A novel infusible botanically-derived drug, PG2, for cancer-related fatigue: A phase II double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled study Abstract Purpose: is study investigated the e cacy of the botanical-derived drug, PG2, a partially puri ed extract of Astragalus membranaceus, as a complementary and palliative medicine for managing cancer-related fatigue (CRF).Methods: Patients with advanced cancer and moderate to severe CRF were randomized to receive either PG2 or a placebo (normal saline, NS) in the rst treatment cycle (four weeks) in a double-blind manner; therea er, on the next cycle (four weeks), all patients received open-label treatment with PG2.Results: PG2 signi cantly improved CRF in the NS-primed group. In the rst four week cycle, PG2 administration resulted in a greater fatigue-improvement response rate than seen with NS alone. In addition, approximately 82% of patients who reported an improvement of fatigue symptoms following the rst cycle of PG2 experienced sustained bene ts a er administration of the second treatment cycle. Among patients treated with PG2 who did not report an improvement in symptoms throughout the rst treatment cycle, approximately 71% showed signi cant improvement a er the second treatment cycle. No major or irreversible toxicities were observed with PG2 treatment.Conclusion: PG2 might be an e ective and safe treatment for relieving CRF among advanced cancer patients.
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication after total joint replacement with considerable morbidity and large economic burdens. Antibiotic-Loaded Bone Cement (ALBC) has been developed as a valuable tool for local administration and is becoming one of the most effective methods for the prevention and treatment of orthopedic infections. Controlling antibiotic release from ALBC is critical to achieve effective infection control, however, the antibiotic elution rates are generally low, and the mechanisms are poorly understood. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the effects of the basic acrylic bone cement components, including liquid/powder (monomer-to-polymer) ratios, radiopacifier, initiator, and doses of antibiotics on the porosity, antibiotic elution rates and mechanical properties of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) based ALBC. The obtained results from the in vitro studies suggested that a reduction in the liquid/powder ratio and an increase in the radiopacifier ratio and gentamicin doses led to increased porosity and release of antibiotic, while the initiator ratio exerted no effect on elution rates. In conclusion, we hope that by varying the composition of ALBC, we could considerably enhance the antibiotic elution rates by increasing porosity, while maintaining an adequate mechanical strength of the bone cements. This finding might provide insights into controlling antibiotic release from ALBC to achieve effective infection control after total joint replacement surgery.
Background/Aim: CD44 and CD133 have been implicated as biomarkers of cancer cells and their expression could be analyzed to identify circulating tumor cells. Although CD44 and CD133 have been shown to be expressed in prostate cancer cells, a differential expression pattern has been reported depending on the tumor stage and cell line examined. We further investigated CD44 and CD133 expression in different prostate cancer cell lines to confirm whether their expression is distinguishable among patients with various tumor stages. Materials and Methods: CWR22Rv1, PC3, LNCaP, and DU145 cell lines were cultured and the cell morphology was observed for three days. The single expression of CD44 or CD133 and their combined expression were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: We report that the single expression of CD133 was less than 5% in all cell lines examined here. PC3 and DU145 cells displayed a high expression of CD44 (>93%), while the expression of CD44 was less than 4% in CWR22Rv1 and LNCaP cells. CWR22Rv1 was the only cell line that demonstrated a high co-expression of both CD44 and CD133. Conclusion: Both single and combined expression of CD44 and CD133 should be considered when validating the detection of prostate cancer cells in circulating tumor cells.
Background Positive expression of CD44 and CD133 and high expression levels of an epithelial cell adhesion molecule are reliable markers for colorectal cancer stem cells in tumors or among circulating tumor cells. However, the heterogeneity of circulating tumor cells makes it very difficult to detect these stem cells. In this study, we investigated the expression of CD44 and CD133 of colorectal cancer stem cells under different treatments in order to understand the expression profile of these markers when cancer cells grow in different conditions. Methods Cells from a colorectal cancer stem cell line, Caco-2, were seeded at four different initial concentrations and cultured for 3 days. We observed for changes in cell morphology and analyzed the expression of CD44 and CD133 by flow cytometry. In addition, Caco-2 cells were treated with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for 3 days followed by flow cytometry analysis. Results We demonstrated that the single and combined expression of CD44 and CD133 decreased when the initial seeding concentration was reduced. The expression of both CD44 and CD133 was reduced dramatically when Caco-2 cells were treated with EPA, DMSO, or EDTA. The single expression of CD44 or CD133 was not affected dramatically when cells were treated with DMSO or EDTA, but there was no expression of either markers when treated with EPA. Conclusions Both single and combined expressions of CD44 and CD133 were critical for establishing the profiles of colorectal cancer stem cells under different conditions.
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