Secondary angiosarcoma of the breast is a rare, but well-described complication of radiation therapy for primary breast carcinoma. Currently, it appears refractory to most systemic chemotherapy though rare responses to taxanes exist (1,2). Overall, patient prognosis is poor (3). A 78-year-old female underwent left breast conservation and axillary node dissection in 1999 for invasive ductal carcinoma followed by whole breast radiation therapy. Eleven years later, she noted multiple small nodules in the medial aspect of the left breast. Biopsy of the nodules revealed angiosarcoma of the breast. A metastatic follow-up showed no evidence of distant disease and a modified radical mastectomy performed. Histopathology confirmed the presence of angiosarcoma with all margins negative. The patient completed a course of postmastectomy irradiation with dose limitation by previous radiation for her original breast conserving procedure. This was administered concurrently with adjuvant chemotherapy (Taxol and Adriamycin). The patient did not tolerate the chemotherapy but finished the course of radiation therapy. Ten months later, angiosarcoma nodules recurred along the mastectomy scar. Chemotherapy with single agent carboplatinum was ineffective. Six months later, she underwent a wide resection of the skin and soft tissue of the left chest wall with multiple cutaneous nodules and positive deep margin (the pectoral muscle/ribs) was noted. In the interim, she underwent a split thickness skin graft to cover the large defect. Within 6 months, recurrent disease appeared in the graft and surrounding soft tissue. With no documented distant metastases, the patient again underwent a resection of recurrent tumors, chest wall and two ribs requiring TRAM flap coverage. A Caris profile was requested. She remained free of local recurrence for only 4 months, when multiple and rapidly growing subcutaneous nodules became evident about the chest wall and flap (Fig. 1A). The Caris gene expression assay performed earlier demonstrated a potential therapeutic benefit of sunitinib due to the upregulation of VEGFR2. Sunitinib was then

Potato in Brazil is often cultivated after corn (Zea mays) using the conventional tillage system, which achieve about 20 cm depth, not deep enough to remove physical impairments below the prepared layer. Thus, a deep tillage system associated to succession with grass types is postulated as an alternative to promote the adequate development of the potato crop. This study, with the cultivar Atlantic, aimed to compare the conventional tillage (PC) used in potato, in succession to corn, to a deep tillage system (PP), in succession with three different grass types (corn, Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu and Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia) on the growth dynamics of potato. The dry matter production (MS, t/ha) of the aboveground part of the grasses was different in descending order: Tanzânia PP (26.56) > Marandu PP (19.94) > Corn PP (5.57) = Corn PC (5.72). With respect to potato development, Corn PP (5.56 and 85.51) was higher than Corn PC (4.34 and 64.83 g/plant MS) for the production of roots and leaves respectively, no statistical difference being found among the other treatments. For the production of stalks, Corn PC (5.53 g/plant MS) was the lowest and for the production of tubers, Marandu PP and Corn PP (152.16 and 149.01 g/plant MS) were higher than Corn PC (115.73 g/plant MS). In summary, the deep tillage system provided better development of potato and the effects varied depending on the grass type used for succession.

PurposeHyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is used in the treatment of radiation-induced tissue injury but its effect on (residual) tumor tissue is indistinct and therefore investigated in this study.ProceduresOrthotopic FaDu tumors were established in mice, and the response of the (irradiated) tumors to HBOT was monitored by bioluminescence imaging. Near infrared fluorescence imaging using AngioSense750 and Hypoxisense680 was applied to detect tumor vascular permeability and hypoxia.ResultsHBOT treatment resulted in accelerated growth of non-irradiated tumors, but mouse survival was improved. Tumor vascular leakiness and hypoxia were enhanced after HBOT, whereas histological characteristics, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition markers, and metastatic incidence were not influenced.ConclusionsSquamous cell carcinoma responds to HBOT with respect to tumor growth, vascular permeability, and hypoxia, which may have implications for its use in cancer patients. The ability to longitudinally analyze tumor characteristics highlights the versatility and potential of optical imaging methods in oncological research.