15 Years of Fire and Fire Surrogate Treatment Effects on Understory Vegetation in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Decades of fire exclusion in the Southern Appalachian region have caused the forests to convert from open woodlands to closed canopy mesic forests with sparse understories. The main objectives of this study were 1) to assess the effects of four fuel reduction methods (burned [B], mechanical fuel treatment [M], mechanical treatment + burned [MB], and control [C]) on understory vegetative functional groups from 2001-2016; and 2) to investigate understory community-level responses after 15 years of treatment effects. In response to the first objective, oak species had significant increases in MB and B, relative to other treatments. However, mesic hardwood species had comparably significant increases in B, driven by red maple. Similarly, shrub species had significant increases in M, driven by mountain laurel and great rhododendron. Conversely, forb and graminoid species had non-significant increases in cover among all treatments. In response to the second objective, vegetation patterns seemed to overlap with respect to treatment type, suggesting little separation in understory community. However, some clusters from the hierarchical cluster analysis showed divergent communities from C treatments, particularly for shrubs and herbaceous species. In response to the third objective, select herbaceous species indicate changes in understory abiotic conditions, suggesting reversal from mesic conditions. Additionally, these findings suggest the M may not serve as a surrogate for B treatments over 15 years. MB treatments, however, are providing sufficient abiotic conditions conducive to understory oak, pine, and herbaceous species regeneration. Overall, these fire and fire surrogates (FFS) (B, M, MB and C) suggest a slow response in understory vegetation

Management of triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for approximately 15% of breast cancer cases. TNBC is an immunohistochemically defined subtype, with significant diversity within the subtype. Generally TNBC occurs in younger women and is marked by high rates of relapse, visceral and CNS metastases, and early death. Current therapy fails to curtail the innate aggressive behaviour of TNBC in the majority of patients. The poor prognosis coupled with a lack of targeted use of therapies is reflected in the high mortality. In a minority of patients with highly chemosensitive disease, no robust clinical evidence exists to guide use of current cytotoxics. Critical to optimal future management are accurate identification of truly triple negative disease and adequately powered prospective TNBC trials to establish treatment efficacy and define predictive biomarkers

inter and intra tumoral heterogeneity in dna damage evaluated by comet assay in early breast cancer patients

Abstract There are no clinical tools to functionally assess degree of DNA damage in breast cancer. The comet assay is an accepted research tool for assessing DNA damage, however, most cancer studies have assessed lymphocytes as surrogate cells. The aim of this pilot study was to use the comet assay in early breast cancer directly in tumor tissue to compare DNA damage between and within traditionally defined subgroups, and to explore intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Scrapings of tumor and healthy breast tissue were obtained at primary surgery from 104 women. Comet assay was applied to quantitatively assess DNA damage, revealing substantial inter- and intra-subgroup variation. Marked intra-tumoral heterogeneity was evident across all subgroups. The degree of DNA damage for an individual could not be predicted by breast cancer subgroup. Comet assay warrants further study as a potential clinical tool for identification of tumoral DNA damage and ultimately, individualised use of DNA damaging therapy

Re: Topoisomerase II alpha and responsiveness of breast cancer to adjuvant chemotherapy.

CommentLetterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Significance of Micrometastases: Circulating Tumor Cells and Disseminated Tumor Cells in Early Breast Cancer

Adjuvant systemic therapy targets minimal residual disease. Our current clinical approach in the adjuvant setting is to presume, rather than confirm, the presence of minimal residual disease. Based on assessment of the primary tumor, we estimate an individual’s recurrence risk. Subsequent treatment decisions are based on characteristics of the primary tumor, with the presumption of consistent biology and treatment sensitivity between micrometastases and the primary lesion. An alternative approach is to identify micrometastatic disease. Detection of disseminated tumor cells (DTC) in the bone marrow and circulating tumor cells (CTC) from peripheral blood collection may offer quantification and biocharacterization of residual disease. This paper will review the prognostic and predictive potential of micrometastatic disease in early breast cancer

Management of elderly patients with breast cancer: updated recommendations of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA)

As the mean age of the global population increases, breast cancer in older individuals will be increasingly encountered in clinical practice. Management decisions should not be based on age alone. Establishing recommendations for management of older individuals with breast cancer is challenging because of very limited level 1 evidence in this heterogeneous population. In 2007, the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) created a task force to provide evidence-based recommendations for the management of breast cancer in elderly individuals. In 2010, a multidisciplinary SIOG and European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA) task force gathered to expand and update the 2007 recommendations. The recommendations were expanded to include geriatric assessment, competing causes of mortality, ductal carcinoma in situ, drug safety and compliance, patient preferences, barriers to treatment, and male breast cancer. Recommendations were updated for screening, primary endocrine therapy, surgery, radiotherapy, neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic therapy, and metastatic breast cancer

TOP2A protein by quantitative immunofluorescence as a predictor of response to epirubicin in the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer.

Anthracyclines are commonly used in breast cancer, although they lack validated predictive biomarkers. We explored the interaction between TOP2A protein by quantitative immunofluorescence (QIF) and anthracycline sensitivity.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe