Publications by authors named "Walter Pavicic"

MUTYH-Associated Polyposis (MAP) is caused by biallelic pathogenic germline variants in the MUTYH gene. However, individuals harboring monoallelic MUTYH pathogenic variants in the presence of a positive family history have been reported to have a twofold increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and extra colonic cancers. Our aim was to characterize the spectrum of monoallelic and biallelic germline MUTYH pathogenic variants in Latin American patients and to describe their clinical and genetic characteristics.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Prospective Lynch Syndrome Database (PLSD) gathers data on individuals with MMR variants to study cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes, focusing on a newly expanded cohort.
  • The study includes over 8,500 patients from 25 countries, analyzing cancer incidence, mortality rates up to age 75, and survival rates after diagnosis.
  • Findings reveal that while gynecological cancers have high incidence rates among carriers, non-colorectal cancers lead to more deaths, highlighting the need for improved care for these patients.
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Recently, biallelic germline variants of the DNA glycosylase genes and were linked to polyposis susceptibility. Significant fractions remain without a molecular explanation, warranting searches for underlying causes. We used exome sequencing to investigate clinically well-defined adenomatous polyposis cases and families from Finland (N=34), Chile (N=21), and Argentina (N=12), all with known susceptibility genes excluded.

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  • - The study aims to compare colorectal cancer (CRC) incidences between two groups: one group receiving mandatory colonoscopy surveillance (PLSD) and another group with retrospective data (IMRC) that did not have the same follow-up.
  • - Results from the PLSD showed higher CRC rates in carriers of MMR gene variants, particularly for path_MLH1 and path_MSH2, compared to the IMRC cohort, challenging previous expectations about cancer rates in these groups.
  • - The study concludes that while colonoscopy did reduce CRC incidences in paths_MPS2 carriers prior to age 50, it did not have the same effect for path_MLH1 and path_MSH2, suggesting the need for reevaluation of
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Article Synopsis
  • * In oncology, treatment plans are increasingly guided by the specific genomic features of a patient's tumor, indicating a shift towards personalized medicine.
  • * The study implemented a bioinformatics process that integrates genomic data from laboratory testing with clinical information from electronic medical records to enhance cancer treatment analysis, utilizing tools like REDCap and cBioPortal.
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Background: Lynch syndrome is the most common genetic predisposition for hereditary cancer. Carriers of pathogenic changes in mismatch repair (MMR) genes have an increased risk of developing colorectal (CRC), endometrial, ovarian, urinary tract, prostate, and other cancers, depending on which gene is malfunctioning. In Lynch syndrome, differences in cancer incidence (penetrance) according to the gene involved have led to the stratification of cancer surveillance.

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Purpose: This study aimed to report the uptake of hysterectomy and/or bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) to prevent gynaecological cancers (risk-reducing surgery [RRS]) in carriers of pathogenic MMR (path_MMR) variants.

Methods: The Prospective Lynch Syndrome Database (PLSD) was used to investigate RRS by a cross-sectional study in 2292 female path_MMR carriers aged 30-69 years.

Results: Overall, 144, 79, and 517 carriers underwent risk-reducing hysterectomy, BSO, or both combined, respectively.

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We investigated the role of maternal ancestry in neoplastic hematological malignancies (HMs) risk in a population from Central Argentina. We analyzed 125 cases with HMs and 310 controls from a public hospital, and a set of 202 colorectal, breast, lung, and hematologic cancer patients from a private hospital. A decreased risk for HMs was associated with the Native American haplogroup B2 (odds ratio = 0.

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Germline pathogenic variants in the DNA mismatch repair genes (MMR): MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2, are causative of Lynch syndrome (LS). However, many of the variants mapping outside the invariant splice site positions (IVS ± 1, IVS ± 2) are classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS). Three such variants (MLH1 c.

