Fwd: Cancer stem cells as targets for cancer therapy: selected cancers as examples.

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From: HubMed - cancer <rssfwd@rssfwd.com>
Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Subject: Cancer stem cells as targets for cancer therapy: selected cancers as examples.
To: mesothelioma77@gmail.com


[1]Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2008 May 30;
Hombach-Klonisch S, Paranjothy T, Wiechec E, Pocar P, Mustafa T, Seifert A, Zahl C, Gerlach KL, Biermann K, Steger K, Hoang-Vu C, Schulze-Osthoff K, Los M

It is becoming increasingly evident that cancer constitutes a group of diseases involving altered stem-cell maturation/differentiation and the disturbance of regenerative processes. The observed malignant transformation is merely a symptom of normal differentiation processes gone astray rather than the primary event. This review focuses on the role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in three common but also relatively under-investigated cancers: head and neck, ovarian, and testicular cancer. For didactic purpose, the physiology of stem cells is first introduced using hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells as examples. This is followed by a discussion of the (possible) role of CSCs in head and neck, ovarian, and testicular cancer. Aside from basic information about the pathophysiology of these cancers, current research results focused on the discovery of molecular markers specific to these cancers are also discussed. The last part of the review is largely dedicated to signaling pathways active within various normal and CSC types (e.g. Nanog, Nestin, Notch1, Notch2, Oct3 and 4, Wnt). Different elements of these pathways are also discussed in the context of therapeutic opportunities for the development of targeted therapies aimed at CSCs. Finally, alternative targeted anticancer therapies arising from recently identified molecules with cancer-(semi-)selective capabilities (e.g. apoptin, Brevinin-2R) are considered.



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Source: http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=18512024
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Fwd: Clinical identification of colorectal cancer patients benefiting from adjuvant uracil-tegafur (UFT): a randomized controlled trial.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: HubMed - cancer <rssfwd@rssfwd.com>
Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Subject: Clinical identification of colorectal cancer patients benefiting from adjuvant uracil-tegafur (UFT): a randomized controlled trial.
To: mesothelioma77@gmail.com


[1]J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2008 May 30;
Fujii M, Takayama T, Kochi M

PURPOSE: A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine whether pathologic necrosis in response to preoperative treatment with uracil-tegafur(UFT) could be used to identify patients with colorectal cancer most likely to benefit from postoperative adjuvant therapy with the drug. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The 152 patients with colorectal cancer who received preoperative UFT at a dose of 600 mg/day for at least 10 days were classified into two groups according to the pathologic necrosis in resected tumor specimens: 90% or more necrosis (sensitive) versus less than 90% necrosis (insensitive). After excluding 13 ineligible patients, the remaining 139 were then randomly assigned to receive postoperative adjuvant UFT (400 mg/day) for 12 months or no treatment. RESULTS: Preoperative and postoperative UFT produced no serious toxicity in any of the patients. Among the 22 patients with sensitive tumors, overall survival was significantly better in the UFT group (n = 12) than in the control (n = 10) (100 vs. 70.0%; P = 0.023). Among the 117 patients with insensitive tumors, there was no significant difference between the two groups (n = 60, 68.1% vs. n = 57, 76.6%; P = 0.373). CONCLUSION: Our method involving neoadjuvant UFT can identify patients most likely to benefit from postoperative UFT, as well as those unlikely to benefit from such treatment.



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Source: http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=18512074
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