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Biomedical subjects

Mark Levin

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Levin.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Creating alliances to improve cancer prevention and detection among urban medically underserved minority groups. The East Harlem Partnership for Cancer Awareness.

The East Harlem Partnership for Cancer Awareness (EHPCA) was formed in 1999 to reduce disparities in cancer screening and prevention among medically underserved minorities residing in a large urban community (East Harlem, New York City) by increasing awareness of cancer risk, prevention, and treatment, and promoting greater participation in breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer screening and early detection. The Partnership augments a 20-year collaboration between an academic medical center, a public hospital, and 2 community health centers. Needs assessments were conducted to inform program development. Cancer education, outreach, and screening programs were developed based on the PRECEED-PROCEED model for health education and health promotion programming. Needs assessments revealed that although the majority of the population (86%) was insured and had a source of primary care, cancer screening guidelines for breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers were not being followed. Outreach strategies, targeted curricula, educational sessions, and screening programs have been developed and implemented to improve knowledge levels and increase screening participation. The EHPCA is a model of a successful partnership among the public and private sectors to reduce disparities in cancer screening and prevention in a diverse, medically underserved, urban minority community. Future efforts to reduce cancer screening disparities in this population will include patient navigation and improved access to standard-of-care screening such as colonoscopy. Cancer 2006. (c) 2006 American Cancer Society.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2006

Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is an inherited enzyme deficiency of galactosidase A that results in various phenotypes: classic, cardiac or renal. It can present variably and may represent an important cause of occult neurological and cardiac syndromes and renal failure. Preclinical and clinical studies demonstrate effectiveness of enzyme infusion in controlling and preventing these manifestations of the disease.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is an inherited enzyme deficiency of galactosidase A that results in various phenotypes: classic, cardiac or renal. It can present variably and may represent an important cause of occult neurological and cardiac syndromes and renal failure. Preclinical and clinical studies demonstrate effectiveness of enzyme infusion in controlling and preventing these manifestations of the disease.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Expression of serum amyloid A, in normal, dysplastic, and neoplastic human colonic mucosa: implication for a role in colonic tumorigenesis.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase reactant, whose level in the blood is elevated in response to trauma, infection, inflammation, and neoplasia. Elevated levels of SAA in the serum of cancer patients were suggested to be of liver origin rather than a tumor cell product. The role of SAA in human malignancies has not been elucidated. We investigated the expression of SAA at various stages of human colon carcinoma progression. Nonradioactive in situ hybridization applied on paraffin tissue sections from 26 colon cancer patients revealed barely detected SAA mRNA expression in normal looking colonic epithelium. Expression was increased gradually as epithelial cells progressed through dysplasia to neoplasia. Deeply invading colon carcinoma cells showed the highest levels of SAA. Expression was also found in colon carcinoma metastases. Cells of lymphoid follicles of the intestinal wall, inflammatory cells, ganglion cells, and endothelial cells, also expressed SAA mRNA. Immunohistochemical staining revealed SAA protein expression that colocalized with SAA mRNA expression. RT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression of the SAA1 and SAA4 genes in colon carcinomas, expression that was barely detectable in normal colon tissues. These findings indicate local and differential expression of SAA in human colon cancer tissues and suggest its role in colonic tumorigenesis.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2005

Allergic reaction to chlorambucil in chronic lymphocytic leukemia presenting with fever and lymphadenopathy.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is commonly treated with the alkylating agent chlorambucil. Allergic reactions to this chemotherapy are rare. Previous reports include urticaria, angioedema, rashes, toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug fever and one case of immune hemolytic anemia. We report 2 cases that had the identical symptoms of acute onset of high fever and progressive lymphadenopathy. These symptoms disappeared with conservative management. Neither of the patients were treated for infection or disease progression. When the patients were rechallenged with chlorambucil, identical reactions recurred. There was no cross-reactivity with the alkylating agent cyclophosphamide or other types of chemotherapy. This type of reaction to chlorambucil has not been described previously. It is important to recognize this as an allergic reaction. These reactions could be confused with the onset of infection, progression of disease or even a Richter's transformation.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

The promise of thalidomide: evolving indications.

