Pretreatment Circulating HPV16 DNA Viral Load Predicts Risk of Distant Metastasis in Patients with HPV16-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Background: There are definite reasons to implement molecular diagnostics based on the measurement of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in liquid biopsy into clinical practice. It is a quick, repeatable, and health-safe test for cancer biomarkers in the blood. In this study, we investigated whether the circulating tumor-related HPV16 (ctHPV16) viral load (VL) in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) was important for determining the risk of locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), metastasis-free survival (MFS), and overall survival (OS).

Determinants of the level of circulating-tumor HPV16 DNA in patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer at the time of diagnosis.

Circulating tumor HPV DNA (ctHPV16) assessed in liquid biopsy may be used as a marker of cancer in patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer (HPV + OPC). Factors influencing the initial ctHPV16 quantity are not well recognized. In this study we aimed to establish what factors are related to the level of ctHPV16 at the time of diagnosis.

Salivary Concentrations of Chemerin, α-Defensin 1, and TNF-α as Potential Biomarkers in the Early Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. There is a great interest and need to find simple, inexpensive, and minimally invasive diagnostic tests. The aim of the study was to analyze the salivary concentrations of chemerin, α-defensin 1, and TNF-α in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and in a healthy control group.

Analysis of Selected Nutritional Parameters in Patients with HPV-Related and Non-HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer before and after Radiotherapy Alone or Combined with Chemotherapy.

Background: Radiotherapy plays an essential role in the treatment of oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC). The aim of this study was to assess and compare the nutritional status (NS) of patients with HPV-related (HPV+) and non-HPV-related (HPV-) OPC before and after radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Methods: The analysis included 127 patients with OPC who underwent radiotherapy (RT) alone, or in combination with chemotherapy (CRT), in the I Radiation and Clinical Oncology Department of Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch, Poland.

Prognostic value of human papillomavirus detection and the eighth edition of the TNM classification staging system in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A single-center Polish study.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine human papillomavirus (HPV) status and genotypes, the HPV status-dependent survival, and the applicability of the eighth TNM classification in Polish patients diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Study Design: All patients with primary OPSCC, diagnosed and treated from 2007 to 2017 at the National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland, who underwent radical radiotherapy were included. The Kaplan-Meier method was deployed to produce 3- and 5-year observed survival (OS) estimates.

Comparison of Selected Immune and Hematological Parameters and Their Impact on Survival in Patients with HPV-Related and HPV-Unrelated Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Several immune and hematological parameters are associated with survival in patients with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). The aim of the study was to analyze selected immune and hematological parameters of patients with HPV-related (HPV+) and HPV-unrelated (HPV-) OPC, before and after radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy (RT/CRT) and to assess the impact of these parameters on survival. One hundred twenty seven patients with HPV+ and HPV- OPC, treated with RT alone or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT), were included.

Circulating HPV16 DNA may complement imaging assessment of early treatment efficacy in patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Early detection of treatment failure may improve clinical outcome and overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer after first-line treatment. Circulating cell-free HPV16 DNA (cfHPV16 DNA) was evaluated as a possible complementary marker to radiological assessment of early response in patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) after radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy.

Methods: The study included 66 patients with HPV-related OPC receiving radical radiotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

Infiltrates of M2-Like Tumour-Associated Macrophages Are Adverse Prognostic Factor in Patients with Human Papillomavirus-Negative but Not in Human Papillomavirus-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Introduction: Human papillomavirus with a high oncogenic potential (HR-HPV) is responsible for more than a half of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx. The HR-HPV-dependent cases of this tumour have a better prognosis compared to the HR-HPV-negative cases, despite the usually more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. In addition to genetic and epigenetic factors, the causes of this more favourable course of the disease are also seen in the participation of the tumour microenvironment, including the patient's immune system.

Detection of circulating HPV16 DNA as a biomarker in the blood of patients with human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Development of biomarker analysis using the circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methodology is a challenge for noninvasive cancer diagnosis. In this study, a comparison between the plasma and tumor tissue HPV16 DNA viral loads (VLs) has been presented.

Methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed for quantitating of HPV16 DNA in the plasma and tumor samples of patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

Assessment of PI3K/AKT/PTEN signaling pathway activity in colorectal cancer using quantum dot-conjugated antibodies.

In certain patients with advanced colorectal cancer, loss of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) activity is observed. PTEN is a major gatekeeper gene of the AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) signaling pathway responsible for the proliferative activity of cells. The assessment of AKT activity may be a prognostic factor or a predictor of response to the targeted therapies against particular signaling proteins.

Oral and oropharyngeal papillomas are not associated with high-risk human papillomavirus infection.

The role of different types of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of oral and oropharyngeal papillomas remains unclear. High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) was shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of significant proportion of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx. In this study, we hypothesized that in some oropharyngeal papillomas, low-risk HPV (LR-HPV) and HR-HPV infection could co-exist, similar to what is observed in genital warts, and thus contribute to the elevated risk of malignancy.

Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Regulatory T Cells Infiltration and the Clinical Outcome in Colorectal Cancer.

The aim of the study is the assessment of the intensity of the infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) CD68/iNOS and Tregs CD8/FoxP3 in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients as prognostic factors with respect to disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). In this retrospective study, tissue samples were obtained from 89 patients undergoing resection for CRC (stage IIA, pT3N0M0 and stages IIIB and IIIC, pT3N1-2M0). Recurrence was observed in 45 patients at the time of the follow-up (10 local recurrences, 35 distant metastases).

Vertically transmitted HPV-dependent squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal : Case report of a child.

Background: There is much evidence that high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a causative role in a subset of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) in adults. HPV-positive tumors behave differently even in their response to treatment and are therefore a distinct subset. Both HPV-positive and HPV-negative tumors of the head and neck region are usually in the domain of adults and cases in children are rare; thus when a 2‑year-old child was diagnosed with this cancer in the external auditory canal, an in-depth assessment of the tumor was considered necessary.

Correspondence of cytological and histopathological diagnoses in diagnostic category V of the Bethesda system: "suspicious for malignancy".

The progress in imaging methods enables fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy to be performed on smaller and smaller lesions, including malignant ones (papillary microcarcinomas). The follicular variant predominates in this group, with cytological features often not permitting an unbiased interpretation. The aim of the study was to determine the degree of reliability of the "suspicious for malignancy" (SM) diagnosis in material from the Institute of Oncology in Gliwice (IO).

The diagnosis of cancer in thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy. Surgery, repeat biopsy or specimen consultation?

Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) is the only diagnostic method that allows a preoperative diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma. An unequivocal diagnosis of a malignant change is achievable only in cases in which all cytological criteria of carcinoma are met. The aim of the study was to evaluate the necessity of repeat thyroid FNA in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma verified on consultative examination (CE).

A novel quantitative method of pten expression assessment in tumor tissue.

Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) gene is one of the most important tumor suppressor genes which is involved in the regulation of many signaling cascades (AKT/PKB and MAPK). Subtle changes in its activity lead to cancer susceptibility or aggressive tumor behaviour. Despite the diversity of mechanisms leading to PTEN inactivation, it is frequently associated with a decreased or complete loss of protein expression.

The prognostic significance of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase and the receptors for transforming growth factor β and interferon γ in metastatic lymph nodes in malignant melanoma.

We analyzed the prognostic significance of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and type 1 receptors for transforming growth factor beta (TGF-βR1) and interferon gamma (IFN-γR1) in resected nodal metastases of 48 malignant melanoma patients. In 32 cases the corresponding skin tumors were available. We used immunohistochemical (IHC) staining which was assessed by pathologists and by a computer-aided algorithm that yielded quantitative results, both absolute and relative.

Suspicious for follicular neoplasm or follicular neoplasm? The dilemma of a pathologist and a surgeon.

Introduction: Cytological material obtained from Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) does not permit us to distinguish between follicular carcinomas, adenomas, and hyperplastic nodules. The limitations of the method are: lack of possibility to assess the presence of tumour capsule, eventual capsular invasion, and angioinvasion. An unequivocal conclusion of whether what we have to deal with is a neoplastic or benign lesion is possible only after histopathological examination.

Clinical importance of follicular lesion of undetermined significance (diagnostic category III according to Bethesda System) diagnosed from Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy.

Introduction: Follicular Lesion of Undetermined Significance (FLUS) belongs to the most controversial category of the Bethesda System. The aim of the study was to specify the risk of malignancy in patients with FLUS diagnosis in the material from the Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. This is the first Polish study specifying the risk of malignant neoplasm presence when Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) results in a report of diagnostic category III (DC III).

Human papillomavirus DNA in pharyngeal scrapes as a marker of HPV-related squamous cell cancer of the oropharynx.

Background: Recent studies have indicated that human papillomavirus is an etiologic agent for a subset of head and neck cancers associated with better prognosis, therefore, prompt confirmation of such etiology seems to be crucial for choosing the optimal therapeutic option. Standard HPV diagnosis is currently based on histopathological material. In the present study, the novel diagnostic method based on pharyngeal brush biopsy is proposed.

The presence and clinical implications of α-2,6-galactose-linked sialic acids in non-small-cell lung cancer brain metastases--preliminary study.

Brain metastases (BM) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients present an increasing clinical challenge. Identifying biomarkers which specifically identify patients at high risk of BM may improve their early diagnosis, which is crucial for surgical and radiotherapeutic treatment outcome. Alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase (α-2,6-ST) and the primary product of its activity, alpha-2,6-galactose-linked sialic acids (α-2,6-GalSA) have been found responsible for the adhesion of tumor cells to the brain vessels' endothelium and enabling their transmigration through the blood-brain barrier in brain metastatic tumors.