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Background: The recently developed MDACC nomogram purports to predict the risk of bone-only metastasis in women with early breast carcinoma based on five clinical and pathological characteristics. We set out to externally validate and assess its robustness using a tertiary breast cancer centre database., Methods: All consecutive women treated for early breast cancer in our centre between January 1989 and December 2013 and who had all the nomogram variables documented were eligible for analysis., Results: We identified 1255 eligible women for external validation analysis. The median follow-up was 54 months (range: 1-312) and time to initial metastasis 20 months (range: 1-80). The correspondence between the actual bone-only metastasis and the nomogram predictions implied poor calibration of the nomogram in the validation cohort, be it in the whole cohort or when stratified by breast cancer subtype., Conclusion: This external validation study of the MDACC nomogram showed limitations in its generalizability to a new and independent European patient population., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To determine whether up-regulation of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in VX2 cells reduces tumor necrosis., Materials and Methods: VX2 cells were transfected with expression vector containing cDNA of rabbit bFGF. Stable clones producing rabbit bFGF (bFGF-VX2) were selected. bFGF-VX2 (n=5) or non-transfected VX2 (control) (n=5) cells were implanted into leg muscle of 10 rabbits. The tumors were characterized 21 days after grafting., Results: Overexpression of bFGF by VX2 tumors significantly reduced necrosis (p<0.0223) and increased cell viability (p<0.0223), without effect on the mean vascular density. bFGF concentration was significantly higher in bFGF-VX2 tumors (p<0.0062) and negatively correlated with tumor volume at day 21 (ρ=-0.927, p<0.0034). Vascular endothelial growth factor concentration was significantly lower in bFGF-VX2 tumors (p<0.0105) and negatively correlated with the bFGF concentration of tumors (ρ=-0.903, p<0.0067)., Conclusion: The overexpression of bFGF in VX2 cells increased tumor viability and reduced necrosis, making the evaluation of long-term anticancer therapies possible in this model., (Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)

Aim: To compare the cytotoxic effects of 11 anticancer agents against VX2 and HepG2 cells in order to establish candidate drugs that can be tested preclinically on VX2 tumor model for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)., Materials and Methods: VX2 and HepG2 cells were incubated with different drug concentrations. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were determined by total cell protein assay for anthracyclines, platins, irinotecan, mytomicin-C (MMC), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and antiangiogenics., Results: IC50 values for VX2 and HepG2 were found close for doxorubicin (0.8 μM vs. 1.1 μM), MMC (13.9 μM vs. 8.7 μM), sunitinib (32.7 vs. 33.7 μM), sorafenib (10.3 vs. 8.9 μM), lapatinib (30 vs. 18.3 μM) and different for platins and irinotecan. Oxaliplatin was less active against VX2 than HepG2 (IC50=41 μM vs. 2.7 μM), cisplatin was more active against VX2 than HepG2 (IC50=8.0 μM vs. 15.9 μM), whereas carboplatin had a low toxicity against both cell lines (70.4 μM vs. 538.3 μM). The toxicity of 5-FU against VX2 and HepG2 was low (IC50=560.6 μM vs. 323.2 μM). Irinotecan was less active against VX2 vs. HepG2 (IC50=44.5 μM vs. 15.3 μM). Bevacizumab had no effect on either of the cell lines up to 6.7 μM., Conclusion: Drugs recommended for pre-clinical trials of TACE in the VX2 model are doxorubicin, sunitinib, sorafenib, MMC, lapatinib and 5-FU., (Copyright© 2015 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.)

Aim: To evaluate efficiency of Bakri balloon tamponade (BB) to stop severe post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) and fertility outcomes., Methods: Retrospective study including all patients who underwent Bakri balloon tamponade for severe PPH between January 2009 and December 2013. The objectives were to stop PPH by BB and to evaluate the fertility after Bakri balloon tamponade., Results: Sixty-one women had a Bakri balloon inserted in utero for severe PPH. The PPH was stopped in 55 patients out of 61 (88%). The reasons of severe PPH were uterine atony in 44 cases (72%), placental retention in 10 cases, placenta praevia in 3 cases, and cervical or vaginal tears in 4 cases. In one third of cases, the pregnancy was complicated by diabetes, placenta praevia, hypertensive troubles. A cesarean section or an instrumental delivery was performed for one third of patients. The mean duration of the Bakri balloon insertion was of 7 hours [5-9] and the mean filling of the balloon was of 350 ml [205-450]. The mean blood loss was of 1600 [1200-2250]. Sixty-three percent of patients (n=38) received red blood cells transfusion. The BB was efficient after a vaginal delivery or after a caesarean section and in all cases of placenta praevia. In 6 cases, the BB was inefficient and uterine embolisation or a surgical procedure was performed to stop PPH. Nine women underwent a new pregnancy after the insertion of Bakri balloon for severe PPH and 3 delivered healthy newborns., Conclusion: Bakri balloon tamponade is a minimally invasive intrauterine device efficient to stop severe post-partum haemorrhage. New pregnancies and deliveries are possible after tamponade by Bakri balloon., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Hyriopsis cumingii (Lea, Unionidae), a freshwater bivalve species widely distributed in China and commercially exploited for freshwater pearl production, was chosen as the reference model to investigate the protein signature in the organic scaffold matching calcium carbonate crystallization mode. This study takes advantage of different calcium carbonate habits production by the organism: aragonite in shell and pearl and vaterite in alternative pearl formation. Amino acid global composition and proteomics analysis have been undertaken to study the amino acid imbalance with respect to biominerals and microstructures. Forty peptides sequences were obtained by proteomics, of which ten are shared by all the different samples, nine are laced with aragonite; another nine with vaterite and twelve are related to pearls. Bioinformatics analysis allowed the peptides to be matched to the deduced protein sequences from EST databases and allowed functional assignment (e.g. scaffolding, strain strength, chitin binding or carbonic anhydrase function) to the proteins found in the different materials. Such panel of motifs tailored in vaterite and aragonite habits produced in a freshwater mollusk gives food for thought about organic control of the biomineralization processes.

Purpose: To determine whether upregulated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in VX2 cells can increase vessel density (VD) and reduce tumor necrosis., Materials and Methods: The VX2 cell line was transfected with expression vectors containing cDNA for rabbit VEGF. Stable clones producing rabbit VEGF (VEGF-VX2) were selected. VEGF-VX2 cells (n = 5 rabbits) or nontransfected VX2 cells (controls; n = 5 rabbits) were implanted into leg muscle of 10 rabbits. The animals were sacrificed at day 21. Tumor volume, percentage of necrosis, VD, and VEGF concentration in tumor protein extract were quantified., Results: Overexpression of VEGF by VX2 cells augmented tumor implantation efficiency 100% and favored cyst formation. The tumor volume was significantly larger for VEGF-VX2 transfected tumors versus controls (P = .0143). Overexpression of VEGF in VX2 cells significantly increased the VD of the tumors (P = .0138). The percentage of necrosis was reduced in VEGF-VX2 tumors versus controls (19.5% vs 38.5 %; P = .002). VEGF concentration in VEGF-VX2 tumors was significantly higher than in control tumors (P = .041) and was correlated with tumor volume (ρ = .883, P = .012)., Conclusions: The overexpression of VEGF increased tumor growth and vascularization, favored cyst formation, and reduced tumor necrosis. This new phenotype of the VX2 tumor may offer some advantages over classic models of VX2 tumor for evaluating anticancer therapies., (Copyright © 2012 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)