Masahiro Imamura

Expression of Ku80 in cervical cancer correlates with response to radiotherapy and survival.

To reveal the genes relevant for prediction of cervical cancer after radiotherapy, we previously carried out cDNA microarray experiments on primary cervical cancer comparing patients with a complete response (CR) and those with no change (NC). Some of these genes had already been associated with the radiation response, such as x-ray repair cross-complementing 5 (XRCC5), which was found more in radioresistant tumors than in radiosensitive ones. The aim of this study was to confirm the possible roles of XRCC5 mRNA levels by a real-time polymerase chain reaction method in 20 cervical cancers, and Ku80 protein, which is the gene product of XRCC5, using a histopathologic method of formalin-fixed sections of tumor biopsies in determining tumor response to radiotherapy and survival in 89 patients with cervical cancer. The levels of XRCC5 mRNA were 104.82 ± 100.2 copies/&mgr;g total RNA in tumor tissues in the CR group (mean ± standard deviation) and 104.95 ± 100.32 copies/&mgr;g total RNA in those in the NC group. The levels of XRCC5 mRNA were not significantly different between the CR and NC groups. Histopathologic methods revealed 29.2% (26 of 89) of the patients to be Ku80-negative, with Ku80-positive findings in 70.8% (63 of 89). Of the Ku80-negative patients, 19 had CR, 3 had a partial response (PR), and 4 had NC. Of the Ku80-positive patients, 25 had CR, 22 had PR, and 16 had NC. Ku80-negative tumors showed significantly better responses than Ku80-positive ones, comparing CR and PR/NC responses (p = 0.01). In addition, overall survival was significantly better in the Ku80-negative patients as compared with those who were Ku80-positive (p = 0.04). The results of this study suggest that a low expression of Ku80 protein leads to radiosensitivity in cervical cancer and that Ku80 might play a role in treatment outcome.

Dual radionuclide single-photon emission computed tomography in the prediction of further ischemic risk after acute myocardial infarction.

To evaluate whether the findings of dual single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with technetium-99m pyrophosphate (Tc-99m PPi) and thallium-201 were predictive of further cardiac events in their hospital course, we studied 130 patients recovering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Fifty-four patients showed overlapping of Tc-99m PPi and thallium-201 in the same location (overlap positive group), and 76 patients had no overlap (overlap negative group). Of the 130 patients, 36 (28%) had a cardiac event. In patients in the overlap positive group, the incidence of subsequent events was significantly higher than in patients in the overlap negative group (44% versus 16%; p < 0.001). In the overlap positive group, the Tc-99m PPi uptake score and the number of overlap segments in patients with further events was significantly higher than those in patients without further events (10.2 ± 5.1 versus 6.4 ± 4.1, p < 0.005 and 5.2 ± 2.0 versus 3.3 ± 1.3, p < 0.001, respectively). These results suggest that patients who have a Tc-99m PPi and thallium-201 overlap negative scan can be candidates for early hospital discharge. In contrast, patients who have a greater number of overlap segments may require early catheterization and revascularization, so that simultaneous SPECT imaging Tc-99m PPi and thallium-201 might be useful for identifying patients with further ischemic risk after AMI in their hospital course.

Plasma and intracellular concentrations in an elderly patient with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving low-dose dasatinib therapy: Letters to the Editor

depression and smoking cessation. Bupropion not only enhances dopaminergic and noradrenergic activity by blocking receptor reuptake, but also suppresses the transport of signals across the synapse in both sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways by antagonizing nicotinic-type acetylcholine receptors. One possible explanation is that bupropion-induced disturbance of autonomic ganglia signals might contribute to intractable nausea and vomiting, resulting in PSM. In conclusion, the present case underscores the importance of the consideration of secondary PSM, and suggests that clinicians should be aware of adverse effects while administering drugs.