Immunologic Factors Associated with Differential Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

KEYNOTE-522 resulted in FDA approval of the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with early-stage, high-risk, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Unfortunately, pembrolizumab is associated with several immune-related adverse events (irAEs). We aimed to identify potential tumor microenvironment (TME) biomarkers which could predict patients who may attain pathological complete response (pCR) with chemotherapy alone and be spared the use of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

Sex-Specific Effects of Body Composition on Tumor Microenvironment in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Obesity, Gender, and TME in NSCLC.

Background: There exists a gap in understanding the interaction between sex and obesity on tumor microenvironment in NSCLC. We demonstrate the combined effects of sex and body composition on clinically relevant biomarkers of NSCLC immune response.

Methods: A cohort of 409 patients with NSCLC was subdivided into 4 groups jointly defined by body mass index (BMI; cutoff of 25 kg/m2) and sex (male-high BMI, male-low BMI, female-high BMI, female-low BMI).

Visceral Obesity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

While obesity measured by body mass index (BMI) has been paradoxically associated with reduced risk and better outcome for lung cancer, recent studies suggest that the harm of obesity becomes apparent when measured as visceral adiposity. However, the prevalence of visceral obesity and its associations with demographic and tumor features are not established. We therefore conducted an observational study of visceral obesity in 994 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated during 2008-2020 at our institution.

Obesity-Specific Association of Statin Use and Reduced Risk of Recurrence of Early Stage NSCLC.

Introduction: Statins, used for their lipid-lowering activity, have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties as well. We evaluated this potential benefit of statin use in patients with NSCLC.

Methods: All 613 patients with pathologic stage 1 or 2 NSCLC who had lobectomy without neoadjuvant therapy at our institution during 2008 to 2015 were included.

Visceral Obesity Promotes Lung Cancer Progression-Toward Resolution of the Obesity Paradox in Lung Cancer.

Introduction: Although obesity is associated with adverse cancer outcomes in general, most retrospective clinical studies suggest a beneficial effect of obesity in NSCLC.

Methods: Hypothesizing that this "obesity paradox" arises partly from the limitations of using body mass index (BMI) to measure obesity, we quantified adiposity using preoperative computed tomography images. This allowed the specific determination of central obesity as abdominal visceral fat area normalized to total fat area (visceral fat index [VFI]).

VIABILITIES OF AMYLASE GENOTYPES IN DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURA ON STARCH AND MALTOSE FOOD.

In order to study the relationship between selection on an enzyme and the environment, viability was measured for genotypes at the α-amylase (Amy) locus of D. pseudoobscura on food containing either starch as the primary source of carbohydrates or, as a control, maltose, the breakdown product of starch by amylase. These conditions were chosen to reveal possible differences among these genotypes in their abilities to survive on starch food.