PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Abbate

Publications and source records attributed to I Abbate.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Analytical and clinical evaluation of a new tumor marker in breast cancer: CA 27.29.

Evaluation of a radioimmunoassay for a new tumor marker, named CA 27.29, recently proposed for use in breast cancer patients, is reported in this study. After considering the analytical performance, the clinical study was directed to a control group of 66 apparently healthy subjects (Controls), a group of 25 women with benign breast disease (BBD) and a group of 164 breast cancer patients divided into primary before any treatment (M-), in follow-up with no evidence of disease (NED) and presence of metastases (M+). When compared to CA 15.3, our results showed similar sensitivity of both markers with a slightly lower specificity for CA 27.29. In some cases, however, CA 27.29 elevation appears earlier than CA 15.3 as a sign of metastases. We thus propose their associated use.

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modification of soluble immunological parameters during treatment with interleukin-2.

In the present study we tested numerous soluble immunological parameters (soluble Interleukin 2 receptor, Beta 2 microglobulin, Neopterin, soluble CD8 antigen, gamma Interferon and alpha Tumor Necrosis Factor) in sera obtained from 18 advanced cancer patients during subcutaneous treatment with recombinant Interleukin 2. The treatment cycles consisted of a dose of 9 x 10(6) IU/m2 twice daily for 2 days followed by 1.8 x 10(6) IU/m2 twice daily for 5 days/week during 6 weeks. Even before therapy, neoplastic patients had higher levels of soluble Interleukin 2 receptor than a group of healthy subjects. Moreover, basal soluble CD8 antigen levels showed significant differences (p < 0.01) in patients with different clinical responses (responders and non-responders). During treatment we observed a fast increase (in the first or second week) of all parameters considered; soluble Interleukin 2 receptor and soluble CD8 antigen were the markers that were best related to the course of immunotherapy. In conclusion, monitoring recombinant Interleukin 2 immunotherapy with immunological parameters in serum seems to be of interest. However, more data are necessary to confirm the real value of the single markers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Serum 90K/MAC-2BP glycoprotein levels in hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis.

90K/MAC-2BP glycoprotein is a serum tumour marker, member of the scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) protein superfamily, involved in different immunological mechanisms. In the present study, we determined 90K serum levels by a sandwich enzyme immunoassay using the same monoclonal antibody in 11 chronic active hepatitis (CAH), 48 liver cirrhosis and 36 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In comparison, the same samples were also tested for AFP. According to a cut-off point of 14 micrograms/mL for the 90K, established as 100% of specificity in 50 controls, we observed increasing positivities from CAH to cirrhosis and then to HCC (27%, 50% and 78%, respectively). In cirrhotic patients 90K levels were associated with the presence of anti-HCV antibodies, but not with the degree of liver compromise. Finally, 90K sensitivity was higher than AIFP in all groups of hepatic patients. However, further investigations are needed before proposing 90K as a clinical useful tumour marker in the progression from cirrhosis to HCC.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cervicovaginal shedding of TT virus in HIV-infected women.

OBJECTIVE: TT virus (TTV) is frequently detected in the serum and in other body fluids of humans. Recently TTV-specific deoxyribonucleic acid has been detected in cervical specimens from apparently healthy women and in seminal fluid, suggesting that sexual transmission may be common. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS: TT virus-deoxyribonucleic acid prevalence was assessed in paired samples of blood and cervical smears from 110 human immunodeficiency virus-positive women. Detection and typing of human papillomavirus (HPV) present in cervical smears was also performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of TTV-deoxyribonucleic acid in cervical smears was 16.4%, without significant difference (p = 0.81) between HPV-positive (18.6%) and -negative (14.9%) samples. The distribution of high/middle and low-risk HPV types was similar in TTV-positive and -negative samples. On the contrary, women with multiple HPV infections had a significantly higher TTV-deoxyribonucleic acid prevalence (60.0%) than HPV-negative women (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: TT virus excretion in the female genital tract of human immunodeficiency virus-infected women is common, further supporting sexual transmission of this virus.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Heterogeneity of HVR-1 quasispecies is predictive of early but not sustained virological response in genotype 1b-infected patients undergoing combined treatment with PEG- or STD-IFN plus RBV.

ISDR mutation pattern and HVR-1 quasispecies were analyzed in HCV genotype 1b-infected patients treated with either PEG- or STD-IFN plus ribavirin, in order to find virological correlates of therapy outcome. ISDR region analysis, performed at baseline (T0) and at 4 weeks of therapy (T1), indicated that ISDR mutation pattern was not predictive of response to treatment. Moreover, no selection of putative resistant strains in the first month of therapy was observed. Viral load was not correlated with any parameter of HVR-1 heterogeneity. Among the HVR-1 heterogeneity parameters considered, complexity was inversely correlated to viral load decline at T1. In univariate analysis, complexity, proportion of non synonymous substitutions (NS) and NS/S ratio were lower in patients showing virological response at 6 months of treatment. Complexity was the only parameter independently associated with both decline of viral load at T1 and virological response after 6 months, even after adjustment for confounding variables. At the end of treatment or later, these correlations were lost. Evolution pattern of the HVR-1 quasispecies indicated a strong selective pressure in sustained responders, with complete substitution of pre-existing quasispecies, while minor changes occured in non responders. In relapsers both patterns were present at a similar rate. In conclusion, this study shows that HVR-1 heterogeneity may be involved in the early response to combined IFN-RBV therapy. The loss of correlation between viral heterogeneity and therapy outcome at 6 months of therapy, or later, suggests that other factors may play a role in maintaining sustained response to treatment.

Antiviral Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The determination of sialic acid in cancer patients].

The availability of a new rapid and reproducible laboratory test led to an easy dosage of sialic acid (AS) serum levels in neoplastic patients. This substance, involved in tumoral transformation and metastatic spread, has been evaluated in 278 neoplastic patients: 183 patients were affected by lymphoma (96 NHL and 87 HD), 60 by breast cancer and 35 by lung cancer. All groups of patients considered showed mean values of AS higher than healthy controls and the positive percentages, compared with cut-off levels, were respectively: NHL 71%, HD 70%, breast cancer 38%, lung cancer 89%. Even if the low specificity of this marker limits its clinical validity, AS, that seems related to clinical course of disease, could be useful in the monitoring of many neoplasms.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Standard interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-alpha immunotherapy versus an IL-2 and 4-epirubicin immuno-chemotherapeutic association in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) has a well-documented anti-tumor activity against RCC and has demonstrated a synergistic anti-tumor activity between doxorubicin and IL-2, thus providing better survival. This study investigated the toxicity and efficacy of the association between doxorubicin and IL-2, and interferon-alpha, and the immuno-chemotherapeutic association with IL-2 and 4-Epirubicin. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with histologic evidence of metastatic or advanced RCC were randomized to receive either IL-2 + IFN-alpha (Arm A) or IL-2 + 4-Epi (Arm B). Arm A patients received IFN-alpha subcutaneously at doses of 3 million UI on days 1, 3 and 5 for 6 weeks. Arm B patients received 4-EPI at doses of 25 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and 36. Treatment cycles were repeated at 10 week intervals. RESULTS: Of 38 evaluable patients, we observed 2 complete responses, 2 partial responses, 1 minimal response, 1 mixed response, 21 stationary disease and 11 disease progressions. There was no significant difference in overall survival between the two groups. However in arm B, the median overall survival for responding patients was better than that of patients who experienced a disease progression. Performance status was the only predictive prognostic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis confirms the low response rate associated with IL-2 treatments but seems to indicate a role of anthracycline in improving the survival of responding patients with an acceptable toxicity.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of nuclear matrix protein 22 and bladder tumor antigen in urine of patients with bladder cancer.

Recently, two new tumor markers for bladder cancer have been introduced: NMP22 test and BTA TRAK assay. This study was designed to evaluate the urinary values of these two proteins using quantitative enzyme immunoassays in well microplates. Urine samples from 47 healthy subjects, 26 with benign genitourinary disorders and 109 patients with a histological diagnosis of bladder cancer were collected. The specificity, the positive predictive value, the negative predictive value and the efficiency were established for NMP 22 and BTA, and the cut off values were fixed at a specificity of 95% in the benign disease group (12 U/ml and 23 U/ml respectively). We observed a very high concordance between the two urinary tumor markers (73%), although the overall sensitivity of BTA in bladder cancer patients seems to be better than that of NMP22 (62% vs 54% respectively), especially in the superficial disease group (36% for BTA and 14% for NMP22).

Adult↗