Prognostic role of tumor subtype and germline BRCA mutation in advanced breast cancer patients treated with palbociclib plus endocrine therapy.

Purpose: Palbociclib is a cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor which shows promising effect in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the real-world efficacy and toxicity of palbociclib plus endocrine therapy.

Methods: This is a retrospective study performed in two tertiary referral hospitals in Korea.

Mutational Analysis of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Using Targeted Kinome Sequencing.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not have defined therapeutic targets and is currently treated with chemotherapy only. Kinase dysregulation triggers cancer cell proliferation and metastasis and is a crucial therapeutic target for cancer. In this study, targeted kinome sequencing of TNBC tumors was performed to assess the association between kinome gene alterations and disease outcomes in TNBC.

A Real-world Efficacy of Nab-paclitaxel Monotherapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the real-world efficacy of nab-paclitaxel in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective study performed in two tertiary referral hospitals in Korea. Patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane®) between March 2016 and March 2020 were enrolled.

Quantitative Proteomics Reveals Knockdown of CD44 Promotes Proliferation and Migration in Claudin-Low MDA-MB-231 and Hs 578T Breast Cancer Cell Lines.

CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that can regulate the oncogenic process. This is known to be a marker of the claudin-low subtype of breast cancer, as well as a cancer stem cell marker. However, its functional regulatory roles are poorly understood in claudin-low breast cancer.

Increased expression of thyroid hormone receptor alpha and estrogen receptor alpha in breast cancer associated with thyroid cancer.

Introduction: Breast cancer co-occurred with thyroid cancer might be associated with thyroid hormone receptor (TR) and estrogen receptor (ER), but few have been reported. We aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of ERs and TRs in such settings.

Material And Methods: Tissue microarrays were constructed from 75 patients with breast and thyroid cancer (BC + TC) who were retrospectively recruited between 1999 and 2012 and 147 with breast cancer only (BC controls).

Development and Validation of a Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Multigene Assay to Predict the Prognosis of Estrogen Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Multigene assays provide useful prognostic information regarding hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer. Next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based platforms have numerous advantages including reproducibility and adaptability in local laboratories. This study aimed to develop and validate an NGS-based multigene assay to predict the distant recurrence risk.

Clinical Application of Multiple Reaction Monitoring-Mass Spectrometry to Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Measurements as a Potential Diagnostic Tool for Breast Cancer Therapy.

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is often overexpressed in breast cancer and correlates with a worse prognosis. Thus, the accurate detection of HER2 is crucial for providing the appropriate measures for patients. However, the current techniques used to detect HER2 status, immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), have limitations.

Prognostic Role of Androgen Receptor Expression in Surgically Resected Early Breast Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Endocrine therapy is a standard treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, which accounts for 60%-75% of all breast cancer. Hormone receptor positivity is a prognostic and predictive biomarker in breast cancer. Approximately 50%-80% of breast cancer is also positive for androgen receptor (AR), but the prognostic and predictive value of AR expression in breast cancer is controversial.

Parallel Reaction Monitoring-Mass Spectrometry (PRM-MS)-Based Targeted Proteomic Surrogates for Intrinsic Subtypes in Breast Cancer: Comparative Analysis with Immunohistochemical Phenotypes.

Advances in targeted medications have improved the survival rate of breast cancer patients with molecular marker-positive tumors. To date, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has remained as the standard method for quantifying the markers including HER2, ER, and PR. Nevertheless, IHC-based grading is subjective, because the results depend on trained individuals' eye rather than numerical quantities.

Cytomorphological Features of Hyperchromatic Crowded Groups in Liquid-Based Cervicovaginal Cytology: A Single Institutional Experience.

Background: Hyperchromatic crowed groups (HCGs) are defined as three-dimensional aggregates of crowded cells with hyperchromatic nuclei, and are frequently encountered in cervicovaginal liquid-based cytology (LBC). Here, we aimed to examine the prevalence of HCGs in cervicovaginal LBC and the cytomorphological characteristics of various epithelial cell clusters presenting as HCGs.

Methods: We first examined the prevalence of HCGs in a "routine cohort" of LBC cytology (n=331), consisting of all cervicovaginal LBCs accessioned over 3 days from outpatient clinics (n=179) and the screening population (n=152).

Immune recurrence score using 7 immunoregulatory protein expressions can predict recurrence in stage I-III breast cancer patients.

Background: Immune cells in the tumour microenvironment play an essential role in tumorigenesis. This study aimed to evaluate the immunoregulatory protein expression of breast cancer and reveal their prognostic role.

Methods: Expression of 10 immune markers (PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2/IDO/TIM-3/OX40/OX40L/B7-H2/ B7-H3/B7-H4) with known/possible clinical relevance was identified in stromal tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes or tumour tissue of stage I-III breast cancer patients.

Prognostic role of body mass index is different according to menopausal status and tumor subtype in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Although controversial, obesity and underweight may have a negative impact on breast cancer outcome. However, the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and breast cancer outcomes according to tumor subtype and menopausal status remains unclear.

Methods: This study investigated the association between BMI and breast cancer outcome in stage I-III breast cancer patients.

Prognostic effects of abnormal DNA damage response protein expression in breast cancer.

