of 196 patients were classified to 86 of ER+/HER2−, 24 of ER+/HER2+, 29 of ER−/HER2+ and 57 of ER−/HER2−. The pCR was achieved 49 of 196 patients (25%). The pCR rate were 7%(6/86), 33%(8/24), 48%(14/29) and 37%(21/57) in the subtype of ER+/HER2−, ER+/HER2+, ER−/HER2+ and ER−/HER2− respectively. The range of serum anti-p53 antibody titers in the serum samples of 196 patients was between 0.40 and 5610 (the median was 0.40 and the average was 85.2). Excluding 86 cases with ER+/HER2−, relationship between serum anti-p53 antibody titers and pCR was evaluated. According to serum anti-p53 antibody titers with the patients of pCR, cut-off value of serum anti-p53 antibody titers was set to be 6 IU/ml. The pCR was observed in nine of 12 cases (75%) with high serum anti-p53 antibody titers, which was significantly higher than those with low titers (35%: 34/98; p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that the only high anti-p53 antibody titer was an independent predictive factor for pCR due to preoperative chemotherapy (p = 0.01).

Conclusion: p53 mutation analysis using serum anti-p53 antibody titers might be a useful predictive test for response to preoperative chemotherapy in patients especially with HER2 positive or triple negative breast cancer.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-06-26.

Possible association of nm23 gene-expression and ki-ras point mutations with metastatic potential in human pancreatic cancer-derived cell-lines

Nm23 gene expression and Ki-ras point mutations of eight human pancreatic cancer-derived cell lines with different metastatic capabilities were studied. Nm23 gene expression was significantly reduced in the cell lines with a high metastatic potential as compared with those with a low meta static potential (p<0.05). The same mutation at codon 12 of the Ki-ras gene (Gly12 to Asp12) was found in all cell lines with a high metastatic potential. These findings suggest a possible association of metastatic potential with Nm23 gene expression as well as the mutation of Ki-ras gene in human pancreatic cancer.

Predictive value of endoscopic findings in the diagnosis of active intestinal amebiasis

Endoscopic diagnosis of amebic colitis can be difficult because its appearance may mimic other forms of colonic disease. The aim of this study was to identify predictive endoscopic findings for amebic colitis. Patients with suspected amebic colitis based on distinctive endoscopic findings such as aphthae or erosions, ulcers, exudates, or a bump, were included in the study. A total of 157 patients were selected, 50 of whom had amebic colitis. The sensitivity and specificity of endoscopic findings that were significantly associated with amebic colitis were: cecal lesions (80% and 54%), multiple number of lesions (96% and 29%), presence of aphthae or erosions (84% and 37%), and presence of exudate (88% and 74%). Multivariate analysis revealed that the best combination of findings to predict amebic colitis was the presence of cecal lesions, multiple lesions, and exudates, which corresponded to an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.82-0.95).

Evaluation of brain and head and neck tumors with 4D contrast-enhanced MR angiography at 3T

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Systematic assessment of brain and head and neck tumors with 4D-CE-MRA at 3T has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that 4D-CE-MRA at 3T can replace DSA in the identification of feeding arteries and tumor stain to plan interventional procedures in hypervascular brain and head and neck tumors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifteen consecutive patients with brain and head and neck tumors underwent 4D-CE-MRA at 3T and DSA. 4D-CE-MRA combined randomly segmented central k-space ordering, keyhole imaging, SENSE, and half-Fourier imaging. We obtained 30 dynamic scans every 1.9 seconds at an acquired spatial resolution of 0.9 × 0.9 × 1.5 mm; the matrix was 256 × 256. Two independent observers inspected the 4D-CE-MRA images for the main arterial feeders and tumor stain. Interobserver and intermodality agreement was assessed by κ statistics.

RESULTS

For 4D-CE-MRA, the interobserver agreement was fair with respect to the main arterial feeders and very good for the degree of tumor stain (κ = 0.28 and 0.87, respectively). Intermodality agreement was moderate for the main arterial feeders (κ = 0.45) and good for the tumor stain (κ = 0.74).

CONCLUSIONS

Although 4D-CE-MRA may be useful for evaluating tumor stain in hypervascular brain and head and neck tumors, it is not able to replace DSA in planning interventional procedures.

