Endocan - a potential diagnostic marker for early onset sepsis in neonates.

Introduction: Neonatal early onset sepsis assessment is based on the history of pregnancy and delivery and nonspecific clinical signs. None of the biomarkers currently in use for clinical practice has adequate prognostic value, so it is not possible to clearly distinguish neonates with culture-proven sepsis from those with only risk factors or clinical suspicion. Endocan is an endothelial mediator involved in the inflammatory response that is present in low concentrations in the serum of healthy subjects, and in much higher concentrations in patients with SIRS and septic shock.

Sepsis and Septic Shock Definitions in Patients With Cancer Admitted in ICU.

Introduction: In 2016, a new definition of sepsis and septic shock was adopted. Some studies based on the general population demonstrated that the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is more accurate than the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria to predict hospital mortality of infected patients requiring intensive care.

Patients And Method: We have analyzed all the records of patients with cancer admitted for a suspected infection between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016, in our oncological intensive care unit (ICU).

Thoracic oncology HERMES: European curriculum recommendations for training in thoracic oncology.

http://ow.ly/mdqT300NHqO.

Comparison of next generation sequencing, SNaPshot assay and real-time polymerase chain reaction for lung adenocarcinoma EGFR mutation assessment.

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status assessment has become increasingly important given the significant impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung cancer management. Our aim was to compare real life operational characteristics for three EGFR mutation assays - two targeted approaches and a next generation sequencing (NGS) technique.

Methods: EGFR mutation status was assessed for lung adenocarcinoma samples (formalin fixed- paraffin embedded samples) using qPCR, SNaPshot and NGS (Ion Torrent™) techniques.

Defect in recruiting effector memory CD8+ T-cells in malignant pleural effusions compared to normal pleural fluid.

Background: Malignant pleural effusions (MPE) are a common and fatal complication in cancers including lung or breast cancers, or malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). MPE animal models and immunotherapy trials in MPM patients previously suggested defects of the cellular immunity in MPE. However only few observational studies of the immune response were done in MPM patients, using questionable control groups (transudate…).

[New diagnostic markers for malignant pleural mesothelioma].

The increasing number of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a serious public health problem. The prognosis of this tumor is poor and most of the patients are diagnosed late in the disease's course when curative treatment is no more an option. It is therefore necessary to diagnose earlier MPM in these patients in order to obtain a potential significant improvement in survival.

Loss of Endocan tumorigenic properties after alternative splicing of exon 2.

Background: Endocan was originally described as a dermatan sulfate proteoglycan found freely circulating in the blood. Endocan expression confers tumorigenic properties to epithelial cell lines or accelerate the growth of already tumorigenic cells. This molecule is the product of a single gene composed of 3 exons.

[Comparative evaluation between MB/BacT system and Löwenstein-Jensen solid culture media for mycobacterial isolation].

Tuberculosis is a public health issue in both developed and developing countries. Success of the treatment depend on the identification of patients with positive sputum smears, rapid confirmation of diagnosis in patients with negative microscopy and identification of mycobacterial strains with altered drug susceptibility. Data from the literature show that liquid culture media have a higher sensitivity for isolation mycobacteria than solid culture media as Löwenstein-Jensen.

Utility of osteopontin and serum mesothelin in malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis and prognosis assessment.

Purpose: Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive tumor and is often diagnosed too late for a curative treatment. We compared diagnostic and prognostic values of mesothelin and osteopontin in 172 patients suspected of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and in a control group of 112 asymptomatic asbestos-exposed subjects.

Experimental Design: Osteopontin and mesothelin were assayed with commercial ELISA kits in a series of 43 patients with pleural metastases of various carcinomas, 33 patients with benign pleural lesions associated with asbestos exposure, 96 patients with MPMs, and 112 asbestos-exposed healthy subjects.

Endocan expression and relationship with survival in human non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: We evaluated the expression of endocan, a soluble lung- and kidney-selective endothelial cell-specific dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, in non-small cell lung tumors compared with normal lung and studied the significance of high levels of circulating endocan in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Material And Methods: Endocan and vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA expression were evaluated by semiquantitative PCR in tumoral and nontumoral lung tissue samples from a first series of 24 patients submitted to curative surgery. Relationships between survival, time to tumor progression, and serum levels of endocan were evaluated in a second series of 30 previously untreated patients addressed for staging.