Plastic surgery and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the management of advanced external auditory canal cancer.

Background: Carcinoma of the external auditory canal is a rare malignancy that originates in the external auditory canal and has a tendency to spread to adjacent structures such as the periorbital soft tissues, parotid gland, temporomandibular joint and mastoid. It is difficult to determine the primary tumour from the external ear canal or from adjacent structures. In addition, the lack of a unified classification system, along with the rarity of the disease, is a major obstacle in providing specific treatment guidelines for this disease.

SHOX2 methylation in Vietnamese patients with lung cancer.

Background: DNA methylation on cytosine in the CpG dinucleotides is one of the most common epigenetic perturbations taking place during cancer initiation, progression, occurrence and resistance therapy. DNA methylation seems to be sufficiently stable epigenetic modification to be utilized as a cancer biomarker in in vitro diagnostic (IVD) settings. Nowadays, the SHOX2 methylation (mSHOX2) is one of the most valuable DNA methylation biomarkers of lung cancer that is the leading cause of cancer death.

Immune Profiling of Combined Hepatocellular- Cholangiocarcinoma Reveals Distinct Subtypes and Activation of Gene Signatures Predictive of Response to Immunotherapy.

Purpose: Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CCA) is a rare malignancy associated with an overall poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate the immune profile of cHCC-CCA and determine its impact on disease outcome.

Experimental Design: We performed a multicenter study of 96 patients with cHCC-CCA.

Impact of the menstrual cycle on commercial prognostic gene signatures in oestrogen receptor-positive primary breast cancer.

Purpose: Changes occur in the expression of oestrogen-regulated and proliferation-associated genes in oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast tumours during the menstrual cycle. We investigated if Oncotype® DX recurrence score (RS), Prosigna® (ROR) and EndoPredict® (EP/EPclin) prognostic tests, which include some of these genes, vary according to the time in the menstrual cycle when they are measured.

Methods: Pairs of test scores were derived from 30 ER-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-negative tumours sampled at two different points of the menstrual cycle.

An update on obesity: Mental consequences and psychological interventions.

Besides physical consequences, obesity has negative psychological effects, thereby lowering human life quality. Major psychological consequences of this disorder includes depression, impaired body image, low self-esteem, eating disorders, stress and poor quality of life, which are correlated with age and gender. Physical interventions, mainly diet control and energy balance, have been widely applied to treat obesity; and some psychological interventions including behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnotherapy have showed some effects on obesity treatment.

Serum Metabolomic Profiles Identify ER-Positive Early Breast Cancer Patients at Increased Risk of Disease Recurrence in a Multicenter Population.

Detecting signals of micrometastatic disease in patients with early breast cancer (EBC) could improve risk stratification and allow better tailoring of adjuvant therapies. We previously showed that postoperative serum metabolomic profiles were predictive of relapse in a single-center cohort of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative EBC patients. Here, we investigated this further using preoperative serum samples from ER-positive, premenopausal women with EBC who were enrolled in an international phase III trial.

Promoter methylation profile of GSTP1 and RASSF1A in prostate cancerand benign hyperplasia in Vietnamese men.

Background/aim: The GSTP1 and RASSF1A methylations that were considered as prostate cancer-specific molecular biomarkers have been extensively reported in Western/American patients with prostate cancer but are rarely reported in Southeast Asian patients. In the present study, the methylation status of the GSTP1 and RASSF1A promoters was evaluated in prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) tissues from Vietnamese men.

Materials And Methods: The accuracy of methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) was validated to analyze the methylation pattern of GSTP1 and RASSF1A in 59 PCa and 37 BPH patients, respectively.

A methylation-specific dot blot assay for improving specificity and sensitivity of methylation-specific PCR on DNA methylation analysis.

Background And Objectives: Developing a methylation-specific dot blot assay (MSP-DB) to increase the sensitivity and specificity of simultaneous methylation analysis of multiple genes is the goal of the present study to evaluate the methylation status of GSTP1 and RASSF1A from prostate cancer in Vietnamese males.

Methods: The methylation of GSTP1 and RASSF1A was investigated by using the MSP in 50 prostate cancer and 17 benign prostate hyperplasia specimens. The MSP-DB assay that uses a single or multiple probes specifically detected the methylation status of a particular gene or of the two genes GSTP1 and RASSF1A at the same time in a series of samples.

CYP2D6 genotypes, endoxifen levels, and disease recurrence in 224 Filipino and Vietnamese women receiving adjuvant tamoxifen for operable breast cancer.

Background: While tamoxifen activity is mainly due to endoxifen and the concentration of this active metabolite is, in part, controlled by CYP2D6 metabolic status, clinical correlative studies have produced mixed results.

Findings: In an exploratory study, we determined the CYP2D6 metabolic status and plasma concentrations of endoxifen among 224 Filipino and Vietnamese women participating in a clinical trial of adjuvant hormonal therapy for operable breast cancer. We further conducted a nested-case-control study among 48 women (half with recurrent disease, half without) investigating the relationship of endoxifen concentrations and recurrence of disease.

Mouse mammary tumor virus-like gene sequences in breast tumors of Australian and Vietnamese women.

Purpose: There is considerable evidence that the presence of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-like gene sequences in human breast cancer is highly associated with human breast carcinoma. Previous studies have found MMTV-like gene sequences in 38% of breast cancer tissue from United States women. The prevalence of these sequences in Australian and Vietnamese women has never been reported.