A compact, highly specific, inexpensive and user friendly optical fibre laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) sensor based on fluorescence quenching by nanoparticles has been developed to detect single-strand (ss-) DNA hybridization at femtomolar level. The fluorescence of fluorophore-tagged ss-DNA increases by a factor of 80 when it binds to a complimentary DNA, while the addition of single-base mismatch DNA had no effect on the fluorescence efficiency. We present theoretical and experimental results on dye fluorescence quenching induced by gold nanoparticles having different particle sizes. Fluorescence spectra clearly show that the quenching efficiency decreases with increasing size of the gold nanoparticles and increasing the distance between dye and nanoparticles. The mechanism of size- and distant-dependent fluorescence quenching has been discussed. Effects of various influential experimental parameters and configurations were investigated in order to optimize and miniaturize the sensor performance.

PurposeThe prognosis of gastric cancer patients with bone marrow metastases is extremely poor. The current study was conducted to evaluate the clinical outcomes of advanced gastric cancer patients with bone marrow metastases.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 26 advanced gastric cancer patients with bone marrow metastases who were treated at Soonchunhyang University Hospital between September 1986 and February 2009.ResultsThe median age was 46 years (range, 24 to 61 years). All patients had poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, including 17 signet ring cell carcinomas. The majority of the patients had thrombocytopenia, anemia, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels. Sixteen patients (61.5%) received palliative chemotherapy (median, 4 cycles; range, 1 to 13 cycles). The median overall survival after detection of bone marrow metastases for the cohort of patients was 37 days (95% confidence interval, 12.5 to 61.5 days). The median overall survival after detection of bone marrow involvement was 11 days in the best supportive care group (range, 2 to 34 days) and 121 days (range, 3 to 383 days) in the palliative chemotherapy group (p<0.001). The causes of death were tumor progression (11 patients, 45%), brain hemorrhage (6 patients, 25%), infection (5 patients, 21%), and disseminated intravascular coagulation (1 patient, 4%). There were no chemotherapy-related deaths.ConclusionPalliative chemotherapy could be considered in advanced gastric cancer patients with bone marrow metastases as a treatment option.

This study investigated the safety and effectiveness of each type of central venous catheters (CVC) in patients with cancer. We prospectively enrolled patients with cancer who underwent catherization involving a subclavian venous catheter (SVC), peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC), or chemo-port (CP) in our department. From March 2007 to March 2009, 116 patients underwent 179 episodes of catherization. A SVC was inserted most frequently (46.4%). Fifty-four complications occurred (30.1%): infection in 23 cases, malpositioning or migration of the tip in 18 cases, thrombosis in eight cases, and bleeding in five cases. Malpositioning or migration of the tip occurred more frequently with a PICC (P<0.001); infection occurred more often with a tunneled catheter (P=0.028) and was observed more often in young patients (P=0.023). The catheter life span was longer for patients with solid cancer (P=0.002) than for those with hematologic cancer, with a CP (P<0.001) than a PICC or SVC, and for an indwelling catheter with image guidance (P=0.014) than a blind procedure. In conclusion, CP is an effective tool for long term use and the fixation of tip is important for the management of PICC.

We investigated the role of fasting hormones and pro-inflammatory cytokines in cancer patients. Hormones (ghrelin, adiponectin, and leptin) and cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-6) were measured by ELISA or RIA in lung cancer and colorectal cancer patients before the administration of cancer therapy, and measurements were repeated every 2 months for 6 months. From June 2006 to August 2008, 42 patients (19 with colorectal cancer and 23 with lung cancer) were enrolled. In total, 21 patients were included in the cachexia group and the others served as a comparison group. No significant difference in the initial adiponectin, ghrelin, TNF-α, IFN-γ, or IL-6 level was observed between groups, although leptin was significantly lower in cachectic patients than in the comparison group (15.3 ± 19.5 vs 80.9 ± 99.0 pg/mL, P = 0.007). During the follow-up, the patients who showed a > 5% weight gain had higher ghrelin levels after 6 months. Patients exhibiting elevated IL-6 levels typically showed a weight loss > 5% after 6 months. A blunted adiponectin or ghrelin response to weight loss may contribute to cancer cachexia and IL-6 may be responsible for inducing and maintaining cancer cachexia.