SNU (Seoul National University) cell lines have been established from Korean cancer patients since 1982. Of these 109 cell lines have been characterized and reported, i.e., 17 colorectal carcinoma, 12 hepatocellular carcinoma, 11 gastric carcinoma, 12 uterine cervical carcinoma, 17 B-lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from cancer patients, 5 ovarian carcinoma, 3 malignant mixed Mllerian tumor, 6 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, 7 renal cell carcinoma, 9 brain tumor, 6 biliary tract, and 4 pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. These SNU cell lines have been distributed to biomedical researchers domestic and worldwide through the KCLB (Korean Cell Line Bank), and have proven to be of value in various scientific research fields. The characteristics of these cell lines have been reported in over 180 international journals by our laboratory and by many other researchers from 1987. In this paper, the cellular and molecular characteristics of SNU human cancer cell lines are summarized according to their genetic and epigenetic alterations and functional analysis.
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This study was designed to investigate the validity of a single immunochemical fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for detection of colorectal neoplasia.
A total of 3,794 average-risk screenees and 304 colorectal cancer patients admitted to the National Cancer Center, Korea, between May 2001 and November 2002, were studied prospectively. All screenees and admitted patients underwent FOBT and total colonoscopic examinations. Stools were self-collected, and examined using an immunochemical fecal occult blood test (OC-hemodia®, Eiken Chemical Co. Tokyo, Japan) and an OC-sensor analyzer® (Eiken Chemical Co. Tokyo, Japan).
Of the 3,794 asymptomatic screenees, the colonoscopy identified colorectal adenomas and cancers in 613 (16.2%) and 12 (0.3%) subjects, respectively. The sensitivities of a single immunochemical FOBT for detecting colorectal cancers and adenomas in screenees were 25.0 and 2.4%, respectively. The false positive rate of FOBT for colorectal cancer in screenees was 1.19%. For the total 316 colorectal cancer cases (including 12 cases from screenees), the FOBT sensitivities according to the T-stage were 38.5, 75.0%, 78.9 and 79.2% for T1, 2, 3 and 4 cancers, respectively. The sensitivities according to the Dukes stages A, B and C were 63.4, 79.3 and 78.6%, respectively.
The sensitivities of a single immunochemical FOBT for detecting colorectal cancers and adenomas in screenees were 25.0 and 2.4%, respectively. The sensitivities of FOBT were about 80% for Dukes B or C colorectal cancers and 63.4% for Dukes A.
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The benefit of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is controversial. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of HDC with cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, and carboplatin (CTCb) followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) for MBC patients.
From September 1994 to December 1999, 23 MBC patients were enrolled. All the patients received 2 to 10 cycles of induction chemotherapy. Before transplantation, 12 patients were in complete response (CR), nine were in partial response (PR), and two had progressive disease (PD). The HDC regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide 1,500 mg/m2/day, thiotepa 125 mg/m2/day and carboplatin 200 mg/m2/day intravenously for 4 consecutive days.
After ASCT, 13 patients (56%) had a CR, five (22%) had a PR, three (13%) had no change, while two (9%) showed a PD. Seventeen patients relapsed or progressed during the median follow-up of 78 months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 11 months and the median overall survival (OS) time was 23 months. The 5-year PFS and OS rates were 22% and 25%, respectively. On the multivariate analyses, less than 4 involved lymph nodes was predictive of a better PFS and OS.
HDC with CTCb for MBC has acceptable toxicity; however, this treatment does not show a survival benefit.
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The 10-year overall survival rate following conventional treatments for patients with limited-stage Hodgkin's disease (HD) exceeds 90%. However, the clinical features and treatment outcome of HD in Korea have not been extensively characterized due to its low incidence. In this study, we attempted to analyze the treatment outcome of different modalities in limited stage HD patients.
Twenty one Hodgkin's disease patients, referred to the Samsung Medical Center between January 1997 and December 2003, were enrolled in this study. Limited stage Hodgkin's disease was subdivided into low and high risk groups. All evaluable patients received treatment.
There were 13 and 8 patients in the low and high risk groups, respectively. Eighteen patients (86%) obtained complete response (CR) and 3 patients (14%) achieved an undetermined complete response (CRu). Fourteen (67%), 4 (19%) and 3 (14%) cases received combination chemotherapy, radiotherapy alone and chemotherapy alone, respectively. Four cases relapsed and 2 obtained a second CR. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 90 and 72%, respectively, for all patients. The median follow-up duration was 31 months. There was no difference in disease free survival (DFS) between the low and high risk groups. Although 12 cases had neutropenia greater than grade III, none experienced neutropenic fever.
