Publications by authors named "Cimino-Mathews A"
Article Synopsis
- Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer type that makes up about 25% of breast cancer cases, but it often leads to unnecessary aggressive treatment despite many cases never progressing to invasive cancer.
- A study analyzed 197 breast tissue samples to explore molecular changes in DCIS, using techniques like mRNA expression and DNA analysis to compare progressing versus non-progressing cases.
- The research found significant molecular differences among DCIS subtypes and between DCIS and invasive breast cancer, highlighting the complexity of DCIS and the need for more tailored approaches to assess risk and treatment.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer with limited treatment options, which warrants the identification of novel therapeutic targets. Deciphering nuances in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may unveil insightful links between antitumor immunity and clinical outcomes; however, such connections remain underexplored. Here, we employed a data set derived from imaging mass cytometry of 71 TNBC patient specimens at single-cell resolution and performed in-depth quantifications with a suite of multiscale computational algorithms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnostic Approach to Mesenchymal and Spindle Cell Tumors of the Breast.
Adv Anat Pathol
November 2024
Mesenchymal and spindle cell tumors of the breast represent a broad and heterogeneous group of lesions that may be sampled on core needle biopsy or surgical excision. Mesenchymal lesions unique to the breast are those that derive from the specialized breast myofibroblast, such as mammary myofibroblastoma and pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia. However, any mesenchymal lesion arising in extramammary soft tissue may also arise in the breast, including fibroblastic, peripheral nerve sheath, adipocytic, and vascular lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathologic response is an endpoint in many ongoing clinical trials for neoadjuvant regimens, including immune checkpoint blockade and chemotherapy. Whole-slide scanning of glass slides generates high-resolution digital images and allows for remote review and potential measurement with image analysis tools, but concordance of pathologic response assessment on digital scans compared with that on glass slides has yet to be evaluated. Such a validation goes beyond previous concordance studies, which focused on establishing surgical pathology diagnoses, as it requires quantitative assessment of tumor, necrosis, and regression.
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- Metastasis is a big reason why many people die from cancer, and this study found specific cancer cells that help it spread.
- The researchers looked at how these cancer cells interact with other cells in their environment using a special imaging technique.
- They discovered that the cancer cells that cause metastasis are often found close to certain types of immune and connective tissue cells, which might help them spread even more.
Breast calcifications on mammography from systemic amyloidosis: A case report.
Radiol Case Rep
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Calcifications found on mammograms can sometimes signal systemic diseases rather than breast cancer, prompting further histologic testing.
- A case study describes a patient with bilateral calcifications that were ultimately diagnosed as amyloidosis via core biopsy.
- Awareness of the patient's existing condition, systemic light chain amyloidosis, led to the use of specific staining techniques to confirm the diagnosis, highlighting the importance of understanding systemic diseases in radiology.
Article Synopsis
- - The study involved 24 women with breast cancer, split evenly between hormone receptor-positive and advanced triple-negative types, treated with a combination of entinostat, nivolumab, and ipilimumab.
- - Results showed no severe side effects and indicated a 25% overall response rate, with better outcomes (40%) in triple-negative patients compared to hormone receptor-positive (10%).
- - The treatment yielded a 40% clinical benefit rate and a 50% progression-free survival rate at 6 months, suggesting further research in a phase II trial is warranted.
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to analyze the pathology of nonmass enhancement (NME) near biopsy-confirmed malignant breast masses via preoperative MRI in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from July 2016 to September 2019.
- Out of 58 patients, 64% had malignant findings associated with NME, with a significant relation to a lower Ki-67 index of the primary cancer.
- The research found that MRI measurements of suspicious enhancement often overestimated the extent of disease compared to histological analysis, suggesting that MRI may not accurately represent true tumor spread.
Article Synopsis
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known for its aggressiveness and lack of effective treatments, leading researchers to search for new therapeutic targets by studying the tumor microenvironment (TME).* -
- By analyzing imaging mass cytometry data from 58 TNBC patient samples, distinct patterns in cell distribution were found, revealing important links between tumor characteristics, immune factors, and patient survival.* -
- Using machine learning on engineered spatial data, researchers achieved a predictive accuracy of 0.71 for patient treatment responses based on TME features, highlighting the potential of using TME architecture as a basis for new treatment strategies in TNBC.*
Article Synopsis
- * The CheckMate 816 trial assessed the effectiveness of this treatment approach, measuring residual viable tumor (RVT) percentages and their impact on EFS as an exploratory analysis, finding that less than 5% RVT significantly improved EFS compared to higher levels.
- * Results indicate that the percentage of RVT could serve as a reliable predictor of survival outcomes, suggesting that further exploration of RVT thresholds in lung cancer and other cancers is needed for treatment optimization. *
Article Synopsis
- Predictive biomarkers like tumor SUVs on F-FDG PET/CT are crucial for determining responses to HER2-targeted therapies for ER-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer.
- The TBCRC026 trial showed that early declines in SUV can predict complete response rates and potential recurrence-free and overall survival outcomes after treatment with trastuzumab and pertuzumab without chemotherapy.
- Significant findings included that a C1D15 SUL of 3 or less was linked to improved recurrence-free survival and overall survival, while a decline of at least 40% in SUL wasn’t statistically significant for survival outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) have improved treatment for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) with breast cancer gene mutations, but patients often develop resistance, indicating a need for better therapies.
- Researchers discovered that inhibiting the CHK1 pathway using the drug prexasertib caused DNA damage and reduced tumor size in both sensitive and resistant HGSC models.
- A phase 2 study showed that, although prexasertib was well tolerated, it only had a 6% objective response rate in previously PARPi-treated patients; however, certain genetic markers suggested potential for identifying patients who might benefit from CHK1 inhibitors.
Article Synopsis
- Predictive biomarker testing is crucial for identifying which metastatic breast cancer patients can benefit from targeted therapies.
- Guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network emphasize testing for hormone receptors, HER2, and BRCA1/2 mutations, among others, for newly metastatic cases.
- Emerging techniques, like analyzing circulating tumor DNA for PIK3CA mutations, are enhancing the landscape of biomarker testing in breast cancer.
Introduction: Critical regulatory genes are functionally silenced by DNA hypermethylation in breast cancer and premalignant lesions. The objective of this study was to examine whether DNA methylation assessed in random fine needle aspirates (rFNA) can be used to inform breast cancer risk.
Methods: In 20 women with invasive breast cancer scheduled for surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, cumulative methylation status was assessed in a comprehensive manner.
Article Synopsis
- Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer that often leads to early recurrence and worse outcomes for patients.
- Research using genetically engineered mouse models and patient samples shows that TNBC tumors contain diverse cell types, including hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) cells, which are involved in invasion and metastasis.
- The study reveals a complex activation of multiple epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) programs during the metastatic process, with distinct molecular patterns observed in cancer cells as they progress from an epithelial state to hybrid and mesenchymal states, indicating various strategies for metastasis.
Article Synopsis
- Obesity after a breast cancer diagnosis leads to poorer overall survival rates, making it crucial to understand weight changes in survivors.
- A study reviewed data from women with hormone receptor-positive Stage I-III breast cancer to analyze their body mass index (BMI) changes over time.
- The findings revealed significant increases in BMI for those who were overweight at diagnosis, emphasizing the need for targeted anti-obesity interventions for high-risk survivors.*
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease with poor clinical outcomes. Chemoimmunotherapy improves outcomes in high-risk, early-stage disease, but not all patients benefit. Baldominos and colleagues drill down into early TNBC sub-microenvironments using single-cell technologies, characterizing quiescent cancer cell niches that may drive immunotherapy resistance and disease relapse.
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- Breast adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) shares similarities with basal-like triple-negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) but has a better prognosis, making precise diagnosis important.
- A new method, MYB RNA in situ hybridization (ISH), is highlighted for its effectiveness in identifying AdCC and shows promise for use in other breast cancer types.
- The study found that MYB RNA ISH overexpression is common in AdCC but rare in TNBC, suggesting that this test could aid in distinguishing between these types of breast cancer.
Article Synopsis
- Predictive biomarker testing is crucial for identifying which metastatic breast cancer patients qualify for targeted therapies, based on specific tumor characteristics.
- The National Comprehensive Cancer Network suggests testing for hormone receptors, HER2, BRCA1/2 mutations, and other markers like PD-L1 and PIK3CA mutations depending on the cancer subtype.
- Advances in biomarker testing are underway, including methods to detect PIK3CA mutations in circulating tumor DNA, highlighting the fast progress in cancer diagnostics.
Background Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has improved the accuracy of mammography, including resolving many breast asymmetries as overlapping breast tissue. The pathologic outcomes of persistent developing asymmetries visualized at DBT are not well established. Purpose To characterize the outcomes and the predictors of malignancy for developing asymmetries visualized at DBT without a sonographic correlate.
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- Aberrant glycosylation is significant in cancer, but its role in breast cancer metastasis was under-researched; this study aimed to fill that gap by examining N-glycosylation in metastatic breast cancer (BC) patients.
- The research involved analyzing tissue samples from 17 metastatic BC patients using mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to assess changes in N-glycosylation patterns across different metastatic sites.
- Findings revealed a generalized increase in N-glycan abundance during metastasis, with specific alterations in glycan types; this suggests potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications targeting glycosylation in metastatic breast cancer.
Article Synopsis
- - Cutaneous carcinoma of the scrotum is rare, with squamous cell carcinoma being the most common type, and a study reported 6 cases of poorly differentiated carcinomas with apocrine features, primarily affecting older men (mean age 68).
- - Clinical symptoms included various scrotal masses and eczematous rashes, with tumors averaging 2.5 cm in size and showing significant cellular changes upon histological examination, including focal squamous differentiation in some cases.
- - Most patients presented with metastases at diagnosis, and treatments involved surgical removal followed by various chemotherapy regimens; however, 40% of patients died within two years, with metastases spreading to lymph nodes and other organs.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined factors that influence treatment responses and survival outcomes in patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).
- It involved analyzing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), CD20 B-cell frequencies, and PD-L1 expression levels in a cohort of 383 patients to assess their correlation with pathologic complete response (pCR) and survival rates.
- Results indicated that while several immune factors were associated with better outcomes, CD20PD-L1TILs specifically improved disease-free survival in IBC patients, suggesting potential for biomarker-guided therapy approaches.
Article Synopsis
- Breast cancer historically lacked immunotherapy options, but recent advancements with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with chemotherapy show promise, especially for advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), improving survival rates for some patients.
- The FDA has approved these ICIs alongside chemotherapy for certain advanced TNBC patients, expanding treatment options but raising ongoing questions about the best chemotherapy combinations and patient selection criteria.
- To address these concerns, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) gathered experts to create a clinical practice guideline that provides evidence-based recommendations on immunotherapy treatment, including diagnostic testing, treatment strategies, and managing immune-related side effects.
Purpose: The prognostic utility of Breast Cancer Index (BCI) for risk assessment of overall (0-10 years), early (0-5 years), and late (5-10 years) distant recurrence (DR) in hormone receptor-positive (HR+) invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) was evaluated.
Experimental Design: BCI gene expression analysis was performed blinded to clinical outcome utilizing tumor specimens from patients with HR+ ILC from a multi-institutional cohort. The primary endpoint was time to DR.