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The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic results of arterial injection therapy via the superficial temporal artery for 134 cases of stages III and IV (M0) oral cavity cancer retrospectively, and to clarify the prognostic factors. We administered intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy by continuous infusion of carboplatin in 65 cases from January 1993 to July 2002. Systemic chemotherapy was performed on 26 cases at the same time. We administered intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy by cisplatin with sodium thiosulphate in 69 cases from October 2002 to December 2006. Systemic chemotherapy was performed on 48 cases at the same time. The 3-year local control rate was 68.6% (T2-3: 77.9%; T4: 51.3%), and the 3-year survival rate was 53.9% (stage III: 62.9%; stage IV: 45.3%). Regarding the results of multivariate analysis of survival rates, age (<65), selective intra-arterial infusion, and the use of cisplatin as an agent for intra-arterial infusion were significant factors. The therapeutic results of intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy via the superficial temporal artery were not inferior to the results of surgery. In particular, the results of arterial injection therapy by cisplatin with sodium thiosulphate were excellent, so we believe that it will be a new therapy for advanced oral cavity cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many colorectal cancer cells are resistant to the anti-proliferative effects of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). TGF-beta also acts as paracrine factor from cancer cells on their mesenchymal cells. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of TGF-beta and its receptors in human colorectal cancer tissue and determine any relationship with cancer growth. In situ hybridization and Northern blot hybridization detection of TGF-beta1, type I and type II receptor mRNA and immunohistochemical staining of TGF-beta1 were performed using 11 human colorectal adenomas, 22 colorectal cancers and ten normal colorectal mucosas as control. TGF-beta receptor mRNAs were expressed mainly by normal colorectal epithelial cells and adenoma. However, mRNAs for TGF-beta receptors were only faintly, if at all, expressed in eight of 22 human colorectal cancers. In addition, intense signals of TGF-beta1 mRNA and the protein were detected in all colorectal cancers. TGF-beta receptor mRNAs and TGF-beta1 protein were also distributed in fibroblasts and endothelial cells in the interstitium. Moreover, Smad 4 protein was translocated to nucleus in primarily cultured adenoma cells, but not in cancer cells after TGF-beta stimulation. The escape of human colon cancer from TGF-beta-mediated growth inhibition by down-regulation of TGF-beta receptors as well as the effects of TGF-beta on stroma formation and angiogenesis indicate a possible role for TGF-beta in the progression of colon cancer in an intact host.