TY - JOUR A1 - Beck, Eberhard A1 - Wagner, Maren A1 - Anselmino, Lisa A1 - Xu, Feng-ji A1 - Bast Jr., Robert C. A1 - Jäger, Wolfram T1 - Is OVX1 a suitable marker for endometrial cancer? JF - In: Gynecologic Oncology 65(1997) 2, 291–296 N2 - The single most common cause leading to the diagnosis of endometrial cancer is postmenopausal bleeding. Although most patients with early-stage disease (FIGO stage I and II) can be cured, prognosis worsens considerably with increasing stage. While serum CA 125 levels are elevated only in a significant proportion of patients with advanced disease, recently a new serum marker (OVX1) for the detection of early-stage endometrial cancer was reported. Serum OVX1 levels were measured using an OVX1 radioimmunoassay (RIA) or enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in 192 patients with endometrial cancer. CA 125 levels were measured in 112 patients using the CIS ELSA CA 125 kit. Apparently healthy females had mean serum OVX1 levels measured with the OVX1–EIA of 1.34 ± 0.74 U/ml, while patients with endometriosis had mean OVX1 serum levels of 3.15 ± 2.45 U/ml. The mean OVX1 serum level for endometrial cancer patients was 2.00 ± 1.32 U/ml. These values were 2.76 ± 1.62, 6.10 ± 4.66, and 5.37 ± 3.49, respectively, using the OVX1–RIA assay. Applying a cutoff value of 2.8 U/ml, serum OVX1–EIA levels in endometrial cancer patients were increased in 25 of 127 patients (19.7%) with stage I disease, 5 of 17 patients with stage II (29.4%), 5 of 22 patients (22.7%) with stage III, and 4 of 11 patients (36.4%) with stage IV disease. Using the OVX1–RIA and a cutoff of 7.2 U/ml, serum levels were increased in 22 of 127 (17.3%) stage I, 6 of 17 (35.3%) stage II, 5 of 22 (22.7%) stage III, and 6 of 11 (54.5%) stage IV patients. Serum CA 125 levels, determined in a total of 112 patients, were elevated above 35 U/ml in 12 of 79 patients (15.2%) with stage I, 4 of 12 patients (33.3%) with stage II, 8 of 13 patients (61.5%) with stage III, and all of 8 patients (100%) with stage IV disease. While a good correlation between serum CA 125 levels and the clinical stage of the disease was found, no correlation could be detected for OVX1 and stage. Y1 - 1997 SP - 291 EP - 296 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beck, Eberhard A1 - Russo, Pietro A1 - Gliozzo, Biancamaria A1 - Jäger, Wolfram A1 - Papa, Vincenzo A1 - Wildt, Ludwig A1 - Pezzino, Vincenzo A1 - Lang, Norbert T1 - Identification of insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF I) receptors in ovarian cancer JF - In: Gynecologic Oncology 53(1994)2, 196–201 N2 - Abstract The objective of this study was to test if specific insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF I) receptors are expressed in ovarian cancer tissue. Thirteen tissue specimens from primary ovarian cancers, 1 specimen from a primary peritoneal carcinoma, 10 specimens from metastatic lesions of ovarian carcinomas, and 4 specimens from recurrent ovarian cancers together with 13 normal ovaries were tested for their content of insulin and IGF-I receptors, by the application of specific insulin and IGF-I receptor radioimmunoassays. The insulin receptor (IR) and IGF-I receptor (IGF R) content in the primary tumors varied between 23.8-321.4 and 16.4-554.2 ng/0.1 mg DNA, respectively. Metastatic lesions contained between 12.3 and 226.7 ng IR/0.1 mg DNA and between 7.5 and 459.4 ng IGF R/0.1 mg DNA. In recurrent tumors the receptor concentrations were in the range of 41.5-79.8 and 48.9-160.9 ng/0.1 mg DNA for insulin and IGF-I receptors, respectively. Normal ovarian tissue contained between 12.2 and 150.1 ng IR and between 21.4 and 420.1 ng IGF R per 0.1 mg DNA, respectively. As both insulin and IGF-I receptors are present in ovarian cancer tissue, the effects of insulin and IGF-I as potential growth factors in ovarian cancer should be further investigated. Copyright © 1994 Academic Press. All rights reserved. Y1 - 1994 SN - 0090-8258 SP - 196 EP - 201 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gebauer, Gerhard A1 - Fehm, Tanja A1 - Beck, Eberhard A1 - Berkholz, Alexander A1 - Licht, Peter A1 - Jäger, Wolfram T1 - Cytotoxic effect of conjugates of doxorubicin and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in breast cancer cells JF - In: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 77(2003)2, pp. 125-131 N2 - Cytotoxic activity of drug conjugates of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and doxorubicin alone was investigated compared to doxorubicin in breast cancer cells with and without expression of hCG receptors. Expression of hCG receptor was determined in MCF-7 and MB231 breast cancer cell line using a multiplex nested rt-PCR approach. The entire sequence of mRNA encoding for hCG receptor was detected in MCF-7 but not in MB231 breast cancer cell line. Cytostatic effect of doxorubicin–hCG conjugates was investigated in these cell lines in comparison to unconjugated doxorubicin. The number of viable cells was determined after 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. To exclude non-specific uptake of the carrier hCG from the culture media, a similar experiment was performed with albumin–doxorubicin conjugates. The number of viable cells decreased in a concentration depending manner after doxorubicin and hCG–doxorubicin conjugate treatment. However, the cytotoxic effect of hCG–doxorubicin conjugate was 10-fold increased compared to unconjugated doxorubin in hCG-receptor positive MCF-7 but not in hCG-receptor negative MB231 cells. Albumin–doxorubicin conjugates showed no increased toxicity compared to doxorubicin. We conclude that the cytotoxic effect of hCG–doxorubicin conjugates is mediated specifically via the hCG receptor. By using hCG conjugates, the development of more selective cytostatics can be achieved. Y1 - 2003 UR - http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1021301001208 SP - 125 EP - 131 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gebauer, Gerhard A1 - Fehm, Tanja A1 - Merkle, Elisabeth A1 - Beck, Eberhard A1 - Lang, Norbert A1 - Jäger, Wolfram T1 - Epithelial Cells in Bone Marrow of Breast Cancer Patients at Time of Primary Surgery: Clinical Outcome During Long-Term Follow-Up JF - In: J. Clin. Oncol. 19(2001)16, 3669 – 3674 N2 - PURPOSE: To evaluate the detection of epithelial cells in bone marrow of breast cancer patients as an indicator of metastatic disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1989 and 1994, bone marrow biopsies were performed on 393 breast cancer patients during primary surgery. Specimens were stained immunocytochemically for epithelial cells expressing cytokeratins or the epithelial membrane antigen. The long-term outcomes of these patients were analyzed in this study. RESULTS: In 166 of 393 patients, epithelial cells were found in bone marrow (BM) aspirates. These patients were designated BM+. The rate of tumor recurrence or cancer-related death was significantly higher in BM+ patients than in BM− patients. Multivariate analysis using the Cox regression model revealed BM status as a prognostic parameter independent of tumor size and axillary lymph node status. However, tumor size and axillary lymph node status were clearly superior prognostic parameters. CONCLUSION: Disseminated epithelial cells in BM are associated with poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients. However, the presence of these cells is not a sufficient parameter to predict growing metastases in the majority of patients, suggesting that epithelial cells in the BM of breast cancer patients at the time of surgery have limited metastatic potential. The role of these cells needs to be further evaluated. Y1 - 2001 SP - 3669 EP - 3674 ER -