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Biomedical subjects

G Bevilacqua

Publications and source records attributed to G Bevilacqua.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Different proliferative patterns characterize different preinvasive breast lesions.

The study of cell-cycle associated proteins Ki-67/MIB-1, bcl-2 and p53 could clarify some features regarding the early phases of neoplastic progression in the breast. An extensive immunohistochemical study was carried out of the expression of these markers in all kinds of preinvasive breast lesions and their collateral normal parenchyma, a type of analysis not previously reported. The specimens were 35 florid ductal hyperplasias (FDHs), 8 atypical ductal hyperplasias (ADHs), 12 well-differentiated intraductal carcinomas (WDICs), 20 intermediately differentiated intraductal carcinomas (IDICs), 14 poorly differentiated intraductal carcinomas (PDICs), 12 atypical lobular hyperplasias (ALHs), 12 type-A lobular carcinomas in situ (LCIS), 150 normal small-size ducts and 365 lobules. All FDHs, ADHs, WDICs, and lobular lesions showed low proliferation (Ki-67/MIB-1), bcl-2 positivity, and p53 negativity; all PDICs expressed high proliferation, while 85 per cent and 7 per cent were p53 and bcl-2 positive respectively; IDICs showed high proliferation (50 per cent), bcl-2 expression (70 per cent), and p53 positivity (30 per cent), but no correlation between the expression of these markers was observed. Independent of the type of collateral lesion and age of the patient, 90 per cent and 10 per cent of small ducts/lobules showed low and high proliferation and diffuse and low bcl-2 expression respectively; no p53 positivity was observed. The modulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis control in ductal lesions could be the expression of a progression from hyperplasia/WDIC to PDIC, in which IDICs represent the link, owing to their immunoprofile. An alternative purely speculative hypothesis is that the different immunoprofile of the preinvasive lesions reflects their different origin in normal breast parenchyma. Low proliferative or bcl-2 positive lobules could be the site of origin of the lesions maintaining this phenotype, namely FDHs, ADHs, WDICs and lobular lesions, while highly proliferative or bcl-2 negative lobules could be the site in which PDICs develop. Consequently, preinvasive breast lesions could express a different regulation of apoptosis control and proliferative activity from the very beginning, rather than a modulation during neoplastic progression.

Adult↗

Assessment of the prognostic relevance of serum anti-p53 antibodies in epithelial ovarian cancer.

The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic relevance of preoperative serum anti-p53 antibodies in epithelial ovarian cancer. These autoantibodies were detected with a new generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in blood samples preoperatively drawn from 86 patients with this malignancy. Serum anti-p53 antibodies were found in 3 (10.0%) of the 30 patients with stage I-II and 15 (26.8%) of the 56 patients with stage III-IV epithelial ovarian cancer (P = 0.09). We assessed in detail 44 patients with stage III-IV disease who underwent six cycles of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. A pathological complete response at second-look was achieved by none of the 15 patients with serum anti-p53 antibodies compared to 24.1% of the 29 patients without autoantibodies (P = 0.09). However, the preoperative serum anti-p53 antibody status had no prognostic relevance for progression-free survival and survival. In conclusion, the assessment of preoperative serum anti-p53 antibodies seems to have a limited clinical value in the management of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Autoantibodies↗

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in non-small-cell lung carcinomas.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to be strictly related to vascular permeability and endothelial cell growth under physiological and pathological conditions. In tumour development and progression, VEGF plays a pivotal role in the development of the tumoral vascular network, and useful information in the progression of human cancer can be obtained by analysing the vascular endothelial growth factor expression of the tumours. In this study, we investigated the vascular endothelial growth factor transcript expression in non-small-cell lung carcinomas to evaluate the significance of this factor in a group of cancers in which the vascular pattern has been shown to significantly affect progression. Surgical samples of 42 patients with NSCLC were studied using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and in situ hybridization. Thirty-three out of 42 cases (78.6%) showed VEGF transcript expression predominantly as transcripts for the secretory forms of VEGF (isoforms 121 and 165). In situ hybridization, performed on 24 out of 42 samples, showed that the VEGF transcript expression was in several cases present in the cytoplasm both of neoplastic and normal cells, even if the VEGF mRNA was less expressed in the corresponding non-tumoral part. The VEGF 121 expression was associated with hilar and/or mediastinal nodal involvement (P = 0.02), and, taken together, the VEGF isoforms were shown to significantly influence overall (P = 0.02) and disease-free survival (P = 0.03). As a regulator of tumour angiogenesis, VEGF may represent a useful indicator of progression and poor prognosis in non-small-cell lung carcinomas.

