Mechanisms of cisplatin resistance: DNA repair and cellular implications

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II)), is a platinum based chemotherapeutic employed in the clinic to treat patients with lung, ovarian, colorectal or head and neck cancers. Cisplatin acts to induce tumor cell death via multiple mechanisms. The best characterized mode of action is through irreversible DNA cross-links which activate DNA damage signals leading to cell death via the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. However, the primary issue with cisplatin is that while patients initially respond favorably, sustained cisplatin therapy often yields chemoresistance resulting in therapeutic failure. In this chapter, we review the DNA damage and repair pathways that contribute to cisplatin resistance. We also examine the cellular implications of cisplatin resistance that may lead to selection of subpopulations of cells within a tumor. In better understanding the mechanisms conferring cisplatin resistance, novel targets may be identified to restore drug sensitivity.

First-Line afatinib versus chemotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer and common epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations and brain metastases

Introduction Metastatic spread to the brain is common in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but these patients are generally excluded from prospective clinical trials. The studies, phase III study of afatinib or cisplatin plus pemetrexed in patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR mutations (LUX-Lung 3) and a randomized, open-label, phase III study of BIBW 2992 versus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with stage IIIB or IV adenocarcinoma of the lung harbouring an EGFR activating mutation (LUX-Lung 6) investigated first-line afatinib versus platinum-based chemotherapy in epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR) mutation-positive patients with NSCLC and included patients with brain metastases; prespecified subgroup analyses are assessed in this article. Methods For both LUX-Lung 3 and LUX-Lung 6, prespecified subgroup analyses of progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and objective response rate were undertaken in patients with asymptomatic brain metastases at baseline (n = 35 and n = 46, respectively). Post hoc analyses of clinical outcomes was undertaken in the combined data set (n = 81). Results In both studies, there was a trend toward improved PFS with afatinib versus chemotherapy in patients with brain metastases (LUX-Lung 3: 11.1 versus 5.4 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.54, p = 0.1378; LUX-Lung 6: 8.2 versus 4.7 months, HR = 0.47, p = 0.1060). The magnitude of PFS improvement with afatinib was similar to that observed in patients without brain metastases. In combined analysis, PFS was significantly improved with afatinib versus with chemotherapy in patients with brain metastases (8.2 versus 5.4 months; HR, 0.50; p = 0.0297). Afatinib significantly improved the objective response rate versus chemotherapy in patients with brain metastases. Safety findings were consistent with previous reports. Conclusions These findings lend support to the clinical activity of afatinib in EGFR mutation–positive patients with NSCLC and asymptomatic brain metastases.

Lung cancer stem cells: The root of resistance

In the absence of specific treatable mutations, platinum-based chemotherapy remains the gold standard of treatment for lung cancer patients. However, 5-year survival rates remain poor due to the development of resistance and eventual relapse. Resistance to conventional cytotoxic therapies presents a significant clinical challenge in the treatment of this disease. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis suggests that tumors are arranged in a hierarchical structure, with the presence of a small subset of stem-like cells that are responsible for tumor initiation and growth. This CSC population has a number of key properties such as the ability to asymmetrically divide, differentiate and self-renew, in addition to having increased intrinsic resistance to therapy. While cytotoxic chemotherapy kills the bulk of tumor cells, CSCs are spared and have the ability to recapitulate the heterogenic tumor mass. The identification of lung CSCs and their role in tumor biology and treatment resistance may lead to innovative targeted therapies that may ultimately improve clinical outcomes in lung cancer patients. This review will focus on lung CSC markers, their role in resistance and their relevance as targets for future therapies.

