Wold, Lester E.

AbstractLong‐chain N‐acylethanolamines (NAE), including the endocannabinoid, anandamide, accumulate in mammalian tissues under a variety of pathological conditions. They have also been shown to inhibit the growth of various cancer cell lines in vitro. Here, we report the presence, in widely differing amounts (3.88–254.46 pmol/μmol lipid P), of NAE and their precursor phospholipids in various human tumors and some adjacent unaffected tissue. Anandamide ranged from 1.5 to 48% of total NAE, and incubation of tissue homogenates suggested possible NAE biosynthesis by both the established transacylation‐phosphodiesterase pathway via N‐acyl PE and by direct N‐acylation of ethanolamine.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the value of thymidylate synthase (TS), Ki-67, and p53 as prognostic markers in patients with Dukes’ B2 and C colon carcinoma. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of TS, Ki-67, and p53 in 465 patients with Dukes’ B2 (220 patients) or Dukes’ C (245 patients) colon carcinoma. Patients represent a nonrandom subset obtained from five randomized phase III trials and were treated with either surgery alone (151 patients) or surgery plus fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (314 patients). All three markers were assayed using immunohistochemical techniques. RESULTS: With a minimum follow-up of 5 years, our retrospective analysis failed to demonstrate a consistent and significant association between TS, Ki-67, or p53 and either disease-free survival or overall survival. Exploratory analyses did not reveal a convincing explanation for these results that are in conflict with the published literature. Notable interactions were observed. In particular, high Ki-67 levels were associated with increased (decreased) survival in patients with low (high) TS intensity. Patients whose tumors stained positively for p53 seemed to benefit substantially from the use of adjuvant chemotherapy compared with those who were not treated (P = .05). CONCLUSION: This retrospective investigation failed to demonstrate a significant association between TS, Ki-67, or p53 staining and clinical outcome.

The pathologic assessment of definitive surgical specimens in patients treated for osteosarcoma can be rapidly accomplished using a few pieces of special equipment. Rapid decalcification with formic acid–formalin and routine tissue processing allow the histology laboratory to rapidly prepare histologic slides for pathologic evaluation. A simple qualitative assessment of tumor response to chemotherapy allows the pathologist to classify the tumor response rapidly and reproducibly, and a simple report format allows for unambiguous communication with the patient and physician.