Evaluation of blood MSI burden dynamics to trace immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy efficacy through the course of treatment.

Analysis of serial liquid biopsy (LB) samples has been found to be a promising approach for the monitoring of tumor dynamics in the course of therapy for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Currently, somatic mutations are used for tracing the dynamics of the tumor via LB. However, the analysis of the dynamic changes in the molecular signatures such as microsatellite instability (MSI) is not currently used.

Failure of immune checkpoint inhibitors for microsatellite instability-positive pancreatic adenocarcinoma with atypical pattern of short tandem repeat mutation.

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is an important biomarker in cancer. While routine methods can detect MSI in certain tumor types, in other tumor types the results may be incorrect due to differences in the MSI loci pattern. Here, we report the case of a patient with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, with confirmed MSI by two independent next-generation sequencing tests, but not by routine methods, who had progression on pembrolizumab.

Evidence blocks for effective presentation of genomic findings at molecular tumor boards: Single institution experience.

Genomic profiling, or molecular profiling of the tumor, is becoming a key component of therapeutic decision making in clinical oncology, and is typically carried out via next generation sequencing. However, the interpretation of the results and evaluation of rationale for targeting the uncovered alterations is challenging and requires a deep understanding of cancer biology, genetics, genomics and oncology. Multidisciplinary molecular tumor boards represent a promising strategy in the facilitation of molecularly-informed therapeutic decisions, and usually consist of specialists with various fields of expertise.

Prognostic and predictive role of immune microenvironment in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a molecularly heterogeneous disease and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death worldwide. The traditional classification of CRC is based on pathomorphological and molecular characteristics of tumor cells (mucinous, ring-cell carcinomas, ), analysis of mechanisms of carcinogenesis involved (chromosomal instability, microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype) and mutational statuses of commonly altered genes (KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, APC, ), as well as expression signatures (CMS 1-4). It is also suggested that the tumor microenvironment is a key player in tumor progression and metastasis in CRC.

Impact of teratoma on survival probabilities of patients with metastatic non-seminomatous germ cell cancer: Results from the IGCCCG Update Consortium.

Aims: To resolve the ongoing controversy surrounding the impact of teratoma (TER) in the primary among patients with metastatic testicular non-seminomatous germ-cell tumours (NSGCT).

Patients And Methods: Using the International Germ Cell Cancer Collaborative Group (IGCCCG) Update Consortium database, we compared the survival probabilities of patients with metastatic testicular GCT with TER (TER) or without TER (NTER) in their primaries corrected for known prognostic factors. Progression-free survival (5y-PFS) and overall survival at 5 years (5y-OS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.