Adult↗

Microsatellite instability and mismatch repair gene inactivation in sporadic pancreatic and colon tumours.

Genomic instability has been proposed as a new mechanism of carcinogenesis involved in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and in a large number of sporadic cancers like pancreatic and colon tumours. Mutations in human mismatch repair genes have been found in HNPCC patients, but their involvement in sporadic cancer has not been clarified yet. In this study we screened 21 pancreatic and 23 colorectal sporadic cancers for microsatellite instability by ten and six different microsatellite markers respectively. Microsatellite alterations were observed at one or more loci in 66.6% (14/21) of pancreatic cancers and in 26% (6/23) colon tumours, but all the pancreatic and half of the colon samples showed a low rate of microsatellite instability. All the unstable samples were further analysed for mutations in the hMLH1 and hMSH2 genes and for hypermethylation of the hMLH1 promoter region. Alterations in the hMLH1 gene were found only in colorectal tumours with a large presence of microsatellite instability. None of the pancreatic tumours showed any alteration in the two genes analysed. Our results demonstrate that microsatellite instability is unlikely to play a role in the tumorigenesis of sporadic pancreatic cancers and confirm the presence of mismatch repair gene alterations only in sporadic colon tumours with a highly unstable phenotype.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

p53 overexpression in lymph node metastases predicts clinical outcome in ductal pancreatic cancer.

In this study, we evaluated the prognostic significance of both p53 overexpression and proliferating activity in 133 primary ductal pancreatic carcinomas and in their regional synchronous lymph node metastases by immunohistochemistry, by using DO7 and MIB1 monoclonal antibodies, respectively. Tumor samples and lymph nodes were obtained from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival material of patients operated on between 1976 and 1996. Patients had a well-documented clinical history and were given accurate follow-up. p53 accumulation was observed in 77 (54%) of 133 primary tumors and in 22 (44%) of 50 patients with nodal metastases. The p53 overexpression was directly related to proliferating activity (p = 0.01) in the primary tumors. A significant direct correlation was present between the p53 expression in the primary tumor and in nodal metastases (p = 0.01); the same occurred for proliferating activity by MIB1 (p = 0.002). The patients' overall survival was affected by the presence of nodal (p = 0.02) and distant (p = 0.0001) metastases. The p53 immunoreactivity in nodal metastases was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the postoperative survival period (p = 0.005). Multivariate analysis confirmed these results, and the only two parameters that maintained statistical significance were M1 status (p = 0.0006) and p53 overexpression in nodal metastases (p = 0.01).

Adenocarcinoma↗

Lung tumours from non-smoking subjects: A p53-related genetic instability in a subset of cases.

Tumours developed in non-smoking patients represent about 10% of all lung neoplasms and show peculiar morphologic and genetic features. In a previous study, we found a constant association between p53 gene alterations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the FHIT locus in a subset of non-smoking tumours (7 cases out of 35 analyzed), so we hypothesized that a genomic instability associated with p53 mutations could be the cause of FHIT LOH in these neoplasms. To test this hypothesis, in the same panel of tumours, we investigated the presence of LOH at 7 other microsatellite loci located on different chromosomes. Interestingly we found that all of the tumours with p53 alterations and LOH at the FHIT locus showed loss of heterozygosity at all of the informative tested loci. This association was statistically significant (p=0.0001). Our data indicate the presence of a generalized genomic instability in this subset of lung tumours. Since p53 alterations were mostly G:C --> A:T transitions and frameshift deletions, we are tempted to hypothesize that the genomic instability observed in non-smoking patients could be caused by particular p53 alterations. In fact, other kind of p53 mutations (G:C --> T:A transversions), frequently found in a series of 35 tumours of smokers used as control, were not associated with LOH at microsatellites loci. However, we cannot exclude that p53 alterations are a consequence and not the cause of the genomic instability. In this case, we have to admit that a gene(s), upstream of p53, is implicated in genome destabilisation in a subset of lung adenocarcinomas developed in non-smoking patients.

