Publications by authors named "M Pekmezci"

Article Synopsis
  • Glioblastoma, despite treatment advancements, has a poor prognosis with less than 2 years median survival due to the unknown reasons for varied treatment responses.
  • A study analyzed glioblastoma samples from 106 patients, identifying early genetic changes like TERT promoter mutations, while later alterations varied between initial and recurrent tumors, along with diverse epigenetic changes impacting treatment outcomes.
  • Findings indicated that patients with somatic hypermutation post-treatment had better survival rates, and an epigenomic signature linked to DNA methylation changes could predict clinical results, emphasizing the complex evolution of this cancer.
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A critical challenge in glioma treatment is detecting tumour infiltration during surgery to achieve safe maximal resection. Unfortunately, safely resectable residual tumour is found in the majority of patients with glioma after surgery, causing early recurrence and decreased survival. Here we present FastGlioma, a visual foundation model for fast (<10 s) and accurate detection of glioma infiltration in fresh, unprocessed surgical tissue.

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Consensus recommendation published in 2017 histologically defining atypical neurofibromatous neoplasm of uncertain biologic potential (ANNUBP) and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) were codified in the 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System and the 2022 WHO Classification of Tumors of Soft Tissue and Bone. However, given the shift in diagnostic pathology toward the use of integrated histopathologic and genomic approaches, the incorporation of additional molecular strata in the classification of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1)-associated peripheral nerve sheath tumors should be formalized to aid in accurate diagnosis and early identification of malignant transformation to enable appropriate intervention for affected patients. To this end, we assembled a multi-institutional expert pathology working group as part of a "Symposium on Atypical Neurofibroma: State of the Science".

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Article Synopsis
  • Metastatic Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET) are rare and aggressive, making them difficult to treat; however, aggressive behavior is also observed in non-metastatic forms.
  • A study at UCSF analyzed samples from multiple patients with different types of aggressive PitNETs, categorizing them according to international neuroendocrine neoplasm criteria and identifying various tumor lineages.
  • High rates of disease progression and mortality were noted, along with concerning histopathological and molecular characteristics that could serve as indicators of tumor aggressiveness, suggesting a need for a new grading system.
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The World Health Organization's (WHO) classification of central nervous system (CNS) tumors is continually being refined to improve the existing diagnostic criteria for high-grade gliomas (HGGs), including glioblastoma. In 2021, advances in molecular analyses and DNA methylation profiling were incorporated to expand upon the diagnostic criteria for HGG, including the introduction of high-grade astrocytoma with piloid features (HGAP), a new tumor entity for which a match to the HGAP class in DNA methylation profiling is an essential criterion. We present an equivocal case of a 72-year-old male with an HGG exhibiting features of both HGAP and glioblastoma, but which did not conform to any existing 2021 WHO classification of CNS tumor entities.

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