Comparing cell-free circulating tumor DNA mutational profiles of disease-free and nonresponders patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether somatic nonsynonymous variants in tumor tissue can potentially be identified in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) of head and neck oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) patients using next-generation sequencing and can predict recurrence or persistence disease.

Methods: A total of 22 OPSCC patients with tumor tissue and respective plasma samples were included in this study. Matching cfDNA and tumor tissues were processed, and DNA sequencing was conducted using the MiSeq platform.

Histiocytic sarcoma as a secondary malignancy: pathobiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is an extremely rare non-Langerhans cell disorder with an aggressive course and limited treatment options. Recent advances in molecular/genetic sequencing have suggested a common clonal origin between various hematolymphoid disorders and cases of secondary HS. Deriving conclusions from previously reported cases of HS arising secondarily to certain hematolymphoid disorders, here we have tried to provide insight into the mechanisms influencing this evolution.

Knockdown of core binding factorβ alters sphingolipid metabolism.

Core binding factor (CBF) is a heterodimeric transcription factor containing one of three DNA-binding proteins of the Runt-related transcription factor family (RUNX1-3) and the non-DNA-binding protein, CBFβ. RUNX1 and CBFβ are the most common targets of chromosomal rearrangements in leukemia. CBF has been implicated in other cancer types; for example RUNX1 and RUNX2 are implicated in cancers of epithelial origin, including prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers.