BACKGROUND Sentinel-lymph-node biopsy is associated with increased melanoma-specific survival (i.e., survival until death from melanoma) among patients with node-positive intermediate-thickness melanomas (1.2 to 3.5 mm). The value of completion lymph-node dissection for patients with sentinel-node metastases is not clear. METHODS In an international trial, we randomly assigned patients with sentinel-node metastases detected by means of standard pathological assessment or a multimarker molecular assay to immediate completion lymph-node dissection (dissection group) or nodal observation with ultrasonography (observation group). The primary end point was melanoma-specific survival. Secondary end points included disease-free survival and the cumulative rate of nonsentinel-node metastasis. RESULTS Immediate completion lymph-node dissection was not associated with increased melanoma-specific survival among 1934 patients with data that could be evaluated in an intention-to-treat analysis or among 1755 patients in the per-protocol analysis. In the per-protocol analysis, the mean (±SE) 3-year rate of melanoma-specific survival was similar in the dissection group and the observation group (86±1.3% and 86±1.2%, respectively; P=0.42 by the log-rank test) at a median follow-up of 43 months. The rate of disease-free survival was slightly higher in the dissection group than in the observation group (68±1.7% and 63±1.7%, respectively; P=0.05 by the log-rank test) at 3 years, based on an increased rate of disease control in the regional nodes at 3 years (92±1.0% vs. 77±1.5%; P<0.001 by the log-rank test); these results must be interpreted with caution. Nonsentinel-node metastases, identified in 11.5% of the patients in the dissection group, were a strong, independent prognostic factor for recurrence (hazard ratio, 1.78; P=0.005). Lymphedema was observed in 24.1% of the patients in the dissection group and in 6.3% of those in the observation group. CONCLUSIONS Immediate completion lymph-node dissection increased the rate of regional disease control and provided prognostic information but did not increase melanoma-specific survival among patients with melanoma and sentinel-node metastases. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and others; MSLT-II ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00297895.)

Because absolute HR levels are strongly related to response to hormone therapy in primary and advanced breast cancer, reduced ER/PR expression may be one mechanism to explain the relative resistance of HER-2/neu-positive:HR-positive tumors to hormone therapy.

Purpose: Phytochemicals in plants may have cancer preventive benefits through antioxidation and via gene-nutrient interactions. We sought to determine the effects of pomegranate juice (a major source of antioxidants) consumption on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression in men with a rising PSA following primary therapy. Experimental Design: A phase II, Simon two-stage clinical trial for men with rising PSA after surgery or radiotherapy was conducted. Eligible patients had a detectable PSA >0.2 and <5 ng/mL and Gleason score V7. Patients were treated with 8 ounces of pomegranate juice daily (Wonderful variety, 570 mg total polyphenol gallic acid equivalents) until disease progression. Clinical end points included safety and effect on serum PSA, serum-induced proliferation and apoptosis of LNCaP cells, serum lipid peroxidation, and serum nitric oxide levels. Results: The study was fully accrued after efficacy criteria were met. There were no serious adverse events reported and the treatment was well tolerated. Mean PSA doubling time significantly increased with treatment from a mean of 15 months at baseline to 54 months posttreatment (P < 0.001). In vitro assays comparing pretreatment and posttreatment patient serum on the growth of LNCaP showed a 12% decrease in cell proliferation and a 17% increase in apoptosis (P = 0.0048 and 0.0004, respectively), a 23% increase in serum nitric oxide (P = 0.0085), and significant (P < 0.02) reductions in oxidative state and sensitivity to oxidation of serum lipids after versus before pomegranate juice consumption. Conclusions: We report the first clinical trial of pomegranate juice in patients with prostate cancer. The statistically significant prolongation of PSA doubling time, coupled with corresponding laboratory effects on prostate cancer in vitro cell proliferation and apoptosis as well as oxidative stress, warrant further testing in a placebo-controlled study.Adenocarcinoma of the prostate is currently the most common malignancy in men in the United States comprising 29% of all cancers. This year an estimated 232,090 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer (1). There has been a trend toward improved survival in prostate cancer over the past several years. Prostate cancer 5-year survival rates have increased from 67% for the period of 1974 to 1976 to 92% for the period of 1989 to 1995 (2). However, prostate cancer remains the second most common cause of cancer death in men in the United States, accounting for 11% of all cancer deaths. This year an estimated 30,350 men will die of prostate cancer (1).Primary management of prostate cancer for the majority of patients consists of either radical surgery or radiation therapy. Although this is adequate for permanent disease control in many patients, a significant number of patients relapse and ultimately develop metastatic disease. Radical prostatectomy is currently the most commonly used therapy for curative intent (3). However, approximately one third of prostate cancer patients with clinically confine...

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Our observations suggest that green tea extract supplements retain the beneficial effects of green and black tea and may be used in future chemoprevention studies to provide a large dose of tea polyphenols without the side effects of caffeine associated with green and black tea beverages.

Conclusion: The positive association between HER-2/ neu and VEGF expression implicates VEGF in the aggressive phenotype exhibited by HER-2/neu overexpression, and supports the use of combination therapies directed against both HER-2/neu and VEGF for treatment of breast cancers that overexpress HER-2/neu.

H&E staining and IHC underestimate the true incidence of melanoma metastases. MM expression in the SN more accurately reflects melanoma micrometastases and is also a more powerful predictor of disease relapse than are H&E staining and IHC alone.

Background: Detection of melanoma cells in circulation may be important in assessing tumor progression. The objective of this study was to develop a specific, reliable multimarker quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT) assay for detecting melanoma cells in patients' blood. Methods: We developed qRT assays for the mRNA of four melanoma-associated markers: MART-1, GalNAc-T, PAX-3, and MAGE-A3. In optimization studies, we tested 17 melanoma cell lines and 49 peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) samples from volunteers. We performed RNA and melanoma cell dilution studies to assess the detection limits and imprecision of the assays. We measured the mRNAs in blood specimens from 94 melanoma patients [American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage I, n ‫؍‬ 20; II, n ‫؍‬ 20; III, n ‫؍‬ 32; IV, n ‫؍‬ 22]. Results: All markers were frequently detected in melanoma cell lines, whereas none of the markers was detected in PBLs from volunteers. The qRT assay could detect 1 melanoma cell in 10 7 PBLs in the melanoma cell-dilution studies. Markers were detected in 15%, 30%, 75%, and 86% of melanoma patients with AJCC stage I, II, III, and IV disease, respectively. The number of positive markers and AJCC stage were significantly