Journal of N.N. Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Center RAMS

ACADEMICIAN OF THE RAS AND RAMS M. I. DAVYDOV (on the 65th anniversary of his birth)

Editorial — 2024-12-16

Mikhail Ivanovich meets his anniversary full of new ideas. Brilliant talent is the key to their implementation. The staff of the N. N. Blokhin Russian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, numerous friends, colleagues and students cordially congratulate Mikhail Ivanovich on his birthday and wish him good health, happiness and good luck.

PROSPECTS FOR ESSENTIAL SELENIUM IN ONCOLOGY

Svetlana Petrovna Sviridova — 2012-06-14

Selenium was recognized as an essential element only 30 years ago, and multiple recent studies demonstrated selenium to play an important role in human health. This is an overview of scientific findings on prospects for use of selenium in prevention and therapy of cancer. Selenium principal biological role is involvement in synthesis and activity of selenium-containing antioxidant enzymes and selenoproteins that protect cells from damage by free radicals. Selenium deficiency is associated with low selenoprotein synthesis, impaired antioxidant and anticancer defense. Blood selenium levels correlate reversely with the risk of cancer incidence and mortality. Selenium demonstrates effective cancer prevention activity. Selenium supplementation is associated with a more than 35% reduction in cancer risk in patients with selenium deficiency. Selenium-containing enzymes are thought to possess multiple anticancer activities such as effect on oxidant stress, carcinogen detoxication and metabolism, induction of cell apoptosis and proliferation, control of cell division and inflammation, DNA methylation and recovery, hormone production, immune function. Selenium demonstrates both anti- and prooxydant activities. Selenium is found at considerable levels in malignant tumors and at low levels in serum. Selenium at increased (pharmacological) concentrations exerts prooxydant activity with toxic effects on tumor cells. Clinical trials confirm the important and effective role of selenium in oncology as a chemo- / radiotherapy sensitizing agent that also reduces toxic side effects on normal cells. However, functions and regulation mechanisms of many selenoproteins and selenium diets have not been studied adequately and need further assessment in clinical trials.

EGFR MUTATION DETECTION USING BIOLOGICAL MICROCHIPS IN NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCER

Marina Alexandrovna Emelyanova — 2012-09-21

EGFR somatic mutations predict sensitivity to targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. We have developed a method able to detect 13 most common EGFR mutatons including 9 deletions in exon 19 and point mutations in exons 21 (Leu858Arg) and 18 (Gly719Cys, Glyy^Ala, Gly719Ser). Wild-type seguence amplification was inhlbited using LNA oligonucleotides during polymerase chain reaction to increase test sensitivity and to detect minor tumor cell fractions in clinical specimens. Product of the LNA blocking polymerase chain reaction was hybridized with oligonucleotide probes immobilized in gel on biochip surface. The biochip was tested on 127 DNA samples from patients with non-smail cell lung cancer, mainly adenocarcinoma. Sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products was used as reference. The developed biochip test can reliably detect EGFR mutations irrespective of DNA sampling procedure even in small fractions of mutation-carrying cells.

SURGICAL METHODS FOR MORPHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PARASTERNAL LYMPH NODE STATUS AS A PART OF CONSERVATION TREATMENT IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

Victor Alexeyevich Uymanov — 2012-08-01

The purpose of this study was to compare diagnostic capacity of videothoracoscopic parasternal lemphadenectomy and open lymph node biopsy in detection of parasternal lymph node involvement and frequency of complications after use of these approaches. The study was performed on a population of 884 women with stage I— IIB breast cancer receiving conservation treatment at the Radiosurgery Department, N. N. BlokhinRCRC, RAMS, during 1990 through 2005. Openbiopsyofparasternallymph nodes on theaffected side was made in 1 25 and videothoracoscopic parasternal lymphadenectomy was made in 759 of the 884 patients.
By logistic regression analysis, videothoracoscopic parasternal lymphadenectomy provides a 2.5-fold higher chance to detect parasternal lymph node metastases as compared to open biopsy (p = 0.018). Complications were reported in 1.6% of cases following open biopsy versus 1.2% after videothoracoscopic parasternal lymphadenectomy (p = 0.1). As compared to biopsy, videothoracoscopic parasternal lymphadenectomy is a surgical intervention of choice ensuring more objective information on the status of the lymph nodes in question and associated with a lower frequency of complications.

CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY IN PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL CANCER ON IMMUNOTHERAPY

Alexander Fedorovich Lazarev — 2012-07-16

A total of 37 patients with stage III cervical cancer were examined to determine specific features in contents of blood and tumor tissue immunocompetent cells in cervical cancer patients receiving immunotherapy. The females were divided into 2 groups depending on receiving radiotherapy or combined radio- and immunotherapy by reinfusion of in vitro activated autolymphocytes plus recombinant interleukin-2 and Flogenzyme. Changes in contents of some lymphocyte differentiation clusters in blood and tumor biopsies were studied during treatment. After treatment completion the immunotherapy group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in levels of lymphocytes and their populations in blood and tumor tissue. Increase in cytotoxic lymphocyte levels was most marked which was suggestive of activation of antitumor immunity mechanisms.