Indications de la TEP-FDG en oncologie. Mise à jour selon les recommandations de prise en charge européennes et américaines

[18F]-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose-Positon Emission Tomography (PET) is a powerful tool which availability increases in France. The oncological PET indications are plentiful and are increasing. Yet, its cost is significant. Thus, it is important to use PET in validated indications and/or in situations in which it can improve the patient management. The first part of this work reviews the PET indications in oncology, according to the international clinical practice guidelines (European Society for Medical Oncology [ESMO] and National Comprehensive Cancer Network [NCCN]), and compares those with the French guidelines (Guide de bon usage [GBU] des examens d’imagerie médicale). The second part assesses the indication distribution of 400 consecutive PET-CT studies in an against cancer center, according to the cancer type and confronts those with the guidelines.     

Cancer mortality and incidence in Hungary in relation to international data

In Hungary mortality caused by malignant tumour diseases is very high. It is the second cause of death showing approximately 25% frequency. Statistics on disability has revealed that during the past 25 years the number of patients become invalid because of cancer has nearly doubled.In comparative international statistics cancer mortality and incidence of the Hungarian male population take the first and that of the female population the second place. The alarming public health problems caused by cancer in Hungary have prompted the authors to identify the causes and search for points of outbreak to stop and reverse these unfavourable tendencies. When analysing the current state of this country authors primarily rely on the studies of the European Cancer Centre, Lyon and those of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and National Cancer Registry. By years 2000-2001 the National Cancer Registry has become a reliable well functioning system. Its activities include the registration of all new cancer patients announced in the previous calendar year. Data processing requires information such as: year of diagnosis, tumour localisation and extension, morphological code and therapeutic interventions. It is a promising sign that the first time over the past 25 years cancer mortality decreased in year 2000. The unfavourable cancer mortality and incidence status in Hungary might be improved by the consistent accomplishment of the project "For a Healthy Nation, A Public Health Project for years 2001-2010".     

The Quantitative Imaging Network: NCI's Historical Perspective and Planned Goals

The purpose of this editorial is to provide a brief history of National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute (NCI) workshops as related to quantitative imaging within the oncology setting. The editorial will then focus on the recently supported NCI initiatives, including the Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN) initiative and its organizational structure, including planned research goals and deliverables. The publications in this issue of Translational Oncology come from many of the current members of this QIN research network.     

1st NCI Annual Meeting on Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer

The National Cancer Institute of the US National Institutes of Health established a Clinical Proteomic Technologies Initiative for Cancer (CPTI) in 2006. The first annual meeting organized by the CPTI program provided up-to-date information on the research activities and achievements at its first anniversary of this program. Presentations were made by leaders from the five centers nationwide of the Clinical Proteomic Technology Assessment for Cancer (CPTAC), and other principal investigators funded by the CPTI.     

1st NCI annual meeting on Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer

The National Cancer Institute of the US National Institutes of Health established a Clinical Proteomic Technologies Initiative for Cancer (CPTI) in 2006. The first annual meeting organized by the CPTI program provided up-to-date information on the research activities and achievements at its first anniversary of this program. Presentations were made by leaders from the five centers nationwide of the Clinical Proteomic Technology Assessment for Cancer (CPTAC), and other principal investigators funded by the CPTI.     

Indian agency admits publishing "wrong" HIV figures

The National AIDS Control Organization, India's top government agency responsible for tracking HIV infection, admitted that it published inaccurate figures of new HIV cases detected in the country over the past 3 years. It is noted that the agency estimated that 3.5 million people were infected, based on a sentinel screening program aimed at determining the HIV prevalence rates among high-risk communities and the general population. However, the Joint Action Council, the nongovernmental association monitoring the government's HIV program has questioned these findings. The Council claimed that the agency downplayed several figures and that its reports do not reflect reality. This is because the agency's surveillance figures suggested that the states of Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal detected no new cases of HIV over the past 2-4 years. Moreover, epidemiologists have long suspected that thousands of infected people may be dying of HIV-related illnesses but are being missed by India's poor death recording system.     

