MYC amplification and polysomy 8 in chondrosarcoma: array comparative genomic hybridization, fluorescent in situ hybridization, and association with outcome.

PURPOSE: To identify recurrent regions of genomic gain or loss in chondrosarcoma in a clinically relevant and statistically valid fashion. Materials and METHODS: Array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) results of 15 frozen tumor samples of high-grade chondrosarcoma for chromosome 8 are presented. A separate subset of 116 cartilaginous tumors with outcome data was used for validation. RESULTS: Array CGH identified gain at 8q24.12-q24.13, the region of the MYC (c-Myc) oncogene, as a frequent change in high-grade chondrosarcoma. In the validation arm of 116 cartilaginous tumors, MYC was frequently amplified in G2 (15%), G3 (20%), and dedifferentiated (21%) chondrosarcomas. No amplification was identified in samples of enchondroma and grade 1 chondrosarcoma. In samples without MYC amplification, polysomy 8 was a frequent finding in grade 1 (18%), grade 2 (31%), grade 3 (80%), and dedifferentiated (29%) chondrosarcomas, but was not found in any samples of enchondroma. MYC protein expression was identified in all samples with amplification, but was also frequent in the remaining samples without amplification or polysomy 8. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for overall survival showed a statistically significant difference for patients with MYC amplification or polysomy 8 (P = .034). Univariate analysis involving Cox proportional hazards models showed that grade (P = .003), polysomy 8 (P = .045), and MYC amplification (P = .053) correlated with shorter overall survival. By multivariate analysis, grade of chondrosarcoma (P = .026) was the only factor to reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: MYC amplification and polysomy 8 can be used as markers of prognostic importance in chondrosarcoma. Molecular targeting of MYC expression may have therapeutic potential in the future for subsets of chondrosarcoma.     

Narasin poisoning in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Narasin poisoning was reported in 15 camels, 7 adults and 8 young, after accidental access to poultry feed medicated with 60 g narasin per ton. Fourteen camels died between 3 and 20 days, and one young animal survived the dose after developing a chronic course of a disease. The main clinical signs of narasin toxicity in the dromedary include: weakness of hind limbs, lack of coordination, oedema of dependent parts, inappetence, ruminal atony, myoglobinuria, profound depression, tachycardia, sternal recumbency and death. The lesions were mainly in the heart and skeletal muscles and consisted of multifocal degeneration and necrosis of heart and skeletal muscle fibres with areas of regeneration and lung oedema. There was high enzyme activity for creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase and an increase in urea concentration and white blood cells, neutrophil and platelet counts. Cardiac markers, troponin T, CK-MB and C-reactive protein, showed slight or no changes terminally.     

Meta-analysis of survival models of lung cancer

Lung cancer is a common disease that is difficult to treat successfully. Despite the continuous improvement and development of diagnostic method, the disease is still diagnosed in advanced stages. The present study aimed to calculate the 5-years survival rate of patients with lung cancer, to construct different models of survival rates according to different factors and to perform a meta-analysis involving systematic statistical pooling of eligible studies concerning survival of lung cancer. A longitudinal retrospective study was conducted in the treatment centers of Faculty of Medicine and Gamal Abd-El Nasser Hospital. All available records of patients diagnosed and confirmed pathologically as lung cancer during the years 1992 to 2001,were reviewed, the total number amounted to 1099 patients, these patients were followed up for one year till the end of 2002. Life table revealed that the cumulative probability of survival was 18.7% and 16.7%, respectively at 36 -< 42 month and 42 -< 48 month. No one survived up to 5 years. The median survival time was 7.97 months .Kaplan-Meier survival curves yielded that the lowest probability of survival throughout the studied period was noticed among those aged 70 years or more, with stage IV and patients who were treated with radiotherapy alone. Cox regression delineated three significant predictors for survival within 5 years, which were age of patients, stage of tumor and grade of differentiation. Results of meta-analysis demonstrated that pooling the results of different studies yielded a trend toward a reduced relative risk of death by 22% among patients with stage I compared to stage II, and reduced relative risk of 33% for patients with stage I compared to stage III. It is essential to improve the strategies for prevention of smoking and health education program for cessation of smoking early for smokers. Diagnosis, staging and development of a management plan should be completed as quickly as possible. Focuses on the treatment of patients with lung cancer with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.