Cancer Medicine

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) patients in Manitoba are either referred to the CLL Clinic at CancerCare Manitoba or are followed by other hematologists and general practitioners. Patients seen in the CLL clinic have an improved overall survival (OS) compared to nonreferred patients and this appears to be primarily related to improved OS in the elderly.

Residual disease in unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcoma was a poor prognostic predictor for all oncological outcomes. Soft tissue sarcomas should be treated in specialized centers and unplanned excision should be avoided because of its detrimental effect especially when residual disease remains after unplanned excision.

The success of palliative radiotherapy in improving clinical symptoms and achieving good local control for mural cardiac metastases calls for further consideration of this modality either as a single modality or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. Our experience shows that common palliative dose fractionation schemes (such as 8, 20, or 30 Gy in 1, 5, and 10 fractions, respectively) is safe and effective and should be considered early in the management of these patients.

This population-based analysis of patients with stage I-IV Hodgkin's disease revealed a higher proportion of patients being diagnosed with stage II disease compared to earlier years. Furthermore, there was a profound improvement in survival over time for patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma which was particularly notable for those with early stage disease.

We indicated for the first time that a quantification of the interaction between cetuximab and IgE on basophils, the site responsible for IgE-mediated allergy, allows a more precise definition of the clinical presentation of allergic reaction due to cetuximab.

There was a significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit of first-line crizotinib versus first-line standard chemotherapy in Chinese patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive lung adenocarcinoma. Additionally, crizotinib showed promising efficacy in patients who received it as second-line therapy after progressive disease (PD) had occurred on first-line chemotherapy.

We show that circulating tumor cells are frequently detected in blood of MMPs either isolated or as circulating tumor microemboli. The detection of circulating tumor microemboli (CTMs) is synonymous of a higher metastatic potential at baseline and after first line of treatment with Vemurafenib. Higher expression of TRF2, CD10, and SOX10 in CTMs correlated with worse prognosis in MMPs, whereas these molecules were only weakly or not expressed in isolated circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

The greatest strength of our study certainly is to confirm the highest MRI-negative predictive value for invasive cancers (IC) in this cohort that was of 100%. The clinical impact is relevant when obtained by a noninvasive preoperative method as the sentinel node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure in patient with invasive disease.

We reviewed medical records of young adult cancer survivors regarding reproductive and sexual health discussions with their physicians. Our study highlights that such conversations occur inadequately, even though this dialog is associated with a higher likelihood of fertility preservation strategies.

In this study, laparoscopic colorectal surgery in elderly patients achieved better results than open surgery in terms of bowel function recovery, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Overall survival and recurrence-free survival following laparoscopic and open colorectal resections were similar in the elderly population. These findings indicate that laparoscopic colorectal surgery in elderly patients is safe and feasible, and should be considered as a treatment option.

Radiotherapy plus epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs) produced superior risk ratio and disease control rate, and markedly prolonged the central nervous system (CNS)-TTP and overall survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis (BM). Meanwhile, combined group increased the incidence of overall adverse effects, especially rash and dry skin. In future, more high-quality and large-scale clinical trials are necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy plus EGFR TKIs and select the most benefit population in NSCLC patients with BM.

Histologic B-cell aggregates were more associated with monoclonality than polyclonality. A combination of monoclonality and histologic B-cell aggregates within the bone marrow was highly associated with poor prognosis and could be used to determine high-risk DLBLC patients with greater sensitivity and specificity than conventional microscopic examination or immunoglobulin gene rearrangement study alone.

This study investigated whether inflammatory markers of the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) predicted progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with all cases of epithelial ovarian cancer (OC). GPS can serve as an indicator of poor prognosis in patients with all stages of OC cancer, including early-stage disease and regardless of histology.

Spectrin αII expression in ovarian carcinoma surgical specimens can be scored according to the scoring criteria used in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2). Spectrin αII expression is an independent prognostic factor of overall survival and survival after recurrence in ovarian carcinoma. Spectrin αII expression is a useful predictor of anticancer drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma.