Female↗

Quantitation by competitive PCR assay of vascular endothelial growth factor in non-small cell lung carcinomas.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be one of the most important angiogenic factors under both physiological and pathological conditions. The VEGF overexpression by a wide spectrum of neoplastic diseases has suggested an important role of this cytokine in tumor-neovascularization. A method is described for quantification by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of VEGF mRNA in non-small cell lung cancer tissues (NSCLC). The method entails addition to the sample of competitor DNA molecules that share the same primer recognition sites as the amplified target, but which can be easily distinguished by gel electrophoresis because of their different lengths (competitive PCR). We analyzed the VEGF mRNA expression level in 34 cases of lung tumor tissues compared to the respective adjacent normal tissues. In 4 out of 34 (11.7%) analyzed couples there was no VEGF mRNA expression, in 8 out of 34 (23.5%) only normal parenchymal tissue was positive for VEGF mRNA expression; in the remaining 22 cases (64. 7%) both normal and tumor tissues showed PCR products for VEGF. In 17 out of these 22 couples (77.2%) a higher number of VEGF mRNA molecules were present in tumor specimens than in the normal counterpart. According to these results, the competitive PCR-method seems to provide a useful tool for the quantitate VEGF expression in order to identify its role in the development of lung cancer.

Adult↗

Microsatellite instability and allelic losses in neuroendocrine tumors of the gastro-entero-pancreatic system.

Carcinoids are well differentiated tumors, able to secrete a variety of bioactive and hormonal products. Neuroendocrine tumors occur either sporadically or as part of familial syndromes (MEN1, MEN2). Defective DNA mismatch repair is implicated in a variety of gastrointestinal and other cancers; however, its role in the tumorigenesis of carcinoids has not been assessed. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archivial pathology tissues from 16 neuroendocrine tumors and 9 related metastases were studied by microdissection and microsatellite analysis of extracted DNA to evaluate the degree of microsatellite instability, a marker of defective mismatch repair. The carcinoid tumors analyzed display no microsatellite instability, but, interestingly, show a number of allelic deletions scattered throughout the genome. Particularly, the vast majority of pancreatic derived tumors display loss of heterozygosity on the short arm of chromosome 8. These results suggest that genomic instability is probably not involved in neuroendocrine carcinogenesis and a tumor suppressor gene involved in pancreatic carcinoid tumorigenesis could probably be localized on chromosome 8p12-22.

Adult↗

Telomerase activity as a prognostic indicator in stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

Patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are typically treated with surgical resection alone. However, about one-third of such patients develop disease recurrence and die within 5 years after complete resection. The ability to predict recurrence could represent an important contribution to treatment planning. This study evaluates the presence of telomerase activity in tumor cells as a predictor of disease recurrence and cancer-related death after operation for stage I NSCLC patients. The activity of the telomerase enzyme was investigated by telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) in tumors and matching normal lung tissue samples obtained from 107 consecutive operable patients with pathological stage I NSCLC. Telomerase activity was detected in 66 (62%) of the 107 tumors examined and in none of the corresponding adjacent noncancerous lung tissue samples. Correlation with pathological parameters showed that telomerase activity was associated with histopathological grade (P = 0.0135) but not with tumor size or histological type. Univariate survival curves, estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier, defined a significant association between telomerase activity and both disease-free survival (P = 0.0115) and overall survival (P = 0.0129). In multivariate analyses, performed by Cox's proportional hazards regression models, the presence of telomerase activity was the only strong predictor of disease-free survival (P = 0.0173) and overall survival (P = 0.0187). Our data indicate that telomerase activity can be an important prognostic factor that should be considered in future prospective trials of adjuvant therapy for high-risk stage I NSCLC patients.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Lactoferrin expression in human breast cancer.

