@article{SchramaUgurelSuckeretal.2014, author = {Schrama, David and Ugurel, Selma and Sucker, Antje and Ritter, Cathrin and Zapatka, Marc and Schadendorf, Dirk and Becker, J{\"u}rgen Christian}, title = {STAT3 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs4796793 SNP Does Not Correlate with Response to Adjuvant IFNα Therapy in Stage III Melanoma Patients}, series = {Frontiers in Medicine}, volume = {1}, journal = {Frontiers in Medicine}, number = {47}, issn = {2296-858X}, doi = {10.3389/fmed.2014.00047}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120602}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Interferon alpha (IFNα) is approved for adjuvant treatment of stage III melanoma in Europe and the US. Its clinical efficacy, however, is restricted to a subpopulation of patients while side effects occur in most of treated patients. Thus, the identification of predictive biomarkers would be highly beneficial to improve the benefit to risk ratio. In this regard, STAT3 is important for signaling of the IFNα receptor. Moreover, the STAT3 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4796793 has recently been reported to be associated with IFNα sensitivity in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. To translate this notion to melanoma, we scrutinized the impact of rs4796793 functionally and clinically in this cancer. Interestingly, melanoma cells carrying the minor allele of rs4796793 were the most sensitive to IFNα in vitro. However, we did not detect a correlation between SNP genotype and STAT3 mRNA expression for either melanoma cells or for peripheral blood lymphocytes. Next, we analyzed the impact of rs4796793 on the clinical outcome of 259 stage III melanoma patients of which one-third had received adjuvant IFNα treatment. These analyses did not reveal a significant association between the STAT3 rs4796793 SNP and patients' progression free or overall survival when IFNα treated and untreated patients were compared. In conclusion, STAT3 rs4796793 SNP is no predictive marker for the efficacy of adjuvant IFNα treatment in melanoma patients.}, language = {en} } @article{BuderMuellerBeekmannetal.2014, author = {Buder, Kristina and M{\"u}ller, Philip A. and Beekmann, Gabriele and Ugurel, Selma and Br{\"o}cker, Eva-Bettina and Becker, J{\"u}rgen C.}, title = {Denileukin Diftitox plus Total Skin Electron Beam Radiation in Patients with Treatment-refractory Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (Mycosis Fungoides): Report of Four Cases}, series = {Acta Dermato-Venereologica}, volume = {94}, journal = {Acta Dermato-Venereologica}, doi = {10.2340/00015555-1627}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120091}, pages = {94-96}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) (1). Most patients initially respond well to standard therapy, but advanced MF is often treatment refractory. Thus, a combination of the available treatment options is an important strategy. Total skin electron beam radiation (TSEB) is effective in MF, with a complete remission rate of up to 90\% in the early stages. However, in patients with more advanced stages, remission rates are considerably lower (2, 3). Denileukin diftitox (DD) (Ontak®) is a recombinant fusion protein of the receptor-binding domain of interleukin (IL)-2 and the enzymatic and translocation domains of diphtheria toxin (4). It targets the alpha-subunit of the IL-2-receptor (CD25). There are no reports on this combination therapy in MF.}, language = {en} }