Induction of MMP-3 and MMP-9 expression during Helicobacter pylori infection via MAPK signaling pathways.

Background And Aims: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-induced gastric pathology involves remodeling of extracellular matrix mediated by aberrant activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). We have previously shown that in vitro H.

Severe Gastritis Due to Nivolumab Treatment of a Metastatic Melanoma Patient.

Nivolumab, an anti-PD-1 check point inhibitor, is an immunotherapeutic agent, representing a major step in the treatment of melanoma. However, its use is associated with severe toxicities. Among them, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders from the lower GI tract have been widely reported.

Estimation of Redox Status in Military Pilots during Hypoxic Flight-Simulation Conditions-A Pilot Study.

At high altitude conditions, the low-pressure atmospheric oxygen reduces the generation of energy, thus inducing a decrease in oxygen availability. As a result, endurance flights evoke imbalance in redox signaling, posing a safety risk for the pilots involved. The aim of the present study was to assess changes in the redox status of military pilots during flight simulation conditions according to their flight hours (experts vs.

Dose-dense sequential adjuvant chemotherapy in the trastuzumab era: final long-term results of the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group Phase III HE10/05 Trial.

Background: Dose-dense sequential chemotherapy with anthracyclines and taxanes achieved an 18% reduction of recurrence risk in early breast cancer (BC). The optimal chemotherapy schedule and interval between cycles remain under investigation.

Methods: Overall, 990 patients were randomised to receive either three cycles of epirubicin (E, 110 mg/m) every 2 weeks followed by 3 cycles of paclitaxel (T, 200 mg/m) every 2 weeks followed by three cycles of intensified CMF (Control Arm A, E-T-CMF) that was previously used in BC or three cycles of epirubicin followed by three cycles of CMF followed by nine consecutive weekly cycles of docetaxel (wD) 35 mg/m (Arm B, E-CMF-wD) or nine consecutive weekly cycles of paclitaxel (wT) 80 mg/m (Arm C, E-CMF-wT).

Retroflexion, a costless endoscopic maneuver, increases adenoma detection rate in the ascending colon.

Background: Missed polyps during colonoscopy are considered an important factor for interval cancer appearance, especially in the ascending colon (AC). We evaluated the contribution of retroflexion to polyp and adenoma detection in the AC.

Methods: This prospective observational study included consecutive patients who underwent a complete colonoscopy between 06/2017 and 06/2018.

Rapid Bound State Formation of Dark Matter in the Early Universe.

The formation and decay of dark matter (DM) bound states deplete the thermal relic density during the chemical decoupling process, allowing for larger DM masses. While so far the bound state formation (BSF) has been described via the emission of an on-shell mediator, we point out that this particular process does not have to be the dominant one in general. If the mediator is coupled in a direct way to any relativistic species present in the early Universe, we demonstrate that BSF can much more efficiently occur through particle scattering.

Prognostic impact of stromal and intratumoral CD3, CD8 and FOXP3 in adjuvantly treated breast cancer: do they add information over stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte density?

Background: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and their subsets contribute to breast cancer prognosis. We investigated the prognostic impact of CD3+, CD8+ and FOXP3+ TILs in patients with early intermediate/high-risk breast cancer treated with adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy within two randomized trials conducted by our Group.

Methods: We examined 1011 patients (median follow-up 130.

Angiogenic and Antiangiogenic VEGFA Splice Variants in Colorectal Cancer: Prospective Retrospective Cohort Study in Patients Treated With Irinotecan-Based Chemotherapy and Bevacizumab.

Background: Alternative splicing of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) results in VEGFAxxxb antiangiogenic isoforms that fail to activate angiogenesis. Bevacizumab, widely used in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), binds both VEGFA and VEGFAxxxb isoforms.

Patients And Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tumors from metastatic CRC patients treated with first-line FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) + bevacizumab (n = 285) or FOLFIRI only (n = 75) were collected.

Nodular Lesions on the Upper Trunk: An Uncommon Anatomical Site of Renal Tumor Metastases.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most frequent cancer of the kidney and it accounts for 3% of all solid malignancies. Although rare, cutaneous metastases can be an important manifestation of RCC. We present a case of a 56-year-old male with a history of RCC, followed by the development of cutaneous metastases 4 years later with an uncommon clinical presentation.

Association of Notch and Hedgehog Pathway Activation With Prognosis in Early-stage Colorectal Cancer.

Background/aim: Early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) carries a wide range of survival probabilities. Novel biomarkers in this setting are eagerly awaited. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered one of the reasons for treatment failure.

Central nervous system tuberculosis reactivation following intravenous iron supplementation.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors and are therefore at higher risk for tuberculosis (TB) reactivation. IBD patients also frequently have iron deficiency which is often treated with intravenous iron supplementation. Iron plays an important role in mycobacterial infections, and reactivation of TB has been rarely reported after iron repletion.

Evaluation of the prognostic value of all four HER family receptors in patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab: A Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG) study.

In the current study, we performed a complete analysis, with four different methods, of all four HER family receptors, in a series of patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with trastuzumab-based regimens and evaluated their prognostic value. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples were collected from 227 patients, considered to be HER2-positive when assessed at the local laboratories. We evaluated gene amplification, copy number variations (CNVs), mRNA and protein expression of all four HER family members.