We analyzed lactoferrin expression in 78 samples from patients with sporadic breast cancer and found 31/78 negative for mRNA expression. Similar results were obtained by immuno-histochemical localization of the lactoferrin protein. We did not find relationship between lactoferrin expression and clinical parameters. We investigated for the absent lactoferrin expression in some cases of breast cancer. In 68 of the samples analyzed, we found an inverse correlation between estrogen receptor expression and lactoferrin expression (P < 0,0001), thus indicating that regulation by the estrogen receptor is not the main element responsible for the expression of lactoferrin in breast cancer. Analysis of methylation of the lactoferrin genomic DNA extracted from the same patients revealed that the degree of methylation does not explain the observed absence of lactoferrin. The 937 bp lactoferrin promoter was investigated for possible mutations. By single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis one polymorphic site was found and characterized.

Breast Neoplasms↗

[Prevention of perinatal infection caused by group B beta-hemolytic streptococcus].

Streptococcus agalactiae strains or group B streptococci (GBS) are the leading cause of bacterial pneumoniae, sepsis and meningitis in neonates. GBS is also a major cause of bacteriemia in pregnant women. Colonization of the human rectovaginal tract with GBS is a risk factor associated with chorioamnionitis and transmission of the infection to the infant. Neonatal exposure to high concentrations of GBS, mainly during vaginal delivery, leads to colonisation of the lung airways and subsequent onset of severe diseases like pneumonia, sepsis and menigitis. GBS is present in the genitourinary tract of 10% to 40% of pregnant women, about 50% of the newborns of these mothers will be colonised during delivery and of these neonates, 1% to 2% present a severe invasive disease. The early-onset disease, appear in the neonates within 7 days of life and more than 90% occur within the first day of life. Fatal infection is associated commonly with fulminat and overwhelming early-onset disease. Maternal-intrapartum chemoprophylaxis is able to prevent the transmission of GBS to the newborn and to reduce the frequency and the severity of early onset disease. In many countries, in particular in US, several recommendations have been proposed to prevent the perinatal GBS infection. In this paper some recommendations to prevent GBS disease of the newborn, performed in collaboration with Italian Society of Perinatal Medicine, are presented. The most important problem in the prevention programme is the identification of the cases to treat, since it is not possible to give antibiotics to all the women. We combine two strategies for the identification of the women to be treated, one risk based and the other screening based. Intra-partum administration of ampicillin or penicillin is recommended for the women with one or more risk-factors (labour < 37 weeks of gestation, duration of ruptured membranes > = 18 hours, intrapartum temperature > = 38 degrees C, previous infant with invasive GBS disease, diabetes) and for women with collect vaginal and rectal swab for GBS culture at 36-38 weeks' gestation, positive for GBS. No treatment is required for the babies of women intrapartum treated or with negative culture performed near term. Treatment with ampicillin is necessary, only in the new-borns of women with incomplete or unknown results or not done cultures and in those born from mothers with positive cultures, but not intrapartum treated. Collection of swabs for GBS is recommended before antibiotic administration. If the culture is negative, we suggest to stop the antibiotic therapy, otherwise the treatment must be continuated for 5-7 days. In conclusion, a written protocol for prevention of GBS infection in new-born must be adopted in every delivery centre and one possible protocol is proposed in this paper.

Female↗

Thrombospondins I and II messenger RNA expression in lung carcinoma: relationship with p53 alterations, angiogenic growth factors, and vascular density.

