A molecular toolbox to study progesterone receptor signaling.

Progesterone receptor (PR) signaling is required for mammary gland development and homeostasis. A major bottleneck in studying PR signaling is the lack of sensitive assays to measure and visualize PR pathway activity both quantitatively and spatially. Here, we develop new tools to study PR signaling in human breast epithelial cells.

Fourteenth Annual ENBDC Workshop: Methods in Mammary Gland Biology and Breast Cancer.

The fourteenth annual workshop of the European Network for Breast Development and Cancer (ENBDC) on Methods in Mammary Gland Biology and Breast Cancer was held on April 26th - 29th in Weggis, Switzerland. For the first time, early career researchers organised and took part in an additional ECR workshop on the 26th of April, which was received with great enthusiasm. The topics of the main workshop included mammary branching and morphogenesis, novel experimental systems (model organisms), systemic influences on tumour progression and the tumour microenvironment.

The Prognostic Relevance of MRI Characteristics in Myxofibrosarcoma Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy.

To improve local control, neoadjuvant radiotherapy (nRT) followed by surgery is the standard of care in myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) because of its infiltrative growth pattern. Nevertheless, local recurrence rates are high. Data on prognostic factors for poor clinical outcomes are lacking.

Local treatment in metastatic GIST patients: A multicentre analysis from the Dutch GIST Registry.

Background: The added value of local treatment in selected metastatic GIST patients is unclear. This study aims to provide insight into the usefulness of local treatment in metastatic GIST by use of a survey study and retrospective analyses in a clinical database.

Methods: A survey study was conducted among clinical specialists to select most relevant characteristics of metastatic GIST patients considered for local treatment, defined as elective surgery or ablation.

Visualizing WNT signaling in mammalian systems.

WNT/CTNNB1 signaling plays a critical role in the development of all multicellular animals. Here, we include both the embryonic stages, during which tissue morphogenesis takes place, and the postnatal stages of development, during which tissue homeostasis occurs. Thus, embryonic development concerns lineage development and cell fate specification, while postnatal development involves tissue maintenance and regeneration.