Placental growth factor promotes neural invasion and predicts disease prognosis in resectable pancreatic cancer.

Background: Surgery represents the only curative treatment option for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but recurrence in more than 85% of patients limits the success of curative-intent tumor resection. Neural invasion (NI), particularly the spread of tumor cells along nerves into extratumoral regions of the pancreas, constitutes a well-recognized risk factor for recurrence. Hence, monitoring and therapeutic targeting of NI offer the potential to stratify recurrence risk and improve recurrence-free survival.

Influence of Lymphatic, Microvascular and Perineural Invasion on Oncological Outcome in Patients with Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Small Intestine.

For the histopathological work-up of resected neuroendocrine tumors of the small intestine (siNET), the determination of lymphatic (LI), microvascular (VI) and perineural (PnI) invasion is recommended. Their association with poorer prognosis has already been demonstrated in many tumor entities. However, the influence of LI, VI and PnI in siNET has not been sufficiently described yet.

Increased expression of IDO1 is associated with improved survival and increased number of TILs in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Background: The enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) plays a crucial role in regulating the immune system's response to tumors, but its exact role in cancer, especially in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of IDO1 expression and its correlation with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in HGSOC.

Methods: Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and bioimage analysis using the QuPath software were employed to assess IDO1 protein expression in a well-characterized cohort of 507 patients with primary HGSOC.

Hemicolectomy versus appendectomy for patients with appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours 1-2 cm in size: a retrospective, Europe-wide, pooled cohort study.

Background: Awareness of the potential global overtreatment of patients with appendiceal neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of 1-2 cm in size by performing oncological resections is increasing, but the rarity of this tumour has impeded clear recommendations to date. We aimed to assess the malignant potential of appendiceal NETs of 1-2 cm in size in patients with or without right-sided hemicolectomy.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we pooled data from 40 hospitals in 15 European countries for patients of any age and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status with a histopathologically confirmed appendiceal NET of 1-2 cm in size who had a complete resection of the primary tumour between Jan 1, 2000, and Dec 31, 2010.

Prognostic value of regulatory T cells and T helper 17 cells in high grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Purpose: In recent years the tumor microenvironment and its interaction with the tumor has emerged into research focus with increased attention to the composition of Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. We wanted to quantify the composition of Regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper 17 cells (Th17 cells) and their prognostic impact in high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma.

Methods: Tregs and Th17 cells were determined by immunohistochemical analysis of CD25 FoxP3 and RORγt, respectively on tissue microarrays of a cohort of 222 patients with reviewed histology and available clinical data.

Effect of Celecoxib vs Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy on Disease-Free Survival Among Patients With Breast Cancer: The REACT Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Patients with breast cancer remain at risk of relapse after adjuvant therapy. Celecoxib has shown antitumor effects in preclinical models of human breast cancer, but clinical evidence is lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the role of celecoxib as an addition to conventional therapy for women with ERBB2 (formerly HER2)-negative primary breast cancer.

COVID-19: Autopsy findings in six patients between 26 and 46 years of age.

Objectives: Studies on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) usually focus on middle-aged and older adults. However, younger patients may present with severe COVID-19 with potentially fatal outcomes. For optimized, more specialized therapeutic regimens in this particular patient group, a better understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms is of utmost importance.

Causes of death and comorbidities in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Infection by the new corona virus strain SARS-CoV-2 and its related syndrome COVID-19 has been associated with more than two million deaths worldwide. Patients of higher age and with preexisting chronic health conditions are at an increased risk of fatal disease outcome. However, detailed information on causes of death and the contribution of pre-existing health conditions to death yet is missing, which can be reliably established by autopsy only.

Prognostic significance of Ki-67 levels and hormone receptor expression in low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma: an investigation of the Tumor Bank Ovarian Cancer Network.

Low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (LGSOC) has recently come up as a distinct rare entity of epithelial ovarian cancer. Predictive and prognostic markers are not well studied yet. Because Ki-67 and hormone receptors (HR) have been established as relevant cancer biomarkers in several malignant tumors, we evaluated Ki-67 and HR expression rates by immunohistochemistry in 68 patients with LGSOC.

APOBEC3B protein expression and mRNA analyses in patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

APOBEC3 enzymes are part of the innate immune system and they are important in retroviral defense. The number of mutations in ovarian cancer increases with rising levels of APOBEC3B mRNA. We could confirm that APOBEC3B mRNA is upregulated in ovarian cancer cell lines and in ovarian cancer tissue.

Cytokeratin 5/6 expression, prognosis, and association with estrogen receptor α in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma remains one of the most lethal malignancies in women. For histopathologic differentiation from mesothelioma cytokeratin, 5/6 immunohistochemistry is widely used. Another preferred marker for differential diagnosis to mesothelioma is estrogen receptor α (ER-α).

Wilms tumor protein 1 (WT1)-- not only a diagnostic but also a prognostic marker in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Aims: Wilms tumor protein 1 (WT1) expression is used in gynecological pathology as a diagnostic marker of serous differentiation, and is frequently co-expressed with ER-α. Early phase studies on WT1 vaccine in gynecological cancers are ongoing. In this study we aimed to determine the prognostic value of WT1 in high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Prognostic impact of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in ovarian high grade serous carcinoma.

Aims: Antibodies targeting the checkpoint molecules programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand PD-L1 are emerging cancer therapeutics. We systematically investigated PD-1 and PD-L1 expression patterns in the poor-prognosis tumor entity high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.

Methods: PD-1 and PD-L1 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays from 215 primary cancers both in cancer cells and in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).