The treatment outcome of limited-stage HD was excellent, regardless to the initial treatment modality.
To determine the superior chemotherapeutic regimen between monthly 5-FU plus cisplatin (FP) and weekly cisplatin alone in concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer, the compliance of treatment, response, survival and toxicities were analyzed between the two arms.
Between March 1998 and December 2001, 61 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (stage IIB through IVA) and negative para-aortic lymph nodes were randomly assigned to either 'monthly FP' (arm I, n=34) or 'weekly cisplatin' (arm II, n=27) with concurrent radiotherapy. The patients of arm I received FP (5-FU 1,000 mg/m2/day + cisplatin 20 mg/m2/day, for 5 days, for 3 cycles at 4 week intervals) and those of arm II received cisplatin (30 mg/m2/day, for 6 cycles at 1 week intervals) with concurrent radiotherapy. The radiotherapy consisted of 41.4~50.4 Gy external beam irradiation in 23~28 fractions to the whole pelvis, with high dose rate brachytherapy delivering a dose of 30~35 Gy in 6~7 fractions to point A. During the brachytherapy, a parametrial boost was delivered. The median follow-up period for survivors was 44 months.
The compliance of treatment in monthly FP weekly cisplatin arms were 62 and 81%, respectively. The complete response rates at 3 months were 96 and 88% in arms I and II, respectively. The 4-year overall survival and disease free survival rates were 64 and 54% in the arm I and 77 and 66% in the arm II, respectively. The incidence of hematologic toxicity more than grade 2 was 29% in the arm I and 15% in the arm II. Only one patient in arm I experienced grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicity. No severe genitourinary toxicity was observed.
No significant difference was observed in the compliance, responses, survival rates and acute toxicities between the two treatment arms. More patients and further follow up will be required.
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A prospective study was performed to compare the efficacy and safety of intravesical mitomycin C (MMC) instillation for the prophylaxis of bladder cancer at different concentrations (30 mg or 40 mg).
Ninety-seven patients that received complete transurethral resection for superficial bladder cancer were divided into two-randomized groups. One group (n=53) received 30 mg and the other group (n=44) received 40 mg dose of MMC weekly for 8 weeks, which was followed monthly for 10 months as maintenance therapy. The recurrence rates and side effects in both groups were recorded. The mean follow-up period was 32.4 months in the 30 mg group, and 32.0 months in the 40 mg group.
The overall one and two year recurrence rates were 19% and 24% in the 30 mg group, and 12% and 22% in the 40 mg group, which was not significantly different (p>0.05). Most of the side effects were mild and transient. Moreover, the rates of the individual side effects were not statistically different in the two groups.
Our comparison of 30 mg and 40 mg intravesical MMC instillation showed no difference in either response or side effects. Thus, we tentatively conclude that we can use 30 mg instead of 40 mg as an intravesical MMC instillation dose.
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We investigated the effects of radical cystectomy and the prognostic factors that affect the survival of bladder cancer patients.
From 1979 to 2002, 59 patients with long-term follow up results of at least 2 years were enrolled in this study. Indications for surgery included muscle invasive bladder cancer and high-risk superficial bladder cancer. The cancer specific and recurrence free survival rates with respect to the possible prognostic factors were determined using Kaplan-Meier statistics.
The mean patient age was 62.8 years (M: 48, F: 11), and the estimated 5- and 10-year survival rates were 62% and 39.4%, respectively. The median time to local or systemic recurrence was 16 months (range: 5~100), and the average survival durations after local and systemic recurrence were 14.4 months and 12.7 months, respectively. Pathologic stage, tumor grade, mean nuclear area, sex and lymphatic invasion were significant factors by univariate analysis (p<0.05). The disease related survival rate in patients having progression from an initial superficial tumor was lower than for those patients who displayed muscle invasive disease at the initial treatment. Multivariate analysis identified pathologic stage and lymphatic invasion as independent prognostic factors.
Radical cystectomy for organ-confined cancer showed favorable 5- and 10-year survival rates. The survival rate for patients with progression from an initial superficial tumor was worse than for those patients with invasive tumor at the initial presentation. The most significant independent prognostic factors were the pathologic stage and the presence of lymphatic invasion, which were highly correlated with all the investigated disease endpoints.