Breast cancer as a global health concern

Public health data indicate that the global burden of breast cancer in women, measured by incidence, mortality, and economic costs, is substantial and on the increase. Worldwide, it is estimated that more than one million women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and more than 410,000 will die from the disease. In low- and middle-income countries (LMCs), the infrastructure and resources for routine screening mammography are often unavailable. In such lower resource settings, breast cancers are commonly diagnosed at late stages, and women may receive inadequate treatment, pain relief, or palliative care. There have been an increasing number of global health initiatives to address breast cancer including efforts by Susan G. Komen for the Cure^©, the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and ongoing work by leading oncology societies in different parts of the world. To support such initiatives, and to provide a scientific evidence base for health policy and public health decision making, there is a need for further health services research and program evaluations. Cancer registries can be invaluable in ascertaining the magnitude of cancer disease burden and its distribution in these countries. Additional data are needed for various geographic areas to assess resources required, cost-effectiveness, and humane approaches for preventing or controlling breast cancer in low resource settings in developing countries.     

Source,alterations, characteristics and use of a new dog cell line (Cf2Th)

Summary A cell line derived from normal fetal canine thymus (Cf2Th) has been in culture since 1967. During cultivation the cells have changed morphologically from a fibroblast-like to flat, fusiform appearance and karyologically from diploid (2n=78) with 76 telocentric autosomes to hypodiploid with newly formed atelocentric chromosomes. The cells retain canine characteristic enzyme activity (G6PD and LDH) as well as cell membrane fluorescence and are free of mycoplasma. High passage cells produce tumors in ATST mice. No endogenous viruses have been detected in these cells. No original publication exists, to date, on the origin of this line, but seed stocks thereof have been distributed to many laboratories and the cells have served as experimental substrates in a number of published works in oncology albeit under different designations. The present information is offered in order to establish the provenance of this valuable cell line and to list characteristics which may serve to monitor for its purity and to distinguish it from other existing cell lines of dog origin also in common use. Supported by Contract No. 1-CP-3-3237 within the Virus Cancer Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.     

Education and training for radiation scientists: radiation research program and American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Workshop, Bethesda, Maryland, May 12-14, 2003

Current and potential shortfalls in the number of radiation scientists stand in sharp contrast to the emerging scientific opportunities and the need for new knowledge to address issues of cancer survivorship and radiological and nuclear terrorism. In response to these challenges, workshops organized by the Radiation Research Program (RRP), National Cancer Institute (NCI) (Radiat. Res. 157, 204-223, 2002; Radiat. Res. 159, 812-834, 2003), and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (Nature, 421, 787, 2003) have engaged experts from a range of federal agencies, academia and industry. This workshop, Education and Training for Radiation Scientists, addressed the need to establish a sustainable pool of expertise and talent for a wide range of activities and careers related to radiation biology, oncology and epidemiology. Although fundamental radiation chemistry and physics are also critical to radiation sciences, this workshop did not address workforce needs in these areas. The recommendations include: (1) Establish a National Council of Radiation Sciences to develop a strategy for increasing the number of radiation scientists. The strategy includes NIH training grants, interagency cooperation, interinstitutional collaboration among universities, and active involvement of all stakeholders. (2) Create new and expanded training programs with sustained funding. These may take the form of regional Centers of Excellence for Radiation Sciences. (3) Continue and broaden educational efforts of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and the Radiation Research Society (RRS). (4) Foster education and training in the radiation sciences for the range of career opportunities including radiation oncology, radiation biology, radiation epidemiology, radiation safety, health/government policy, and industrial research. (5) Educate other scientists and the general public on the quantitative, basic, molecular, translational and applied aspects of radiation sciences.     

Multidisciplinary International Conference on Gynecologic Cancer, Bologna, Italy, June 8-12, 2005

The first "Multidisciplinary International Conference on Gynecologic Cancer" which was held in Bologna on June 8-12, 2005, addressed some of the most crucial topics in gynecologic oncology, presented the latest achievements and, at the same time, designed the guidelines for future developments in the field. The scientific program was intended not only to share and compare views and ideas among gynecologists but also with oncologists and researchers in basic science. The scientific committee strongly believed in the "multidisciplinary approach" towards medicine and particularly towards patients.     

