The SARIFA biomarker in the context of basic research of lipid-driven cancers.

SARIFA was very recently introduced as a histomorphological biomarker with strong prognostic power for colorectal, gastric, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. It is characterized by the direct contact between tumor cells and adipocytes due to a lack of stromal reaction. This can be easily evaluated on routinely available H&E-slides with high interobserver agreement.

Influence of cryoablation versus operation on circulating lymphocyte subsets in patients with early-stage renal cell carcinoma.

Immune response is known to play an important role in local tumor control especially in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which is considered highly immunogenic. For localized tumors, operative resection or local ablative procedures such as cryoablation are common therapeutical options. For thermal ablative procedures such as cryoablation, additional immunological anti-tumor effects have been described.

The Concept of Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA) as a new prognostic biomarker for lipid-driven cancers holds true in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a 'difficult-to-treat' entity. To forecast its prognosis, we introduced a new biomarker, SARIFA (stroma areactive invasion front areas), which are areas at the tumour invasion front lacking desmoplastic stroma reaction upon malignant invasion in the surrounding tissue, leading to direct contact between tumour cells and adipocytes. SARIFA showed its significance in gastric and colorectal carcinoma, revealing lipid metabolism alternations that promote tumour progression.

Alterations in Peripheral Lymphocyte Subsets under Immunochemotherapy in Stage IV SCLC Patients: Th17 Cells as Potential Early Predictive Biomarker for Response.

UICC stage IV small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignancy without curative treatment options. Several randomized trials have demonstrated improved survival rates through the addition of checkpoint inhibitors to first-line platin-based chemotherapy. Consequently, a combination of chemo- and immunotherapy has become standard palliative treatment.

SARIFA as a new histopathological biomarker is associated with adverse clinicopathological characteristics, tumor-promoting fatty-acid metabolism, and might predict a metastatic pattern in pT3a prostate cancer.

Background: Recently, we introduced Stroma-AReactive-Invasion-Front-Areas (SARIFA) as a novel hematoxylin-eosin (H&E)-based histopathologic prognostic biomarker for various gastrointestinal cancers, closely related to lipid metabolism. To date, no studies on SARIFA, which is defined as direct tumor-adipocyte-interaction, beyond the alimentary tract exist. Hence, the objective of our current investigation was to study the significance of SARIFA in pT3a prostate cancer (PCa) and explore its association with lipid metabolism in PCa as lipid metabolism plays a key role in PCa development and progression.

Alterations in Natural Killer Cells in Colorectal Cancer Patients with Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA).

Background: Recently, our group introduced Stroma AReactive Invasion Front Areas (SARIFA) as an independent prognostic predictor for a poorer outcome in colon cancer patients, which is probably based on immunologic alterations combined with a direct tumor-adipocyte interaction: the two together reflecting a distinct tumor biology. Considering it is already known that peripheral immune cells are altered in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, this study aims to investigate the changes in lymphocyte subsets in SARIFA-positive cases and correlate these changes with the local immune response.

Methods: Flow cytometry was performed to analyze B, T, and natural killer (NK) cells in the peripheral blood (PB) of 45 CRC patients.

Fatal cases after Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 infection: Results of an autopsy study.

Objectives: Omicron lineages BA.1/2 are considered to cause mild clinical courses. Nevertheless, fatal cases after those infections are recognized but little is known about risk factors.

All-Body-Cavity (ABC)-scopy-An approach for a feasible method of minimally invasive autopsy to allow for postmortem tissue sampling in cases where a conventional autopsy is denied.

Objectives: The decreasing autopsy numbers in many western countries have been partially attributed to the invasiveness of the autopsy, which causes relatives to decline postmortem examination. This issue has been addressed by developing methods of minimally or non-invasive autopsy, which could be shown to increase acceptance for autopsies. The aim of this study is to compare the All-Body-Cavity-scopy (ABC-scopy) to conventional autopsies for diagnostic accuracy.

Concurrent loss of MLH1, PMS2 and MSH6 immunoexpression in digestive system cancers indicating a widespread dysregulation in DNA repair processes.

Immunohistochemical analysis of mismatch repair (MMR) protein expression is widely used to identify tumors with a deficient MMR (dMMR). MMR proteins (MLH1/PMS2 and MSH2/MSH6) work as functional heterodimers, which usually leads to the loss of expression in only one functional MMR heterodimer. Recently, there have been studies showing the simultaneous loss of immunoexpression in proteins of both heterodimers.

Circulating Lymphocytes Reflect the Local Immune Response in Patients with Colorectal Carcinoma.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) correlate with the number and size of the surrounding lymph nodes in patients with colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and reflect the quality of the antitumor immune response. In this prospective study, we analyzed whether this response correlated with the circulating lymphocytes in peripheral blood (PB). In 47 patients with newly diagnosed CRC, flow cytometry was performed to analyze the B cells, T cells, NK cells, and a variety of their subsets in PB.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for AML patients with RUNX1 mutation in first complete remission: a study on behalf of the acute leukemia working party of the EBMT.

Acute myeloid leukemia with runt-related transcription factor 1 gene mutation (RUNX1+ AML) is associated with inferior response rates and outcome after conventional chemotherapy. We performed a retrospective, registry-based analysis to elucidate the prognostic value of RUNX1 mutation after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). All consecutive adults undergoing alloSCT for AML in first complete remission (CR1) between 2013 and 2019 with complete information on conventional cytogenetics and RUNX1 mutational status were included.

Can low autopsy rates be increased? Yes, we can! Should postmortem examinations in oncology be performed? Yes, we should! A postmortem analysis of oncological cases.

Ever declining autopsy rates have been a concern of pathologists as well as clinicians for decades. Notably, in the field of oncology, data on autopsies and discrepancies between clinical and autoptic diagnoses are particularly scarce. In this retrospective study, we show the effect of a simple catalog of measures consisting of a different approach to obtain consent for autopsy, structured conferencing, and systematic teaching of residents, as well as a close collaboration between clinicians and pathologists on the numbers of autopsies, especially of oncological patients.

Chemotherapy markedly reduces B cells but not T cells and NK cells in patients with cancer.

Chemotherapy is still the backbone of systemic treatment in the majority of cancers. However, immunotherapies, especially those based on checkpoint inhibition, are additional therapy options for many. For this, functional T cells are a mandatory requirement.

Frequency, localization, and types of gastrointestinal stromal tumor-associated neoplasia.

Background: In recent years, increasing evidence of second neoplasms associated with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) has been found. Numerous case reports, mostly retrospective studies and a few reviews, have been published. To our knowledge, however, no systematic review or meta-analysis of the existing data has been performed so far.

Human bone marrow contains high levels of extracellular vesicles with a tissue-specific subtype distribution.

Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EV) are shed from a broad variety of cells and play an important role in activation of coagulation, cell to cell interaction and transport of membrane components. They are usually measured as circulating EV in peripheral blood (PB) and other body fluids. However, little is known about the distribution, presence and impact of EV and their subpopulations in bone marrow (BM).