paywalled: Sleep disturbance, cytokines, and fatigue in women with ovarian cancer.

Sleep disturbance, cytokines, and fatigue in women with ovarian cancer.

Abstract

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), have been implicated in the underlying processes contributing to sleep regulation and fatigue. Despite evidence for sleep difficulties, fatigue, and elevations in IL-6 among women with ovarian cancer, the association between these symptoms and IL-6 has not been investigated. To address this knowledge gap, we examined relationships between sleep disturbance, fatigue, and plasma IL-6 in 136 women with ovarian cancer prior to surgery. These relationships were also examined in 63 of these women who were disease-free and not receiving chemotherapy 1 year post-diagnosis. At both time-points, higher levels of IL-6 were significantly associated with sleep disturbances (p<0.05), controlling for potentially confounding biological and psychosocial covariates. Higher IL-6 was significantly associated with fatigue prior to surgery (p<0.05); however, when sleep disturbance was included in the model, the relationship was no longer significant. IL-6 was not significantly associated with fatigue at 1 year. Changes in sleep over time were significantly associated with percent change in IL-6 from pre-surgery to 1 year, adjusting for covariates (p<0.05). These findings support a direct association of IL-6 with sleep disturbances in this population, whereas the relationship between IL-6 and fatigue prior to surgery may be mediated by poor sleep. As this study is the first to examine cytokine contributions to sleep and fatigue in ovarian cancer, further research is warranted to clarify the role of biological correlates of sleep and fatigue in this population.

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Licenses Novel Immunotherapeutic Target EphA2 from University of Pittsburgh - MarketWatch

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Licenses Novel Immunotherapeutic Target EphA2 from University of Pittsburgh - MarketWatch

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Licenses Novel Immunotherapeutic Target EphA2 from University of Pittsburgh

LOS ANGELES, Mar 22, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ImmunoCellular Therapeutics IMUC +12.14% today announced that it has entered into an agreement with University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) under which Pitt has licensed to the Company intellectual property surrounding EphA2, a tyrosine kinase receptor that is highly expressed by ovarian cancer and other advanced and metastatic malignancies. This agreement grants a world-wide exclusive license to the Pitt intellectual property for ovarian and pancreatic cancers; and a world-wide non-exclusive license to the Pitt intellectual property for brain cancer. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Company will employ the Pitt intellectual property in the development and commercialization of ICT-140, a multivalent, dendritic cell-based vaccine for the treatment of ovarian cancer. ICT-140 is designed to target cancer stem cells as well as daughter cells in ovarian cancer by targeting multiple different antigens including EphA2, mesothelin, Her-2/neu, IL-13Ra2 and several other undisclosed antigens......

Expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1) ligands system in the most common endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer subtypes

Note: highly technical paper comparing serous, clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancer cells type/endometriosis/Interleukins (in research)