Phase II Window Study of Olaparib Alone or with Cisplatin or Durvalumab in Operable Head and Neck Cancer.

Purpose: We conducted a phase II randomized noncomparative window of opportunity (WOO) trial to evaluate the inhibition of cellular proliferation and the modulation of immune microenvironment after treatment with olaparib alone or in combination with cisplatin or durvalumab in patients with operable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Experimental Design: Forty-one patients with HNSCC were randomized to cisplatin plus olaparib (arm A), olaparib alone (arm B), no treatment (arm C) or durvalumab plus olaparib (arm D). The primary endpoint was to evaluate the percentage of patients in each arm that achieved a reduction of at least 25% in Ki67.

An inter-specialty cancer training programme curriculum for Europe.

Introduction: Multidisciplinary and multi-professional collaboration is vital in providing better outcomes for patients The aim of the INTERACT-EUROPE Project (Wide Ranging Cooperation and Cutting Edge Innovation As A Response To Cancer Training Needs) was to develop an inter-specialty curriculum. A pilot project will enable a pioneer cohort to acquire a sample of the competencies needed.

Methods: A scoping review, qualitative and quantitative surveys were undertaken.

Bringing pathology to nanomedicine: a comparison of in vivo toxicity of polymeric nanoparticle carriers with and without chitosan coating.

Over the last years, there has been an increasing number of proposals for the use of nanomaterials in medicine. The safety of novel technologies must be verified, prior to their clinical application. Pathology has much to contribute towards this end.

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: two case reports and review of the literature.

Background: Among the total reported cases of pancreatic duct adenocarcinomas, around 1-2.9% are adenosquamous carcinomas of the pancreas. Due to limited data, preoperative diagnosis is a great challenge for physicians, and it is usually set post-operational, based on the pathologist report.

Follow-up of tissue genomics in BRCA1/2 carriers who underwent prophylactic surgeries.

Purpose: The genomic status of non-malignant tissues from carriers of pathogenic germline BRCA1/2 (gBRCA1/2) variants may reveal information towards individualized prophylaxis. We performed spatiotemporal tissue genotype comparisons in a real-life cohort of gBRCA1/2 carriers of Greek origin, who underwent multiple risk-reducing/prophylactic surgeries at various time points.

Methods: Fifty-three women (median age 36 years) within cancer families were observed for up to 37.

Circulating and Tissue Expression Profile of MicroRNAs in Primary Hyperparathyroidism Caused by Sporadic Parathyroid Adenomas.

We investigated the expression profile of selected microRNAs (miRs) in serum and tissue samples from patients with sporadic parathyroid adenomas (sPAs). This was a prospective, controlled cohort study. Forty patients with sPAs who had undergone parathyroidectomy (PTX) were included.

Efficacy and Safety of First-Line Everolimus Therapy Alone or in Combination with Octreotide in Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. A Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG) Study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy and safety of everolimus administered as a first-line treatment in newly diagnosed patients with metastatic or inoperable gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP NETs). This phase II, multicenter, single-arm study included patients with well-differentiated GEP NETs and a Ki67 < 20%. Everolimus, at 10 mg/day, was administered until disease progression; 18 patients (72%) concomitantly received octreotide long-acting release (LAR), at 30 mg/month.

Prognostic implications of mismatch repair deficiency in patients with nonmetastatic colorectal and endometrial cancer.

Background: The clinical relevance of mismatch repair (MMR) status in patients with nonmetastatic cancer across tumour types remains unclear. Our goal was to investigate the prognostic role of MMR deficiency in patients with stage I-III colorectal and endometrial cancer.

Methods: Patients with nonmetastatic colorectal and endometrial cancer with tumour tissue available for analysis were identified through the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG)'s tumour repository.

A Role for Circular Non-Coding RNAs in the Pathogenesis of Sporadic Parathyroid Adenomas and the Impact of Gender-Specific Epigenetic Regulation.

Epigenetic changes, including altered small non-coding RNAs, appear to be implicated in the pathogenesis of sporadic parathyroid adenomas (PAs). In this study, we investigated the circular RNAs (circRNAs) expression profile in sporadic PAs. Sixteen tissue samples of sporadic PAs, and four samples of normal parathyroid tissue (NPT) were investigated.

Prognostic significance of tumor genotypes and CD8+ infiltrates in stage I-III colorectal cancer.

Background: We explored the clinical significance of tumor genotypes and immunophenotypes in non-metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: In primary tumors (paraffin blocks) from 412 CRC patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, we examined pathogenic mutations (panel NGS; 347 informative); mismatch repair (MMR) immunophenotype (360 informative); and CD8+ lymphocyte density (high - low; 412 informative). The primary outcome measure was disease-free survival (DFS).

