Prognostic value of circulating tumor cells in oligorecurrent hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Background: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is an effective metastasis-directed therapy for managing oligometastatic prostate cancer patients. However, it lacks reliable biomarkers for risk stratification. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) show promise as minimally invasive prognostic indicators.

A comparative study of anti-ADAMTS-13 antibody dynamics in immune-mediated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Background: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, particularly its immune-mediated variant (iTTP), necessitates accurate diagnostic approaches for effective management.

Objectives: To compare a chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for testing ADAMTS-13 activity and detecting anti-ADAMTS-13 autoantibodies (AAbs) in patients with iTTP.

Methods: This study involved 31 paired samples from 12 iTTP patients.

Early reappearance of intraclonal proliferative subpopulations in ibrutinib-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib represents an effective strategy for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), nevertheless about 30% of patients eventually undergo disease progression. Here we investigated by flow cytometry the long-term modulation of the CLL CXCR4/CD5 proliferative fraction (PF), its correlation with therapeutic outcome and emergence of ibrutinib resistance. By longitudinal tracking, the PF, initially suppressed by ibrutinib, reappeared upon early disease progression, without association with lymphocyte count or serum beta-2-microglobulin.

Quantitative assessment of daratumumab in serum intact light chain measurement using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry: a method suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Daratumumab, a pivotal treatment for multiple myeloma, exhibits considerable inter-patient variability in pharmacological clinical outcomes, likely attributed to serum concentration that may underscore the need for its therapeutic drug monitoring. This study aims to develop and validate a straightforward analytical method for quantifying daratumumab in serum, focusing on intact light chain determination, using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. The sample preparation involved immunoglobulin enrichment using Melon gel followed by a reduction step to dissociate the light from the heavy chains of immunoglobulins.

Early-onset indicators of a hypercoagulable state and clinical complications in a cohort of children with sickle cell trait.

Adults with sickle cell trait (SCT) have a procoagulant state with increased risk of thromboembolism, but limited data are available for children. We compared the coagulation profile of children with SCT, different sickle cell disease (SCD) genotypes, and healthy controls. Compared to controls and similarly to HbSC patients, 41 SCT children (mean age 6.

Phospholipid scramblase 1 is involved in immunogenic cell death and contributes to dendritic cell-based vaccine efficiency to elicit antitumor immune response in vitro.

Background Aims: Whole tumor cell lysates (TCLs) obtained from cancer cells previously killed by treatments able to promote immunogenic cell death (ICD) can be efficiently used as a source of tumor-associated antigens for the development of highly efficient dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccines. Herein, the potential role of the interferon (IFN)-inducible protein phospholipid scramblase 1 (PLSCR1) in influencing immunogenic features of dying cancer cells and in enhancing DC-based vaccine efficiency was investigated.

Methods: PLSCR1 expression was evaluated in different mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) cell lines following ICD induction by 9-cis-retinoic acid (RA)/IFN-α combination, and commercial kinase inhibitor was used to identify the signaling pathway involved in its upregulation.

Circulating Proteins as Diagnostic Markers in Gastric Cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly malignant disease affecting humans worldwide and has a poor prognosis. Most GC cases are detected at advanced stages due to the cancer lacking early detectable symptoms. Therefore, there is great interest in improving early diagnosis by implementing targeted prevention strategies.

Metabolic Clues to Bile Acid Patterns and Prolonged Survival in Patients with Metastatic Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Treated with Trabectedin.

Metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas (mSTS) encompass a highly heterogeneous group of rare tumours characterized by different clinical behaviours and outcomes. Currently, prognostic factors for mSTS are very limited, posing significant challenges in predicting patient survival. Within a cohort of 39 mSTS patients undergoing trabectedin treatment, it was remarkable to find one patient who underwent 73 cycles of trabectedin achieving an unforeseen clinical outcome.

Novel metabolomics-biohumoral biomarkers model for predicting survival of metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare malignant tumors that are difficult to prognosticate using currently available instruments. Omics sciences could provide more accurate and individualized survival predictions for patients with metastatic STS. In this pilot, hypothesis-generating study, we integrated clinicopathological variables with proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) plasma metabolomic and lipoproteomic profiles, capturing both tumor and host characteristics, to identify novel prognostic biomarkers of 2-year survival.

Pharmacometabolomics of trabectedin in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma patients.

Trabectedin is an anti-cancer drug commonly used for the treatment of patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (mSTS). Despite its recognized efficacy, significant variability in pharmacological response has been observed among mSTS patients. To address this issue, this pharmacometabolomics study aimed to identify pre-dose plasma metabolomics signatures that can explain individual variations in trabectedin pharmacokinetics and overall clinical response to treatment.

Autophagy in BRAF-mutant cutaneous melanoma: recent advances and therapeutic perspective.

Macroautophagy, hereafter referred to as autophagy, represents a highly conserved catabolic process that maintains cellular homeostasis. At present, the role of autophagy in cutaneous melanoma (CM) is still controversial, since it appears to be tumor-suppressive at early stages of malignant transformation and cancer-promoting during disease progression. Interestingly, autophagy has been found to be often increased in CM harboring BRAF mutation and to impair the response to targeted therapy.

Integration of Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses as an Immunomonitoring Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Healthy and Fragile Subjects.