Thalidomide was first used in the late 1950s but it was withdrawn from the market in the 1960s for its notorious teratogenic effects. This drug was more recently rediscovered as a powerful immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory agent and was approved by the FDA in 1998 for treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum. Thalidomide has shown great promise in advanced or refractory multiple myeloma either alone or in combination with other agents. It has also demonstrated benefits in a wide variety of disparate conditions such as aphthous and genital ulcers, cancer cachexia, HIV, tuberculosis and chronic graft versus host disease. Thalidomide is being investigated for treatment of renal cell carcinoma, and liver and thyroid cancers. Better understanding of its many mechanisms of action has provoked great interest in its potential use for treatment of various disorders. This review focuses on thalidomide's mechanisms of action, biochemistry, pharmacokinetics and its use in erythema nodosum leprosum as well as multiple myeloma, graft versus host disease, and renal cell carcinoma.

Cachexia↗
PubMed2004

Multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer management.

The 21st Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference took place in Miami Beach, Florida, United States, February 25-28, 2004. This meeting aimed to provide practicing surgical and medical oncologists with a multidisciplinary approach to the practice of breast cancer management with incorporation of molecular biologic translation from laboratory to bedside. The expanding knowledge in molecular biology has given rise to the potential for the use of gene expression profiles, molecular fingerprinting and biomarkers for clinical decision making. The theme of this year's meeting was stated to be, "What can you learn that you can use Monday morning and what can you look forward to on Friday?" It is the focus on the most recent practical advances that attracted more than 450 international participants to this 3-day meeting. More than half of all presentations explored recent advances in early breast cancer biology, predictive and prognostic markers, prevention and early diagnosis. This report will collate various presentations to attempt to present a coherent picture of the advances in this area.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed2003

Advances in colon cancer.

From May 29 to June 5, 2003, the American Society of Clinical Oncology held its 39th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. The meeting was devoted to the presentation of advances in clinical sciences, diagnosis, prevention and management of malignant disorders, and brings together investigators, clinicians, policy makers and other professionals interested in the science and impact of cancer worldwide. This report will be presented in two parts, the first focusing of colon cancer, and the second on breast cancer will be published in the next issue of Drug News & Perspectives.

Camptothecin↗
PubMed2002

Cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine combination chemotherapy for treatment of metastatic and locally advanced breast cancer.

Metastatic and locally advanced breast cancer remain a fertile field for investigation of new chemotherapeutic agents and chemotherapy combinations. We administered combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine to 20 women with metastatic and/or locally advanced breast cancer. The regimen was well tolerated, although it required granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) support. This novel regimen resulted in a complete response rate of 20% and overall response rates of 89% (intent-to-treat response of 80%). Gemcitabine is a highly effective agent that warrants farther evaluation as a component of multidrug chemotherapy.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The role of taxanes in breast cancer treatment.

Cancer of the breast is a serious public health problem throughout the world. Chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment of both early stage and metastatic breast cancer. New advances in chemotherapy include paclitaxel and docetaxel. This article reviews the historical background to the introduction of these highly active agents, their biochemistry, mechanism of action and pharmacology, dose and schedule in the treatment of breast cancer, first- and second-line use as well as anthracycline/taxane combinations. Adjuvant, neoadjuvant use and the emergence of weekly taxanes is discussed. (c) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Breast cancer: issues in risk reduction, screening and surveillance, early identification and therapy planning.

From May 29 to June 5, 2003, the American Society of Clinical Oncology held its 39th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. The meeting was devoted to the presentation of advances in clinical sciences, diagnosis, prevention and management of malignant disorders, and brings together investigators, clinicians, policy makers and other professionals interested in the science and impact of cancer worldwide. As a continuation of the report focusing on colon cancer in the last issue of Drug News & Perspectives, this report will focus on breast cancer. .

Breast Neoplasms↗