Tumor-Associated Antigen Burden Correlates with Immune Checkpoint Blockade Benefit in Tumors with Low Levels of T-cell Exhaustion.

Tumor-associated antigens (TAA) are important targets for cancer vaccines. However, TAA-based vaccines have not yet achieved their full potential in clinical trials. In contrast, immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has emerged as an effective therapy, leading to durable responses in selected patients with cancer.

iGenSig-Rx: an integral genomic signature based white-box tool for modeling cancer therapeutic responses using multi-omics data.

Multi-omics sequencing is poised to revolutionize clinical care in the coming decade. However, there is a lack of effective and interpretable genome-wide modeling methods for the rational selection of patients for personalized interventions. To address this, we present iGenSig-Rx, an integral genomic signature-based approach, as a transparent tool for modeling therapeutic response using clinical trial datasets.

AHNAK2 Regulates NF-κB/MMP-9 Signaling to Promote Pancreatic Cancer Progression.

Early metastasis of pancreatic cancer (PaC) is a major cause of its high mortality rate. Previous studies have shown that AHNAK2 is involved in the progression of some tumors and is predicted to be an independent prognostic factor for PaC; however, the specific mechanisms through which AHNAK2 regulates PaC remain unclear. In this study, we examined the role of AHNAK2 in PaC and its potential molecular mechanisms.

Assessing the association between a sedentary lifestyle and prevalence of primary osteoporosis: a community-based cross-sectional study among Chinese population.

Objectives: To reveal the association between a sedentary lifestyle and the prevalence of primary osteoporosis (POP).

Design: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted.

Setting: This study was conducted in communities in Hefei city, Anhui province, China.

Meiotic protein SYCP2 confers resistance to DNA-damaging agents through R-loop-mediated DNA repair.

Drugs targeting the DNA damage response (DDR) are widely used in cancer therapy, but resistance to these drugs remains a major clinical challenge. Here, we show that SYCP2, a meiotic protein in the synaptonemal complex, is aberrantly and commonly expressed in breast and ovarian cancers and associated with broad resistance to DDR drugs. Mechanistically, SYCP2 enhances the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) through transcription-coupled homologous recombination (TC-HR).

Intragenic Rearrangement Burden Associates with Immune Cell Infiltration and Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cancer.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) can induce durable cancer remission. However, only a small subset of patients gains benefits. While tumor mutation burden (TMB) differentiates responders from nonresponders in some cases, it is a weak predictor in tumor types with low mutation rates.

Surgical management of nervus intermedius neuralgia: A report of 4 cases and literature review.

Background: Nervus intermedius neuralgia (NIN) is characterized by paroxysmal episodes of sharp, lancinating pain in the deep ear. Unfortunately, only a few studies exist in the literature on this pain syndrome, its pathology and postoperative outcomes.

Method: We conducted a retrospective review of four cases diagnosed with NIN who underwent a neurosurgical intervention at our center from January 2015 to January 2023.

iGenSig-Rx: an integral genomic signature based white-box tool for modeling cancer therapeutic responses using multi-omics data.

Multi-omics sequencing is expected to become clinically routine within the next decade and transform clinical care. However, there is a paucity of viable and interpretable genome-wide modeling methods that can facilitate rational selection of patients for tailored intervention. Here we develop an integral genomic signature-based method called iGenSig-Rx as a white-box tool for modeling therapeutic response based on clinical trial datasets with improved cross-dataset applicability and tolerance to sequencing bias.

IndepthPathway: an integrated tool for in-depth pathway enrichment analysis based on single-cell sequencing data.

Motivation: Single-cell sequencing enables exploring the pathways and processes of cells, and cell populations. However, there is a paucity of pathway enrichment methods designed to tolerate the high noise and low gene coverage of this technology. When gene expression data are noisy and signals are sparse, testing pathway enrichment based on the genes expression may not yield statistically significant results, which is particularly problematic when detecting the pathways enriched in less abundant cells that are vulnerable to disturbances.

Giant myxofibrosarcoma of the esophagus treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection: A case report.

Background: Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a fibroblast-derived sarcoma that mainly occurs in subcutaneous tissue. MFS rarely occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the esophagus.

Case Summary: A 79-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital for dysphagia for a week.

Mesenchymal stem cells shuttling miR-503 extracellular vesicles enhance glioma immune escape.

Glioma is emerging as an aggressive type of glioma characterized by invasive growth pattern and dismal oncologic outcomes. microRNAs (miRNAs) have been attracting research attention in tumorigenesis. Herein, the aim of the current investigation was to explore the functional role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing miR-503 in glioma.

An integral genomic signature approach for tailored cancer therapy using genome-wide sequencing data.

Low-cost multi-omics sequencing is expected to become clinical routine and transform precision oncology. Viable computational methods that can facilitate tailored intervention while tolerating sequencing biases are in high demand. Here we propose a class of transparent and interpretable computational methods called integral genomic signature (iGenSig) analyses, that address the challenges of cross-dataset modeling through leveraging information redundancies within high-dimensional genomic features, averaging feature weights to prevent overweighing, and extracting unbiased genomic information from large tumor cohorts.

Fusion-associated carcinomas of the breast: Diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic significance.

