• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.79.1-79.14
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• 2021

Background: In contrast to human medicine, only a small number of serum tumor markers are established in veterinary medicine even though they are a non-invasive diagnostic tool. Objectives: This study examined whether survivin could be suitable as a potential canine serum tumor marker. Methods: This study measured the serum survivin concentrations of dogs with mammary tumors (n = 33), squamous cell carcinoma (n = 9), soft-tissue sarcoma (n = 18) and multicentric lymphoma (n = 22), using a commercially available, competitive immunoassay kit (BlueGene). The serum survivin concentrations were compared with those of a healthy control group (n = 20) and a control group of dogs with non-neoplastic diseases (n = 17). Results: Dogs with malignant tumors had serum survivin concentrations between 15 and 5,906 pg/mL (median, 72 pg/mL), those in the healthy group ranged from 7 to 99 pg/mL (median, 21 pg/mL) and those in the group of dogs suffering from non-neoplastic diseases from 15 to 93 pg/mL (median, 42 pg/mL). The differences in the survivin concentrations between the healthy dogs and dogs with malignant tumors and between the dogs with non-neoplastic diseases and those with malignant tumors were significant (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). Conclusions: The serum survivin concentrations in dogs with malignant tumors, with some exceptions, are higher than in dogs with benign tumors and dogs that do not suffer from a malignancy. Therefore, survivin can provide information on the presence of malignant tumors and be used as a tumor marker in dogs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1447-1452
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• 2012

Aim: To evaluate the differential diagnostic potential of lesion stiffness assessed by the sonoelastographic strain index ratio (SR) and elastographic color scoring system (UE) for breast lesions. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and forty two breast masses (158 benign and 184 malignant) from 325 consecutive patients (mean age 44.2 years; range 16-81)who had been scheduled for a sonographically guided core biopsy were examined proposed by Itoh et al, with scoring 1-3=benign and 4-5=malignant. Strain and area ratios of each lesion were calculated within the same machine. Histological diagnosis was used as the reference standard. The area under the curve (AUC) and cut-off point were obtained by receiver operating curve and the cross table Fischer Test was carried out for assessing diagnostic value. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, accuracy and false-discovery rates were compared. Results: The mean strain ratios for benign and malignant lesions were 1.87 and 7.9 respectively. (P<0.0001). When a cutoff point of 3.54 was used, SR had a sensitivity of 94.6%, a specificity 94.3%, a PPV of 95.1%, an NPV of 93.7% and an accuracy of 94.4%. The AUC values were 0.90 for the 5 point scoring system (UE) and 0.96 for the strain index ratio. The overall diagnostic performance was SR method was better (P<0.05). Conclusions: Strain ratio measurement could be another effective predictor in elastography imaging besides 5 the point scoring system for differential diagnosis of breast lesions.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2006

Carcinoma of the gallbladder is an uncommon but highly malignant tumor with a poor five year survival rate. Early detection is very important for successful treatment because this tumor is very hard to cure in cases where it has advanced beyond the reach of surgical treatment. The purpose of this review was to evaluate risk factors for carcinoma of the gallbladder and determine the best management approach.. Solitary polys, more than one cm are considered to be predisposing factors for gallbladder carcinoma when they are found to be echopenic, sessile, and with a high cell density. Anomalous union of the pacreato-biliary duct(AUPBD) without a choledochal cyst is also considered to increase risk for gallbladder carcinoma. A polyps size of more than one cm and an AUPBD are indications for prophylactic cholecystectomy. The presence of gallstones is a well-established risk factor for the development of gallbladder carcinoma; risk appears to correlate with the stone size and the duration of chronic cholecystitis. Metaplastic changes of the gallbladder epithelium present with chronic cholecystitis and may indicate a premalignant lesion. Abnormal forms of cholecystitis such as xanthogranulomatous or a porcelain gallbladder also have malignant potential; cholecystoenteric fistula as well as bacterial infection of the gallbladder(typhoid, helicobacter species) also has malignant potential. In this review, the risk factors associated with carcinoma of the gallbladder are summarized with special attention to gallstones, polyps, AUPBD, and chronic inflammation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3307-3312
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• 2015

The papillary patterned lesion of thyroid may be challenging with many diagnostic pitfalls. Tumor stroma plays an important part in the determination of the tumor phenotype. CD34 is thought to be involved in the modulation of cell adhesion and signal transduction as CD34(+) fibrocytes are potent antigen-presenting cells. Smooth muscle actin (SMA) positivity could be diagnostic for fibroblast activation during tumorigenesis. We aimed to examine the expression of CD34 and alphaSMA in the stroma of papillary thyroid hyperplasia, papillary thyroid carcinoma and papillary tumors of uncertain malignant potential in order to elucidate their possible differential distribution and roles. A total number of 54 cases with papillary thyroid lesions were studied by routine H&E staining, CD34 and ASMA immunostaining. ASMA was not expressed in benign papillary hyperplastic lesions while it was expressed in papillary carcinoma, indicating that tumors have modulated stroma. Although the stroma was not well developed in papillary lesions with equivocal features of uncertain potentiality, CD34 was notable in such cases with higher incidence in malignant cases. So ASMA as well as CD34 could predict neoplastic behavior, pointing to the importance of the stromal role. Differences between groups suggest that the presence of CD34 + stromal cells is an early event in carcinogensis and is associated with neoplasia, however ASMA+ cells are more likely to be associated with malignant behavior and metastatic potential adding additional tools to the light microscopic picture helping in diagnosis of problematic cases with H&E.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2209-2213
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• 2015

