Understanding the role of TNFR2 signaling in the tumor microenvironment of breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women. It is characterized by a high level of heterogeneity that emerges from the interaction of several cellular and soluble components in the tumor microenvironment (TME), such as cytokines, tumor cells and tumor-associated immune cells. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 2 (TNFR2) appears to play a significant role in microenvironmental regulation, tumor progression, immune evasion, drug resistance, and metastasis of many types of cancer, including BC.

Towards understanding the role of nanomedicine in targeting TNFR2 in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the synovium and progressive joint destruction which significantly affects both quality of life and socioeconomic status. Admittedly, various treatments are available, but they are usually accompanied by various side effects, from mild to severe, and potentially with adverse events. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of RA.

Anti-D Alloimmunization Following Rhesus-Incompatible Platelet Transfusion in a Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patient.

Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) often need platelet transfusions to address thrombocytopenia. The risk of alloimmunization, particularly in Rhesus (Rh) incompatibility between donors and recipients during platelet transfusions, is heightened, especially with whole blood-derived pooled platelets as opposed to apheresis platelets. Although the occurrence of alloimmunization from platelet transfusions is minimal, there is an ongoing debate about whether Rh immune globulin (RhIg) should be administered to Rhesus D (RhD)-negative recipients of RhD-positive platelet units.

Coagulation Status Using Clot Wave Analysis in Patients With Prolonged Immobilization.

Background Prolonged immobilization is widely recognized as a risk factor for thromboembolism. In this prospective study, we investigated the changes in clot waveform analysis (CWA) parameters in prolonged immobilized patients following lower limb trauma. CWA is an advanced method for assessing global coagulation that involves continuously monitoring changes in light transmittance, absorbance, or light scattering during routine clotting tests.

Prevalence of GP. Mur variant phenotype among Malaysian blood donors.

Background And Objective: A number of glycophorin variant phenotypes or hybrid glycophorin variants of the MNS blood group system bear multiple immunogenic antigens such as Mi, Mur, and MUT. In the East and Southeast Asian populations, glycoprotein (GP.) Mur is the most common glycophorin variant phenotype expressing those three immunogens.

Efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel in metastatic gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

Nab-paclitaxel is formulated to address several limitations of paclitaxel. A systematic review was done of several databases and a meta-analysis with a random-effects model was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel in metastatic gastric cancer (MGC). Included studies revealed that nab-paclitaxel provides a 30.

Exploring Extended White Blood Cell Parameters for the Evaluation of Sepsis among Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units.

Sepsis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in intensive care units. This case-control study aimed to investigate the haematology cell population data and extended inflammatory parameters for sepsis management. The study included three groups of patients: sepsis, non-sepsis, and healthy controls.

The NF-κB Transcriptional Network Is a High-Dose Vitamin C-Targetable Vulnerability in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer type among women with a distinct clinical presentation, but the survival rate remains moderate despite advances in multimodal therapy. Consequently, a deeper understanding of the molecular etiology is required for the development of more effective treatments for BC. The relationship between inflammation and tumorigenesis is well established, and the activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is frequently identified in BC.

Application of Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing for the Investigation of Thalassemia in a Developing Country: A Single Center Experience.

Thalassemia is identified as a prevalent disease in Malaysia, known to be one of the developing countries. Fourteen patients with confirmed cases of thalassemia were recruited from the Hematology Laboratory. The molecular genotypes of these patients were tested using the multiplex-ARMS and GAP-PCR methods.

The Epigenesis of Salivary Glands Carcinoma: From Field Cancerization to Carcinogenesis.

Salivary gland carcinomas (SGCs) are a diverse collection of malignant tumors with marked differences in biological activity, clinical presentation and microscopic appearance. Although the etiology is varied, secondary radiation, oncogenic viruses as well as chromosomal rearrangements have all been linked to the formation of SGCs. Epigenetic modifications may also contribute to the genesis and progression of SGCs.

Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction following ABO-mismatched platelet transfusion: Two case reports.

Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction following ABO-incompatible platelet transfusion: two case reports An ideal platelet transfusion should provide ABO identical platelet concentrate, and cross match compatibility is not routinely performed in the standard practices. However, ABO non identical platelet transfusions are not uncommon with the limited resources and short shelf life of platelet concentrate. Though rare, acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (AHTR) may occur following minor ABO-incompatible platelet transfusion.

The Immunosuppressive Effect of TNFR2 Expression in the Colorectal Cancer Microenvironment.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents one of the most common causes of death among cancers worldwide. Its incidence has been increasing among the young population. Many risk factors contribute to the development and progression of CRC and about 70% of them are sporadic.

