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View the Table of Contents for the January 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
Arcaini et al. Page 182
There is epidemiologic evidence that non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients are at risk for second cancers. Arcaini et al. examined the hypothesis that the genetic susceptibility of marginal zone B-cell lymphomas of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) might be the link between chronic infection and immunosuppression. The authors calculated the risk of second neoplasms in a series of patients from Northern Italy who had nongastric MALT lymphoma and compared them with the background population from the Lombardia Tumor Registry. The data showed that the relative rates for second cancers are not increased in patients with nongastric MALT lymphomas, independently of the timing and type of additional cancer diagnosis.
de Hooge et al. Page 206
For the past 20 years, treatment of Ewing sarcoma patients had reached a plateau of approximately 60% response to current protocols. Immunotherapy could be a new treatment option; however, expression of anti-apoptotic proteins can lead to tumor resistance against immuno- or chemotherapy. de Hooge et al. studied the expression of the death receptor pathway inhibitor cFLIP and granzyme B inhibitor PI-9 in Ewing sarcoma cell lines and tumor sections. cFLIP was abundantly expressed in both cell lines and tumors. Anti-Fas resistance was, however, only observed in caspase-8 deficient cell lines. Caspase-8 was heterogeneously expressed in tumors. All tested cell lines were perforin/granzyme-sensitive, although some expressed PI-9 at low levels. PI-9 was undetectable in tumors, providing a rationale to preferentially exploit the perforin/granzyme-mediated pathway against Ewing sarcoma.
Fornier et al. Page 223
Because Cancer and Leukemia Group B 9741 trial demonstrated a benefit for every 14-day “dose-dense” administration of chemotherapy compared with every 21-day treatment, Fornier et al. conducted a pilot trial to assess the feasibility of a “denser” adjuvant/neoadjuvant regime consisting of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel at 10- to 11-day intervals for patients with breast carcinoma. This regime was found to be feasible, although there was a high incidence of febrile neutropenia and a high hospitalization rate. The nearly 30% reduction in intertreatment interval compared with every 14-day treatment might increase the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy and should be further explored in a phase III setting.
Houtenbos et al. Page 307
Suh et al. Page 350
Epidemiologic studies have linked consumption of fruits and vegetables to reduced risk of several types of cancer. Laboratory animal model studies have provided evidence that stilbenes, phenolic compounds present in grapes and blueberries, play a role in reducing the risk of certain cancers. Suh et al. tested pterostilbene, a naturally occurring stilbene from blueberries, for its preventive activity against colon carcinogenesis. Administration of pterostilbene significantly suppressed azoxymethane-induced formation of colonic aberrant crypt foci and multiple clusters of aberrant crypts. Importantly, dietary pterostilbene also suppressed azoxymethane-induced colonic cell proliferation and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression. The results suggest that pterostilbene present in blueberries is of great interest for preventing colon cancer.