Metaplastic breast cancers: Genomic profiling, mutational burden and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Metaplastic breast cancer (MPBC) is a rare subtype that accounts for <1% of all breast cancers. Although these are typically "triple negative," they are relatively chemotherapy-refractory compared to conventional triple negative invasive breast cancers with more aggressive features and an overall poor prognosis. MPBC is a heterogeneous group of tumors that are enriched for TP53 and PIK3CA mutations, and have been found to have high PD-L1 expression though the mechanisms underlying its immunogenicity remain unclear.

Predictive Biomarkers for Checkpoint Immunotherapy: Current Status and Challenges for Clinical Application.

Immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB), in particular PD-1 inhibition, has rapidly changed the treatment landscape and altered therapeutic paradigms across many tumor types, with unprecedented rates of durable clinical responses in a number of cancers. Despite this success, only a subset of patients responds to ICB and, as a result, predictive biomarkers would be useful to guide the selection of patients for these therapies. This article highlights currently used biomarkers, as well as several promising novel candidates, and also discusses the challenges involved in establishing their analytic validity and clinical utility.

Antibody-drug conjugates in triple negative breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease that comprises 15-20% of all breast cancers and is more frequently seen in younger women, African-Americans, and BRCA1 expression. Advanced TNBC carries aggressive features and is associated with overall poor outcomes. Unfortunately, there are no targeted therapies available for non-BRCA associated TNBC, which remains a high unmet therapeutic need.

Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms: what's in a name?

Purpose Of Review: Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (tMN) are increasingly recognized and studied diseases which have traditionally been defined clinically. With advances in methods used to study the genetics of aging and myeloid disease biology, novel insights are emerging which are expected to improve our understanding of the genetics and pathogenesis of tMN.

Recent Findings: Clinical outcomes in tMN and de novo MDS/AML appear to be largely determined by genetics, and data are emerging to show how DNA mutations may enhance tMN risk stratification.

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for treatment of cardiovascular disease: helping people sooner or later.

Despite advances in clinical management, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in America. While cardiomyocytes retain limited plasticity following maturation, the heart is grossly unable to recover from structural damage. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy, through its promise of repair and regeneration of cardiac tissue, represents an exciting avenue of treatment for a range of cardiovascular diseases.

Role of dorsomedial hypothalamic neuropeptide Y in modulating food intake and energy balance.

Previous studies have suggested that neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) serves as an important signaling peptide in the regulation of energy balance. To elucidate such actions, we used the adenoassociated virus (AAV) system to alter Npy gene expression in the DMH and examined the effects of these alterations on food intake and energy balance as well as explored its downstream signaling pathway. We found that AAV-mediated overexpression of NPY in the DMH of lean rats increased food intake and body weight, and exacerbated high-fat diet-induced obesity.