Validation of prognostic and predictive value of total tumoral load after primary systemic therapy in breast cancer using OSNA assay.

Purpose: This study aimed to validate the classification of breast cancer (BC) patients in progression risk groups based on total tumor load (TTL) value to predict lymph node (LN) affectation after neo-adjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) obtained in the NEOVATTL study.

Methods/patients: This was an observational, retrospective, international, multicenter study including patients with infiltrating BC who received NAST followed by sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) analyzed with one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) from nine Spanish and two Italian hospitals. Patients were classified into three groups according to the progression risk, measured as disease-free survival (DFS), based on TTL values (> 250, 250-25,000, and > 25,000 copies/μL).

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours: How typical is their typical presentation?

Ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours (OSLCT) are rare and typically present with androgenic manifestations in women of the 2nd-3rd decade. Out of 228 diagnoses of ovarian sex cord-stromal tumours recorded at an academic institution during a 14-year period, eight women were surgically treated for OSLCT. Patient mean age was 54.

Clinical relevance of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) alterations in human pancreatic tumors.

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant neoplasm with an extremely poor prognosis. The mechanisms of aggressive growth and metastasis are currently not well understood. Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been suggested to be associated with the malignant transformation of pancreatic cancer.

Ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas: Expression of growth factor receptors, oncogenes and suppressor genes, and their relationship to pathological features, staging and survival.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma results in high short-term mortality despite recent advances in diagnostics, surgery and chemotherapy. Modern chemotherapeutic agents directed to specific tumor receptors have higher therapeutic efficacy and lower adverse effects. However, few studies exist that evaluate the clinical impact in pancreatic cancer.