Evaluation of data quality at the Hungarian National Cancer Registry, 2000–2019

BackgroundThe Hungarian National Cancer Registry (HNCR) was legally established as a population-based cancer registry in 1999, and its operation started in 2000 supporting the planning and development of the Hungarian oncology network as well as informing national cancer control policies. Ensuring comparable, accurate, and complete data on malignant and in situ neoplasms is critical in determining the applicability of the database. The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the data quality at the HNCR.MethodsBased on qualitative and semiquantitative methods from current international guidelines, we assess the comparability, completeness, validity, and timeliness of the collected data over the diagnostic period 2000–2019, with a focus on the year 2018.ResultsCoding practices and the classification system used at the HNCR are based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), which differs from the internationally recommended ICD-O. The annual trends in incidence did not indicate major fluctuations, that may have resulted from data collection discrepancies, while comparisons of the mortality-to-incidence ratio (M:I) compared with 1 minus 5-year observed survival indicated some systematic differences requiring further exploration. The age-standardized (European standard) incidence rate per 100 000 measured by the HNCR in 2018 was very high: 647.9 for men and 501.6 for women, 11.6% and 14.6% higher than the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates respectively. Behind the overall differences between the two data sources, we identified that the vast majority were due to ill-defined ICD codes: malignant neoplasm of other and ill-defined sites (C76), and malignant neoplasm without specification of site (C80). Otherwise, there were no major discrepancies by localization. The proportion of morphologically verified cancer cases was 57.8% overall, that of death certificates was 2.3%, and that of unknown primary tumors was 1.4%.ConclusionFurther implementations and interventions are required to ensure that the operations, coding practices, and the classification system used at the national registry are in accordance with international standards, and to increase the completeness and validity of the collected cancer data. In particular, the low morphologically verified proportion questions the overall accuracy of the stated diagnoses within the database. Nevertheless, our examination implies that the data of the HNCR are reasonably comparable, and without doubt fulfill the requirements to support national oncology services and cancer planning. However, most importantly, a review of registry personnel and resource requirements to run the national population-based cancer registry should be an essential part of Hungary’s national cancer strategy.     

Functional diversity within the rudimentary locus of Drosophila melanogaster

Summary The rudimentary locus of Drosophila melanogaster is shown to be at least bifunctional. Mutants in different regions of the locus have either no CPSase or no ATCase activity; some mutants lack both activities. The results are discussed in correlation with the complementation and genetic map of the locus.Supported by National Research Council of Canada, grant A-1764 and National Cancer Institute of Canada, grant 6051 to D. T. Suzuki.Researcher, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France and recipient of European Molecular Biology Organization Fellowship.     

Cancer proteomics: many technologies,one goal

A major goal of the National Cancer Institute is to alleviate patient pain, suffering and death associated with cancer by the year 2015. This goal does not insinuate a cure for cancer, but rather the development of diagnostics and therapeutics that will eventually decrease cancer morbidity and mortality. A part of meeting this goal is to leverage the enormous data-gathering capabilities of proteomic technologies to discover disease-specific biomarkers in serum, plasma, urine, tissues and other biologic samples. The rapid advance in available technologies that have been spurred by the -omics era, has enabled biologic samples to be surveyed for biomarkers in ways never before possible. However, it is not yet clear which specific technologies will be the most successful. Therefore, proteomic laboratories within the National Cancer Institute are taking a multipronged approach to identify disease-specific biomarkers. This review discusses some of these approaches in their context of meeting the National Cancer Institute’s 2015 goal.     

The role of microdosimetry in radiobiology

Summary Microdosimetry is a branch of radiological physics that provides quantitative characterization of the non-uniformity of energy deposition in uniformly irradiated matter.Considerations based on microdosimetry indicate that the action of ionizing radiation on the cells of higher organisms depends on the square of the specific energy absorbed in subcellular volumes. This is the basis of the Theory of Dual Radiation Action. The basic postulate of this theory is reviewed and four factors are discussed that modify its elementary formulation.Presented at the 6th European Conference on Radiobiology (Julich 1978). Based on work carried out under Contract EP-78-S-02-4733 from the U.S. Department of Energy and by Grant Nos. CA 12536, CA 15307 of the National Cancer Institute     

The cause of cancer mutations: Improvable bad life or inevitable stochastic replication errors?

Despite substantial progress in understanding the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and fighting oncology diseases, cancer mortality remains rather high. Therefore, there is a striving to reduce this mortality to the level determined by endogenous biological factors. The review analyzes the mutations that lead to cell malignant transformation and describes the contribution that self-renewal of adult tissues makes to tumorigenesis. Cancer progression is considered as a development of a complicated system where cells mutate, evolve, and are subject to selection. Cancer paradoxes are described in conclusion.     

