Cytoplasmic levels of high mobility group A2 determine survival prognoses in breast cancer patients.

Background: High mobility group A proteins are involved in chromatin remodeling, thereby influencing multiple fundamental biological processes. HMGA2 has been linked to oncogenic traits among a variety of malignancies.

Objective: To determine the prognostic implications of subcellular distribution patterns of HMGA2 in breast cancer.

Heterogeneous intracellular TRAIL-receptor distribution predicts poor outcome in breast cancer patients.

Upon ligand binding, plasma membrane-located TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-receptors 1 and 2 induce apoptosis as well as cancer-promoting signaling in cancer cells. TRAIL-R3 and TRAIL-R4 are believed to negatively regulate TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. Intracellular localization of TRAIL-receptors, as observed in many tumor cells, has been associated with oncogenic features, which are distinct from membrane-associated TRAIL-R signaling.

Morphological Evaluation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) to Investigate Invasive Breast Cancer Immunogenicity, Reveal Lymphocytic Networks and Help Relapse Prediction: A Retrospective Study.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in breast cancer are a key representative of the tumor immune microenvironment and have been shown to provide prognostic and predictive biomarkers. The extent of lymphocytic infiltration in tumor tissues can be assessed by evaluating hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained tumor sections. We investigated tissue microarrays of 31 invasive breast cancer patients, looking at quantity and topological distribution of CD3+, CD8+, CD20+, Ki67+, FoxP3+ TILs and CD3+/FoxP3+, CD8+/FoxP3+ cell ratios.

Reduced ovarian reserve in young early breast cancer patients: preliminary data from a prospective cohort trial.

Background: The numerous side effects of chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer are well known. However, the precise effects of chemotherapy on ovarian function in premenopausal women are poorly investigated. The patients are at risk of developing sexual hormone deficiency and impaired fertility.

2D Versus 3D in Laparoscopic Surgery by Beginners and Experts: A Randomized Controlled Trial on a Pelvitrainer in Objectively Graded Surgical Steps.

Background And Objective: Progress in endoscopic surgery in the past few decades has led to the application of 3-dimensional (3D) procedures in operating rooms. This permits patient- and surgeon-friendly operations and also maximizes the superiority of laparoscopy over laparotomy. In this study, we compare 2-dimensional (2D) and 3D endoscopy techniques with regard to time, efficiency, optics, and handling by users with different degrees of experience at 4 difficulty levels.

Activation of the orphan receptor GPR55 by lysophosphatidylinositol promotes metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.

The orphan G protein-coupled receptor GPR55 has been directly or indirectly related to basic alterations that drive malignant growth: uncontrolled cancer cell proliferation, sustained angiogenesis, and cancer cell adhesion and migration. However, little is known about the involvement of this receptor in metastasis. Here, we show that elevated GPR55 expression in human tumors is associated with the aggressive basal/triple-negative breast cancer population, higher probability to develop metastases, and therefore poor patient prognosis.

Homozygous G/G variant of SNP309 in the human MDM2 gene is associated with earlier tumor onset in Caucasian female renal cell carcinoma patients.

Human mouse double minute 2 (Mdm2) plays an essential role in the regulation of the tumor suppressor p53. The G/G variant of SNP309 was shown to increase Mdm2 mRNA/protein expression and to be associated with an increased risk and earlier onset of different cancers in Asian populations. However, the frequency and impact of these G/G variants have not been studied in Caucasian renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.

Stromal markers AKR1C1 and AKR1C2 are prognostic factors in primary human breast cancer.

Background: Stromal fibroblasts influence tumor growth and progression. We evaluated two aldo-keto reductases, AKR1C1 and AKR1C2, in stromal fibroblasts and carcinoma cells as prognostic factors in primary human breast cancer. They are involved in intratumoral progesterone metabolism.

Role of cannabinoid receptor CB2 in HER2 pro-oncogenic signaling in breast cancer.

Background: Pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors elicits antitumoral responses in different cancer models. However, the biological role of these receptors in tumor physio-pathology is still unknown.

Methods: We analyzed CB2 cannabinoid receptor protein expression in two series of 166 and 483 breast tumor samples operated in the University Hospitals of Kiel, Tübingen, and Freiburg between 1997 and 2010 and CB2 mRNA expression in previously published DNA microarray datasets.