Correlation of MYC Gene and Protein Status With Breast Cancer Subtypes and Outcome of Patients Treated With Anthracycline-Based Adjuvant Chemotherapy. Pooled Analysis of 2 Hellenic Cooperative Group Phase III Trials.

Background: The prognostic/predictive value of aberrant MYC gene copies and protein expression is not clear in breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Early breast cancer patients were treated with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy within 2 randomized adjuvant trials. MYC gene and centromere-8 status, as well as Myc protein expression were investigated on 1060 paraffin tumors with fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

The Prognostic Value of the Immunohistochemical Expression of Phosphorylated RB and p16 Proteins in Association with Cyclin D1 and the p53 Pathway in a Large Cohort of Patients with Breast Cancer Treated with Taxane-based Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: The retinoblastoma (RB) gene is a tumor-suppressor gene that plays a central role in regulating the cell cycle. Inactivation of this gene is involved in breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: A total of 827 patients with breast cancer treated with taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy were included in the study.

Acute Pancreatitis Following Endoscopic Ampullary Biopsies without Attempted Cannulation of the Ampulla of Vater.

A 51-year-old man underwent diagnostic work-up for an abnormal-appearing ampulla of Vater. Three hours after biopsy of the ampulla, the patient presented with intense symptoms suggesting acute pancreatitis, which was later confirmed with laboratory and radiographic examinations. Other causes were excluded and the acute pancreatitis was considered a procedural complication.

MYC copy gain, chromosomal instability and PI3K activation as potential markers of unfavourable outcome in trastuzumab-treated patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Background: There is an unmet need for more efficient patient stratification for receiving trastuzumab in the metastatic breast cancer (mBC) setting, since only part of such patients benefit from the addition of this agent to chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of biomarkers including MYC and MET in mBC patients treated with trastuzumab-based regimens.

Methods: mBC patients, locally tested as HER2-positive, treated with trastuzumab and chemotherapy between 1998 and 2010 were evaluated.

Randomized clinical trial comparing ten day concomitant and sequential therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication in a high clarithromycin resistance area.

Background: Currently only a few studies compare sequential and concomitant non-bismuth Helicobacter pylori therapies referring to high antibiotic resistance populations.

Materials And Methods: This multicenter prospective randomized clinical trial included 353 H. pylori positive, treatment naïve, patients.

Hormonal receptor status, Ki-67 and HER2 expression: Prognostic value in the recurrence of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast?

Purpose: Local recurrence is considered a major concern in patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), as its invasive occurrence is associated with high rates of distant disease and mortality. This study aims to assess the possible correlation of hormonal receptor status, Ki-67 and HER2 expression with recurrence rates in women with DCIS, taking also into account the potential prognostic effects of grade and age at diagnosis.

Methods: 230 consecutive patients with DCIS were included in this study.

Prognostic Significance of VEGFC and VEGFR1 mRNA Expression According to HER2 Status in Breast Cancer: A Study of Primary Tumors from Patients with High-risk Early Breast Cancer Participating in a Randomized Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group Trial.

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR1) mRNA overexpression has recently been shown to have strong predictive and prognostic value in patients with high-risk early breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. The present study evaluated associations of VEGFC and VEGFR1 with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and their prognostic value dependent on HER2 status.

Patients And Methods: RNA was isolated from 298 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue samples from the HeCOG 10/97 (HE10/97) trial, evaluating adjuvant dose-dense sequential chemotherapy with epirubicin followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil therapy with or without paclitaxel (E-T-CMF vs.

Emerging role of linker histone variant H1x as a biomarker with prognostic value in astrocytic gliomas. A multivariate analysis including trimethylation of H3K9 and H4K20.

Although epigenetic alterations play an essential role in gliomagenesis, the relevance of aberrant histone modifications and the respective enzymes has not been clarified. Experimental data implicates histone H3 lysine (K) methyltransferases SETDB1 and SUV39H1 into glioma pathobiology, whereas linker histone variant H1.0 and H4K20me3 reportedly affect prognosis.

Particle-antiparticle asymmetries from annihilations.

An extensively studied mechanism to create particle-antiparticle asymmetries is the out-of-equilibrium and CP violating decay of a heavy particle. We, instead, examine how asymmetries can arise purely from 2→2 annihilations rather than from the usual 1→2 decays and inverse decays. We review the general conditions on the reaction rates that arise from S-matrix unitarity and CPT invariance, and show how these are implemented in the context of a simple toy model.

Complex interactions between the components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and with components of MAPK, JAK/STAT and Notch-1 pathways, indicate their involvement in meningioma development.

We investigated the significance of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and its interactions with MAPK, JAK/STAT and Notch pathways in meningioma progression. Paraffin-embedded tissue from 108 meningioma patients was analysed for the presence of mutations in PIK3CA and AKT1. These were correlated with the expression status of components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, including p85α and p110γ subunits of PI3K, phosphorylated (p)-AKT, p-mTOR, p-p70S6K and p-4E-BP1, as well as of p-ERK1/2, p-STAT3 and Notch-1, clinicopathological data and patient survival.

Detection of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The Ets-related gene fusions are among the most common molecular alterations in prostate cancer (PCa) and are detected in more than 50 % of PCas. Transmembrane protease serine 2 and Ets-related gene fusion (TMPRSS2-ERG) is the most frequently identified chimeric gene and has been associated with undifferentiated and invasive phenotypes. TMPRSS2-ERG has also been detected in prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions and more rarely in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) regions mainly in PCa-bearing glands.