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Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a hallmark tool for Lynch syndrome (LS) screening and a prognostic marker for sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC). In regions with limited resources and scarce CRC molecular characterization as South America, the implementation of universal MSI screening is under debate for both its purposes. We sought to estimate the frequency of BAT26 in colorectal adenocarcinomas and to determine associated clinical and histological features.

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Aim: To analyze the association between oncohematological diseases and // polymorphisms, dietary habits and smoking, in an argentine hospital-based case-control study.

Methods: This hospital-based case-control study involved 125 patients with oncohematological diseases and 310 control subjects. A questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data and information about habits.

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Allele-specific expression (ASE) of the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) gene occurs in up to one-third of families with adenomatous polyposis (FAP) that have screened mutation-negative by conventional techniques. To advance our understanding of the genomic basis of this phenomenon, 54 APC mutation-negative families (21 with classical FAP and 33 with attenuated FAP, AFAP) were investigated. We focused on four families with validated ASE and scrutinized these families by sequencing of the blood transcriptomes (RNA-seq) and genomes (WGS).

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Molecular mechanisms underlying coordinated hypermethylation of multiple CpG islands in cancer remain unclear and studies of methyltransferase enzymes have arrived at conflicting results. We focused on DNMT1 and DNMT3B, DNA methyltransferases responsible for (de novo) methylation, and EZH2, histone (H3K27) methyltransferase, and examined their roles in tumor suppressor gene (TSG) methylation patterns we have previously established in sporadic and familial cancers. Our investigation comprised 165 tumors, stratified by tissue of origin (117 colorectal and 48 endometrial carcinomas) and sporadic vs.

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n familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), 20% of classical and 70% of attenuated/atypical (AFAP) cases remain mutation-negative after routine testing; yet, allelic expression imbalance may suggest an APC alteration. Our aim was to determine the proportion of families attributable to genetic or epigenetic changes in the APC promoter region. We studied 51 unrelated families/cases (26 with classical FAP and 25 with AFAP) with no point mutations in the exons and exon/intron borders and no rearrangements by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA, P043-B1).

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Increased and decreased methylation at specific sequences (hypermethylation and hypomethylation, respectively) is characteristic of tumor DNA compared to normal DNA and promotes carcinogenesis in multiple ways including genomic instability. Long interspersed element (LINE), an abundant class of retrotransposons, provides a surrogate marker for global hypomethylation. We developed methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assays to study LINE-1 methylation in cases of colorectal, gastric, and endometrial cancer (N = 276), stratified by patient category [sporadic; Lynch syndrome (LS); familial colorectal cancer type X (FCCX)] and microsatellite instability status.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that contribute to tumorigenesis by acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes and may be important in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer. Many miRNA genes have associated CpG islands, suggesting epigenetic regulation of their expression. Compared with sporadic cancers, the role of miRNAs in hereditary or familial cancer is poorly understood.

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Mitochondrial DNA 4977-bp deletion (common deletion) has been associated with ageing human tissues and a few studies have demonstrated their presence in breast cancer patients too; however, no previous publication evaluated both topics in the same samples group. First, when analyzing 95 breast cancer patients, we found a higher percentage of cases carrying the deletion in non-tumoral tissue 73.68% (70/95) than in the tumoral counterparts 45.

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The aim of this study was to determine the existence of association between the genetic polymorphisms of metabolizing genes GSTM-1, GSTT-1, and NAT-2, and the presence of mitochondrial genome instability (mtGI) in breast cancer cases. Ninety-four pairs of tumoral/nontumoral breast cancer samples were analyzed. Our samples showed 40.

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Approximately 15-25% of male infertility cases carry extensive azoospermic factor (AZF) deletions. Moreover, about 80% of Finnish testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) and about 23-25% of TGCTs from other geographic regions carry short and interstitial AZF deletions. In infertility cases the AZF deficiency occurs in the germ cells of the proband father giving rise to mosaic sperm populations comprising non-deleted and deleted sperms.

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