Publications by authors named "Melanie McCoy"

Exploring the tumour microenvironment provides insight into the unique interaction between the host and tumour. Ultimately, its study improves understanding of how an individual mounts and achieves an anti-tumour immune response. In the context of colorectal cancer, immune biomarkers within the tumour microenvironment outperform traditional histopathological staging in predicting disease recurrence.

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Article Synopsis
  • Circulating tumour DNA analysis can be conducted through two main methods: tumour-informed, which requires prior genetic data from the primary tumour, and tumour-agnostic, which doesn't need this info.
  • Several factors must be considered in the lab before performing this analysis, especially for accurate results.
  • Detecting circulating tumour DNA after surgery indicates a higher risk of cancer returning, and monitoring it post-treatment can lead to earlier detection of recurrence, potentially improving patient outcomes.
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Background: Identifying patients at high risk for colorectal cancer recurrence is essential for improving prognosis. In the postoperative period, circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has been demonstrated as a significant prognostic indicator of recurrence. These results have been obtained under the strict rigours of clinical trials, but not validated in a real-world setting using in-house testing.

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Background: The administration of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) to colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in Australia and impact of recent trial data has not been well reported. We aim to evaluate temporal trends in AC treatment and outcomes in real-world Australian patients.

Methods: CRC patients were analyzed from 13 hospitals, stratified by stage (II or III) and three 5-year time periods (A: 2005-2009, B: 2010-2014, C: 2015-2019).

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Background: Mucosal infiltration by certain bacterial species may contribute to the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). There is considerable variation in reported detection rates in human CRC samples and the extent to which bacterial infiltration varies across regions of the primary tumour is unknown. This study aimed to determine if there is an optimal site for bacterial detection within CRC tumours.

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Background: The prognostic value of tumor-associated dendritic cells (DC) in colon cancer remains poorly understood. This may be in part due to the interchangeable expression of immunostimulatory and immunoinhibitory molecules on DC. Here we investigated the prognostic impact of CD11c DC co-expressing the immunoinhibitory molecule PD-L1 and their spatial relationship with CD8 T-cells in patients treated for stage III colon cancer.

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SOX2 (sex-determining region-Y homeobox-2) is a transcription factor essential for the maintenance of pluripotency and is also associated with stem-cell-like properties in preclinical cancer models. Our previous study on a cohort of stage III colon cancer patients demonstrated high SOX2 cell densities were associated with poor prognosis. However, most patients were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy so the prognostic value of SOX2 could not be assessed independently from its value as a predictive marker for non-response to chemotherapy.

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The use of multi-colour immunofluorescence (IF) for immunophenotyping in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections is gaining popularity worldwide. This technique allows for the simultaneous detection of multiple markers on the same tissue section, thereby yielding more complex information than is possible by chromogenic immunohistochemistry (IHC). However, many commercially-available multiplex IF kits are designed for use in conjunction with a multispectral imaging system, to which many research groups have limited access.

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Immunoediting is defined as a process whereby tumour cells develop the capacity to escape immune cell recognition. Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) have an enhanced capacity to interact with the immune system. The expression of CSCs and immune cell-associated markers has been demonstrated to change with disease progression from premalignant lesions to invasive cancer.

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Neoadjuvant (preoperative) chemoradiotherapy (CRT) decreases the risk of rectal cancer recurrence and reduces tumour volume prior to surgery. However, response to CRT varies considerably between individuals and factors associated with response are poorly understood. Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) inhibit anti-tumour immunity and may limit any response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

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Background: Pathological complete response following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer is associated with reduced local recurrence and improved long-term outcome. However, the prognostic value of a partial response, or of tumour regression in patients with metastatic disease, is less clear.

Methods: We present a single-centre cohort study of 205 patients with stage II-IV rectal cancer treated with surgery and neoadjuvant CRT between 2006 and 2013.

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Article Synopsis
  • The immune system's interaction with tumors affects T cell balance, which correlates with patient survival outcomes.
  • Increased presence of regulatory T cells (Treg) is linked to poor survival, while CD8(+) T cells are associated with better outcomes in various cancers.
  • In a study of patients with advanced lung cancer or malignant mesothelioma, higher levels of peripheral Treg and proliferating CD8(+) T cells predicted worse survival, indicating that CD8(+) T cell proliferation may serve as a valuable prognostic marker for these patients.
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  • The study aimed to find factors that predict poor outcomes in patients with very early inflammatory polyarthritis (IP), focusing on disease activity, smoking habits, and reproductive health.
  • At baseline, researchers measured disease-related variables and collected data on smoking status and reproductive history from participants in a clinical trial.
  • Key findings revealed that having a positive rheumatoid factor (RF) significantly increases the risk of needing DMARD therapy or being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) within a year; additionally, smoking was linked to a higher likelihood of RA diagnosis.
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Purpose: Existing prognostic systems for malignant pleural mesothelioma do not incorporate imaging information. We aimed to identify the contribution of quantitative fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) analysis to other prognostic variables in this disease.

Experimental Design: Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma underwent helical thoracoabdominal computed tomography and FDG-PET scans at baseline.

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Objective: Using inflammatory arthritis patients as an example, we investigate EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) profiles resulting in states worse than death (WTD), and the heath status of patients occupying these states.

Methods: Baseline data from two UK trials were used that reflected the range of arthritis states/severity found in routine practice. EQ-5D profiles resulting in negative valuations (i.

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Objectives: To investigate the hypothesis that women who are genetically programmed to produce higher levels of transforming growth factor-beta 1 are more likely to develop severe eclampsia/pre-eclampsia.

Design: Case-control study.

Methods: Blood samples from women whose pregnancy was complicated by eclampsia (n=37) or pre-eclampsia (n=49) and healthy controls (n=86) were analyzed for the presence of polymorphisms at codons 10 and 25 of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene.

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Background: Genetic factors are known to be important in determining an individual's predisposition to atopic dermatitis. The specific genes that are clinically important in this process are still largely unknown.

Objective: Because dendritic cells initiate immune responses and thus are critical to the priming of an individual to potential allergens, we hypothesized that genetic factors controlling the activity of these cells determine an individual's propensity to atopic dermatitis.

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