ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal germ cell tumor (PMGCT) by identifying the prognostic factors and efficacies of different treatment modalities.MethodsFifty-five patients with PMGCT who were treated consecutively at Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, from 1988 to 2010 were evaluated retrospectively.ResultsFifty-two men and 3 women with a median age of 25 years were identified, of whom 17 (30.9%) had pure seminomatous, 38 (69.1%) had nonseminomatous histology, 27 (49.1%) had tumor located at mediastinum, 20 (36.4%) had lung metastases and/or effusions, and 8 (14.5%) had distant metastases. Three treatments surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were performed in 11 (20%) patients, two treatments chemotherapy plus surgery or radiotherapy were performed in 25 (45.6%), and single treatment surgery or chemotherapy was performed in 17 (30.9%). The other two patients (3.6%) received no treatment. After a median follow-up time of 31.4 months, the 5-year survival rate was 52%. The median overall survival time was 87.9 months. Patients who received two treatments had the longest survival time of 118.3 months, P = 0.000. Those who had pure seminoma histology, whose tumor confined to the mediastinum and who achieved complete or partial remission at initial evaluation, who had complete resection and radiotherapy were considered to have better prognosis according to univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, extension and response rate at initial evaluation were independently predictive of survival.ConclusionsPrimary mediastinal germ cell tumor is rare with a dominant frequency in young male patients. Chemotherapy combined with local therapy like surgery or radiotherapy is a reasonable treatment strategy recommended. Extension and initial remission rate are independent prognostic factors.

Saracatinib, a highly selective, dual Src/Abl kinase inhibitor, is currently in a phase II clinical trial for the treatment of ovarian cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of saracatinib on the reversal of multidrug resistance (MDR) induced by ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that saracatinib significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of ABCB1 substrate drugs in ABCB1 overexpressing HeLa/v200, MCF-7/adr and HEK293/ABCB1 cells, an effect that was stronger than that of gefitinib, whereas it had no effect on the cytotoxicity of the substrates in ABCC1 overexpressing HL-60/adr cells and its parental sensitive cells. Additionally, saracatinib significantly increased the Dox and Rho 123 accumulation in HeLa/v200 and MCF-7/adr cells, while it had no effect on HeLa and MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, saracatinib stimulated the ATPase activity and inhibited photolabeling of ABCB1 with [125I]-iodoarylazidoprazosin in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the homology modeling predicted the binding conformation of saracatinib within the large hydrophobic drug-binding cavity of human ABCB1. However, neither the expression level of ABCB1 nor the phosphorylation level of Akt was altered at the reversal concentrations of saracatinib. Importantly, saracatinib significantly enhanced the effect of paclitaxel against ABCB1-overexpressing HeLa/v200 cancer cell xenografts in nude mice. In conclusion, saracatinib reverses ABCB1-mediated MDR in vitro and in vivo by directly inhibiting ABCB1 transport function, without altering ABCB1 expression or AKT phosphorylation. These findings may be helpful to attenuate the effect of MDR by combining saracatinib with other chemotherapeutic drugs in the clinic.

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of dicycloplatin plus paclitaxel with those of carboplatin plus paclitaxel as first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Material and methodsIn this study, 240 NSCLC patients with stage IIIB (with pleural effusion) and stage IV disease were randomly assigned (1: 1) to receive dicycloplatin 450 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC = 5, in combination with paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 (D + P or C + P) every 3 weeks for up to 4 to 6 cycles. The primary endpoint was response rate. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events.ResultsThe response rates for the D + P and C + P arm were 36.44% and 30.51%, respectively (p = 0.33). The median PFS was 5.6 months in the D + P arm and 4.7 months in the C + P arm (p = 0.31). The median OS was 14.9 months for D + P and 12.9 months for C + P (p = 0.37). Adverse events in the two arms were well balanced. The most common grade 3/4 adverse event was hematologic toxicity.ConclusionsPatients treated with D + P had similar response and survival rates to those treated with C + P, and toxicities of both treatments were generally tolerable.

Image enhancement by software or firmware has been a necessary function for smart phones. In this paper, a systematic algorithm was introduced to implement white balance correction, detail enhancement, and saturation enhancement with skin color reservation in turn. Additionally, the proposed algorithm was concise enough to adapt to limited computation power of the chip.