Prognostic value of HER2 2 + expression in patients with TNBC receiving adjuvant capecitabine.

Background: In triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients receiving adjuvant capecitabine, the impact of HER2 expression on survival outcomes is unclear.

Methods:  Between June 2017 and December 2023, 112 patients with TNBC who received adjuvant capecitabine due to residual masses after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in three hospitals were identified. HER2 is analyzed through immunohistochemistry (IHC) and/or in situ hybridization in the core biopsy and/or post-surgical histopathologies.

Implementation of machine learning models as a quantitative evaluation tool for preclinical studies in dental education.

Purpose And Objective: Objective, valid, and reliable evaluations are needed in order to develop haptic skills in dental education. The aim of this study is to investigate the validity and reliability of the machine learning method in evaluating the haptic skills of dentistry students.

Materials And Methods: One-hundred fifty 6th semester dental students have performed Class II amalgam (C2A) and composite resin restorations (C2CR), in which all stages were evaluated with Direct Observation Practical Skills forms.

Possible drug-drug interactions among elderly patients receiving antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B.

Aim: To identify possible drug-drug interactions in patients taking medications for other comorbidities while on antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: The study enrolled patients with chronic hepatitis B aged ≥60 years who were treated with antiviral therapy in five hospitals in Turkey between January 1 and March 1, 2023. The Lexicomp® Drug Interactions program was used to identify possible drug-drug interactions.

Trastuzumab-induced optic neuritis: "blindness" side effect.

Introduction: Trastuzumab improved the prognosis of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)+ breast cancer (BC). Here, we present a patient who developed acute vision loss due to optic atrophy in both eyes after trastuzumab.

Case Report: A 60-year-old female patient was diagnosed with locally advanced HER2+ BC in January 2021.

Effect of HER2-low status on brain metastasis-free survival and survival after brain metastasis in patients with breast cancer.

Aims And Objectives: The discovery of novel human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-directed antibody‒drug conjugates has accelerated the identification of the HER2-low subtype. However, the biological significance of low HER2 expression in breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) is unclear.

Methods: Patients with HER2-negative BC and brain metastasis were retrospectively screened between February 2012 and November 2023.

Triglyceride-Glucose Index: A Candidate Prognostic Marker in HR-Positive/HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Treated With CDK4/6 Inhibitors.

Aims And Objectives: Although cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK 4/6i) are a vital part of the treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER-2-negative metastatic breast cancer (BC), individuals have different sensitivities to CDK4/6i, indicating the need for biomarkers. The fasting triglyceride glucose (TyG) index is an easily accessible surrogate marker of insulin resistance (IR). Herein, we investigated the prognostic significance of the fasting triglyceride glucose (TyG) index in HR+/HER2- metastatic BC patients treated with CDK4/6i plus endocrine therapy (ET).

Predicting survival after brain metastases in patients with bladder cancer.

Aims And Objectives: Because of its rarity, limited data concerning brain metastasis (BM) from bladder cancer (BCa) are available, so this phenomenon remains unclear. We aimed to contribute to understanding this unique patient population's clinical behavior and outcomes.

Methods/materials: This retrospective cohort study included 27 BCa patients with BM treated at our Cancer Institute between April 2009 and December 2022.

Relationship between HER2-low status and efficacy of CDK4/6 inhibitors in advanced breast cancer: a real-world study.

Aims And Objectives: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low breast cancer (BC) is a new entity considered a biologically distinct subtype from HER2-zero BC. However, the importance of HER2 low expression on the activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) remains unclear.

Methods/materials: We conducted a single-center retrospective study including hormone receptor-positive (HR +) /HER2- metastatic BC (mBC) patients treated with CDK4/6i plus endocrine treatment (ET) as first-line therapy.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Charlson Comorbidity Index in predicting immune checkpoint inhibitor-related adverse events.

Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) in predicting immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in solid tumor patients receiving immunotherapy. The CCI score at the time of initiation of immunotherapy was calculated in 164 solid tumor patients receiving immunotherapy and the correlation between the CCI score and immune toxicity was evaluated. A significant relationship was found between CCI score and irAEs in lung cancer and renal cell cancer patients.

Epigenetic-focused CRISPR/Cas9 screen identifies (absent, small, or homeotic)2-like protein (ASH2L) as a regulator of glioblastoma cell survival.

Background: Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor with extremely poor prognosis, highlighting an urgent need for developing novel treatment options. Identifying epigenetic vulnerabilities of cancer cells can provide excellent therapeutic intervention points for various types of cancers.

Method: In this study, we investigated epigenetic regulators of glioblastoma cell survival through CRISPR/Cas9 based genetic ablation screens using a customized sgRNA library EpiDoKOL, which targets critical functional domains of chromatin modifiers.

A retrospective comparative study of hemorrhoidal artery ligation versus ligasure hemorrhoidectomy for the third degree hemorrhoidal disease.

Background: Hemorrhoidal disease (HD) is the most common disease of the anorectal region. Excision of pathological hemorrhoidal structures by providing bipolar energy transfer with Ligasure, which is basically an electrosurgical device, is one of the treatment methods Ligasure hemorrhoidectomy (LH). In another method applied for the first time by Morinaga, the vascular plexus is provided by Doppler-guided ligation of the hemorrhoidal arteries (ADHL).

Do we need mesh fixation at the laparoscopic hernia repair?

