Publications by authors named "Diana Ong"

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is an established technique for lung cancer staging and the diagnosis of mediastinal diseases. Recently, the paradigm of EBUS guided mediastinal sampling with conventional cytology has shifted over to histology specimens through the use of cryobiopsy. This case series explores the novel technique, key enablers, and potential advantages of endoscopic ultrasound with bronchoscope-guided transesophageal cryobiopsy (EUS-B-TEC).

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Cavernous hemangioma is a noncancerous vascular growth that arises from different parts of the head and neck region. However, parapharyngeal space contributes a very small percentage for its occurrence. We present a case of right parapharyngeal cavernous hemangioma, a very rare clinical presentation.

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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a therapeutic option for potentially resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The role of neoadjuvant targeted therapy (NTT) remains less explored. This case highlights the use of neoadjuvant osimertinib in a case of advanced NSCLC.

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Metastatic lesions to the breast from extramammary malignant neoplasms are rare and reported account for 0.5-6.6% of all breast malignancies.

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Background: Conventional differential expression (DE) testing compares the grouped mean value of tumour samples to the grouped mean value of the normal samples, and may miss out dysregulated genes in small subgroup of patients. This is especially so for highly heterogeneous cancer like Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Using multi-region sampled RNA-seq data of 90 patients, we performed patient-specific differential expression testing, together with the patients' matched adjacent normal samples.

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Accurate diagnosis of the most common histological subtypes of small B-cell lymphomas is challenging due to overlapping morphological features and limitations of ancillary testing, which involves a large number of immunostains and molecular investigations. In addition, a common diagnostic challenge is to distinguish reactive lymphoid hyperplasia that do not require additional stains from such lymphomas that need ancillary investigations. We investigated if tissue-specific microRNA (miRNA) expression may provide potential biomarkers to improve the pathology diagnostic workflow.

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Article Synopsis
  • Routine categorization of DLBCL patients using Hans' criteria is ineffective for predicting chemotherapy resistance and progression, highlighting the need for better biomarkers.
  • The study aims to identify specific dysregulated miRNAs and mRNAs that can predict resistance to R-CHOP chemotherapy and disease progression in DLBCL patients.
  • Results showed that downregulation of hsa-miR-548d-3p and overexpression of HOXA9 mRNA are significantly linked to therapy resistance and disease progression in DLBCL patients.
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Article Synopsis
  • * A study involving 67 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) revealed that while genetic variations remained stable across different cancer stages, phenotypic variations quickly increased, especially in stage II patients, often showing multiple transcriptomic subtypes within a single tumor.
  • * The findings indicate that phenotypic ITH is a critical factor for predicting patient outcomes and explains why single-target therapies are often ineffective in HCC, stressing the need for more comprehensive studies on phenotypic evolution in various cancers.
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Background: This study aims to determine the predictors of acquired mutation in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harbouring sensitizing ( mutation following the failure of first- or second-generation -tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI).

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of NSCLC patients with sensitising mutation experiencing disease progression (PD) whilst on first- or second-generation -TKIs with subsequent investigations to detect acquired mutation at the University of Malaya Medical Centre from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2017.

Results: A total of 87 patients were included.

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Women in the perimenopause stage may face climacteric symptoms where physical and mental challenges are experienced. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the experiences and needs of perimenopausal women with climacteric symptoms in Singapore. This is a descriptive qualitative study.

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Background: Except for a few studies with contradictory observations, information is lacking on the possibility of association between DNA mismatch repair (MMR) status and the presence of cancer stem cells in colorectal carcinoma (CRC), two important aspects in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Methods: Eighty (40 right-sided and 40 left-sided) formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary CRC were immunohistochemically studied for CD133, a putative CRC stem cell marker, and MMR proteins MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2. CD133 expression was semi-quantitated for proportion of tumor immunopositivity on a scale of 0-5 and staining intensity on a scale of 0-3 with a final score (units) being the product of proportion and intensity of tumor staining.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the expression of E-cadherin, a protein crucial for cell adhesion, in 94 colorectal cancer (CRC) samples, focusing on differences between the tumor center and the infiltrating front.
  • - E-cadherin levels were found to be significantly lower at the infiltrating front compared to the tumor center, especially in late-stage (TNM III+IV) and high-grade tumors.
  • - The findings suggest that reduced E-cadherin expression at the infiltrating front may indicate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process linked to tumor progression, and these trends are consistent with observations in CRC from other populations.
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We report a rare and unusual case of invasive Enterobius vermicularis infection in a fallopian tube. The patient was a 23-year-old Malaysian woman who presented with suprapubic pain and vaginal bleeding. A clinical diagnosis of ruptured right ovarian ectopic pregnancy was made.

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Scientific interest in the nonmotoric symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) has increased dramatically, and psychiatric symptoms (e.g., cognitive impairment, anxiety and mood disorders) are now considered prime targets for treatment optimization.

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