Prediction of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy efficacy for cancer using routine blood tests and clinical data.

Predicting whether a patient with cancer will benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) without resorting to advanced genomic or immunologic assays is an important clinical need. To address this, we developed and evaluated SCORPIO, a machine learning system that utilizes routine blood tests (complete blood count and comprehensive metabolic profile) alongside clinical characteristics from 9,745 ICI-treated patients across 21 cancer types. SCORPIO was trained on data from 1,628 patients across 17 cancer types from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

A microscopy-based image analysis pipeline for the quantification of germination of filamentous fungi.

Germination is the fundamental process whereby fungi transition from the dormant and stress resistant spores into actively replicating cells such as hyphae. Germination is essential for fungal colonization of new environments and pathogenesis, yet this differentiation process remains relatively poorly understood. For filamentous fungi, the study of germination has been limited by the lack of high-throughput, temporal, low cost, and easy-to-use methods of quantifying germination.

Atherosclerosis, vascular calcification and osteoporosis.

Numerous epidemiological studies link bone loss with vascular calcification and cardiovascular disease. Osteoporosis and atherosclerosis share risk factors and are likely to share pathogenic mechanisms as well. On the other hand, drugs used in the treatment of osteoporosis could influence cardiovascular risk, just as those used in cardiovascular disease could affect bone mineral density and the development of fractures.

PATH classification: a proposal for patients with HNSCC treated with salvage surgery.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to propose a classification for patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with salvage surgery based on the location of the primary tumor and data commonly found in the pathological report of the resection.

Methods: Retrospective study of 665 patients with HNSCC treated with a salvage surgery after a local and/or regional recurrence of the tumor.

Results: We propose a new postoperative classification for patients with recurrent HNSCC treated with salvage surgery.

Transcriptional expression of SLC16A7 as a biomarker of occult lymph node metastases in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Glucose is the main energy substrate of tumor cells. This study aims to assess whether the transcriptional expression of glucose metabolism-related genes is associated with occult lymph node metastases in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.

Methods: We examined the transcriptional expression of a panel of glucose metabolism-related genes in a cohort of 53 patients with HNSCC without cervical lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis (cN0) and subsequently treated with elective neck dissection.

Warthin's Tumour as a Parotid Gland Incidentaloma Identified by PET-CT Scan in a Large Series of Cases.

Occasionally in imaging scans there are findings unrelated to the pathology for which the scan was indicated, findings that are called incidentalomas. Warthin tumors have a high glucose avidity, being one of the common incidentalomas in PET-CT scans. The aim of the present study is to analyze the frequency of occurrence of Warthin's tumor as an incidental finding in a large series of patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET-CT.

Predictive capacity for local disease control of neogenin-1 (NEO1) transcriptional expression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To analyze the predictive capacity for local disease control of the transcriptional expression of neogenin-1 (NEO1) gene in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods/patients: A retrospective study was performed on tumor biopsies from 107 patients with HNSCC treated surgically. The transcriptional expression of NEO1 was determined by RT-PCR.

LORIS robustly predicts patient outcomes with immune checkpoint blockade therapy using common clinical, pathologic and genomic features.

Despite the revolutionary impact of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in cancer treatment, accurately predicting patient responses remains challenging. Here, we analyzed a large dataset of 2,881 ICB-treated and 841 non-ICB-treated patients across 18 solid tumor types, encompassing a wide range of clinical, pathologic and genomic features. We developed a clinical score called LORIS (logistic regression-based immunotherapy-response score) using a six-feature logistic regression model.

Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesias are Frequent and Impact Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease: A 5-Year Follow-Up Study.

Background: Levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID) are frequent in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To analyze the change in the frequency of LID over time, identify LID related factors, and characterize how LID impact on patients' quality of life (QoL).

Patients And Methods: PD patients from the 5-year follow-up COPPADIS cohort were included.

A Prospective Double-Blinded Comparison of Reflectance Confocal Microscopy with Conventional Histopathology for In Vivo Assessment in Oral Cancer.

Purpose: We investigated reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) as a possible noninvasive approach for the diagnosis of cancer and real-time assessment of surgical margins.

Experimental Design: In a phase I study on 20 patients, we established the RCM imaging morphologic features that distinguish oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) from normal tissue with a newly developed intraoral RCM probe. Our subsequent phase II prospective double-blinded study in 60 patients tested the diagnostic accuracy of RCM against histopathology.

