There is no strong evidence of a protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding for at least 3 months against AD, even among children with a positive family history.

No abstract

The antitumor activity of an inhibitor of 26S proteasome bortezomib (Velcade) has been observed in various malignancies, including colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Bortezomib has been proposed to stimulate autophagy, but scientific observations did not always support this. Interactions between ERK activity and autophagy are complex and not completely clear. Autophagy proteins have recently been shown to regulate the functions of ERK, and ERK activation has been found to induce autophagy. On the other hand, sustained activation of ERK has also been shown to inhibit the maturation step of the autophagy process. In this study, we sought to identify the mechanism of autophagy regulation in cancer cells treated with bortezomib. Our results indicate that bortezomib blocked the autophagic flux without inhibiting the fusion of the autophagosome and lysosome. In ovarian cancer, as well as endometrial cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma cells, bortezomib inhibited protein degradation in lysosomes by suppressing cathepsins, which requires the participation of ERK phosphorylation, but not JNK or p38. Our findings that ERK phosphorylation reduced cathepsins further explain how ERK phosphorylation inhibits the autophagic flux. In conclusion, bortezomib may induce ERK phosphorylation to suppress cathepsin B and inhibit the catalytic process of autophagy in ovarian cancer and other solid tumors. The inhibition of cisplatin-induced autophagy by bortezomib can enhance chemotherapy efficacy in ovarian cancer. As we also found that bortezomib blocks the autophagic flux in other cancers, the synergistic cytotoxic effect of bortezomib by abolishing chemotherapy-related autophagy may help us develop strategies of combination therapies for multiple cancers.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the most common complementary and alternative medicines used in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. However, the clinical effect of TCM on survival, which is a major concern in these individuals, lacks evidence from large-scale clinical studies. METHODS: The authors used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to conduct a retrospective population-based cohort study of patients with advanced breast cancer between 2001 and 2010. The patients were separated into TCM users and nonusers, and Cox regression models were applied to determine the association between the use of TCM and patient survival. RESULTS: A total of 729 patients with advanced breast cancer receiving taxanes were included in the current study. Of this cohort, the mean age was 52.0 years; 115 patients were TCM users (15.8%) and 614 patients were TCM nonusers. The mean follow-up was 2.8 years, with 277 deaths reported to occur during the 10-year period. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that, compared with nonusers, the use of TCM was associated with a significantly decreased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [HR], 0.55 [95% confidence interval, 0.33-0.90] for TCM use of 30-180 days; adjusted HR, 0.46 [95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.78] for TCM use of > 180 days). Among the frequently used TCMs, those found to be most effective (lowest HRs) in reducing mortality were Bai Hua She She Cao, Ban Zhi Lian, and Huang Qi. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current observational study suggest that adjunctive TCM therapy may lower the risk of death in patients with advanced breast cancer. Future randomized controlled trials are required to validate these findings. Cancer 2014;120:1338-44.

Background Environmental fungi have been linked to T helper type 2 (Th2) cell-related airway inflammation and the Th2-associated chronic airway diseases asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS), but whether these organisms participate directly or indirectly in disease pathology remains unknown. Objective To determine the frequency of fungus isolation and fungus-specific immunity in Th2-associated and non-associated airway disease patients. Methods Sinus lavage fluid and blood were collected from sinus surgery patients (n=118) including CRS patients with and without nasal polyps and AFRS and non-CRS/non-asthmatic control patients. Asthma status was deteremined from medical history. Sinus lavage fluids were cultured and directly examined for evidence of viable fungi. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were restimulated with fungal antigens in an enzyme linked immunocell spot (ELISpot) assay to determine total memory fungus-specific IL-4-secreting cells. These data were compared to fungus-specific IgE levels measured from plasma by ELISA. Results Filamentous fungi were significantly more commonly cultured from Th2-associated airway disease subjects (asthma, CRSwNP, or AFRS: n=68) compared to non-Th2-associated control patients (n=31); 74% vs 16% respectively, p<0.001. Both fungus-specific IL-4 ELISpot (n=48) and specific IgE (n=70) data correlated with Th2-associated diseases (sensitivity 73% and specificity 100% vs. 50% and 77%, respectively). Conclusions The frequent isolation of fungi growing directly within the airways accompanied by specific immunity to these organisms only in patients with Th2-associated chronic airway diseases suggests that fungi participate directly in the pathogenesis of these conditions. Efforts to eradicate airway fungi from the airways should be considered in selected patients. Clinical Implications Airway fungi may contribute to the expression of sinusitis with nasal polyps and asthma, suggesting that efforts to eradicate fungi from the airways and environments of these patients should be considered.