Recurrent gene fusions comprise a class of viable genetic targets in solid tumors that have culminated several recent breakthrough cancer therapies. Their role in breast cancer, however, remains largely underappreciated due to the complexity of genomic rearrangements in breast malignancy. Just recently, we and others have identified several recurrent gene fusions in breast cancer with important clinical and biological implications.

Lack of Association Between Infection and the Risk of Thyroid Nodule Types: A Multicenter Case-Control Study in China.

The prevalence of infection is high worldwide, while numerous research has focused on unraveling the relationship between infection and extragastric diseases. Although infection has been associated with thyroid diseases, including thyroid nodule (TN), the relationship has mainly focused on potential physiological mechanisms and has not been validated by large population epidemiological investigations. Therefore, we thus designed a case-control study comprising participants who received regular health examination between 2017 and 2019.

Short-Term Clinical Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Combined With Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Locally Advanced Siewert Type II and III Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagogastric Junction: A Retrospective, Propensity Score-Matched Study.

Background: Laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) has been increasingly used for the treatment of locally advanced Siewert type II and III adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG). However, whether LG can achieve the same short-term efficacy in the treatment of patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) remains controversial. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of NACT combined with LG for Siewert type II and III AEG.

Artificial neural networks modeling for lead removal from aqueous solutions using iron oxide nanocomposites from bio-waste mass.

Heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions are taken into account as one of the most harmful environmental issues that ominously affect human health. Pb(II) is a common pollutant among heavy metals found in industrial wastewater, and various methods were developed to remove the Pb(II). The adsorption method was more efficient, cheap, and eco-friendly to remove the Pb(II) from aqueous solutions.

Reversible Transformation between Azo and Azonium Bond Other than Photoisomerization of Azo Bond in Main-Chain Polyazobenzenes.

Although side-chain polyazobenzenes have been extensively studied, main-chain polyazobenzenes (abbreviated MCPABs) are rarely reported due to the challenges associated with difficulty in synthetic chemistry and photoisomerization of azo bonds in MCPABs. Thus, it is highly demanded to develop new mechanisms other than photoisomerization of azo bonds in MCPABs to extend their applications. In this work, we created a new series of N-linked MCPABs via fast NaBH-mediated reductive coupling polymerization on N-substituted bis(4-nitrophenyl)amines.

Therapeutic Targeting of Nemo-like Kinase in Primary and Acquired Endocrine-resistant Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Endocrine resistance remains a major clinical challenge in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Despite the encouraging results from clinical trials for the drugs targeting known survival signaling, relapse is still inevitable. There is an unmet need to discover new drug targets in the unknown escape pathways.

A Novel Neoplastic Fusion Transcript, , Confers Sensitivity to the MEK Inhibitor Trametinib in Aggressive Breast Cancers.

Purpose: Luminal B breast tumors are more aggressive estrogen receptor-positive (ER) breast cancers characterized by aggressive clinical behavior and a high risk of metastatic dissemination. The underlying pathologic molecular events remain poorly understood with a paucity of actionable genetic drivers, which hinders the development of new treatment strategies.

Experimental Design: We performed large-scale RNA sequencing analysis to identify chimerical transcripts preferentially expressed in luminal B breast cancer.

Vesicular Membrane with Structured Interstitial Water.

Self-assembled vesicles with structured (tetrahedral order with strong hydrogen bonds) interstitial water are reported. The vesicles, known as MCsome, are assembled from metal carbonyl compounds, FpR (Fp = (Cp)Fe(PPh)(CO)(CO-), Cp = cyclopentadiene, R = CBithiophene, CPyrene or C) with the Fp heads exposed to water. The R groups are surrounded by the interstitial water with the hydrogen bonding strength variable depending on the hydrophobicity of R groups.

Therapeutic role of recurrent ESR1-CCDC170 gene fusions in breast cancer endocrine resistance.

Background: Endocrine therapy is the most common treatment for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, but its effectiveness is limited by high rates of primary and acquired resistance. There are likely many genetic causes, and recent studies suggest the important role of ESR1 mutations and fusions in endocrine resistance. Previously, we reported a recurrent ESR1 fusion called ESR1-CCDC170 in 6-8% of the luminal B breast cancers that has a worse clinical outcome after endocrine therapy.

Landscape analysis of adjacent gene rearrangements reveals BCL2L14-ETV6 gene fusions in more aggressive triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10 to 20% of breast cancer, with chemotherapy as its mainstay of treatment due to lack of well-defined targets, and recent genomic sequencing studies have revealed a paucity of TNBC-specific mutations. Recurrent gene fusions comprise a class of viable genetic targets in solid tumors; however, their role in breast cancer remains underappreciated due to the complexity of genomic rearrangements in this cancer. Our interrogation of the whole-genome sequencing data for 215 breast tumors catalogued 99 recurrent gene fusions, 57% of which are cryptic adjacent gene rearrangements (AGRs).

Tumor-to-liver standard uptake ratio using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography effectively predict occult lymph node metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate predictive factors of occult lymph node metastasis and to explore the diagnostic value of various standardized uptake value (SUV) parameters using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography computed tomography (PET/CT) in predicting occult lymph node metastasis of clinical N0 non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed PET/computed tomography parameters of tumor and clinical data of 124 clinical N0 non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent both preoperative F-FDG PET/computed tomography and anatomical pulmonary resection with systematic lymph node dissections. The SUVmax, SUVmean, metabolic total volume, and total lesion glycolysis of the primary tumor was automatically measured on the PET/computed tomography workstation.