PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of comorbidities and adverse events (AEs), and determine the treatment patterns according to platinum-sensitivity status in patients with advanced (stage IIIB-IV) or recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out in France with patients over 18 years, diagnosed with advanced (stage III...

It has been shown that cis-platinum-induced nephrotoxicity in rats can be inhibited by diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC). We report here the bone marrow protective properties of DDC in hybrid (C57BL X BALB/c) mice exposed to single and fractionated doses of cis-platinum. Relatively nontoxic doses of DDC afford maximum protection, using that dose of cis-platinum that would result in the death of 50% ...

Background Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy is a clinical challenge in the treatment of ovarian cancer (OC) and limits survival. Therefore, innovative drugs against platinum-resistance are urgently needed. Our therapeutic concept is based on the conjugation of two chemotherapeutic compounds to a monotherapeutic pro-drug, which is taken up by cancer cells and cleaved into active cytosta...

Attempts to produce colloidal platinum nanoparticles by using steady absorption spectra with various chemical-based reduction methods often resulted in the fast disappearance of the absorption maxima leaving reduced platinum nanoparticles with little information on their optical properties. We synthesized colloidal platinum nanoparticles in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone by gamma ...

Platinum resistance has long been a major issue in the treatment of various cancers. We previously reported that enhanced annexin A4 (ANXA4) expression, a Ca2+-regulated phospholipid-binding protein, induces chemoresistance to platinum-based drugs. In this study, we investigated the role of annexin repeats, a conserved structure of all the annexin family, responsible for platinum-resistance as ...

Platinum based drugs are the cornerstone of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, however the development of chemoresistance hinders its success. IL-8 is involved in regulating several pro-survival pathways in cancer. We studied the expression of IL-8 and IL-8 receptors in platinum sensitive and resistant cell lines. Using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, both platinum sensitive (PEA1, PEO14) and r...

BACKGROUND There is a paucity of data on the national population-level effectiveness of preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes in high-HIV-prevalence, resource-limited settings. We assessed national PMTCT impact in South Africa (SA), 2010. METHODS A facility-based survey was conducted using a stratified multistage, cluster sampling design. A nationally representative sampl...

The mechanisms of the mitochondrial toxicity of AZT (azidothymidine; zidovudine) are not clear. The two main contenders are the incorporation of phosphorylated AZT into the mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) and the competitive inhibition of natural deoxynucleotide metabolism. We have built a computational model of AZT metabolism in mitochondria in order to better understand these toxicity mechanisms. T...

Platinum is recognized as a harmless metal and is widely used in many industrial products. Recent studies have proposed that platinum in the form of nanoparticles has antioxidant properties, suggesting potential uses for platinum nanoparticles as additives in foods and cosmetics, with direct exposure consequences for humans. However, the influence of platinum nanoparticles on humans has not bee...

A platinum(II) complex with the antiviral drug acyclovir was synthesized and its antiviral and anticancer properties were investigated in comparison to those of acyclovir and cisplatin. The platinum-acyclovir complex maintained the antiviral activity of the parent drug acyclovir, though showing a minor efficacy on a molar basis (ID(50) = 7.85 and 1.02 muMu for platinum-acyclovir and cisplatin, ...