P5-13-21: Japanese Patients with Discordance in Estrogen Receptor between Primary Breast Cancer and Recurrent Tumor Have a Poorer Outcome

Background Decisions of systemic treatment for recurrent breast cancer are usually based on the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 receptor status of the primary tumor. Recently, discordance in receptor status between primary and recurrent tumors has been reported. The objective of this study was to compare receptor status between the primary and recurrent tumor, and to evaluate overall survival (OS) after the diagnosis of recurrence between patients with discordant and concordant receptor status.

Material and Methods Patients with recurrent breast cancer treated at National Kyushu Cancer Center between January 2004 and May 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Primary and recurrent lesions were analyzed for ER and PR by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and HER2 by IHC or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). OS in discordant and concordant groups for each receptor was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test.

Results Among 283 recurrent breast cancer patients both primary and recurrent tumor information for ER, PR, and HER2 was available in 69. Among these, recurrent biopsy specimens were obtained from locoregional recurrence in 72.5% and from distant metastases in 27.5%. Discordant rate in receptor status between the primary and recurrent tumor was 36.2%. Discordant rate in ER, PR, and HER2 was 14.4%, 23.1%, and 4.3%, respectively. Two-year OS after the diagnosis of recurrence in discordant and concordant ER group was 66.7% and 84.7%, respectively. The discordant ER group had significantly worse OS than the concordant ER group (P = 0.040). There was no significant difference in OS between the discordant and concordant PR group (P = 0.950).

Conclusions Because discordance of receptor status between primary and recurrent tumors may exist, tissue confirmation of receptor status of recurrent tumor should be considered. Japanese patients with discordant ER between primary and recurrent tumor had a poorer outcome.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-13-21.

Experimental observation of the bifurcation dynamics of an intrinsic localized mode in a driven 1D nonlinear lattice

Linear response spectra of a driven intrinsic localized mode in a micromechanical array are measured as it approaches two fundamentally different kinds of bifurcation points. A linear phase mode associated with this autoresonant state softens in frequency and its amplitude grows as the upper frequency bifurcation point is approached, similar to the soft-mode kinetic transition for a single driven Duffing resonator. A lower frequency bifurcation point occurs when the four-wave-mixing partner of this same phase mode intercepts the top of the extended wave branch, initiating a second kinetic transition process.

Observation of long-distance radial correlation in toroidal plasma turbulence

This Letter presents the discovery of macroscale electron temperature fluctuations with a long radial correlation length comparable to the plasma minor radius in a toroidal plasma. Their spatiotemporal structure is characterized by a low frequency of ∼1-3  kHz, ballistic radial propagation, a poloidal or toroidal mode number of m/n=1/1 (or 2/1), and an amplitude of ∼2% at maximum. Nonlinear coupling between the long-range fluctuations and the microscopic fluctuations is identified. A change of the amplitude of the long-range fluctuation is transmitted across the plasma radius at the velocity which is of the order of the drift velocity.

Response to air insufflation in patients with non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (NERD)

This study compared changes in intragastric pressure (IGP) in response to a gastric distension stimulus caused by air insufflation in 25 patients with non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (NERD) and 34 healthy volunteers (controls). In four NERD patients, IGP responses were also measured before and after oral treatment with 10 mg rabeprazole daily for 2 weeks. The rate of increase in IGP at the start of insufflation was significantly higher in NERD patients than in controls. The time to appearance of symptoms (i.e. time to threshold) was significantly shorter in NERD patients than in controls. Direct measurement of IGP showed that visceral hypersensitivity and impaired fundal relaxation are both characteristic of NERD. Administration of rabeprazole led to a marked prolonging of time to threshold, indicating that treatment could alleviate this hypersensitivity.

Structural evolution in the neutron-rich nuclei ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr

The low-lying states in ¹⁰⁶Zr and ¹⁰⁸Zr have been investigated by means of β-γ and isomer spectroscopy at the radioactive isotope beam factory (RIBF), respectively. A new isomer with a half-life of 620 ± 150 ns has been identified in ¹⁰⁸Zr. For the sequence of even-even Zr isotopes, the excitation energies of the first 2⁺ states reach a minimum at N = 64 and gradually increase as the neutron number increases up to N = 68, suggesting a deformed subshell closure at N = 64. The deformed ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr indicates that a spherical subshell gap predicted at N = 70 is not large enough to change the ground state of ¹⁰⁸Zr to the spherical shape. The possibility of a tetrahedral shape isomer in ¹⁰⁸Zr is also discussed.

