A multi-center, real-life experience on liquid biopsy practice for EGFR testing in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients

Background: circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a source of tumor genetic material for EGFR testing in NSCLC. Real-word data about liquid biopsy (LB) clinical practice are lacking. The aim of the study was to describe the LB practice for EGFR detection in North Eastern Italy. Methods: we conducted a multi-regional survey on ctDNA testing practices in lung cancer patients. Results: Median time from blood collection to plasma separation was 50 min (20\u2013120 min), median time from plasma extraction to ctDNA analysis was 24 h (30 min\u20135 days) and median turnaround time was 24 h (6 h\u20135 days). Four hundred and seventy five patients and 654 samples were tested. One hundred and ninety-two patients were tested at diagnosis, with 16% EGFR mutation rate. Among the 283 patients tested at disease progression, 35% were T790M+. Main differences in LB results between 2017 and 2018 were the number of LBs performed for each patient at disease progression (2.88 vs. 1.2, respectively) and the percentage of T790M+ patients (61% vs. 26%)

Data-Driven Understanding of Smart Service Systems Through Text Mining

Smart service systems are everywhere, in homes and in the transportation, energy, and healthcare sectors. However, such systems have yet to be fully understood in the literature. Given the widespread applications of and research on smart service systems, we used text mining to develop a unified understanding of such systems in a data-driven way. Specifically, we used a combination of metrics and machine learning algorithms to preprocess and analyze text data related to smart service systems, including text from the scientific literature and news articles. By analyzing 5,378 scientific articles and 1,234 news articles, we identify important keywords, 16 research topics, 4 technology factors, and 13 application areas. We define ???smart service system??? based on the analytics results. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of our work, such as the 5Cs (connection, collection, computation, and communications for co-creation) of smart service systems and the text mining approach to understand service research topics. We believe this work, which aims to establish common ground for understanding these systems across multiple disciplinary perspectives, will encourage further research and development of modern service systems

predicting her2 status in esophagogastric cancer development and validation of an easy to use nomogram

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SIRT1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells correlates with altered lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background. Oxidative stress is a recognized pathogenic mechanism in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Expression of the NAD+-dependent deacetylase Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), an antiaging molecule with a key role in oxidative stress response, has been described as decreased in the lung of COPD patients. No studies so far investigated whether systemic SIRT1 activity was associated to decreased lung function in this disease. Methods. We measured SIRT1 protein expression and activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and oxidative stress index (TOS/TEAC) in the plasma of 25 COPD patients, 20 healthy nonsmokers (HnS), and 20 healthy smokers (HS). Results. The activity of SIRT1 was significantly lower in COPD patients compared to both control groups while protein expression decreased progressively (HnS > HS > COPD). TOS levels were significantly lower in HnS than in smoke-associated subjects (COPD and HS), while TEAC levels were progressively lower according (HnS > HS > COPD). In COPD patients, SIRT1 activity, but not protein levels, correlated significantly with both lung function parameters (FEV1/FVC and FEV1) and TEAC. Conclusions. These findings suggest loss of SIRT1-driven antioxidant activity as relevant in COPD pathogenesis and identify SIRT1 activity as a potential convenient biomarker for identification of mild/moderate, stable COPD

A Multicenter International Retrospective Investigation Assessing the Prognostic Role of Inflammation-Based Scores (Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte, Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte, and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratios) in Patients with Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Undergoing Chemoembolizations of the Liver

Background: The utilization of inflammation-based scores, such as the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio (LMR), and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), has garnered attention for their potential as prognostic indicators in various cancers. However, their predictive role in patients with intermediate-stage HCC undergoing transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) remains an area that requires further investigation, as early recognition of TACE refractoriness holds the potential to guide tailored therapeutic interventions. Methods: This multicenter international retrospective study analyzed data from patients with intermediate-stage HCC undergoing TACE between 2018 and 2024. Inflammation-based scores (NLR, LMR, PLR) were assessed preoperatively to predict treatment outcomes. Results: Two hundred and fourteen patients were enrolled. Preoperative LMR showed the largest area under the curve for the prediction of 6-months PFS, based on the ROC curve analysis. Both high LMR (≥2.24) and low NLR (<4.72) were associated with improved objective response rates and 6-month progression-free survival. Lymphocyte count emerged as a strong predictor of treatment response in both simple (p < 0.001) and multiple (p < 0.001) logistic regression analyses. Conclusions: This study highlights the prognostic value of inflammation-based scores, particularly LMR and NLR, in predicting the treatment response and short-term outcomes of patients with intermediate-stage HCC undergoing TACE. Future investigations should focus on validating these scores’ clinical applicability and assessing their impact on long-term patient survival and therapeutic decision-making

Glucose metabolism enzymes gene expression analysis and selective metabolic advantage in the clinical progression of colorectal cancer (CRC)

No abstract availabl

Glioma-associated stem cells: A novel class of tumor-supporting cells able to predict prognosis of human low-grade gliomas.