Purpose: We aimed to explore the expression of DNA damage response machinery proteins and their integrated prognostic value in different subgroups of breast cancer.

Methods: Expression of NBS1, BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, and p53 was determined by immunohistochemistry in 419 surgically resected breast tumors.

Results: Loss of NBS1, BRCA1, ATM, and abnormal p53 expression was significantly associated with lower disease-free survival rates.

High Cytoplasmic CXCR4 Expression Predicts Prolonged Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: Chemokine receptor CXC chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand CXC motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12; stromal cell-derived factor-1) are implicated in tumor growth, metastasis, and tumor cell-microenvironment interaction. A number of studies have reported that increased CXCR4 expression is associated with worse prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but its prognostic significance has not been studied in TNBC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Two hundred eighty-three TNBC patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed.

Dynamic Contrast-enhanced Breast MRI for Evaluating Residual Tumor Size after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Purpose To investigate the accuracy of dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) breast MRI for determining residual tumor size after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Materials and Methods For this retrospective study, 487 consecutive women (mean age, 47.0 years ± 10.

Novel cytomorphologic characteristics suggesting human papillomavirus infection in patients diagnosed as negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy and a comparison of diagnostic performance of three human papillomavirus tests.

Background: Although the Papanicolaou (Pap) test is the first-line screening method for cervical cancer, it has low sensitivity for detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected cervical lesion compared to the HPV test. The aims of this study are to determine novel cytomorphologic parameters for HPV infection in patients previously diagnosed as negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM) and to comparatively analyze the detection performance of 3 HPV tests: nested PCR, the DNA Chip test, and the Liquid Beads Microarray (LBMA) assay.

Methods: In total, 232 patients diagnosed with NILM were enrolled and assessed using 8 cytomorphologic parameters.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis Identifies AHNAK (Neuroblast Differentiation-associated Protein AHNAK) as a Novel Candidate Biomarker for Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma Diagnosis by Liquid-based Cytology.

Cytological examination of urine is the most widely used noninvasive pathologic screen for bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA); however, inadequate diagnostic accuracy remains a major challenge. We performed mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of urine samples of ten patients with BLCA and ten paired patients with benign urothelial lesion (BUL) to identify ancillary proteomic markers for use in liquid-based cytology (LBC). A total of 4,839 proteins were identified and 112 proteins were confirmed as expressed at significantly different levels between the two groups.

Cytologic Diagnosis of Metastatic Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in Cerebrospinal Fluid: A Case Report.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a malignant soft tissue tumor which shows skeletal muscle differentiation. Leptomeningeal metastasis can occur as a late complication, but currently there are no reports that have documented the cytologic features in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We report a case of metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosed in the CSF of a 28-year-old male who was originally diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma on the neck, and that went through systemic therapy.

Integrated Multi-Omic Analyses Support Distinguishing Secretory Carcinoma of the Breast from Basal-Like Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Secretory carcinoma (SC) of the breast is defined as an indolent tumor but is still categorized into a basal-like triple-negative breast cancer (BL-TNBC) subgroup that generally shows aggressive behavior according to the current classification. Despite the unique clinical behavior of SC, molecular characteristics that reflect biological behaviors of SC remain largely unknown.

Experimental Design: A combinatorial approach of whole-exome sequencing and mass spectrometry-based in-depth quantitative proteomics to determine the entire molecular landscape of SC using three SC formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues is employed.

Contrast-enhanced MRI after neoadjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer: lesion-to-background parenchymal signal enhancement ratio for discriminating pathological complete response from minimal residual tumour.

Objectives: To retrospectively investigate whether the lesion-to-background parenchymal signal enhancement ratio (SER) on breast MRI can distinguish pathological complete response (pCR) from minimal residual cancer following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAT), and compare its performance with the conventional criterion.

Methods: 216 breast cancer patients who had undergone NAT and MRI and achieved pCR or minimal residual cancer on surgical histopathology were included. Clinical-pathological features, SER and lesion size on MR images were analysed.

Individual class evaluation and effective teaching characteristics in integrated curricula.

Background: In an integrated curriculum, multiple instructors take part in a course in the form of team teaching. Accordingly, medical schools strive to manage each course run by numerous instructors. As part of the curriculum management, course evaluation is conducted, but a single, retrospective course evaluation does not comprehensively capture student perception of classes by different instructors.

Integrated F-FDG PET/MRI in breast cancer: early prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: To explore whether integrated F-FDG PET/MRI can be used to predict pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: Between November 2014 and April 2016, 26 patients with breast cancer who had received NAC and subsequent surgery were prospectively enrolled. Each patient underwent F-FDG PET/MRI examination before and after the first cycle of NAC.

Preclinical safety assessment of using a 13-week repeated dose oral toxicity study in rats.

(AA), a Japanese species of Danggui, has been used worldwide as a traditional herbal medicine with several bioactivities including anti-diabetic, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-obesity. However, there is lack of toxicological data available to evaluate potential long-term toxicity and the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of AA extract in accordance with the test guidelines published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the 14-day repeat-dose toxicity study, no adverse effects on mortality, body weight change, clinical signs, and organ weights was found following repeat oral administration to rats for 14 days (125, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg body weight), leading that 2000 mg/kg is the highest recommended dose of AA extract for the 13-week repeat-dose oral toxicity study.