The Role of Epigenetics in the Development and Progression of Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an exceptionally complicated and heterogeneous disease that is caused by the abnormal proliferation of malignant monoclonal plasma cells initiated in the bone marrow. In disease progression, a multistep process including differentiation, proliferation, and invasion is involved. Despite great improvement in treatment outcomes in recent years due to the substantial discovery of novel therapeutic drugs, MM is still regarded as an incurable disease.

The Effects of Tamoxifen on Tolerogenic Cells in Cancer.

Tamoxifen (TAM) is the most prescribed selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) to treat hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer patients and has been used for more than 20 years. Its role as a hormone therapy is well established; however, the potential role in modulating tolerogenic cells needs to be better clarified. Infiltrating tumor-microenvironment-regulatory T cells (TME-Tregs) are important as they serve a suppressive function through the transcription factor Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3).

High-Dose Vitamin C for Cancer Therapy.

In recent years, the idea that Vitamin C (Vit-C) could be utilized as a form of anti-cancer therapy has generated many contradictory arguments. Recent insights into the physiological characteristics of Vit-C, its pharmacokinetics, and results from preclinical reports, however, suggest that high-dose Vit-C could be effectively utilized in the management of various tumor types. Studies have shown that the pharmacological action of Vit-C can attack various processes that cancerous cells use for their growth and development.

A Performance Assessment Study of Different Clinical Samples for Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Diagnosis Tests.

Accurate diagnosis to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is crucial for the clinical management of this lethal infection. Recently, many low-cost and easy-to-use rapid test kits (RTK) have been developed in many countries for the massive screening of SARS-CoV-2. Thus, evaluating the accuracy and reliability of an RTK is critical.

Genetic Profiles and Risk Stratification in Adult De Novo Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in Relation to Age, Gender, and Ethnicity: A Study from Malaysia.

Hitherto, no data describing the heterogeneity of genetic profiles and risk stratifications of adult acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in Southeast Asia are reported. This study assessed genetic profiles, Moorman's hierarchical classification, and ELN 2017-based risk stratifications in relation to age, gender, and ethnicity in Malaysian adult AML patients. A total of 854 AML patients: male (52%), female (48%) were recruited comprising three main ethnic groups: Malays (59%), Chinese (32%) and Indians (8%).

Performance Validation of COVID-19 Self-Conduct Buccal and Nasal Swabs RTK-Antigen Diagnostic Kit.

The antigen rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) is an immunodiagnostic test that detects the presence of viral proteins (antigens) expressed by the COVID-19 virus in a sample from a patient's respiratory tract. This study focused on evaluating the performance of self-conduct buccal and nasal swabs RTK-antigen test compared to nasopharyngeal swab RTK-based COVID-19 diagnostic assays, Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device (Nasopharyngeal) (Abbott Rapid Diagnostics Jena GmbH, Jena, Germany) used in hospitals for first-line screening. The sensitivity and specificity of the paired RTK-Ag test in detecting the an-tigen were calculated at 96.

A Global Mutational Profile of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 368,316 COVID-19 Patients.

Since its first detection in December 2019, more than 232 million cases of COVID-19, including 4.7 million deaths, have been reported by the WHO. The SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes have evolved rapidly worldwide, causing the emergence of new variants.

A Novel Algorithm Using Cell Population Data (VCS Parameters) as a Screening Discriminant between Alpha and Beta Thalassemia Traits.

Thalassemia is one of the major inherited haematological disorders in the Southeast Asia region. This study explored the potential utility of red blood cell (RBC) parameters and reticulocyte cell population data (CPD) parameters in the differential diagnosis of α and β-thalassaemia traits as a rapid and cost-effective tool for screening of thalassemia traits. In this study, a total of 1597 subjects (1394 apparently healthy subjects, 155 subjects with α-thalassaemia trait, and 48 subjects with β-thalassaemia trait) were accrued.

Neoteric Algorithm Using Cell Population Data (VCS Parameters) as a Rapid Screening Tool for Haematological Disorders.

Hitherto, there has been no comprehensive study on the usefulness of cell population data (CPD) parameters as a screening tool in the discrimination of non-neoplastic and neoplastic haematological disorders. Hence, we aimed to develop an algorithm derived from CPD parameters to enable robust screening of neoplastic from non-neoplastic samples and subsequently to aid in differentiating various neoplastic haematological disorders. In this study, the CPD parameters from 245 subtypes of leukaemia and lymphoma were compared against 1103 non-neoplastic cases, and those CPD parameters that were vigorous discriminants were selected for algorithm development.