Chimeric Osteocutaneous Free Flap Solution to Variation in Vascular Anatomy.

When squamous cell carcinoma necessitates mandibular resection, the resultant defect can be complex. An osteocutaneous fibula free flap is an effective reconstruction option, typically supplied by the peroneal artery for both the fibula and skin flap. In this case report, an anatomical variation was found: the skin paddle was supplied by soleus musculocutaneous perforators of the posterior tibial artery, whereas the fibula was supplied by the peroneal artery.

Literature Review: Robotic-Assisted Harvest of Deep Inferior Epigastric Flap for Breast Reconstruction.

Introduction: Robotic-assisted surgery is gaining popularity because of reported improvement in aesthetic outcomes while reducing the occurrence of complications compared with conventional surgical methods. Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap harvesting has a long track record as a viable procedure for autologous reconstruction of the breast. In this literature review, we describe the feasibility of using the robotic platform in DIEP flap harvest.

Migration of cyclohexanone and 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanone from a neonatal enteral feeding system into human milk.

Objective: Estimate the migration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have been identified by the EPA as a public health concern, from the enteral feeding system into human milk.

Study Design: Unfortified human milk samples were infused through an enteral feeding system with varying duration of infusion, incubator temperature, and pre-infusion tube priming. Purge & Trap analysis and GC/MS were used to identify the VOC profile of milk pre- and post-infusion.

EPHA2 mutations with oncogenic characteristics in squamous cell lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) are thoracic malignancies with very poor prognosis and limited treatment options. It is an established fact that most of the solid tumors have overexpression of EPHA2 receptor tyrosine kinase. EPHA2 is known to exhibit opposing roles towards cancer progression.

Clinical and molecular features of innate and acquired resistance to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in lung cancer.

Hypothesis: The majority of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy develop either innate or acquired resistance. Across tumor types, the "T cell-inflamed" tumor microenvironment correlates with clinical response to immunotherapy. We hypothesize that clinical characteristics may be predictive of resistance and that "T cell-inflamed" NSCLC tumors can be identified by gene expression profiling.

Differential responsiveness of MET inhibition in non-small-cell lung cancer with altered CBL.

Casitas B-lineage lymphoma (CBL) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase and a molecule of adaptor that we have shown is important for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We investigated if MET is a target of CBL and if enhanced in CBL-altered NSCLC. We showed that CBL wildtype cells have lower MET expression than CBL mutant cells.

Biopsy-free circulating tumor DNA assay identifies actionable mutations in lung cancer.

Introduction: The potential of oncogene-driven targeted therapy is perhaps most fully realized in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), given the number of genomic targets and approved matched therapies. However, invasive tissue biopsy at the time of each disease progression may not be possible and is associated with high morbidity and cost. Use of newly available "liquid biopsies" can circumvent these issues.

Post-crizotinib management of effective ceritinib therapy in a patient with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: We report the re-biopsied diagnosis of a patient with anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK)-positive lung adenocarcinoma successfully treated with ceritinib 450 mg/day taken with food following disease progression and gastrointestinal intolerance to crizotinib.

Case Presentation: A 74-year old female patient initially diagnosed with ALK-negative lung adenocarcinoma responded to initial standard chemotherapy. The patient was subsequently re-tested by next generation sequencing (NGS) and found to have ALK EIF2AK3-ALK fusion, and responded to crizotinib, but ultimately progressed and showed intolerance to this ALK inhibitor.

The Chicago Thoracic Oncology Database Consortium: A Multisite Database Initiative.

Objective: An increasing amount of clinical data is available to biomedical researchers, but specifically designed database and informatics infrastructures are needed to handle this data effectively. Multiple research groups should be able to pool and share this data in an efficient manner. The Chicago Thoracic Oncology Database Consortium (CTODC) was created to standardize data collection and facilitate the pooling and sharing of data at institutions throughout Chicago and across the world.

Comprehensive genetic testing identifies targetable genomic alterations in most patients with non-small cell lung cancer, specifically adenocarcinoma, single institute investigation.

This study reviews extensive genetic analysis in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in order to: describe how targetable mutation genes interrelate with the genes identified as variants of unknown significance; assess the percentage of patients with a potentially targetable genetic alterations; evaluate the percentage of patients who had concurrent alterations, previously considered to be mutually exclusive; and characterize the molecular subset of KRAS. Thoracic Oncology Research Program Databases at the University of Chicago provided patient demographics, pathology, and results of genetic testing. 364 patients including 289 adenocarcinoma underwent genotype testing by various platforms such as FoundationOne, Caris Molecular Intelligence, and Response Genetics Inc.

Exogenous CXCL12 activates protein kinase C to phosphorylate connexin 43 for gap junctional intercellular communication among confluent breast cancer cells.

Despite ongoing attempts to improve the overall breast cancer (BC) survival rate, BC cells' (BCCs) predilection for metastasizing to the bone marrow has enabled BCCs to not only remain dormant, but also evade detection. BCCs are able to acquire quiescence by establishing gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) with the stroma through the assembly of connexins (Cxs). The chemoattractant CXCL12 also appears to play a role in GJIC based on its tendency to decrease when GJIC is formed between BCCs and bone marrow stroma.

Diversity and partitioning of bacterial populations within the accessory nidamental gland of the squid Euprymna scolopes.

Microbial consortia confer important benefits to animal and plant hosts, and model associations are necessary to examine these types of host/microbe interactions. The accessory nidamental gland (ANG) is a female reproductive organ found among cephalopod mollusks that contains a consortium of bacteria, the exact function of which is unknown. To begin to understand the role of this organ, the bacterial consortium was characterized in the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, a well-studied model organism for symbiosis research.

The Microenvironmental Effect in the Progression, Metastasis, and Dormancy of Breast Cancer: A Model System within Bone Marrow.

Despite diagnostic advances, breast cancer remains the most prevalent cancer among women in the United States. The armamentarium of treatment options for metastatic disease is limited and mostly ineffective with regards to eradicating cancer. However, there have been novel findings in the recent literature that substantiate the function of the microenvironment in breast cancer progression and the support of metastasis to tertiary sites such as bone marrow.