Bio-syngas production from biomass catalytic gasification

A promising application for biomass is liquid fuel synthesis, such as methanol or dimethyl ether (DME). Previous studies have studied syngas production from biomass-derived char, oil and gas. This study intends to explore the technology of syngas production from direct biomass gasification, which may be more economically viable. The ratio of H-2/CO is an important factor that affects the performance of this process. In this study, the characteristics of biomass gasification gas, such as H-2/CO and tar yield, as well as its potential for liquid fuel synthesis is explored. A fluidized bed gasifier and a downstream fixed bed are employed as the reactors. Two kinds of catalysts: dolomite and nickel based catalyst are applied, and they are used in the fluidized bed and fixed bed, respectively. The gasifying agent used is an air-steam mixture. The main variables studied are temperature and weight hourly space velocity in the fixed bed reactor. Over the ranges of operating conditions examined, the maximum H-2 content reaches 52.47 vol%, while the ratio of H-2/CO varies between 1.87 and 4.45. The results indicate that an appropriate temperature (750 degrees C for the current study) and more catalyst are favorable for getting a higher H-2/CO ratio. Using a simple first order kinetic model for the overall tar removal reaction, the apparent activation energies and pre-exponential factors are obtained for nickel based catalysts. The results indicate that biomass gasification gas has great potential for liquid fuel synthesis after further processing.

铬系催化剂聚合1,3-双烯烃的研究

铬系催化剂是合成1,2-聚丁二烯和3,4-聚异戊二烯的一种主要催化剂体系，1,2-聚丁二烯和3,4-聚异戊二烯是制造高性能轮胎的重要原料。本论文研究了以含氮化合物和含磷化合物为配体的铬催化剂合成1,2-聚丁二烯和3,4-聚异戊二烯的反应规律。 1. 以邻菲咯啉为配体的铬催化剂在己烷中50℃下可获得1,2-结构、顺-1,4-结构和反-1,4-结构单元含量分别约为50%、30%和20%，分子量呈双峰分布的聚丁二烯。改变聚合温度，可有效控制聚合物的1,2-结构含量和分子量及分布。催化剂通过预陈化方式，可有效抑制低聚物的生成。 2. 以亚磷酸二烷基酯为配体的铬催化剂是合成1,2-聚丁二烯的高效催化剂，所得聚合物具有高的1,2-结构含量（> 78%）。改变烷基铝和亚磷酸二烷基酯的结构，可以得到高熔点或低熔点间同1,2-聚丁二烯和无规1,2-聚丁二烯。催化剂以现配方式的活性最高。 3. 以磷酸三苯酯为配体的铬催化剂可获得间同1,2-聚丁二烯，而聚合物中含有低聚物。催化剂以现配方式的活性最高。聚合物的熔点，低聚物的含量与磷酸三苯酯的结构有一定的关系。 4. 以邻菲咯啉为配体的铬催化剂在50℃下聚合异戊二烯，具有高的催化活性，可获得3,4-结构含量约67%的高分子量无规3,4-聚异戊二烯。催化剂的组成对聚合物的微观结构无明显影响。改变聚合温度，可有效控制聚合物的3,4-结构含量和分子量及分布。

铁系催化剂聚合1，3-双烯烃的研究

1，2-聚丁二烯和3，4-聚异戊二烯是制造高性能轮胎的原料。本论文研究了以含磷化合物为第三组份的铁催化剂合成1，2-聚丁二烯和3，4-聚异戊二烯的反应规律：1．以二乙基亚磷酸酷为第三组份的铁催化剂可在己烷中，较高温度（50℃）下聚合1，3-丁二烯。通过控制催化剂组份的配比，可制备间同和无规1，2-聚丁二烯。所得间同1，2-聚丁二烯的1，2-结构含量为91％，间规度为90％；所得无规1，2-聚丁二烯的硫化胶具有优异的抗干、湿滑性能。2．以三苯基磷酸酷为第三组份的铁催化剂是合成高间同1，2一聚丁二烯的高效催化剂。所得聚合物具有高的1，2-结构含量（ca.95％），高的间规度（ca.95％）。聚合物的微观结构与催化剂组成等反应因素无关。3．以二烷基亚磷酸醋为第三组份的铁催化剂可在己烷中，较高温度（50℃）下聚合异戊二烯。二烷基亚磷酸醋中烷基影响聚合活性的顺序为乙基一甲基＞正丁基＞异辛基。所得聚异戊二烯的3，4（含1，2）结构含量保持在60％左右，不受反应条件的影响。4．改性甲基铝氧烷（MMAO）活化的铁催化剂聚合异戊二烯，在相当低的MMAO用量下（Al／Fe=20，摩尔比）即有高的催化活性。溶剂影响聚合活性的顺序为甲苯＞环己烷＞己烷＞二氯甲烷。所得聚异戊二烯的3，4（含1，2）结构含量稳定在60％。