Comprehensive and Integrated Genomic Characterization of Adult Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Summary Sarcomas are a broad family of mesenchymal malignancies exhibiting remarkable histologic diversity. We describe the multi-platform molecular landscape of 206 adult soft tissue sarcomas representing 6 major types. Along with novel insights into the biology of individual sarcoma types, we report three overarching findings: (1) unlike most epithelial malignancies, these sarcomas (excepting synovial sarcoma) are characterized predominantly by copy-number changes, with low mutational loads and only a few genes (TP53, ATRX, RB1) highly recurrently mutated across sarcoma types; (2) within sarcoma types, genomic and regulomic diversity of driver pathways defines molecular subtypes associated with patient outcome; and (3) the immune microenvironment, inferred from DNA methylation and mRNA profiles, associates with outcome and may inform clinical trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Overall, this large-scale analysis reveals previously unappreciated sarcoma-type-specific changes in copy number, methylation, RNA, and protein, providing insights into refining sarcoma therapy and relationships to other cancer types

Comprehensive molecular characterization of the hippo signaling pathway in cancer

Hippo signaling has been recognized as a key tumor suppressor pathway. Here, we perform a comprehensive molecular characterization of 19 Hippo core genes in 9,125 tumor samples across 33 cancer types using multidimensional “omic” data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We identify somatic drivers among Hippo genes and the related microRNA (miRNA) regulators, and using functional genomic approaches, we experimentally characterize YAP and TAZ mutation effects and miR-590 and miR-200a regulation for TAZ. Hippo pathway activity is best characterized by a YAP/TAZ transcriptional target signature of 22 genes, which shows robust prognostic power across cancer types. Our elastic-net integrated modeling further reveals cancer-type-specific pathway regulators and associated cancer drivers. Our results highlight the importance of Hippo signaling in squamous cell cancers, characterized by frequent amplification of YAP/TAZ, high expression heterogeneity, and significant prognostic patterns. This study represents a systems-biology approach to characterizing key cancer signaling pathways in the post-genomic era

Abnormal gag reflex treatment in dental practice - case reports

No abstract Nigerian Quarterly Journal of Hospital Medicine Vol. 13(1-2): 29-3

Prosthetic management of an epileptic patient

This case report illustrates the problems of tooth loss in an epileptic patient. The patient presented with a broken denture following a seizure. She gave a history of breaking and swallowing her dentures during seizures. Before presentation she had worn five upper removable partial dentures. An upper removable partial denture with increased thickness of the acrylic palatal was fabricated and fitted satisfactorily. The patient was taught how to insert and remove the prosthesis as quickly as possible. Epileptic patients can a denture but run the risk of frequently breaking and swallowing it during seizures. The risk can be reduced if patients and relatives are taught how to remove the dentures prior to or during seizures. Keywords: epilepsy, prosthetic management Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 8(2) 2005: 125-12

Denture hygiene knowledge and practice amongst patients in a University Teaching Hospital

Background: There are different options available for the replacement of missing teeth. These include fixed partial dentures, removable partial dentures and implants.Aim:  To assess patients' knowledge on denture hygiene and the hygiene methods used for cleaning removable partial dentures.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 203 patients attending a teaching hospital. Questionnaires were administered to these patients to obtain information on socio-demographic variables like gender, age and the level of education. Other information obtained were the duration of denture use, frequency of denture cleaning and type of material used for denture cleaning.Results: The age of the participants ranged between 15 and 86 years, there were more  Females  105(51.5%) in this study than males 98(48.3%). Almost all the participants (99.5%) had acrylic  dentures. The dentures worn were mostly in the upper jaws (60%). About 41.9% had been using dentures for more than 10 years. The most commonly used denture hygiene method was the mechanical method of brushing with water, soap and brush (46.3%) and 135 (66.5%) cleaned their dentures once daily. A few patients 21(10.3%) used chemical cleaners to clean their dentures.Conclusion: Almost all the participants employed mechanical method of denture cleansing and most had no knowledge of chemical method.Keywords: Denture hygiene, Denture cleansing, Acrylic denture