Comprehensive Genomic Studies on the Cell Blocks of Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies, characterized by late-stage diagnosis and limited treatment options. Comprehensive genomic profiling plays an important role in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease and identifying potential therapeutic targets. Cell blocks (CBs), derived from EUS-FNA, have become valuable resources for diagnosis and genomic analysis.

Liquid Biopsy for Disease Monitoring in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The Link between Biology and the Clinic.

Introduction: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis offers a non-invasive method to identify sensitising and resistance mutations in advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of circulating free DNA (cfDNA) is a valuable tool for mutations detection and disease's clonal monitoring.

Material And Methods: An amplicon-based targeted gene NGS panel was used to analyse 101 plasma samples of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with known oncogenic mutations, mostly EGFR mutations, serially collected at different clinically relevant time points of the disease.

Clinical Application of Next-Generation Sequencing of Plasma Cell-Free DNA for Genotyping Untreated Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: Analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has remarkable potential as a non-invasive lung cancer molecular diagnostic method. This prospective study addressed the clinical value of a targeted-gene amplicon-based plasma next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay to detect actionable mutations in ctDNA in patients with newly diagnosed advanced lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods: ctDNA test performance and concordance with tissue NGS were determined, and the correlation between ctDNA findings, clinical features, and clinical outcomes was evaluated in 115 patients with paired plasma and tissue samples.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Oncological Molecular Diagnosis: A Picture from a National Reference Center for Molecular Pathology.

Introduction: The Portuguese healthcare system had to adapt at short notice to the COVID-19 pandemic. We implemented workflow changes to our molecular pathology laboratory, a national reference center, to maximize safety and productivity. We assess the impact this situation had on our caseload and what conclusions can be drawn about the wider impact of the pandemic in oncological therapy in Portugal.

Targeted Gene Next-Generation Sequencing Panel in Patients with Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma: Paving the Way for Clinical Implementation.

Identification of targetable molecular changes is essential for selecting appropriate treatment in patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. : In this study, a Sanger sequencing plus Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) sequential approach was compared with a Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)-based approach for the detection of actionable genomic mutations in an experimental cohort (EC) of 117 patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma. Its applicability was assessed in small biopsies and cytology specimens previously tested for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutational status, comparing the molecular changes identified and the impact on clinical outcomes.

Elastin-Like Recombinamers As Smart Drug Delivery Systems.

Background: Drug delivery systems that are able to control the release of bioactive molecules and designed to carry drugs to target sites are of particular interest for tissue therapy. Moreover, systems comprising materials that can respond to environmental stimuli and promote self-assembly and higher order supramolecular organization are especially useful in the biomedical field. Objetive: This review focuses on biomaterials suitable for this purpose and that include elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), a class of proteinaceous polymers bioinspired by natural elastin, designed using recombinant technologies.

Biocompatible ELR-Based Polyplexes Coated with MUC1 Specific Aptamers and Targeted for Breast Cancer Gene Therapy.

The search for new and biocompatible materials with high potential for improvement is a challenge in gene delivery applications. A cell type specific vector made of elastin-like recombinamer (ELR) and aptamers has been specifically designed for the intracellular delivery of therapeutic material for breast cancer therapy. A lysine-enriched ELR was constructed and complexed with plasmid DNA to give positively charged and stable polyplexes.

Elastin-like recombinamers with acquired functionalities for gene-delivery applications.

In this work, well-defined elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) were studied as a choice to the existing nonviral vectors due to their biocompatibility and ease of scale-up. Functional motifs, namely penetratin and LAEL fusogenic peptides were incorporated into a basic ELR sequence, and imidazole groups were subsequently covalently bound obtaining ELRs with new functionalities. Stable polyplexes composed of plasmid DNA and ELRs were formed.

Comparative value of BNP and NT-proBNP in diagnosis of heart failure.

Unlabelled: Heart failure (HF) remains a major diagnostic challenge. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the N-terminal portion of proBNP (NT-proBNP) have emerged as excellent diagnostic biohumoral indicators in cardiac disease. It is not clear which of the two is superior as a diagnostic marker in HF.

Pretreatment with FK506 up-regulates insulin receptors in regenerating rat liver.

This report examines the effect of FK506 pretreatment on liver insulin receptor expression in partially (70%) hepatectomized rats. FK506 pretreatment led to an increased insulin receptor number 24 hours after hepatectomy, detected by means of insulin binding and cross-linking procedures. This increase was related to enhanced insulin receptor expression determined by in vitro mRNA translation and Western blot techniques.