Objective: With the development of laparoscopic treatment, widespread use of laparoscopy has become inevitable for the treatment of inguinal hernias, which is one of the most common ailments in surgical practice. Fixing or not fixing the mesh during laparoscopic repair remains a debate. In our study, we aimed to compare patients with and without mesh fixation in terms of postoperative pain, recurrence, complications, hospitalization and return to social life.

Combination of CEACAM5, EpCAM and CK19 gene expressions in mediastinal lymph node micrometastasis is a prognostic factor for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer is known as the most common and highly metastatic form of cancer worldwide. Tumour node metastasis (TNM) staging is the gold standard classification system for the decision-making process for appropriate treatment. Particularly N status has the most important prognostic value in the absence of distant metastasis.

Classical fever of unknown origin in 21 countries with different economic development: an international ID-IRI study.

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a serious challenge for physicians. The aim of the present study was to consider epidemiology and dynamics of FUO in countries with different economic development. The data of FUO patients hospitalized/followed between 1st July 2016 and 1st July 2021 were collected retrospectively and submitted from referral centers in 21 countries through ID-IRI clinical research platform.

BRD9-containing non-canonical BAF complex maintains somatic cell transcriptome and acts as a barrier to human reprogramming.

Epigenetic reprogramming to pluripotency requires extensive remodeling of chromatin landscapes to silence existing cell-type-specific genes and activate pluripotency genes. ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes are important regulators of chromatin structure and gene expression; however, the role of recently identified Bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) and the associated non-canonical BRG1-associated factors (ncBAF) complex in reprogramming remains unknown. Here, we show that genetic or chemical inhibition of BRD9, as well as ncBAF complex subunit GLTSCR1, but not the closely related BRD7, increase human somatic cell reprogramming efficiency and can replace KLF4 and c-MYC.

Perspectives on current models of Friedreich's ataxia.

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA, OMIM#229300) is the most common hereditary ataxia, resulting from the reduction of frataxin protein levels due to the expansion of GAA repeats in the first intron of the gene. Why the triplet repeat expansion causes a decrease in Frataxin protein levels is not entirely known. Generation of effective FRDA disease models is crucial for answering questions regarding the pathophysiology of this disease.

EPIKOL, a chromatin-focused CRISPR/Cas9-based screening platform, to identify cancer-specific epigenetic vulnerabilities.

Dysregulation of the epigenome due to alterations in chromatin modifier proteins commonly contribute to malignant transformation. To interrogate the roles of epigenetic modifiers in cancer cells, we generated an epigenome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout library (EPIKOL) that targets a wide-range of epigenetic modifiers and their cofactors. We conducted eight screens in two different cancer types and showed that EPIKOL performs with high efficiency in terms of sgRNA distribution and depletion of essential genes.

Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies PRC2 and KMT2D-COMPASS as regulators of distinct EMT trajectories that contribute differentially to metastasis.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) programs operate within carcinoma cells, where they generate phenotypes associated with malignant progression. In their various manifestations, EMT programs enable epithelial cells to enter into a series of intermediate states arrayed along the E-M phenotypic spectrum. At present, we lack a coherent understanding of how carcinoma cells control their entrance into and continued residence in these various states, and which of these states favour the process of metastasis.

Hydatid Cyst of the Spine: A Rare Case Report.

Hydatid cyst is a zoonotic disease that can affect multiple organs and is difficult to diagnose and treat. Spinal hydatid cyst (SHC) is a rare hydatid cyst involvement observed in 1% of all cases. It can induce various neurological symptoms depending on the region of the involvement.

AF10 (MLLT10) prevents somatic cell reprogramming through regulation of DOT1L-mediated H3K79 methylation.

Background: The histone H3 lysine 79 (H3K79) methyltransferase DOT1L is a key chromatin-based barrier to somatic cell reprogramming. However, the mechanisms by which DOT1L safeguards cell identity and somatic-specific transcriptional programs remain unknown.

Results: We employed a proteomic approach using proximity-based labeling to identify DOT1L-interacting proteins and investigated their effects on reprogramming.

library screening identifies the metabolic enzyme aldolase A as a promoter of metastatic lung colonization.

Elucidations of the factors that promote the growth of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) into life-threatening lesions stand to provide much needed prognostic and therapeutic targets of translational utility for patients with metastatic cancer. To identify such regulators, we conducted gain-of-function cDNA library screening to discover genes that foster prostate cancer cell colonization of mouse lungs as an experimental model. Our efforts identified the metabolic enzyme aldolase A (ALDOA) as a driver of cancer cell motility, anchorage-independent growth, and metastatic colonization, and as a prognosticator of adverse patient outcome across many malignancies, including prostate, breast, pancreatic, and liver cancers.

Development, characterization, and hematopoietic differentiation of Griscelli syndrome type 2 induced pluripotent stem cells.

Background: Griscelli syndrome type 2 (GS-2) is a rare, autosomal recessive immune deficiency syndrome caused by a mutation in the RAB27A gene, which results in the absence of a protein involved in vesicle trafficking and consequent loss of function of in particular cytotoxic T and NK cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) express genes associated with pluripotency, have the capacity for infinite expansion, and can differentiate into cells from all three germ layers. They can be induced using integrative or non-integrative systems for transfer of the Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and cMyc (OSKM) transcription factors.

Going up the hill: chromatin-based barriers to epigenetic reprogramming.

The establishment and maintenance of cellular identity are crucial during development and tissue homeostasis. Epigenetic mechanisms based largely on DNA methylation and histone modifications serve to reinforce and safeguard differentiated cell states. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or transcription factors such as Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-MYC (OSKM) can erase somatic cell identity and reprogram the cells to a pluripotent state.