Evaluation of electrochemotherapy in the management of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinomas in dogs: A retrospective study

Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) combines the administration of anticancer drugs with the delivery of electric pulses, thus increasing the drug uptake through the cell membranes, resulting in increased efficacy. Aim: The aim of our study was to describe the tolerability and efficacy of ECT alone or in association with other treatment modalities for the management of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASAC). Methods: Medical records of dogs with a diagnosis of AGASAC that were treated with ECT alone or in combination with surgery/chemotherapy were retrospectively evaluated. Each dog received 20 mg/m2 of bleomycin intravenously. Based on the clinician’s decision, the primary tumor or tumor bed was also infiltrated with cisplatin at the dose of 0.5 mg/cm2. Trains of permeabilizing biphasic electric pulses were then applied under general anesthesia. Results: Ten dogs were enrolled in the study. Of those 10 dogs, only one received ECT for treatment of microscopic local disease, while in six cases ECT was the only treatment modality. In three dogs, ECT was followed by systemic medical treatment. Six dogs (60%) had a partial response (PR), three dogs (30%) had stable disease, and one dog treated for microscopic disease did not show any sign of local relapse for 305 days after treatment, being still alive and in complete remission at the time of writing this article. The median time to progression was 303 days and the median survival time was 365 days. The treatment was well tolerated and local side effects were minimal. No systemic effects were documented. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that ECT may be beneficial for dogs with AGASAC and could be a useful addition to the current therapeutic options in consideration of its low cost, limited toxicity, and ease of administration.

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Role of Phytochemicals in the Treatment of Breast Cancer: Natural Swords battling Cancer Cells

Current Cancer Therapy Reviews ◽

10.2174/1573394716666210106123255 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

Author(s):

Rajni Sawanny ◽

Sheersha Pramanik ◽

Unnati Agarwal

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Low Cost ◽

Epigallocatechin Gallate ◽

Cancer Therapeutics ◽

Treatment Modalities ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Scientific Validity ◽

Phytochemical Study ◽

Treat Breast Cancer

: Breast cancer is the most common type of malignancy among ladies (around 30% of newly diagnosed patients every year). To date, various modern treatment modalities for breast cancer, such as radiotherapy, surgical method, hormonal therapy, and chemotherapeutic drug utilisation, are available. However, adverse drug reactions, therapeutic resistance, metastasis, or cancer reoccurrence chances remain the primary causes of mortality for breast cancer patients. To overcome all the potential drawbacks, we need to investigate novel techniques and strategies previously not considered and treat breast cancer effectively with safety and efficacy. For centuries, we utilise phytochemicals to treat various diseases because of their safety, low-cost & least or no side effects. Recently, naturally produced phytochemicals gain immense attention as potential breast cancer therapeutics because of their ideal characteristics; for instance, they operate via modulating molecular pathways associated with cancer growth and progression. The primary mechanism involves inhibition of cell proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, invasion, increasing anti-oxidant status, initiation of the arrest of the cell cycle, and apoptosis. Remedial viability gets effectively enhanced when phytochemicals work as adjuvants with chemotherapeutic drugs. This comprehensive review revolves around the latest chemopreventive, chemotherapeutic, and chemoprotective treatments with their molecular mechanisms to treat breast cancer by utilising phytochemicals such as vinca alkaloids, resveratrol, curcumin, paclitaxel, silibinin, quercetin, genistein and epigallocatechin gallate. The authors wish to extend the field of phytochemical study for its scientific validity and its druggability.

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Prognostic Value of Ki67 and Other Clinical and Histopathological Factors in Canine Apocrine Gland Anal Sac Adenocarcinoma

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061649 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1649

Author(s):

Emanuela Maria Morello ◽

Marzia Cino ◽

Davide Giacobino ◽

Arturo Nicoletti ◽

Selina Iussich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lymph Nodes ◽

Vascular Invasion ◽

Apocrine Gland ◽

Regional Lymph Nodes ◽

Disease Free Interval ◽

Lymph Nodes Metastasis ◽

Free Interval ◽

Histologic Pattern ◽

Anal Sac ◽

Disease Free

Apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASACA) is locally aggressive and highly metastatic to regional lymph nodes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of Ki67 in surgically excised AGASACA. Prognostic impact of size, regional lymph nodes metastasis, hypercalcemia, histologic pattern, mitotic count, necrosis, inflammatory and lympho-vascular invasion, anisokaryosis and anisocytosis was also evaluated. Thirty-five dogs were included, twenty-four of which also had metastatic lymph nodes. When the entire population was evaluated, only metastatic disease spread to regional lymph nodes, and necrosis and inflammatory infiltration were correlated to prognosis. When only dogs with metastatic disease were evaluated, size, solid histologic pattern, presence of lymphatic and vascular invasion showed influence on prognosis. Ki67 index was not associated with survival time and disease free interval in any case. The results of this study showed that lymph nodes metastasis at diagnosis reduced disease free interval. Moreover, tumor size greater than 5.25 cm, presence of lymphatic and vascular invasion and a solid histologic pattern were associated with a shorter survival time in dogs with metastasis to regional lymph nodes. Ki67 expression was not significantly associated with prognosis, therefore it could not be considered as a prognostic factor in this tumor type, while the role of hypercalcemia remained unclear.