Thrombospondin (TSP) is a Mr 450,000 multifunctional matrix glycoprotein that interferes with tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. It has recently been shown that TSP expression is enhanced by the product of the p53 gene and that a down-regulation of TSP may be observed when alterations of the p53 protein occur. Moreover, a number of studies have demonstrated a regulatory activity of p53 on human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), although additional investigations will be necessary to understand their relationship. In non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), neoangiogenesis, p53 alterations, and VEGF expression seem to have meaningful implications in the development and progression of this type of cancer. The aim of this study is to identify and quantitate TSP I and TSP II mRNA in NSCLCs with respect to p53 alterations, angiogenic growth factor expression, and microvascular density. A series of 24 cases of NSCLC were analyzed. Eleven of 24 of the cases were positive for TSP II mRNA, whereas 8 of 24 showed TSP I mRNA expression. A significant inverse association was found between TSP I mRNA and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) protein expression (P = 0.00001). Tumors with low FGF protein expression (< or = 40% of positive cells) presented a number of TSP I cDNA molecules, significantly higher than tumors expressing high levels of FGF protein. No association was found between TSP mRNA expression and other angiogenic growth factors (i.e., VEGF) or tumoral neovascularization. On the contrary, tumors with high levels of FGF showed a higher number of microvessels (P = 0.05). By PCR-single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis, we observed aberrations of the p53 gene in 19 of the 24 tumor samples. No association was found between p53 alterations and TSP mRNA expression. Instead, an interestingly significant association was found between the presence of p53 mutations and high VEGF protein expression (P = 0.01) and neovascularization (P = 0.03). Highly vascularized tumors showed higher VEGF protein expression (r = 0.45; P = 0.02). These data support the concept that in NSCLC, p53 exerts an important role in the control of neoangiogenesis. This influence is probably mediated by VEGF. The inverse association we found between TSP I and basic FGF suggests a different role of TSP I and TSP II in the angiogenic "switch," supporting the hypothesis that especially TSP I may have a significant function in tumor angiogenesis.

Adult↗

Microsatellite alterations and p53, TGFbetaRII, IGFIIR and BAX mutations in sporadic non-small-cell lung cancer.

Fifty-two sporadic primary non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) were examined for microsatellite instability. Six different microsatellite markers localized on chromosomes 2, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 17 were used. Genomic instability was observed in 35% (18/52) of NSCLC at single or multiple loci. The tumors were also analyzed for p53-gene mutations by PCR-SSCP analysis. Polynucleotide stretch frameshift mutations of TGFbetaRII (transforming-growth-factor-beta receptor II), IGFIIR (insuline growth-factor II receptor) and BAX genes were also analyzed. RER+ (replication-error-positive) tumors appear not to be affected by a higher rate of point mutations in coding sequences: no correlation was found between microsatellite instability and point mutations in the p53 gene, and the RER+ tumors showed no alterations in stretches of nucleotide inside TGFbetaRII, BAX or IGFIIR.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung↗

Cyclin D1 and retinoblastoma susceptibility gene alterations in non-small cell lung cancer.

Among the major regulators of the G1 restriction point are cyclin D1 and the retinoblastoma gene product (RB). In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the cyclin D1 gene is amplified/over-expressed in almost 50% of cases, and RB is inactivated in 6-32% of cases. It is of interest to evaluate concurrently the alterations of both genes on the same series of NSCLCs, to investigate whether cyclin D1 and RB alterations are alternative pathways leading to inactivation of the G1 restriction point or if they can occur in the same tumor, possibly exerting an additive effect on cancer progression. We investigated a series of 57 NSCLCs, analyzing cyclin D1 and RB at the gene and protein levels by Southern blot, Northern blot and immunohistochemistry. The cyclin D1 gene was amplified in 18 cases, cyclin D1 immunoreactivity was seen in 25 tumors. Amplification and expression were significantly associated. RB immunohistochemical expression was absent in 9 of 42 informative cases. RB mRNA expression was low to absent in 9 of 45 informative cases, cyclin D1 amplification was associated with normal RB mRNA, and cyclin D1 over-expression was associated with normal RB immunoreactivity, supporting the hypothesis that alterations of cyclin D1 and RB are alternative mechanisms by which tumor cells may escape the G1 restriction point. A concurrent alteration of RB and cyclin D1 was seen in a small subset of NSCLCs. Abnormalities of cyclin D1 and/or RB at the gene and/or expression level were present in more than 90% of cases, stressing that cyclin D1 and/or RB alterations represent an important step in lung tumorigenesis.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung↗

FHIT and p53 gene abnormalities in bronchioloalveolar carcinomas. Correlations with clinicopathological data and K-ras mutations.