Cancer proteomics: many technologies, one goal

A major goal of the National Cancer Institute is to alleviate patient pain, suffering and death associated with cancer by the year 2015. This goal does not insinuate a cure for cancer, but rather the development of diagnostics and therapeutics that will eventually decrease cancer morbidity and mortality. A part of meeting this goal is to leverage the enormous data-gathering capabilities of proteomic technologies to discover disease-specific biomarkers in serum, plasma, urine, tissues and other biologic samples. The rapid advance in available technologies that have been spurred by the -omics era, has enabled biologic samples to be surveyed for biomarkers in ways never before possible. However, it is not yet clear which specific technologies will be the most successful. Therefore, proteomic laboratories within the National Cancer Institute are taking a multipronged approach to identify disease-specific biomarkers. This review discusses some of these approaches in their context of meeting the National Cancer Institute's 2015 goal.     

Constant-rate stocking of predator-prey systems

We examine the qualitative effects of constant-rate stocking of either or both species in a predator-prey system. The hypotheses are made as mild as possible so that several types of systems with different qualitative alternatives may be studied.Sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DAAG29-75-C-0024 and the National Research Council of Canada under Grant No. A-3138.The authors wish to thank Mr. Al Mackenzie for drawing the numerous figures which appear in this paper.     

Neuroblastoma in Spain: Linking the national clinical database and epidemiological registries – A study by the Joint Action on Rare Cancers

PurposeLinkage between clinical databases and population-based cancer registries may serve to evaluate European Reference Networks’ (ERNs) activity, by monitoring the proportion of patients benefiting from these and their impact on survival at a population level. To test this, a study targeting neuroblastoma (Nb) was conducted in Spain by the European Joint Action on Rare Cancers.Material and methodsSubjects: Nb cases, incident 1999–2017, aged < 15 years. Linkage included: Spanish Neuroblastoma Clinical Database (NbCDB) (1217 cases); Spanish Registry of Childhood Tumours (RETI) (1514 cases); and 10 regional population-based registries (RPBCRs) which cover 33% of the childhood population (332 cases). Linkage was semiautomatic. We estimated completeness, incidence, contribution, deficit, and 5-year survival in the databases and specific subsets.ResultsNational completeness estimates for RETI and NbCDB were 91% and 72% respectively, using the Spanish RPBCRs on International Incidence of Childhood Cancer (https://iicc.iarc.fr/) as reference. RPBCRs’ specific contribution was 1.6%. Linkage required manual crossover in 54% of the semiautomatic matches. Five-year survival was 74% (0–14 years) and 90% (0–18 months).ConclusionsAll three databases were incomplete as regards Spain as a whole and should therefore be combined to achieve full childhood cancer registration. A unique personal patient identifier could facilitate such linkage. Most children have access to Nb clinical trials. Consolidated interconnections between the national registry and clinical registries (including ERNs and paediatric oncology clinical groups) should be established to evaluate outcomes.     

Saving Europe’s threatened flora: progress towards GSPC Target 8 in Europe

The European flora is of global significance but many species are facing an ever increasing range of threats, especially the growing impacts of climate change. While various estimates have been made for the number of threatened plant species in Europe, an up-to-date European plant Red List does not presently exist. Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for 60% of threatened plant species to be conserved in ex situ collections by 2010. In the absence of a European plant Red List, it is difficult to monitor progress at the regional level towards this target. To address this gap Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has developed a consolidated list of European threatened species as a step towards a formal Red List. The database consists of national Red List data from 28 European countries and includes records for over 11,000 taxa. National Red List data were supplemented by information on the critically endangered plants of Europe provided by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle/European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity and the Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest. A list of regionally threatened species was extracted from the database and screened against BGCI’s database of plants in cultivation in botanic gardens (PlantSearch) and ENSCONET’s (European Native Seed Conservation Network) database of plants conserved in European seed banks. This analysis revealed that 42% of European threatened species are currently included in ex situ conservation programmes in Europe.     

Biotech news from South Africa (SA)

South Africa: An introduction Biotech in South Africa South Africa National Biotech Audit 2007 Biotech facts and figures in SA GMOs in South Africa The SA Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Blue Gene for Africa initiative to catalyze research activities CSIR research highlights Biopad: Biotechnology Partnership for Africa's Development Global biotech lab in Cape Town Wellcome Trust institutional research capacity strengthening in Africa Cancer on the rise in Africa South African firm wins Global Business Council Award Japan-Africa summit on African science and technology BTJ paper watch: South Africa