| 1. |
- Suzuki, Chikako, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of the first tumor response at eight weeks on overall survival in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with first-line combination chemotherapy
- 2013
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Ingår i: Medical Oncology. - : Humana Press. - 1357-0560 .- 1559-131X. ; 30:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this was to determine whether the change of size observed at the first response evaluation after initiation of first-line combination chemotherapy correlates with overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The change in size of tumors derived from measurements according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) at the first evaluation on computed tomography (CT) was obtained from a multicenter, randomized phase III trial ("TEX trial," n = 287) comparing treatment with a combination of epirubicin and paclitaxel alone or with capecitabine (TEX). Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to evaluate the correlations between the first change in tumor size, response according to RECIST and OS. Data from CT evaluations of 233 patients were available. Appearance of new lesions or progression of non-target lesions (new/non-target) indicated short OS by univariable regression analysis (HR 3.76, 95 % CI 1.90-7.42, p andlt; 0.001). A decrease by andgt;30 % at this early time point was prognostic favorable (HR 0.69, 95 % CI 0.49-0.98, p = 0.04) and not significantly less than the best overall response according to RECIST. After adjustment for previous adjuvant treatment and the treatment given within the frame of the randomized trial, OS was still significantly shorter in patients with new/non-target lesions after a median 8 weeks of treatment (HR 4.41, 95 % CI 2.74-7.11, p andlt; 0.001). Disease progression at the first evaluation correlates with OS in patients with MBC treated with first-line combination chemotherapy. The main reason for early disease progression was the appearance of new lesions or progression of non-target lesions. These patients had poor OS even though more lines of treatment were available. Thus, these factors should be focused on in the response evaluations besides tumor size changes.
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| 2. |
- Bastami, Salumeh, et al.
(författare)
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Inhibitory effect of opiates on LPS mediated release of TNF and IL-8
- 2013
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 52:5, s. 1022-1033
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most patients with advanced cancer experience severe pain and are often treated with opiates. Cancer patients are especially susceptible to opportunistic infections due to treatment with immunosuppressive and cytostatic drugs. Since opiates have been demonstrated to have immunomodulatory effects, it is of clinical importance to evaluate potential differences between commonly used opiates with regard to their effect on the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of morphine, tramadol, fentanyl and ketobemidone on the functioning of the immune system with special reference to TNF and IL-8 release. Method. U-937 cells were preincubated with different concentrations of opioids followed by stimulation with LPS 100 μg/ml for three hours. The effect of opioids on the levels of cytokine mRNA was studied using RT-PCR. Erk and Akt phosphorylation was also measured by Western blot. Results. All opioids with the exception of fentanyl were capable of inhibiting TNF release from U-937 cells. Morphine had no effect on IL-8 release but the effect of other opiates was almost the same as the effect on TNF. All opioids with the exception of fentanyl were capable of inhibiting production of mRNA for TNF and IL-8. The observed effects of opiates were not always reversible by naloxone, suggesting that the effects might be mediated by other receptors or through a non-receptor mediated direct effect. Although preliminary evidence suggests the involvement of Erk and Akt pathways, further studies are needed to unravel the intracellular pathways involved in mediating the effects of opiates. Our data suggests that the order of potency with regard to inhibition of cytokine release is as follows: tramadol > ketobemidone > morphine > fentanyl. Conclusion. Further studies are needed to understand the clinical implications of the observed immunosuppressive effects of tramadol and ketobemidone and to improve opioid treatment strategies in patients with cancer.
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| 3. |
- Bjohle, J, et al.
(författare)
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Serum thymidine kinase activity compared with CA 15-3 in locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer within a randomized trial
- 2013
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Ingår i: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - : Springer Verlag (Germany). - 0167-6806 .- 1573-7217. ; 139:3, s. 751-758
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The primary objective was to estimate serum thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) activity, reflecting total body cell proliferation rate including cancer cell proliferation, in women with loco regional inoperable or metastatic breast cancer participating in a prospective and randomized study. Secondary objectives were to analyze TK1 in relation to progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), therapy response and other tumour characteristics, including CA 15-3, widely used as a standard serum marker for disease progression. TK1 and CA 15-3 were analysed in 198 serum samples collected prospectively from women included in the randomized TEX trial between December 2002 and June 2007. TK1 activity was determined by the ELISA based DiviTum (TM) assay, and CA 15-3 analyses was generated with the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay Cobas Elecsys CA 15-3 II. High pre-treatment TK1 activity predicted shorter PFS (10 vs. 15 months p = 0.02) and OS (21 vs. 38 months, p andlt; 0.0001), respectively. After adjustment for age, metastatic site and study treatment TK1 showed a trend as predictor of PFS (p = 0.059) and was an independent prognostic factor for OS, (HR 1.81, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.26-2.61, p = 0.001). There was a trend of shortened OS for women with high CA 15-3 (p = 0.054) in univariate analysis, but not after adjustment for the above mentioned covariates. Both TK1 (p = 0.0011) and CA 15-3 (p = 0.0004) predicted response to treatment. There were statistically different distributions of TK1 and CA 15-3 in relation to the site of metastases. TK1 activity measured by DiviTum (TM) predicted therapy response, PFS and OS in loco regional inoperable or disseminated breast cancer. These results suggest that this factor is a useful serum marker. In the present material, a prognostic value of CA 15-3 could not be proven.