Consolidation with radioimmunotherapy (RIT) after the induction phase including conventional chemoimmunotherapy became an attractive strategy for patients with advanced follicular lymphoma but updates of the long-term outcomes of this approach are lacking. For this reason, we report updated long-term efficacy and toxicity results of a sequential treatment with four cycles of fludarabine, mitoxantrone, and rituximab followed by ⁹⁰Y-IT as a front-line therapy for untreated patients with intermediate/high-risk follicular lymphoma. These data represented the first evidence of a real role even in the long period of RIT after a fludarabine-containing regimen plus rituximab in the treatment of high-risk follicular lymphoma: a long-term of disease-free survival (63%) and a relevant patients' responsiveness to subsequent therapies.

We herein report the outcome of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who did not undergo cystectomy and did not receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy as they were unfit for both treatment modalities. Treatment included transurethral resection of the tumor, radiotherapy, and carboplatin-based chemotherapy. The outcome of these patients was poor, reflecting the limited therapeutic options and the lack of clinical research focused on this population.

Primary surgery is the most effective local treatment for Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I–II small-cell carcinoma of the cervix, as adjuvant radiotherapy or radical radiotherapy does not improve survival compared to radical surgery, especially in patients with FIGO stage I and lymph node negative disease.

This study proposed a prognostic nomogram and a score system for platinum sensitivity in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with a median survival of 16.0 months for patients received platinum rechallenge as second-line chemotherapy.

Using a Mendelian randomization framework, we have found some evidence to suggest an association between low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides and more clinically severe PCa, but no evidence between high-density lipoprotein and these outcomes. There is an unmet clinical need to distinguish between indolent PCas and those that will progress to impact a man's life. Our findings indicate that blood lipids may be involved in this distinction.

We report that N-linked (N-acetylhexosamine)2(deoxyhexose)(mannose)3(N-acetylglucosamine)2 was significantly increased in the serum IgG heavy chains of patients with prostate cancer compared with that of either benign prostatic disease patients or healthy normal subjects, whereas (hexose)(N-acetylhexosamine)2(deoxyhexose)(mannose)3 (N-acetylglucosamine)2 was more abundant in the heavy chains of healthy subjects and benign prostatic disease patients. Thus, an absence of the terminal hexose of N-linked glycans has been closely connected to the progression of prostate cancer.

This review discusses the current knowledge of salivary gland stem cells in radiation-induced xerostomia and their value in the prevention and treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia.

Increasing data supports the role of early detection and treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema. New diagnostic modalities have increased sensitivity allowing for the earlier detection of lymphedema.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of microRNA (miR)-24 on the radiosensitivity of NPC cells. The results of this study suggested that the identified miR-24/Sp1 pathway contributed to the elucidation of the mechanisms of radiosensitivity in human NPC and that it may represent a potential therapeutic target.

Hypoxia induced miR-124 and miR-144 downregulation may contribute to a prosurvival mechanism of prostate cancer cells to hypoxia and irradiation at least through attenuated suppressing of PIM1. This presents a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer.

We believe that the combination of BRAF inhibitors with new epigenetic drugs such as Bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibitors offers a unique chance for the development of novel treatment programs for challenging malignancies such as melanoma.

Recombinantly produced glyco-engineered horseradish peroxidase (HRP) C1A is an efficient tool for targeted cancer treatment. Our findings might pave the way for a revival of the powerful combination indole-3-acetic acid IAA/HRP in antibody directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT) and an increased use of the versatile isoenzyme HRP C1A in cancer research in the future.

The aim of this study was to shed more light on the mutational spectrum of 28 pediatric aggressive fibromatosis (AF), comparing it with its adult counterpart. In addition to CTNNB1 mutation (64%), pediatric AF showed AKT1 (31%), BRAF (19%), and TP53 (9%) mutations, whereas only the CTNNB1 mutation was found in 33 adult AF. This intriguing finding, suggesting a mutational spectrum of pediatric AF more complex than that of adult, may have clinical implications and warrants further investigations.

Host EphA4 expression regulates cancer development mainly via EphA4-mediated IGF1 synthesis signal. Thus, targeting this signaling pathway may provide a potential therapeutic option for cancer treatment.

