Disease progression, cancer

TNF is a pleiotropic cytokine exerting a wide range of cellular responses, that affect biological processes such as lipid metabolism, coagulation, and insulin resistance and the function of endothelial cells. As a major proinflammatory cytokine TNF is also involved in progression of diseases like cancer, Alzheimer, Diabetes type II, cardiovascular, pulmonary or neurological disorders, and many autoimmune diseases. Blocking the action of TNF clearly reduces its inflammatory potential on various autoimmune disorders like Crohn s disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and psoriasis. 

A cure in oncology implies that the cancer is completely gone, and the patient will have the same life expectancy as a patient without cancer. A complete response (CR) refers to complete disappearance of all cancer for 1 month after treatment. A partial response (PR) is defined as a 50% decrease in tumor diameter along with no new disease for 1 month. The term overall objective response rate refers to the combination of PR and CR. Stable disease refers to tumor that has not grown and has shrunk by less than 25% of the diameter. Disease progression refers to tumor that has spread or the primary tumor has increased in size by 25%. Some cancers, such as leukemia, cannot be measured by size, so biopsy of the bone marrow provides a cellular indication of absence or presence of disease. 

Anastrozole is a selective nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor that lowers estrogen levels. The pharmacokinetics of anastrozole demonstrate good absorption, with hepatic metabolism the primary route of elimination and only 10% excreted unchanged by the kidney. The elimination half-life is approximately 50 hours. Anastrozole is used for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone-positive breast cancer and in breast cancer patients who have had disease progression following tamoxifen. Side effects include hot flashes, arthralgias, osteoporosis/bone fractures, and thrombophlebitis. 

Exemestane is an irreversible aromatase inactivator that binds to the aromatase enzyme to block the production of estrogen from androgens. Exemestane is absorbed rapidly after oral administration, with a terminal half-life of 24 hours. The drug is eliminated primarily by the liver and feces, with less than 1% of the dose excreted unchanged in the urine. Exemestane is indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have had disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. Side effects include hot flashes, fatigue, osteoporosis/bone fractures, and flulike symptoms. 

Metastatic breast cancer is not curable, and therapy is intended to palliate symptoms. In most cases, hormonal therapy is the mainstay. While on therapy, patients are monitored monthly for signs of disease progression or metastasis to common sites, such as the bones, brain, or liver. 

The signs and symptoms of lung cancer can be classified as pulmonary, extrapulmonary, and paraneoplastic. These classifications relate to disease progression. 

Spiegel, David and Janine Giese-Davis, Depression and Cancer Mechanisms and Disease Progression , Biological Psychiatry 54 (2003) 269-82... 

C.P. Paweletz, L. Charboneau, V.E. Bichsel, N.L. Simone, T. Chen, J.W. Gillespie, M.R. Emmert-Buck, M.J. Roth, E.F. Petricoin, and L.A. Liotta, Reverse phase protein microarrays which capture disease progression show activation of pro-survival pathways at the cancer invasion front. Oncogene 20, 1981-1989 (2001). 

The major initial treatment modality for advanced prostate cancer is androgen ablation (e.g., orchiectomy or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone [LHRH] agonists with or without antiandrogens). After disease progression, secondary hormonal manipulations, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and supportive care are used. 

The progress in understanding TGF-fl signaling roles and mechanisms resulted in applications in medicine and biotechnology, including artificial intervention into stem cell growth and differentiation, or development of new generations of pharmaceutical compositions for tissue restoration and treatment of such diseases as cancer, cardiovascular or renal dysfunctions, and immune disorders. 

Eisenhardt, A., Siffert, W., Rosskopf, D., et al. (2005) Association study of the G-protein beta3 subunit C825T polymorphism with disease progression in patients with bladder cancer. World J. Urol. 23, 279-286. 

Over 70% of transplantations were carried out concerning lympho-granulematosis, lymphoma, and myeloma others are connected with testicular cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors and other oncological diseases. The lethality related with transplantation (100-days lethality among the transplanted patients) was 2,3% (died 4 patients) within 5 years. At the beginning of 2006 56% of all transplanted patients did not have the signs of basic disease progression. 

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