AMALTHEA: Prospective, Single-Arm Study of the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG) Evaluating Efficacy and Safety of First-Line FOLFIRI + Aflibercept for 6 Months Followed by Aflibercept Maintenance in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Background: The efficacy and safety of the FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) regimen combined with aflibercept has not been studied in the first-line management of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Patients And Methods: In the context of a prospective single-arm trial (NCT02129257), patients with mCRC received standard doses of a maximum of 12 cycles of FOLFIRI combined with aflibercept (4 mg/kg body weight delivered intravenously) every 2 weeks, followed by aflibercept maintenance. Endpoints were 12-month progression-free survival rate, efficacy, and toxicity.

Distant lung metastases caused by a histologically benign phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor.

Unlabelled: Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare form of hypophosphatemia usually caused by phosphaturic mesenchymal tumors (PMTs); the biologic behavior of PMTs is under investigation. Herein we present a case of TIO with a protracted course over 12 years leading to a fatal outcome. A 39-year-old man presented with weakness in 2004 and was found to have decreased serum phosphorus, phosphaturia and low levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

Genotyping and mRNA profiling reveal actionable molecular targets in biliary tract cancers.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC) represents a heterogeneous disease with dismal outcome. Herein, we examined genotype and angiogenesis features in BTC. We applied genotyping (Sanger, qPCR, 101-gene panel NGS), mRNA relative quantification methods, and β-catenin immunohistochemistry in 84 FFPE BTC (55 gallbladder [GBC], 14 intrahepatic [ICC], 15 extrahepatic [ECC] carcinomas).

A case of CD30+ ALK1- anaplastic large cell lymphoma resembling acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

Central nervous system involvement is an uncommon complication of systemic non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The majority of these cases concern B-cell lymphomas. We report a case of systemic T-cell anaplastic large cell lymphoma CD30+ ALK- with CNS involvement at the time of diagnosis and unusual MRI characteristics resembling acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

TP53 mutations and protein immunopositivity may predict for poor outcome but also for trastuzumab benefit in patients with early breast cancer treated in the adjuvant setting.

Background: We investigated the impact of PIK3CA and TP53 mutations and p53 protein status on the outcome of patients who had been treated with adjuvant anthracycline-taxane chemotherapy within clinical trials in the pre- and post-trastuzumab era.

Results: TP53 and PIK3CA mutations were found in 380 (21.5%) and 458 (25.

Laryngeal schwannoma as an acute airway presentation.

A schwannoma is a neurogenic tumour arising from nerve sheaths. Between 25% and 45% of schwannomas occur in the head and neck region. Schwannomas of the larynx are extremely rare.

Expression pattern of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in pituitary adenomas.

Several studies have demonstrated the role of Wnt and Notch signaling in the pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas, but data are scarce regarding the role of Hedgehog signaling. In this study we investigated the differential expression of gene targets of the Hedgehog signaling pathway. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens from adult patients who underwent transphenoidal resection and normal human pituitary tissues that were obtained from autopsies were used.

Tumor-induced osteomalacia due to a recurrent mesenchymal tumor overexpressing several growth factor receptors.

Unlabelled: Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome caused primarily by benign mesenchymal tumors. These tumors typically follow a benign clinical course and local recurrence occurs in <5% of cases. We investigated a 49-year-old man with a recurrent mesenchymal phosphaturic tumor showing no signs of malignancy.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the thyroid gland is a very rare entity representing <1% of all primary carcinomas of the thyroid gland with a very poor prognosis. We report a rare case of a 65-year-old woman with SCC of the thyroid gland, emphasizing the postoperative complications and poor prognosis of these patients. Surgical excision of primary SCC of the thyroid gland when possible is the optimal therapy.

Rupatadine effectively prevents the histamine-induced up regulation of histamine H1R and bradykinin B2R receptor gene expression in the rat paw.

Background: Activation of histamine H1 receptor (H1R) is a well-known hallmark of allergic and inflammatory pathology. Both types of bradykinin receptors (B1R and B2R) are also known to contribute significantly to the latter and some sort of functional interaction between them and H1R has been alluded to in the past. Here we use an experimental model of rat paw oedema formation to examine the effect of exogenously added histamine on the gene expression of H1R and bradykinin receptors B1R and B2R, alone or in combination to rupatadine, a second generation antihistamine agent.

Gastric carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells coexisting with gastrointestinal spindle cell tumor.

Reactive multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs) have been described in a variety of neoplasms but rarely in gastric carcinomas. Reported herein is a case of an 81-year-old Caucasian male presented with upper abdominal pain and dysphagia. Esophagogastroscopy revealed an ulcerative mass and a specimen of subtotal gastrectomy and lower esophagectomy was sent for histologic examination.

Echinococcal disease of the urinary tract: review of the management of 7 cases.

Seven cases of hydatid disease of the urinary tract are discussed. In 6 patients the hydatid cyst was located in the kidney (1 involved the descending colon and 1 coexisted with a renal calculus) and in 1 the cyst was located in the right paravesical region. Surgical treatment included nephrectomy in 2 patients, nephrectomy and evacuation of the cyst in 1, enucleation of the cyst in 2, evacuation of the cyst and pyelolithotomy in 1, and excision of the cyst and ureteral segment, followed by ureterovesical anastomosis in 1.