Results of surgical treatment of lymph node metastases in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Introduction: Out of all cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas originating in the head and neck (HNCSCC), 2-4% are associated with parotid or cervical lymph node metastasis. The aim of this study is to analyse the prognostic factors of patients with HNCSCC with lymph node involvement treated surgically. Additionally, we aim to compare the prognostic capacity of the classification of these patients according to the 8th edition of the TNM, and an alternative classification proposed by O'Brien et al.

Prognostic capacity of PIV (pan-immune-inflammation value) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: The pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), an index that results from the following ratio: (neutrophils × monocytes × platelets)/lymphocytes, has been proposed as a prognostic biomarker in different tumour models. The aim of this study is to analyse the prognostic capacity of PIV in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Patients And Methods: Retrospective study of 1187 patients with HNSCC treated at our centre between 2000-2017.

External validation of the GETTEC algorithm for elective neck dissection in patients candidates for salvage total laryngectomy.

Objective: To perform an external validation of the algorithm for elective treatment of the lymph node areas proposed by GETTEC for patients candidates to salvage total laryngectomy after radiotherapy. This algorithm is based on the initial lymph node status, local extension of the recurrence and time to recurrence.

Material And Methods: Retrospective study performed in 151 patients treated with salvage total laryngectomy without clinical or radiological evidence of regional involvement at the time of diagnosis of recurrence (rcN0).

Validation of a Machine Learning Model to Predict Immunotherapy Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a disease with a generally poor prognosis; half of treated patients eventually develop recurrent and/or metastatic (R/M) disease. Patients with R/M HNSCC generally have incurable disease with a median survival of 10 to 15 months. Although immune-checkpoint blockade (ICB) has improved outcomes in patients with R/M HNSCC, identifying patients who are likely to benefit from ICB remains a challenge.

Aspergillus fumigatus mitogen-activated protein kinase MpkA is involved in gliotoxin production and self-protection.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus that can cause a variety of human diseases known as aspergillosis. Mycotoxin gliotoxin (GT) production is important for its virulence and must be tightly regulated to avoid excess production and toxicity to the fungus. GT self-protection by GliT oxidoreductase and GtmA methyltransferase activities is related to the subcellular localization of these enzymes and how GT can be sequestered from the cytoplasm to avoid increased cell damage.

Host-related indexes in head and neck cancer.

Purpose Of Review: Peripheral blood host-related indexes have been widely studied in cancer patients. Several authors have shown the prognostic capacity of these indexes in head and neck cancer. Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in this topic recently.

Staging Parkinson's disease according to the MNCD classification correlates with caregiver burden.

Background And Objective: Recently, we demonstrated that staging Parkinson's disease (PD) with a novel simple classification called MNCD, based on four axes (motor, non-motor, cognition, and dependency) and five stages, correlated with disease severity and patients' quality of life. Here, we analyzed the correlation of MNCD staging with PD caregiver's status.

Patients And Methods: Data from the baseline visit of PD patients and their principal caregiver recruited from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016 to November 2017 were used to apply the MNCD total score (from 0 to 12) and MNCD stages (from 1 to 5) in this cross-sectional analysis.

Predictive capacity of FAT1 transcriptional expression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas treated with radiotherapy.

Objective: To analyze the predictive capacity at the primary location of the tumor of the FAT1 transcriptional expression in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiotherapy.

Material And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study from biopsies of the primary location of the tumor in 82 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiotherapy. The transcriptional expression of FAT1 was determined by RT-PCR.

A phylogenetic approach to explore the conidial surface-associated proteome and its role in pathogenesis.

, an important pulmonary fungal pathogen causing several diseases collectively called aspergillosis, relies on asexual spores (conidia) for initiating host infection. Here, we used a phylogenomic approach to compare proteins in the conidial surface of , two closely related non-pathogenic species, and , and the cryptic pathogen . After identifying 62 proteins uniquely expressed on the conidial surface, we assessed null mutants for 42 genes encoding conidial proteins.

Development and validation of a novel TNM staging N-classification of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: For oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), extent of extranodal extension (ENE) (minor, ≤2 mm; major, >2 mm) is differentially prognostic, whereas limitations exist with the 8th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer TNM N-classification (TNM-8-N).

Methods: Resected OSCC patients at four centers were included and extent of ENE was recorded. Thresholds for optimal overall survival (OS) discrimination of lymph node (LN) features were established.