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Utility of Computed Tomography versus Abdominal Ultrasound Examination to Identify Iliosacral Lymphadenomegaly in Dogs with Apocrine Gland Adenocarcinoma of the Anal Sac

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine ◽

10.1111/jvim.14601 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 30 (6) ◽

pp. 1858-1863 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

S. Palladino ◽

M.A. Keyerleber ◽

R.G. King ◽

K.E. Burgess

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Ultrasound Examination ◽

Abdominal Ultrasound ◽

Apocrine Gland ◽

Anal Sac ◽

Abdominal Ultrasound Examination

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3D Scanning Procedure for the Evaluation of Lymphedema of Upper Limbs Using Low-Cost Technology: A Preliminary Study

Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering - Design Tools and Methods in Industrial Engineering ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-31154-4_16 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 177-188

Author(s):

Andrea Vitali ◽

Daniele Regazzoni ◽

Caterina Rizzi ◽

Guido Molinero

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

3D Scanning ◽

Upper Limbs ◽

Scanning Procedure ◽

Preliminary Study

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An ultra-low-cost electroporator with microneedle electrodes (ePatch) for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2110817118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (45) ◽

pp. e2110817118

Author(s):

Dengning Xia ◽

Rui Jin ◽

Gaurav Byagathvalli ◽

Huan Yu ◽

Ling Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Large Scale ◽

Low Cost ◽

Electrode Array ◽

Dna Vaccination ◽

Intradermal Injection ◽

Antibody Responses ◽

Transient Effects ◽

Electric Pulses ◽

High Electric Field Strength

Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other pathogens with pandemic potential requires safe, protective, inexpensive, and easily accessible vaccines that can be developed and manufactured rapidly at a large scale. DNA vaccines can achieve these criteria, but induction of strong immune responses has often required bulky, expensive electroporation devices. Here, we report an ultra-low-cost (<1 USD), handheld (<50 g) electroporation system utilizing a microneedle electrode array (“ePatch”) for DNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The low cost and small size are achieved by combining a thumb-operated piezoelectric pulser derived from a common household stove lighter that emits microsecond, bipolar, oscillatory electric pulses and a microneedle electrode array that targets delivery of high electric field strength pulses to the skin’s epidermis. Antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 induced by this electroporation system in mice were strong and enabled at least 10-fold dose sparing compared to conventional intramuscular or intradermal injection of the DNA vaccine. Vaccination was well tolerated with mild, transient effects on the skin. This ePatch system is easily portable, without any battery or other power source supply, offering an attractive, inexpensive approach for rapid and accessible DNA vaccination to combat COVID-19, as well as other epidemics.

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Curcumin-based nanoformulations to target breast cancer: current trends and challenges

Current Nanomaterials ◽

10.2174/2405461506666210831145230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 06 ◽

Author(s):

Adnan Badran ◽

Joelle Mesmar ◽

Nadine Wehbe ◽

Riham El Kurdi ◽

Digambara Patra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Low Cost ◽

Folk Medicine ◽

Research Area ◽

Delivery Systems ◽

Treatment Modalities ◽

Anticancer Efficacy ◽

Future Direction

: Breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers in women worldwide, and despite significant improvements in treatment modalities, the prognosis of this cancer is still poor. Herbs and plant extracts have been associated with various health benefits, and traditional folk medicine is still receiving great interest among patients as proven by accumulated records, tolerable side effects of herbal compounds compared to their synthetic counterparts, and low cost. Curcumin is a polyphenol identified as the main active ingredient in turmeric and has been used in the treatment of various diseases and ailments. Additionally, the pharmacological activities of curcumin on many cancers have been investigated substantially due to its ability to regulate many signaling pathways involved in cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. However, the low solubility and bioavailability of curcumin limit its benefits, urging the need for new curcumin formulations and delivery systems. Nanotechnology has been widely publicized in cancer treatment not only to overcome the limitations of poorly soluble and physiologically unstable compounds but also to improve the delivery of the drug to the diseased site and cellular uptake. In this review, we summarized the main anti-tumor effect of curcumin and its mode of action on breast cancer and focused on the anticancer efficacy of various and recent curcumin nanoformulations and delivery systems. Such nanotechnological systems could pave the way to address a new future direction in this research area, enhancing the therapeutic potential of curcumin in the treatment of breast cancer. In the next few years, there will be more focus on developing curcumin-based materials for breast cancer treatment.

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