Clinical implications of first and multiple locoregional breast cancer recurrences.

Purpose: Often breast cancer can be treated by breast-conserving surgery (BCS), after which 10 % locoregional recurrences (LRR) occur within 10 years. After BCS mastectomy is recommended at first LRR, although another BCS could be possible. Changes in clinical parameters and in tumor biology from primary breast cancer to first and multiple LRR are described and correlated with further LRR and overall survival (OS).

Final safety and efficacy analysis of a phase I/II trial with imatinib and vinorelbine for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of BCR-ABL, ABL, PDGFR-α and -β, KIT, and DDR. In solid tumors, it inhibits proliferation and invasiveness and facilitates higher intratumoral cytotoxic drug concentrations. Vinorelbine has good tolerability and efficacy in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Nilotinib in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel is a candidate for ovarian cancer treatment.

Purpose: Nilotinib is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor of c-Kit, Abl and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α/β. To evaluate nilotinib's potential use as a treatment of human ovarian cancer, we tested nilotinib's preclinical activity in ovarian cancer cell lines with different tyrosine kinase expression patterns.

Methods: The effects of nilotinib on ovarian cancer cell growth were studied alone and in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

Significance of syndecan-1 expression in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Background: Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) supports tumor progression in breast cancer. FGF-2 signaling is modulated by heparan sulfate proteoglycans, such as syndecan-1 (CD138). The exact role of CD138 in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) is still uncertain.

Frequent translocations of 11q13.2 and 19p13.2 in ovarian cancer.

Aberrations of chromosome arm 19p in ovarian cancer were first described decades ago and have been confirmed in recent publications, which have focused on chromosome 11 as a translocation partner. Recently, genetic analysis of the ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 revealed a rearrangement described as der(19)t(11;19)(q13.2;p13.

Fetal hypoplastic left heart syndrome and maternal liver transplantation for Wilson's disease: a case report.

Introduction: Liver transplantation currently represents the only curative treatment for Wilson's disease. A lifelong immunosuppressive therapy is mandatory. In spite of increased maternal and fetal risks, pregnancies after liver transplantation have been reported with favorable perinatal outcomes.

Surgical impact of new treatments in breast cancer.

Local treatment of breast cancer with tumor-free surgical margins is the standard procedure in the treatment of T1 and small T2 breast cancers. Surgery is followed by radiation therapy, and adjuvant systemic therapy is offered depending on primary tumor characteristics, such as tumor size, grade of differentiation, number of involved axillary lymph nodes, the status of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, and the expression of the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) receptor. Although this approach implies a higher risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, the total risk of recurrence is low (1% per year), with rates of overall survival similar to that after radical procedures.

Intra-operative use of one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) for detection of the tumor load of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Background: The purpose of this single-center study was to determine the practicability of the intra-operative use of one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) as the only method for detection of SLN. The OSNA system has been well described and is supposed to be as accurate as conventional histology.

Methods: Three hundred and thirty SLNs from 143 breast cancer patients were analyzed in an intra-operative setting.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and clinical outcome in primary human breast cancer.

In our previous work we showed that NGAL, a protein involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation, is overexpressed in human breast cancer (BC) and predicts poor prognosis. In neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) pathological complete response (pCR) is a predictor for outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate NGAL as a predictor of response to NACT and to validate NGAL as a prognostic factor for clinical outcome in patients with primary BC.

Transcription factors associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells in the tumor centre and margin of invasive breast cancer.

Although tumor surgery aims for a complete resection respecting tumor-specific safety distance, in many cases the most peripheral part, the invasion front, remains in situ. Tumor cells at the tumor margin lose epithelial properties and acquire features of mesenchymal cells. The process of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been suggested to be of prime importance for tissue and vessel invasion.

Differential expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and PCNA in endometriosis and endometrial carcinoma.

Objectives: Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disease with clinical symptoms such as chronic pain, infertility and intra-abdominal adhesions. Different theories on the pathogenesis of endometriosis and especially its aggressive subtype with infiltrative growth have been discussed. The objective of this study is to evaluate differences in proliferation and invasive properties of invasive colorectal endometriosis, superficial peritoneal endometriosis and endometrial carcinoma (G1 and G2).