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a particular type of adenocarcinoma of the lung which accounts for up to 9 per cent of pulmonary malignancies. The aetiology and pathogenesis of this unique neoplastic disease are still unclear. Three histological subtypes of BAC have been recognized: mucinous, non-mucinous, and sclerosing. Of these, mucinous and sclerosing BAC have a worse prognosis than non-mucinous tumours. The different morphological patterns and clinical outcomes of the subtypes of BAC suggest differences in their biological behaviour. Previous reports have shown that the mucinous form of BAC is characterized by constant mutations at codon 12 of the K-ras gene, whereas the other two histotypes show a frequency of K-ras mutations which is not different from that observed in conventional lung adenocarcinomas. The present study of a series of 51 BACs, previously investigated for K-ras gene mutations, has evaluated the status of two other genes, p53 and FHIT, known to be frequently altered in non-small cell lung cancer. Loss of heterozygosity at microsatellite-containing loci located within the FHIT gene was observed in 22 (43 per cent) BACs. The distribution of FHIT gene abnormalities was not statistically different in the three histological subtypes. p53 mutations were present in 13 (32 per cent) non-mucinous/sclerosing BACs, while no mutations were seen in mucinous tumours (P = 0.039). Correlations with clinicopathological parameters showed that p53 mutations in BACs are associated with more aggressive tumours. No correlations were observed between FHIT or K-ras gene abnormalities and clinicopathological data. In conclusion, these results indicate that FHIT alterations are frequently involved in BAC tumourigenesis and that genetic changes in the p53 and K-ras genes can distinguish between different histotypes of BAC.

Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar↗

Stromal IGF-II messenger RNA in breast cancer: relationship with progesterone receptor expressed by malignant epithelial cells.

In breast cancer, insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is stromal in origin and is considered an important regulator of tumour epithelium growth. The presence of progesterone receptor (PR) is expression of an intact oestrogen regulatory pathway of breast malignant epithelial cells and represents a parameter of cell differentiation in breast cancer. In this study we have examined the relationship between IGF-II mRNA expression and ER, PR content in 75 breast cancer. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections were used to preserve histological details. IGF-II mRNA was evaluated by in situ hybridisation method and ER, PR by immunohistochemistry. IGF-II mRNA was scored semi-quantitatively: 2.6% breast tumour specimen expressed no IGF-II mRNA, 46.7% had low levels of expression (IGF-II-) and 50.7% had moderate or high IGF-II mRNA content (IGF-II+). IGF-II mRNA was found in the stroma fibroblasts surrounding malignant lesions and no signal was detected in malignant epithelial cells. In contrast, ER and PR were expressed only by neoplastic epithelial cells and no immunoreactivity was found in the stroma: 50/75 (66.6%) breast cancer specimens were positive for ER (ER+) and 35 (46.6%) for PR (PR+). Both, IGF-II mRNA and PR were directly correlated with the stromal proliferation (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). No relationship was found between IGF-II RNA and ER. In contrast 24/35 (73.5%) PR breast cancer tissues were IGF-II+ (p < 0.01) and a strong correlation was found between epithelial PR immunostaining and stromal IGF-II mRNA content (p < 0.003). Our data indicate that in breast cancer IGF-II mRNA is generally expressed by stromal cells and ER and PR by epithelial cancer cells, and that IGF-II mRNA expression is strongly related with both percentage and staining intensity of PR+ epithelial cancer cells. These data support the hypothesis that IGF-II produced by the fibroblasts may exert a paracrin effect on malignant epithelium regulating its differentiation.

Breast Neoplasms↗