HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Genetic approach to cancer may be more complex than previously known

Hopeful · 03-12-2007, 09:13 AM

I was doing some research last week into the prognostic effect of having a tumor with combined IDC/DCIS, which led me into some fascinating work on cell mediated immunity by Dr. Maurice M. Black, noted bc oncologist, in the 1970's and '80's. (Dr. Black died in 1996). Here is a link to an abstract of one of his final papers, entitled "Prognostic Significance of in situ carcinoma associated with invasive breast carcinoma. A natural experiment in cancer immonology?": http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...ubmed_Abstract

His work in the 70's and 80's in the field of cell mediated immunity led him to conclude that DCIS, in some patients, contributed to the patient's immune system developing a defense against bc, and that patients with prior or concurrent DCIS to their IDC had a much lower rate of recurrence. His experiments involved the application of cells from the excised tumo on a "scratch test" on the same patient, keeping the tumor cells in contact with the scratch on the skin for 30 hours, then analyzing the skin response. In about 25% to 30% of cases, the patients' body had developed an immune response against their bc. He tested the same patients over a long period of time, to see if he got several positive tests, just one, or a combination of positive and negative. Just one positive test result seemed to greatly increase the chances for increased disease free survival of the patient. He then began to wonder if something could be done to augment the natural immune response of patients with negative results. He stated:

"Preliminary studies in our laboratory have shown that negative-to-positive changes in specific reactivity may be induced in up to 50% of postoperative, metastasis-free, bc patients treated with high doses of vitamin A and/or vitamin E. If agents that increase specific cell meidated immunity (CMI) are theraupeutically beneficial, it should follow that agents that reduce such reactivity have the potential of exerting a prognostically unfavorable effect. This possiblity should be considered in the evaluation of the effects of cytotoxic adjuvant chemotherapy, because such treatment has the potential to impair CMI responses. Since cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents are preferentially active against cancers with poorly differentiated nuclei, we submit there is a need for the study of the influence of adjuvant chemotherapy in relation to nuclear grade and specific CMI.
Particular attention should be paid to the possibility that adjuvant chemotherapy might have deleterious effects on CMI-positive patients having breast cancers with well-defined nuclei. Such patients are less likely to experience the tumor-retarding effects of the treatment while being more likely to experience a diminution of their prognostically favorable immunity."

Hopeful

03-12-2007, 09:13 AM	#6
Hopeful Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,380	I was doing some research last week into the prognostic effect of having a tumor with combined IDC/DCIS, which led me into some fascinating work on cell mediated immunity by Dr. Maurice M. Black, noted bc oncologist, in the 1970's and '80's. (Dr. Black died in 1996). Here is a link to an abstract of one of his final papers, entitled "Prognostic Significance of in situ carcinoma associated with invasive breast carcinoma. A natural experiment in cancer immonology?": http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...ubmed_Abstract His work in the 70's and 80's in the field of cell mediated immunity led him to conclude that DCIS, in some patients, contributed to the patient's immune system developing a defense against bc, and that patients with prior or concurrent DCIS to their IDC had a much lower rate of recurrence. His experiments involved the application of cells from the excised tumo on a "scratch test" on the same patient, keeping the tumor cells in contact with the scratch on the skin for 30 hours, then analyzing the skin response. In about 25% to 30% of cases, the patients' body had developed an immune response against their bc. He tested the same patients over a long period of time, to see if he got several positive tests, just one, or a combination of positive and negative. Just one positive test result seemed to greatly increase the chances for increased disease free survival of the patient. He then began to wonder if something could be done to augment the natural immune response of patients with negative results. He stated: "Preliminary studies in our laboratory have shown that negative-to-positive changes in specific reactivity may be induced in up to 50% of postoperative, metastasis-free, bc patients treated with high doses of vitamin A and/or vitamin E. If agents that increase specific cell meidated immunity (CMI) are theraupeutically beneficial, it should follow that agents that reduce such reactivity have the potential of exerting a prognostically unfavorable effect. This possiblity should be considered in the evaluation of the effects of cytotoxic adjuvant chemotherapy, because such treatment has the potential to impair CMI responses. Since cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents are preferentially active against cancers with poorly differentiated nuclei, we submit there is a need for the study of the influence of adjuvant chemotherapy in relation to nuclear grade and specific CMI. Particular attention should be paid to the possibility that adjuvant chemotherapy might have deleterious effects on CMI-positive patients having breast cancers with well-defined nuclei. Such patients are less likely to experience the tumor-retarding effects of the treatment while being more likely to experience a diminution of their prognostically favorable immunity." Hopeful