PDF Version for Printing
The articles referenced in this Highlights section will be available online in HTML and PDF formats to all interested users at no charge until the next issue of Clinical Cancer Research is published. Click on the article title to view the complete article.
View the Table of Contents for the March 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
Bates et al. Page 1643
In this issue of CCR Focus, Guest Editor Jo Anne Zujewski compiled a team of contributors to examine metastases of the central nervous system in a fresh light. The paradigm of CNS metastases in the age of successful targeted therapies is introduced. Breast cancer is also considered as a model. The role of cell biology in determining the predilection of certain malignancies for the CNS and the experimental models established to study this problem are discussed. The progress of therapies designed to cross the blood-brain barrier is explored. Finally, the role of radiotherapy in control of CNS metastases is examined, including strategies to increase the efficacy of radiotherapy and avoid long-term toxicity.
Feng et al. Page 1695
To understand the role of relaxin peptide in prostate cancer, Feng et al. analyzed the expression of relaxin and its receptor in human prostate cancer samples, the effects of relaxin signaling on cancer cell phenotype in vitro, and the effects of increased serum relaxin concentrations on cancer progression in vivo. The relaxin mRNA expression was significantly higher in recurrent prostate cancer samples. Stimulation with relaxin increased cell proliferation, invasiveness, and adhesion in vitro. The Tg(Rln1) TRAMP males had shorter median survival time, associated with the decreased apoptosis of tumor cells, compared to non-Tg(Rln1) TRAMP animals. These data suggest that relaxin signaling may play a role in prostate cancer progression.
Small et al. Page 1810
CTLA-4 blockade is a powerful way of engaging the immune system in anti-cancer therapeutics. Small et al. report the results of the first trial to test the anti-CTLA-4 antibody Ipilimumab in prostate cancer patients. In this single-dose trial, the pharmacokinetics of the drug were established. Moreover, in the absence of specific antigen presentation strategies, anti-CTLA-4 blockade had modest anti-cancer effects as measured by declines in PSA, suggesting the potential utility of this agent in combination with vaccination or other antigen presentation strategies.
Dearling et al. Page 1903 There is conflicting literature data on the cytotoxic effect of the glucose metabolic inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG). Dearling et al. described a study in which 2DG was combined with antibody-targeted radiotherapy. A mechanism explaining differences in the effects of 2DG on growth control in different tumors was developed. Although there are reports of 2DG reducing the toxicity of irradiation in vitro, Dearling et al. also reported the manifestation of this effect in vivo for the first time. This study has direct implications for metabolic inhibitors in cancer therapy and ramifications for the response of nutritionally challenged tumor cells to irradiation.