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Gastric cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin are the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of gastric cancer. However, a significant number of tumors often fail to respond to chemotherapy.
To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying drug resistance in gastric cancer the gene expression in gastric cancer cells, which were either sensitive or resistant to 5-FU and cisplatin, were examined using cDNA microarray analysis. To confirm the differential gene expression, as determined using the microarray, semiquantitative RT-PCR was performed on a subset of differentially expressed cDNAs.
69 and 45 genes, which were either up-regulated (9 and 22 genes) or down-regulated (60 and 25 genes), were identified in 5-FU- and cisplatin-resistant cells, respectively. Several genes, such as adaptor-related protein complex 1 and baculoviral IAP repeat-containing 3, were up-regulated in both drug-resistant cell types. Several genes, such as the ras homolog gene family, tropomyosin, tumor rejection antigen, protein disulfide isomerase-related protein, melanocortin 1 receptor, defensin, cyclophilin B, dual specificity phosphatase 8 and hepatocyte nuclear factor 3, were down-regulated in both drugresistant cell types.
These findings show that cDNA microarray analysis can be used to obtain gene expression profiles that reflect the effect of anticancer drugs on gastric cancer cells. Such data may lead to the assigning of signature expression profiles of drug-resistant tumors, which may help predict responses to drugs and assist in the design of tailored therapeutic regimens to overcome drug resistance.
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Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has a significant role in cervical carcinogenesis, and HPV oncoprotein E7 plays an important part in the formation and maintenance of cervical cancer. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) has been reported to induce a cellular immune response, and to suppress the tumor growth and the E7 production. Here we describe the use of adenoviral delivery of the HPV 16 E7 subunit (AdE7) along with adenoviral delivery of IL-12 (AdIL-12) in mice with HPV-associated tumors.
Mice were injected with TC-1 cells to establish TC-1 tumor, and then they were immunized with AdIL-12 and/or AdE7 intratumorally. The anti tumor effects induced by AdIL-12 and/or E7 were evaluated by measuring the size of the tumor. E7-specific antibody and INF-γ production in sera, and the T-helper cell proliferative responses were then measured. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) and T cell subset depletion studies were also performed.
Combined AdIL-12 and AdE7 infection at the tumor sites significantly enhanced the antitumor effects more than that of AdIL-12 or AdE7 single infection. This combined infection resulted in regression of the 9 mm sized tumors in 80% of animals as compare to the PBS group. E7-specific antibody and INF-γ production in the sera, and the T-helper cell proliferative responses were significantly higher with coinfection of AdIL-12 and AdE7 than with AdIL-12 or AdE7 alone. CTL response induced by AdIL-12 and AdE7 in the coinjected group suggested that tumor suppression was mediated by mostly CD8+ and only a little by the CD4+ T cells.
IL-12 and E7 application using adenovirus vector showed antitumor immunity effects against TC-1 tumor, and this system could be use in clinical applications for HPV-associated cancer. (ED note: nice abstract.)
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Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, due in part to the lack of an effective approach for its early detection. The identification of tumor antigens potentially provides a means for the early diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to use a proteomic approach for the identification of proteins that commonly induce a humoral response in patients with pancreatic cancer.
Proteins from the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, BxPC3, were subjected to two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by Western blot analysis, where individual sera were tested for autoantibodies. Sera from 36 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and 68 from control groups (14 from lung adenocarcinoma, 19 from colon adenocarcinoma and 35 from healthy subjects) were analyzed. CLP36 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis and real-time PCR. The cellular localization of CLP36 as an autoantigen was investigated by Western blot analysis.
The autoantibody was detected against a protein, identified by mass spectrometry as CLP36, in 14 of the 36 sera (38.9%) from patients with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and 3 of the 68 controls (4.4%). Immunohistochemical analysis of CLP36 in a tissue array demonstrated diffuse and consistent immunoreactivity in the pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The levels of CLP36 mRNA were highest in the pancreatic cancer cell lines of the different cells analyzed. The molecular weight of the protein displayed in the membrane-rich fraction was larger than that in the cytosolic fraction, which is likely attributable to a post-translational modification.
CLP36 was identified as a tumor autoantigen inducing a humoral immune response in pancreatic adenocarcinomas. More detailed studies need to be undertaken to understand whether the humoral response by CLP36 is tumor-specific.
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