Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology - Research Publications
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ItemA phase III study of radiotherapy with and without continuous-infusion fluorouracil as palliation for non-small-cell lung cancer(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 1997)This study assesses the effect of adding continuous-infusion fluorouracil to palliative thoracic radiation therapy (RT) on the rate and duration of symptom relief in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Two hundred eligible patients with NSCLC were randomized to receive either 20 Gy in five daily fractions as palliation for intrathoracic disease or the same RT with concurrent continuous infusion of 1 g m(-2) day(-1) fluorouracil for 5 days. Survival, response and rates of symptom relief in the two groups were compared according to treatment intent, and toxicities were compared according to treatment received. The overall response rate was higher in patients randomized to the combination (29%) than in patients randomized to RT alone (16%) (P = 0.035). However, there were no significant differences between the treatment arms in terms of overall or progression-free survival or in palliation of symptoms. Patients treated with RT plus fluorouracil had significantly more acute toxicity, including nausea and vomiting (P = 0.01), oesophagitis (P = 0.0003), stomatitis (P = 0.0005) and skin reaction (P = 0.003). This study suggests for the first time an interaction between RT and infusional fluorouracil in NSCLC. Although RT plus fluorouracil resulted in a significantly higher response rate than achieved with RT alone, this did not translate into more effective palliation. Because the combination produced significantly more toxicity than RT alone, it is not recommended for the palliative treatment of NSCLC. Nevertheless, these results suggest that opportunities may exist for exploitation of the observed enhancement of antitumour effect in the setting of high-dose radical RT for NSCLC.
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ItemBRCA1 polymorphisms(CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE, 1997)
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ItemNo association of a 306-bp insertion polymorphism in the progesterone receptor gene with ovarian and breast cancer(CHURCHILL LIVINGSTONE, 1997-05)
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ItemGranzyme B (GraB) autonomously crosses the cell membrane and perforin initiates apoptosis and GraB nuclear localization(ROCKEFELLER UNIV PRESS, 1997-03-03)Granzyme B (GraB) induces apoptosis in the presence of perforin. Perforin polymerizes in the cell membrane to form a nonspecific ion pore, but it is not known where GraB acts to initiate the events that ultimately lead to apoptosis. It has been hypothesized that GraB enters the target cell through a perforin channel and then initiates apoptosis by cleaving and activating members of the ICE/Ced-3 family of cell death proteases. To determine if GraB can enter the cell, we treated YAC-1 or HeLa cells with FITC-labeled GraB and measured intracellular fluorescence with a high sensitivity CCD camera and image analyzer. GraB was internalized and found diffusely dispersed in the cell cytoplasm within 10 min. Uptake was inhibited at low temperature (4 degrees C) and by pretreatment with metabolic inhibitors, NaF and DNP, or cytochalasin B, a drug that both blocks microfilament formation, and FITC-GraB remained on the cell membrane localized in patches. With the simultaneous addition of perforin and FITC-GraB, no significant increase in cytoplasmic fluorescence was observed over that found in cells treated only with FITC-GraB. However, FITC-GraB was now detected in the nucleus of apoptotic cells labeling apoptotic bodies and localized areas within and along the nuclear membrane. The ability of GraB to enter cells in the absence of perforin was reexamined using anti-GraB antibody immunogold staining of ultrathin cryosections of cells incubated with GraB. Within 15 min, gold particles were detected both on the plasma membrane and in the cytoplasm of cells with some gold staining adjacent to the nuclear envelope but not in the nucleus. Cells internalizing GraB in the absence of perforin appeared morphologically normal by Hoechst staining and electron microscopy. GraB directly microinjected into the cytoplasm of B16 melanoma cells induced transient plasma membrane blebbing and nuclear coarsening but the cells did not become frankly apoptotic unless perforin was added. We conclude that GraB can enter cells autonomously but that perforin initiates the apoptotic process and the entry of GraB into the nucleus.
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ItemD-Cbl, the Drosophila homologue of the c-Cbl proto-oncogene, interacts with the Drosophila EGF receptor in vivo, despite lacking C-terminal adaptor binding sites(Nature Publishing Group, 1997)The c-Cbl proto-oncogene encodes a multidomain phosphoprotein that has been demonstrated to interact with a wide range of signalling proteins. The biochemical function of c-Cbl in these complexes is, however, unclear. Recent studies with the C. elegans Cbl homologue, sli-1, have suggested that Cbl proteins may act as negative regulators of EGF receptor (EGFR) signalling. As the EGFR and other protein tyrosine kinase receptor signalling pathways are highly conserved between insects and vertebrates, we sought a Drosophila homologue of c- Cbl for a detailed genetic analysis. We report here that Drosophila melanogaster has a single gene, D-cbl, that is homologous to c-cbl. We find that D-cbl encodes a 52 kDa protein that has a high degree of similarity to c- Cbl and SLI-1 across novel phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) and RING finger domains. Surprisingly, however, D-Cbl is C-terminally truncated relative to c-Cbl and SLI-1 and consequently is unable to bind SH3-domain containing adaptor proteins, including the Drosophila Grb2 homologue, Drk. Although the D-Cbl protein lacks Drk binding sites it can nevertheless associate with a tyrosine phosphorylated protein, or is itself tyrosine phosphorylated in an DER dependent manner and associates with activated Drosophila EGF receptors (DER) in vivo. Consistent with a role for D-Cbl in DER dependent patterning in the embryo and adult, D- Cbl is expressed at a high level in early embryos and throughout the imaginal discs in third instar larvae. This study forms the basis for future genetic analysis of D- Cbl, aimed at gaining insights into the role of Cbl proteins in signal transduction.