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| 4. |
- Djerf, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
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The pan-ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor canertinib promotes apoptosis of malignant melanoma in vitro and displays anti-tumor activity in vivo
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : Elsevier. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 414:3, s. 563-568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ErbB receptor family has been suggested to constitute a therapeutic target for tumor-specific treatment of malignant melanoma. Here we investigate the effect of the pan-ErbB tyrosine kinase inhibitor canertinib on cell growth and survival in human melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Canertinib significantly inhibited growth of cultured melanoma cells, RaH3 and RaH5, in a dose-dependent manner as determined by cell counting. Half-maximum growth inhibitory dose (IC(50)) was approximately 0.8 mu M and by 5 mu M both cell lines were completely growth-arrested within 72 h of treatment. Incubation of exponentially growing RaH3 and RaH5 with 1 mu M canertinib accumulated the cells in the G(1)-phase of the cell cycle within 24 h of treatment without induction of apoptosis as determined by flow cytometry. Immunoblot analysis showed that 1 mu M canertinib inhibited ErbB1-3 receptor phosphorylation with a concomitant decrease of Akt-, Erk1/2- and Stat3 activity in both cell lines. In contrast to the cytostatic effect observed at doses less than= 5 mu M canertinib, higher concentrations induced apoptosis as demonstrated by the Annexin V method and Western blot analysis of PARP cleavage. Furthermore, canertinib significantly inhibited growth of RaH3 and RaH5 melanoma xenografts in nude mice. Pharmacological targeting of the ErbB receptors may prove successful in the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma.
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| 5. |
- Djerf Svenningsson, Emelie, et al.
(författare)
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Resistance to gefitinib in malignant melanoma cells is related to increased expression of Met and the insulin receptor and sustained Akt signaling
- 2012
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Acquired resistance to cancer therapy, including targeted therapies such as epidermal growth factor receptor (ErbB) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), constitutes a major clinical problem in treating patients with malignant disease. Several drug resistance mechanisms for ErbB1 TKIs involving abnormal activation of growth factor receptors or activation of intracellular signaling pathways have been discovered. ErbB TKIs have recently been shown to inhibit growth in melanoma cells. This study was undertaken to develop a gefitinib-resistant melanoma cell line in order to find any resistance mechanism to gefitinib in melanoma cells lacking activating mutation in BRAF or NRAS.Material and methods: A malignant melanoma cell line (RaH5) was made resistant to the ErbB1 TKI gefitinib by continuous culture with stepwise increasing concentrations of the drug up to 10 μM. The phosphorylation status of 42 different human receptor tyrosine kinases was screened in a protein array in resistant (RaH5ZDR) and wild-type RaH5 cells treated with or without gefitinib. The PI3K, MAPK and Stat3 signaling pathways were studied in an analogous way by Western blot analysis; 2-D gel electrophoresis was performed to determine other potential proteins involved in gefitinib resistance in RaH5 cells. In addition, the effect of the pan-ErbB TKI canertinib on gefitinib-resistant cells was investigated.Results: Protein array experiments showed that only Met and the insulin receptor (IR) exhibited substantially increased activation in RaH5ZDR cells as compared to their nonresistant counterparts. Interestingly, following gefitinib treatment ErbB2 and ErbB3 receptor signaling in resistant cells were equally well suppressed as in non-resistant cells. However, downstream Akt and Erk1/2 phosphorylation was inhibited to a greater extent in non-resistant RaH5 cells.Conclusion: Resistance to gefitinib in RaH5 cells appears to be related to an increased expression of Met and IR and linked to a more persistent signaling through Akt and Erk1/2. However, additional studies are required to further elucidate the resistance to gefitinib in our experimental system.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Hatschek, T, et al.