DNA methylation of tumor suppressor gene promoters is the most frequent phenomenon leading to inactivation of function, consequently driving malignant cell transformation. Cyclin D2 is implicated in tumor suppression. In our study, we carried out the MSP assay to evaluation the methylation status at CpG islands in the cyclin D2 promoter in breast cancer cases from the Vietnamese population. The results showed that the frequency of methylation reached 62.1% (59 of 95 breast cancer tumors), but was low in non-cancer specimens at 10% (2 of 20 non-cancer specimens). Additionally, with an RR (relative risk) and OR (odd ratios) of 6.21 and 14.8, DNA hypermethylation of cyclin D2 increased the possibility of malignant transformation. Our results confirmed the cyclin D2 hypermethylation could be used as the potential biomarker which could be applied in prognosis and early diagnosis of Vietnamese breast cancer patients.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.sup1
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• pp.46-51
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• 2008

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract, and can be distinguished from the smooth muscle or neural tumors in approximately 95% of patients by expression of the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase (CD117). GISTs are known to have high malignant potential and none can be labeled definitely as benign. However, GISTs are unresponsive to standard sarcoma chemotherapy, and only complete surgical resection provides chance for cure. Although the imaging modality of choice is enhanced CT scan in patients with GIST, FDG PET can reflect the malignant potential of GIST. Clinical management of patients with GISTs has dramatically changed with the introduction of novel therapeutics, such as imatinib mesylate (Glivec). This has created a need to re-evaluate the existing criteria used to assess treatment response. FDG PET as functional imaging modality proved to be significantly more accurate than CT alone when assessing GIST response to imatinib. And, FDG PET and PET ICT have been found to be highly sensitive in detecting early response, and to be useful in predicting long-term response to imatinib in patients with recurrent or metastatic GISTs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.83 no.1
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• pp.173-177
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• 2022

Multilocular cystic renal neoplasm of low malignant potential (MCRNLMP) is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma that has a favorable outcome. Most cases of MCRNLMP usually present as distinct multilocular cystic lesions; however, they may appear as small complicated cysts with hemorrhagic components. Herein, we present a case of MCRNLMP and provide a review of the literature.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.213-218
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• 2017

In order to search for anticancer agent as therapy of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) from Korean traditional prescriptions, we selected 58 traditional prescriptions based on a review of the Korean traditional medicine books. Among the selected traditional prescriptions, only water extracts of paedoksan (敗毒散) showed relatively good cytotoxicity at the concentration of $50{\mu}g/ml$. Additionally, we evaluated cytotoxicity for various paedoksans and each herbal ingredient in paedoksans. The root of Anthriscus sylvestris exhibited more cytotoxic effect than any other ingredients in paedoksans. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the MC layer of Anthriscus sylvestris led to the isolation of deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT). DPT exhibited dose-dependently significant cytotoxicity against OSCC and MPM cell with nM range. Therefore, DPT from A. sylvestris might be a potential candidate as an effective anticancer therapeutic agent for OSCC and MPM.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.66-70
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• 2005

Telomerase, a specialized RNA-directed DNA polymerase that extends telomeres of eukaryotic chromosomes, has activity in most malignant tumors and provides a mechanism for the unlimited potential for division of neoplastic cells. Although telomerase is known to be a regulated enzyme, the factors and mechanisms involved in telomerase regulation are not well understood. In the present study, we compared the effect of 12-O­tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and non-phorbol ester tumor promoters such as okadaic acid, anthralin and benzoyl peroxide on the expression of telomerase in the mouse skin carcinogenesis system, a well characterized model for studying pre-malignant and malignant progression. We found that most early papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of TPA promotion showed telomerase activity. Other papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of okadaic acid, anthralin and benzoyl peroxide promotion and after single treatment of DMBA only also showed telomerase activity, respectively. On the other hand, normal and all skins surrounded by papillomas harvested after 10 weeks of these promoters has no telomerase activity. Taken together these results, there appears to be no clear association between the level of telomerase activity and protein phosphorylation in mouse skin papillomas and telomerase may be useful as bio-markers in early detection of tumors.

• BMB Reports
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.173-178
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• 2003

Malignant melanoma is one of the most rapidly increasing cancer types, and patients with metastatic disease have a very poor prognosis. Detection of metastatic melanoma cells in circulation may aid the clinician in assessing tumor progression, metastatic potential, and response to therapy. Tyrosinase is a key enzyme in melanine biosynthesis. The gene is actively expressed in melanocytes and melanoma cells. Melan A is a differentiation antigen that is expressed in melanocytes. The presence of these molecules in blood is considered a marker for circulating melanoma cells. In this study, we analyzed the usefulness of this marker combination I evaluating the response to therapy in the blood of 30 patients with malignant melanoma. Circulating cells were detected by a reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain reaction. The tyrosinase expression was observed in 9 (30%) patients and Melan A in 19 (63.3%) patients before therapy. Following treatment, the tyrosinase mRNA was detected in only one patient, while Melan A transcripts were still present in 14 patients. We suggest that this molecular assay can identify circulating melanoma cells that express melanoma-associated antigens and may provide an early indication of therapy effectiveness.