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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA/hK3): a further player in the field of breast cancer diagnostics?

Since its identification, much information has been obtained about prostate-specific antigen (PSA, or human glandular kallikrein 3 [hK3]), a kallikrein-like serine protease that is the most valuable tumour marker for the screening, diagnosis and management of human prostate carcinoma. Recently, it has become widely accepted that PSA is also present in many nonprostatic sources, casting doubts about the specificity of its tissue expression. Here we summarize the findings on the biomolecular expression of PSA in breast secretions, cells and tissues of healthy and diseased females. Although several studies have strongly suggested that the molecular forms of PSA seem to represent a potential tool for the risk assessment of breast cancer, recent reports have yielded conflicting results. Although several studies have suggested new biological function(s) for PSA in breast physiopathology, more studies are needed to enlist PSA unequivocally as an additional weapon in the anticancer armoury in breast cancer diagnostics.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed1994

Lung Cancer: Diagnostic Techniques.

The diagnosis of lung cancer may be suspected on the basis of history, physical examination, or radiographic imaging studies. With rare exceptions, suspicions thus raised must be confirmed prior to the initiation of therapy. Advances in radiographic imaging provide an improved "roadmap" for designing diagnostic efforts. Advances in diagnostic procedures allow an easier, better tolerated, and more complete picture of the presence and extent of disease. A diagnostic algorithm using these advances provides the information necessary to design therapy while minimizing the cost, discomfort, and risk to the patient.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Classification of bladder cancer by microarray expression profiling: towards a general clinical use of microarrays in cancer diagnostics.

At present there are no clinically useful markers available for identifying bladder cancer patients with a high risk of disease recurrence or progression. Thus, identification and tailor-suited treatment, for example radical cystectomy and adjuvant therapy, of patients with a poor prognosis is not possible using current methods. The completion of the Human Genome Project and the simultaneous advances in microarray technology have paved the way for performing systematic, full genome screens for prognostic and diagnostic molecular cancer markers. Furthermore, utilization of microarray technology for identifying clinically relevant subclasses of cancer patients and for discovering new potential drug targets seems promising. This article summarizes some of the clinical aspects of bladder cancer and reviews the potential of using tumor expression profiling for the identification of new molecular cancer markers and drug targets, and for generating disease classifiers and outcome predictors using several key gene markers.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed2006

GammaH2AX in cancer cells: a potential biomarker for cancer diagnostics, prediction and recurrence.

Current advances in cancer biology have identified major pathways involved in tumorigenesis. The association of DNA damage with premalignant stages of tumor progression, genome instability and further oncogenic transformation opens the possibility of using common DNA damage markers for early cancer detection, prediction, prognosis, therapeutics and possibly for cancer prevention. Perhaps the most sensitive DNA damage marker is gammaH2AX formation in the chromatin flanking the free DNA double-stranded ends in double-strand breaks (DSBs) and eroded telomeres, both present during oncogenic transformation. Our group and others found elevated endogenous levels of in various human cancer cell lines, premalignant lesions and solid tumors. These data suggest that increased DNA damage is a general characteristic of cancer development. GammaH2AX-based assay can be applied to human biopsies, aspirates and, possibly, to mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood. We propose that detection of gammaH2AX could benefit for the early cancer screening and to ascertain the efficiency of clinical treatment involving chemo- and radiotherapeutic protocols.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prostate cancer: diagnostic and therapeutic strategies with emphasis on the role of PSA.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in man and the second most common cause of death. The disease is uniquely heterogeneous, and includes tumors with moderate or full differentiation that could progress rather slowly, and tumors with poor differentiation that could have a rapid growth and extensive spread beyond the confines of the prostate. In the latter group of patients, and if they are not treated, the cancer becomes incurable and the long-term survival is compromised. The commonly accepted strategy among urologists at present is aimed at early detection of prostate cancer in order to provide curative local therapy. The recognition of prostate specific antigen (PSA) as a serum marker specific for prostate cancer has made this strategy possible. We herein provide an overview on the contemporary diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer, with emphasis on the role of prostate PSA. We also discuss the therapeutic options for localized disease.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Axillary lymph node and early breast cancer diagnostics. A case report.