(författare)
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Individually tailored treatment with epirubicin and paclitaxel with or without capecitabine as first-line chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer: a randomized multicenter trial
- 2012
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Ingår i: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - New York, USA : Springer Verlag (Germany). - 0167-6806 .- 1573-7217. ; 131:3, s. 939-947
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Anthracyclines and taxanes are active cytotoxic drugs in the treatment of early metastatic breast cancer. It is yet unclear whether addition of capecitabine to the combination of these drugs improves the treatment outcome. Patients with advanced breast cancer were randomized to first-line chemotherapy with a combination of epirubicin (Farmorubicin(A (R))) and paclitaxel (Taxol(A (R))) alone (ET) or in combination with capecitabine (Xeloda(A (R)), TEX). Starting doses for ET were epirubicin 75 mg/m(2) plus paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2), and for TEX epirubicin 75 mg/m(2), paclitaxel 155 mg/m(2), and capecitabine 825 mg/m(2) BID for 14 days. Subsequently, doses were tailored related to side effects. Primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), time to treatment failure (TTF), objective response (OR), safety and quality of life (QoL). 287 patients were randomized, 143 to ET and 144 to TEX. Median PFS was 10.8 months for patients treated with ET, and 12.4 months for those treated with TEX (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.65-1.07, P = 0.16); median OS was 26.0 months for women in the ET versus 29.7 months in the TEX arm (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.63-1.11, P = 0.22). OR was achieved in 44.8% (ET) and 54.2% (TEX), respectively (chi(2) 3.66, P = 0.16). TTF was significantly longer for patients treated with TEX, 6.0 months, versus 5.2 months following ET (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58-0.93, P = 0.009). Severe hematological side effects related to epirubicin and paclitaxel were evenly distributed between the treatment arms, mucositis, diarrhea, and Hand-Foot syndrome were significantly more frequent in the TEX arm. Toxicity-adjusted treatment with ET and TEX showed similar efficacy in terms of PFS, OS, and OR. In this trial with limited power, the addition of capecitabine to epirubicin and paclitaxel as first-line treatment did not translate into clinically relevant improvement of the outcome.
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| 9. |
- Nordigården, Amanda, et al.
(författare)
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Irreversible pan-ERBB inhibitor canertinib elicits anti-leukaemic effects and induces the regression of FLT3-ITD transformed cells in mice
- 2011
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Ingår i: British Journal of Haematology. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0007-1048 .- 1365-2141. ; 155:2, s. 198-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent findings have indicated that tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting the ERBB receptor family display anti-leukaemic effects, despite the lack of receptor expression on human leukaemic cells. The occurrence of activating mutations in the gene encoding FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) has rendered inhibition of this receptor a promising therapeutic target. Due to possibility of cross-reactivity, we investigated the effect of the irreversible pan-ERBB inhibitor canertinib (CI-1033) on leukaemic cells expressing FLT3. The drug had anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on primary AML cells and human leukaemic cell lines expressing mutated FLT3. In several AML patient samples, a blast cell population expressing FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD) was eradicated by canertinib. Canertinib inhibited receptor autophosphorylation and kinase activity of both mutated and FLT3 ligand stimulated wildtype FLT3, leading to inhibition of the PI3-kinase and MAP kinase pathways. Apoptotic induction was dependent on pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein BCL2L11/BIM because siRNA silencing attenuated apoptosis. Moreover, the drug induced regression of cells expressing FLT3-ITD in a murine in vivo-transplantation model at previously described tolerated doses. These results indicate that canertinib, as an irreversible TKI, could constitute a novel treatment regimen in patients with mutated or overexpressed FLT3.
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| 10. |
- Severinsson, Emelie
(författare)
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Experimental studies on ErbB targeted therapy in malignant melanoma
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Malignant melanoma has one of the fastest increasing incidences among the different types of cancer in the Western world. This raise can partly be ascribed to the change in sun habits that has taken place during the last decades, since the major external risk factor for melanoma is exposure to ultraviolet radiation. In the case of patients with early stages of melanoma, the prognosis is usually good and the disease may be cured by surgery alone. However, with conventional anti-cancer treatments, patients diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic melanoma have a very low 5-year survival rate ranging from less than 10 percent to about 20 percent, depending on the location and extent of metastatic spread. Despite the development of novel promising targeted drugs, such as the immunomodulating antibody ipilimumab and the B-raf inhibitor vemurafenib, that have been shown to significantly extend patient survival, there is still an urgent need for new and improved treatment strategies which can further increase the survival of patients with advanced malignant melanoma.The aim of this thesis was to investigate the anti-tumor effect of two different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), gefitinib and canertinib, on human malignant melanoma cell lines with wild-type BRAF and NRAS. We investigated the effect of these two drugs on cell proliferation, survival and on the ErbB1-4 receptor phosphorylation, as well as the downstream signaling molecules Akt, Erk1/2 and Stat3. We also established a melanoma cell line resistant to gefitinib treatment and studied the resistance mechanisms developed by the cells.The aim of this thesis was to investigate the anti-tumor effect of two different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), gefitinib and canertinib, on human malignant melanoma cell lines with wild-type BRAF and NRAS. We investigated the effect of these two drugs on cell proliferation, survival and on the ErbB1-4 receptor phosphorylation, as well as the downstream signaling molecules Akt, Erk1/2 and Stat3. We also established a melanoma cell line resistant to gefitinib treatment and studied the resistance mechanisms developed by the cells.In conclusion, gefitinib and canertinib display promising anti-tumor effects on ErbB-expressing malignant melanoma and might be used in future studies in combination with conventional chemotherapy or other targeted therapies in the treatment of malignant melanoma patients not harboring BRAF or NRAS mutations.
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