β-decay half-lives of very neutron-rich Kr to Tc isotopes on the boundary of the r-process path: an indication of fast r-matter flow

The β-decay half-lives of 38 neutron-rich isotopes from (36)Kr to (43)Tc have been measured; the half-lives of (100)Kr, (103-105)Sr, (106-108)Y, (108-110)Zr, (111,112)Nb, (112-115)Mo, and (116,117)Tc are reported here. The results when compared with previous standard models indicate an overestimation in the predicted half-lives by a factor of 2 or more in the A≈110 region. A revised model based on the second generation gross theory of β decay better predicts the measured half-lives and suggests a more rapid flow of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-matter flow) through this region than previously predicted.

Expression of hypoxia-inducible 2 (HIG2) protein in uterine cancer

For both cervical cancer (UCC) and endometrial cancer (EMC) there are no effective prognostic markers. In this study, we evaluated HIG2 protein expression in 332 uterine cancers (186 UCCs and 146 EMCs) and examined the relationship between HIG2 protein expression and clinical factors, including prognosis. Totally, HIG2 expression was detected in 58% of UCC and 66% of EMC. However, there was no significant relationship between HIG2 expression and age, clinical stage and histology in either UCC or EMC. In addition, HIG2 protein expression was not related to prognosis of UCC or EMC. The positivity rate of HIG2 protein was 56% and 61% in early-stage UCC and EMC, respectively and 67% in non-squamous cell carcinoma of UCC. The positivity rate of HIG2 protein was high even in early-stage UCC and EMC

Abstract P3-14-12: High Risk of Recurrence in Japanese Patients with HER2-Positive T1N0 Breast Cancer

Background: The necessity of adjuvant trastuzumab therapy for patients with T1N0M0 tumors remains controversial. The objective of this study is to determine the risk of recurrence in Japanese women with T1N0 HER2- positive tumors compared with HER2-negative tumors. Methods: Among 1,180 patients with breast cancers diagnosed at our institution between 2001 and 2007, we reviewed 464 T1N0M0 diseases in which HER2 status was evaluated by IHC or gene amplification, who had not received trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting. Recurrence free survival (RFS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the association of each group with the risk of recurrence. Results: Seventy-nine (17%) of 464 patients had HER2-positive tumors and remaining 385 (83%) were HER2-negative diseases. Patients who had HER2-positive tumors tended to be younger (P=0.015), have more hormone receptor-negative tumors (P&lt;0.001), and have higher histological grade (P&lt;0.001). At a median follow-up of 46 months, 18 patients had experienced recurrences. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 88.2% and 97.2% in patients with HER2-positive and HER2-negative tumors, respectively (P&lt;0.001). In patients with T1bN0 tumors and T1cN0 tumors, HER2-positive group had worse RFS than HER2-negative group (P=0.004 and P=0.002, respectively), while there were no differences in the RFS between patients with T1aN0 HER2-positive and HER2-negative tumors (P=0.835). In a multivariate analysis, HER2 status was identified as one of the independent risk factors to predict RFS in patients with T1N0M0 breast cancers (hazard ratio 5.23; 95% CI, 2.07 to 13.21; P&lt;0.001). Conclusion: Japanese women with T1bcN0M0 HER2-positive breast cancer have a significant high risk of recurrence, and adjuvant trastuzmab therapy should be considered for those patients.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-14-12.

Homologous Terminal Sequences in the Double-Stranded RNA Genome Segments of Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Virus of the Silkworm Bombyx mori

The 3'-terminal regions (20 to 32 residues) of the genome double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) segments of cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus were sequenced. The dsRNAs, which were labeled at their 3' termini by incubation with [5'-(32)P]pCp and T4 RNA ligase, were denatured and resolved into the plus and minus strands by agarose-urea gel electrophoresis. Ten single-stranded RNAs thus obtained from the five dsRNA segments IV, V, VIII, IX, and X were sequenced by postlabeling methods. Common 3'-terminal sequences, -GUUAGCC and -UUACU, were found in the plus and minus strands, respectively, of all five dsRNA segments. However, adjacent sequences diverged and were considerably variable. The homologous sequences found in the 3' end may be important recognition signals for viral RNA polymerases and for assembly of the genome segments.