Nrf2 deficiency increased susceptibility to oxidative stress-induced small intestinal carcinogenesis in mice, in which COX2 overexpression followed by cell-cycle progression was involved. Individuals having single-nucleotide polymorphisms in NRF2 may have a risk of colorectal cancer to some extent.

It is currently unclear whether human polyomaviruses (PyV) play a role in the etiology of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Our findings from a population-based case–control study conducted in the United States provide limited evidence that certain PyV types may be related to the occurrence of SCC of the skin in the general population.

A novel cancer cell stemness inhibitor, napabucasin, suppressed advanced prostate cancer effectively via inhibition of prostate stemness-high cancer cells.

Activation of γ-Aminobutyric acid receptor (GABA_BR) signaling significantly inhibited the colorectal cell HT29 proliferation by arresting the cell at G1 phase. Inhibition of GABA_BR could activate GSK-3β by reducing the phosphorylation level of GSK-3β, moreover, activation of GSK-3β blocked the repression of cell proliferation caused by inhibition of GABA_BR signaling. Activation of GABA_BR leaded to inhibition of GSK-3β activation to repress the NF-κB function during colorectal cancer cell proliferation.

Although the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC) is higher among the African Americans (AAs) than White people, the underlying biochemical mechanism(s) for this racial disparity are poorly understood. The present investigation is aimed at elucidating the regulatory mechanisms for differences in cancer stem/stem-like cells (CSCs) in colonic neoplasia between AAs and White people by evaluating the role of microRNAs, specifically the microRNA-1207-5p, which is shown to be upregulated in CRC. microRNA (miR)-1207-5p plays a critical role in regulating stemness in colon CSCs and suggests a potential molecular mechanism for the increased risk of CRC among AAs.

HCT-8/R were fully characterized by multidisciplinary approaches. These approaches allowed to highlight poorly explored features of MDR phenotype. HCT-8/R are suitable model to test novel therapeutic strategies.

The function of mast cells in breast cancer is still unclear based on published studies. To clarify the role of mast cells in breast cancer, we examined the effects of loss of mast cells on tumor development and metastasis using the well-known transgenic mammary tumor and mast cell deficient mouse models. Our results support a positive role of mast cells in breast cancer by promoting tumor growth and metastasis.

In this joint analysis based on individual level data from the population-based screening programs in Copenhagen and Funen in Denmark, Norway, and Spain, we estimated that women with false-positive screening results had a twofold risk of a later screen detected breast cancer compared to women with negative screening results. The increased risk should be considered when exploring the possibilities of stratified screening strategies.

Our findings suggest that men with glucose in the diabetic range are more likely to have lower PSA levels, but higher grade or advanced PCa. Conversely, men with glucose in the prediabetic range and those with hypertriglyceridemia tended to have higher PSA levels as well as higher grade or more advanced PCa.

This is the first study of recreational physical activity (RPA) and ovarian cancer in an exclusively African American population, who have a higher prevalence of obesity and poorer ovarian cancer survival compared with whites. We found that mild and strenuous intensity RPA may be associated with reduced ovarian cancer risk. Further, our data suggest that these associations may be more pronounced in obese women.

Few studies have reported the association between body mass index and outcome among Asian breast cancer patients. We analyzed data for 20,090 female invasive breast cancer patients who had been followed up for a median period of 6.7 years (119,873.4 person years) entered in the National Clinical Database–Breast Cancer Registry between 2004 and 2006. The timing of body mass index (BMI) measurement was not specified. Being obese or underweight is associated with a higher risk of death among female breast cancer patients in Japan.

Patients with gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer have an increased risk of all gastrointestinal cancers, compared with the general population. Site-specific absolute cancer risks were similarly low in both Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) cohorts, and the direction of the associations with both gastric and other GI cancers was consistent among patients with the two ulcer types.

Using one of the largest study populations available to date, our study confirms the previously reported inverse association between a positive history of chickenpox and glioma risk. Our results provide additional evidence that the observed protective effect of chickenpox against glioma is unlikely to be coincidental.