Background: Translational medicine aims at transferring advances in basic science research into new approaches for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Low-grade gliomas (LGG) have a heterogeneous clinical behavior that can be only partially predicted employing current state-of-the-art markers, hindering the decision-making process. To deepen our comprehension on tumor heterogeneity, we dissected the mechanism of interaction between tumor cells and relevant components of the neoplastic environment, isolating, from LGG and high-grade gliomas (HGG), proliferating stem cell lines from both the glioma stroma and, where possible, the neoplasm. Methods and Findings: We isolated glioma-associated stem cells (GASC) from LGG (n=40) and HGG (n=73). GASC showed stem cell features, anchorage-independent growth, and supported the malignant properties of both A172 cells and human glioma-stem cells, mainly through the release of exosomes. Finally, starting from GASC obtained from HGG (n=13) and LGG (n=12) we defined a score, based on the expression of 9 GASC surface markers, whose prognostic value was assayed on 40 subsequent LGG-patients. At the multivariate Cox analysis, the GASC-based score was the only independent predictor of overall survival and malignant progression free-survival. Conclusions: The microenvironment of both LGG and HGG hosts non-tumorigenic multipotent stem cells that can increase in vitro the biological aggressiveness of glioma-initiating cells through the release of exosomes. The clinical importance of this finding is supported by the strong prognostic value associated with the characteristics of GASC. This patient-based approach can provide a groundbreaking method to predict prognosis and to exploit novel strategies that target the tumor stroma

Real-world data on treatment outcomes in EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer patients receiving osimertinib in second or further lines

Aims: This study describes real-world outcomes of pretreated EGFR T790M-positive (T790M+) advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients progressing after first- or second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors and receiving osimertinib, compared with T790M-negative (T790M-) patients. We have also described progression patterns and treatment sequences. Patients & methods: This is a retrospective multicenter Italian observational study including consecutive Caucasian patients referred between 2014 and 2018. Results: 167 patients were included. Median progression-free survival was 9.8 months (95% CI: 8.3-13.3) for T790M+ and 6.0 months (95% CI: 4.9-7.2) for T790M- patients, respectively. Median overall survival was 20.7 months (95% CI: 18.9-28.4) for T790M+ and 10.6 months (95% CI: 8.6-23.6) for T790M- patients, respectively. The T790M mutation correlated with absence of new sites of disease. After progression, most T790M+ patients continued osimertinib, whereas most T790M- patients received a different treatment line. Conclusion: Better outcomes were shown in patients receiving osimertinib. A more limited progression pattern for T790M+ was suggested

Expresión heteróloga y localización subcelular del candidato vacunal GPI4 de babesia bovis en el ciliado tetrahymena thermophila

Los glicosilfosfatidilinositoles (GPIs) se encuentran en abundancia en la superficie de protozoos parásitos como glicolípidos libres y como anclas de proteínas de superficie a la membrana plasmática. Se ha demostrado que las proteínas ancladas por GPIs están involucradas en el mecanismo de invasión a la célula huésped, por lo que representan blancos moleculares muy interesantes para el diseño de nuevas estrategias vacunales contra protozoos patógenos de importancia veterinaria. Además, los GPIs libres actúan como potentes moduladores de la respuesta inmunológica. Tetrahymena thermophila es un protozoo ciliado de vida libre que expresa en la superficie abundantes proteínas ancladas por GPI, y ha sido utilizado como plataforma biotecnológica para la expresión de antígenos recombinantes.Instituto de PatobiologíaFil: Montes, M. G. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Daniela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Anabel Elisa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; ArgentinaFil: González Maglio, D. H. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Florin-Christensen, Monica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiologia; ArgentinaFil: Nusblat, Alejandro David. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Schnittger, Leonhard. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología; Argentin