Cellular and humoral immunity are both required for SARS-CoV-2 infection recovery and vaccine efficacy. The factors affecting mRNA vaccination-induced immune responses, in healthy and fragile subjects, are still under investigation. Thus, we monitored the vaccine-induced cellular and humoral immunity in healthy subjects and cancer patients after vaccination to define whether a different antibody titer reflected similar rates of cellular immune responses and if cancer has an impact on vaccination efficacy.

Non-Classical HLA Class 1b and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

A number of studies are underway to gain a better understanding of the role of immunity in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma and to identify subgroups of individuals who may benefit the most from systemic therapy according to the etiology of their tumor. Human leukocyte antigens play a key role in antigen presentation to T cells. This is fundamental to the host's defense against pathogens and tumor cells.

Dissecting the genetic heterogeneity of gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is clinically heterogenous according to location (cardia/non-cardia) and histopathology (diffuse/intestinal). We aimed to characterize the genetic risk architecture of GC according to its subtypes. Another aim was to examine whether cardia GC and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC) and its precursor lesion Barrett's oesophagus (BO), which are all located at the gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ), share polygenic risk architecture.

Metronomic Chemotherapy: Anti-Tumor Pathways and Combination with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Increasing evidence pinpoints metronomic chemotherapy, a frequent and low dose drug administration with no prolonged drug-free intervals, as a potential tool to fight certain types of cancers. The primary identified targets of metronomic chemotherapy were the tumor endothelial cells involved in angiogenesis. After this, metronomic chemotherapy has been shown to efficiently target the heterogeneous population of tumor cells and, more importantly, elicit the innate and adaptive immune system reverting the "cold" to "hot" tumor immunologic phenotype.

A DSC Test for the Early Detection of Neoplastic Gastric Lesions in a Medium-Risk Gastric Cancer Area.

In this study, we aimed to assess the accuracy of the proposed novel, noninvasive serum DSC test in predicting the risk of gastric cancer before the use of upper endoscopy. To validate the DSC test, we enrolled two series of individuals living in Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy (n = 53 and n = 113, respectively), who were referred for an endoscopy. The classification used for the DSC test to predict gastric cancer risk combines the coefficient of the patient's age and sex and serum pepsinogen I and II, gastrin 17, and anti- immunoglobulin G concentrations in two equations: Y1 and Y2.

LINE-1 hypomethylation is associated with poor outcomes in locoregionally advanced oropharyngeal cancer.

Background And Purpose: Currently, human papillomavirus (HPV) positivity represents a strong prognostic factor for both reduced risk of relapse and improved survival in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). However, a subset of HPV-positive OPSCC patients still experience poor outcomes. Furthermore, HPV-negative OPSCC patients, who have an even higher risk of relapse, are still lacking suitable prognostic biomarkers for clinical outcome.

Emerging Role of Immunomonitoring to Predict the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Treated With Radical Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: The present study aimed at evaluating the baseline immune profile and the immunomodulating effects of radical hemithoracic radiation therapy (RT) in patients affected by malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) to identify potential predictive biomarkers of therapy response, toxicity development, and eligibility for further immunotherapeutic treatments.

Methods And Materials: Blood samples were collected from 55 patients with MPM, enrolled in a phase 3 trial comparing radical hemithoracic RT (interventional arm, n = 28) with local palliative RT (control arm, n = 27). Immunomonitoring was performed before RT, at the end of treatment, and 1 month after therapy, characterizing natural killer cells, B and T lymphocytes, activated CD4 and CD8 T cells, interferon-γ- and tumor necrosis factor-α-producing T helper (Th) 1 cells, regulatory T cells, and Th17 and Th22 lymphocytes, through flow cytometry.

Clinical relevance of the combined analysis of circulating tumor cells and anti-tumor T-cell immunity in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Background: Metastatic breast cancer (mBC) is a heterogeneous disease with varying responses to treatments and clinical outcomes, still requiring the identification of reliable predictive biomarkers. In this context, liquid biopsy has emerged as a powerful tool to assess in real-time the evolving landscape of cancer, which is both orchestrated by the metastatic process and immune-surveillance mechanisms. Thus, we investigated circulating tumor cells (CTCs) coupled with peripheral T-cell immunity to uncover their potential clinical relevance in mBC.

Quantitative Plasma Proteomics to Identify Candidate Biomarkers of Relapse in Pediatric/Adolescent Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Classical pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) is a rare malignancy. Therapeutic regimens for its management may be optimized by establishing treatment response early on. The aim of this study was to identify plasma protein biomarkers enabling the prediction of relapse in pediatric/adolescent HL patients treated under the pediatric EuroNet-PHL-C2 trial.

Integration of miRNA:mRNA Co-Expression Revealed Crucial Mechanisms Modulated in Immunogenic Cancer Cell Death.

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) in cancer represents a functionally unique therapeutic response that can induce tumor-targeting immune responses. ICD is characterized by the exposure and release of numerous damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which confer adjuvanticity to dying cancer cells. The spatiotemporally defined emission of DAMPs during ICD has been well described, whereas the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate ICD hallmarks have not yet been deeply elucidated.

Radiation recall dermatitis induced by COVID-19 vaccination in breast cancer patients treated with postoperative radiation therapy.

Background: and purpose: Radiation recall dermatitis is an adverse event predominantly due to systemic therapy administration after a previous radiation therapy course. Few case reports describe radiation recall dermatitis in breast cancer patients treated with postoperative radiation therapy following COVID-19 vaccination. In this study we investigated the incidence and severity of radiation recall dermatitis after COVID-19 vaccination in irradiated breast cancer patients.