Understanding of the anatomy of the axillary lymph nodes is important in diagnostic and treatment procedures for breast cancer. An interesting case is presented here of breast cancer without a breast tumour. The first symptom of the disease was lymphadenopathy of the axillary region. This kind of case is extremely rare in clinical practise (one case per 1-5 years) and constitutes a great problem for specialists, since in many cases the primary neoplasm source is unknown. The anatomical and clinical implications of such a situation are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical application of spectral electromagnetic interaction in breast cancer: diagnostic results of a pilot study.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: There is a need for a cost-effective method to safely reduce the number of diagnostic procedures women undergo for breast cancer. We tested a new procedure for breast cancer diagnosis based on breast tissue response to low level electromagnetic incident waves. METHODS: We tested 101 patients with suspicious palpable breast lesions detected by mammography or ultrasonography, who were scheduled to undergo an open biopsy. Using an electromagnetic field generator (tissue resonance interaction method probe [TRIMprob]), we passed the TRIMprob over the breast area and recorded the signal variation of one or more spectral lines (dB1, dB2, dB3). The results were compared with those of a control group as well as with pathology data obtained from excisional biopsy. RESULTS: No adverse effects of the test were observed. Pathology revealed 86 malignant breast cancers (72 invasive, 14 in situ) and 15 benign conditions. We achieved the best discrimination between normal breasts and lesions using dB1 (dB1 AUC-ROC = 0.8; dB2 AUC-ROC = 0.61; dB3 AUC-ROC = 0.76). With a specificity of 75% to 95%, the sensitivity ranged from 49% to 84%. Tumor or patient variables did not influence the results. CONCLUSIONS: The TRIMprob test was able to provide some degree of discrimination between normal breast tissue and lesions but not between benign and malignant lesions. The lack of influence of patient age and tumor size on test results might be advantageous in terms of early diagnosis in young women. These preliminary results need to be verified and extended in a preclinical-stage disease setting before clinical applicability can be envisaged.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Rectal cancer--diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties].

This paper aim is to analyze the main diagnostic and therapeutic aspects in rectal cancer; for this purpose we analyzed the Craiova's Surgical II Clinic statistics and we report them to the present literature. There were 179 rectal cancers, diagnosed over 10 years period (between 1995 and 2004); 163 cases were operated on, in 62 cases (38.03%) the surgical intervention aim being curative; global resection of tumor was 84.66%. The operation was preceded by preoperative radiotherapy in 82 cases; all cases diagnosed in the last four years in curative stage of disease were treated by preoperative radiotherapy. The postoperative mortality was 3.68% (6 cases) and the morbidity rate (55 cases - 33.74%) is still important, mainly because of the associated diseases. In conclusion we emphasize the importance of untimely diagnosis and the obligatorily sequential treatment: preoperative radiotherapy curative surgical resection - postoperative adjuvant treatment.

Digestive System Surgical Procedures↗
PubMed1988

[Ovarian metastases of digestive cancers. Diagnostic and therapeutic management].

Although ovarian metastasis of digestive cancers were well known since more 80 years, the management of ovaries is still discussed. The authors reviewed 112 cases of digestive tumors in female patients operated between 1973 and 1987, excluding the peritoneal carcinomatosis, and report 7 cases of ovarian metastasis. The primary carcinoma was gastric (2 cases) colonic (2 cases) appendicular (1 case) small bowel (1 case) and biliary tract (1 case). Because the severe prognosis and the frequent revealing and isolated feature of the ovarian metastases the authors review the literature in order to propose recommendations regarding the diagnosis and treatment according to the localisation, the grading of the primary tumor particularly in non menopausal patients. When the primary tumor is a mucinous signet-ring carcinoma with spread to the serosa and a gross abnormality of an ovary is discovered the oophorectomy should be performed. In every cases an immediate histological examination is absolutely necessary. Clinical and sonographic findings are included in the operative staging and the follow up of patients operated for a digestive adenocarcinoma. Especially if the ovarian tumor is bilateral a complete digestive check-up including appendix and biliary tract is necessary.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Pre- and postsurgery activation of blood coagulation in gastric and large bowel cancers: diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic hints.

In 12 patients with gastric cancer and in 14 with large bowel neoplasia, classified according to the TNM system, some major blood indices of hemostasis, platelet activation and fibrinolysis were assessed before and for 1 month after surgery, to show whether possible variations of such indices may provide useful clues to follow-up, treatment effectiveness and prognosis. The following conclusions may be drawn: (1) the assay of platelets, fibrinogen, AT III, fibrin(ogen) degradation products, fragment X, platelet factor 4 has provided useful clues in neither group of patients; (2) preoperative high beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) is a reliable index of tumor presence in both gastric and large bowel cancer; (3) postoperative high beta-TG and fibrinopeptide A (FpA) are reliable indices of (a) tumor persistence in both gastric and large bowel cancer; (b) lymph node involvement in gastric much more than in large bowel cancer; (c) metastatic spreading from gastric cancer; (4) the FpA levels are proportional to the tumor mass in gastric cancer. The finding of lower plasma heparin levels in neoplastic patients, when compared with controls (20 patients having undergone abdominal surgery for extraneoplastic affections) suggests higher than conventional doses (5,000 units every 8 h s.c.) of the drug should be given to neoplastic patients in order to prevent thromboembolic bouts and possibly reduce metastatic spreading.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Consistency and accuracy of diagnostic cancer codes generated by automated registration: comparison with manual registration.

BACKGROUND: Automated procedures are increasingly used in cancer registration, and it is important that the data produced are systematically checked for consistency and accuracy. We evaluated an automated procedure for cancer registration adopted by the Lombardy Cancer Registry in 1997, comparing automatically-generated diagnostic codes with those produced manually over one year (1997). METHODS: The automatically generated cancer cases were produced by Open Registry algorithms. For manual registration, trained staff consulted clinical records, pathology reports and death certificates. The social security code, present and checked in both databases in all cases, was used to match the files in the automatic and manual databases. The cancer cases generated by the two methods were compared by manual revision. RESULTS: The automated procedure generated 5027 cases: 2959 (59%) were accepted automatically and 2068 (41%) were flagged for manual checking. Among the cases accepted automatically, discrepancies in data items (surname, first name, sex and date of birth) constituted 8.5% of cases, and discrepancies in the first three digits of the ICD-9 code constituted 1.6%. Among flagged cases, cancers of female genital tract, hematopoietic system, metastatic and ill-defined sites, and oropharynx predominated. The usual reasons were use of specific vs. generic codes, presence of multiple primaries, and use of extranodal vs. nodal codes for lymphomas. The percentage of automatically accepted cases ranged from 83% for breast and thyroid cancers to 13% for metastatic and ill-defined cancer sites. CONCLUSION: Since 59% of cases were accepted automatically and contained relatively few, mostly trivial discrepancies, the automatic procedure is efficient for routine case generation effectively cutting the workload required for routine case checking by this amount. Among cases not accepted automatically, discrepancies were mainly due to variations in coding practice.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Telomeres and telomerase. A survey about methods and recent advances in cancer diagnostic and therapy.

Since the discovery that telomerase is repressed in most normal human somatic cells but strongly expressed in most human tumours, telomerase emerged as an attractive target for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes to combat human cancer. In this review, a synopsis of methods detecting telomerase is presented evaluating their potential for diagnostic and prognostic use. Also, the most promising telomerase therapeutics are discussed in the light of recent advances in the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Are multiple markers the future of prostate cancer diagnostics?

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is the most successful and widely employed cancer serum marker in use today. There is growing evidence that the introduction of wide PSA screening and earlier detection can result in decreased cancer mortality associated with a decline in metastatic disease. PSA circulates in a number of distinct forms. Measurement of these in addition to total PSA significantly increases diagnostic utility. Diagnostic utility is likely to be further increased by adding kallikreins, cytokines, growth factors, receptors and cellular adhesion factors to the biomarker panel. The need for multiple markers reflects the multidimensional nature of prostate disease which ranges from metastatic cancer to indolent cancer to benign hyperplasia and inflammation, all of which require distinct treatments and medical interventions.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMed2003

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering for cancer diagnostics: detection of the BCL2 gene.

A method of detection for cancer genes, such as B-cell lymphoma 2 gene, has been developed using surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active substrates. This method uses Raman active dye-labeled DNA gene probes and metallic nanostructures as surface-enhanced Raman scattering-active platforms. A self-assembled monolayer system composed of mercapto hexane-labeled, single-strand DNA (SH-(CH2)6-ssDNA/ 6-mercapto-1-hexanol) is formed on a silver surface. The Raman-active dye-labeled gene is hybridized with its complementary probe, which is immobilized on the silver surface. The surface-enhanced Raman gene probes in this study can be used to detect DNA targets via hybridization to complementary DNA probes. The probes do not involve the use of radioactive labels and have great potential to provide both sensitivity and selectivity. The utility of this approach is investigated.

DNA Probes↗
PubMed2004

Recent advances in bladder cancer diagnostics.

Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The diagnosis of bladder cancer is based on the information provided by cystoscopy, the gold standard, in combination with urinary cytology findings. Many tumor markers have been evaluated for detecting and monitoring of the disease in serum, bladder washes, and urinary specimens. However, none of these biomarkers reported to date has shown sufficient sensitivity and specificity for the detection of the whole spectrum of bladder cancer diseases in routine clinical practice. The advent of high-throughput microarrays is accelerating the identification process of the molecular events characteristic of bladder tumors' phenotype and subsequent clinical behavior. The information provided by these analyses is resulting not only in the identification of novel therapeutic targets for bladder cancer, but also in the development of diagnostic tools. This review summarizes the reports utilizing high-throughput microarrays in bladder cancer and the implications of these analyses in the diagnosis and clinical management of patients with bladder cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