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View the Table of Contents for the November 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
Yasuda et al. Page 6748
Hypoxia in solid cancer tissue is associated with chemoresistance via up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) pathway such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and P-glycoprotein. To study the effects of nitroglycerin on the HIF-1 pathway, Yasuda et al. studied the rates of immunoreactive cells for these proteins in tumor tissues and the relationship between change in plasma VEGF levels and response to chemotherapy after nitroglycerin treatment in lung adenocarcinoma. Nitroglycerin treatment decreased the rates of immunoreactive cells for these proteins in tumor tissues and plasma VEGF levels in response to chemotherapy. Combinational use of nitroglycerin may enhance response to docetaxel and carboplatin in lung adenocarcinoma.
Shariat et al. Page 6663
This project is the result of multiinstitutional collaboration to develop the first nomograms for prediction of the probabilities of overall and bladder cancer-specific survival for patients treated with radical cystectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Shariat et al. compared the predictive accuracy of the optimal nomogram to that of AJCC staging-based nomograms integrating solely pathologic T and N stages. The investigators found that overall and cancer-specific survival after radical cystectomy and bilateral lymphadenectomy can be predicted with high accuracy. In addition, integration of several features yielded superior predictive accuracy than relying on AJCC staging (pT and pN) alone.
Kleiter et al. Page 6800
A noninvasive method to monitor intratumoral liposomal drug delivery in individual patients during targeted tumor therapy is important to predict treatment response. In this study, Kleiter et al. investigated the feasibility of using a small tracer dose of 99mTc-labeled liposomes to quantify the effect of local hyperthermia on intratumoral Doxil extravasation in a rat fibrosarcoma model. The tracer approach successfully estimated the magnitude of the achieved thermal enhancement of drug delivery with Doxil liposomes, and thus shows promise as a readily applicable clinical tool to monitor drug delivery, as well as effects of interventions aimed to increase liposomal accumulation.
Reddy et al. Page 6677
Nanoparticles offer a distinct advantage over conventional administration of drugs as they provide an opportunity to directly deliver a therapeutic agent to the tumor site, thus minimizing the systemic drug exposure and increasing the therapeutic index. Reddy et al. synthesized a multifunctional nanoparticle harboring a tumor-homing peptide F3, photosensitizing moiety, and a contrast agent for imaging. These nanoparticles localized to intracranial gliomas, generated a significant tumor-specific MRI contrast enhancement and subsequent photodynamic therapy resulted in improved survival of animals. These studies show the versatility and efficacy of multifunctional nanoparticles in targeted detection and therapy of brain cancer.
Poh et al. Page 6716
Subclinical field change around tumors is characteristic of oral cancer and has long been associated with treatment failure and recurrence of disease. Poh et al. used a simple hand-held device to directly visualize spectral alterations to autofluorescence in the oral mucosa of patients during surgery. Fluorescence visualization identified a field of alteration that extended beyond the clinical tumor and was strongly associated with high-risk histologic and molecular change. This is the first indication of a possible role of such optical devices in identifying a new phenotype with possible clinical significance in the operating theater.