Liquid biopsy as a tool for KRAS/NRAS/BRAF baseline testing in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: The absence of KRAS and NRAS gene mutations (RAS wild type) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), is associated with a good response to targeted therapy with anti-EGFR receptor antibodies. The current gold standard for RAS mutational status identification is genetic testing on tissue biopsy samples.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relevance of liquid biopsy as a less invasive alternative to tissue biopsy for detecting KRAS/NRAS and BRAF mutations in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Delayed and Attenuated Antibody Responses to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination With Poor Cross-Variant Neutralization in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients-A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Background: Therapeutically immunosuppressed transplant recipients exhibit attenuated responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines. To elucidate the kinetics and variant cross-protection of vaccine-induced antibodies in this population, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study in heart and lung transplant recipients receiving the SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) 3-dose vaccination series.

Methods: We measured longitudinal serum antibody and neutralization responses against the ancestral and major variants of SARS-CoV-2 in SARS-CoV-2-uninfected lung (n = 18) and heart (n = 17) transplant recipients, non-lung-transplanted patients with cystic fibrosis (n = 7), and healthy controls (n = 12) before, during, and after the primary mRNA vaccination series.

Consensus on the management of platinum-sensitive high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer in Lebanon.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic cancer. The high grade serous epithelial (HGSE) subtype is the most aggressive and it often presents at advanced stages, while screening programs have not proven beneficial. Management of the advanced stages (FIGO III and IV), which constitute the majority of diagnoses, usually consists of platinum-based chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery (primary or interval) followed by maintenance therapy.

Diagnosis and management of patients with stage III non‑small cell lung cancer: A joint statement by the Lebanese Society of Medical Oncology and the Lebanese Pulmonary Society (Review).

Proper management of stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) might result in a cure or patient long-term survival. Management should therefore be preceded by adequate and accurate diagnosis and staging, which will inform therapeutic decisions. A panel of oncologists, surgeons and pulmonologists in Lebanon convened to establish a set of recommendations to guide and unify clinical practice, in alignment with international standards of care.