Publications by authors named "Zhukova L"

The gut microbiota's pivotal role in human health is increasingly evident, particularly in chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. This intricate symbiotic relationship influences metabolic balance and immune responses. Notably, gut microbial dysbiosis is linked to obesity's metabolic disruption and chronic low-grade inflammation.

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  • Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) have an immune system that doesn't respond well to standard PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, but adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy may enhance immune responses.
  • A phase II study involving 162 patients evaluated the effects of adding bevacizumab to atezolizumab and standard chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine), focusing on progression-free survival (PFS) as the main outcome.
  • Results showed that the PFS was slightly better for patients receiving bevacizumab (8.3 months) compared to placebo (7.9 months), but overall survival (OS) was similar in both groups, indicating a modest benefit in PFS without an impact on OS. *
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The Russian consensus on the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma was prepared by the group of experts consisting of surgeons, interventional radiologists, radiation therapists and oncologists. The purposes of this consensus are clarification and consolidation of opinions of multidisciplinary team on the following issues of management of patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: indications for surgical treatment, features of therapeutic tactics for mechanical jaundice, technical aspects of liver resection, prevention of post-resection liver failure, indications for liver resection using transplantation technologies, laparoscopic and robot-assisted liver resection, perioperative systemic chemotherapy, local non-resection/non-radiotherapy methods of treatment, radiotherapy, follow-up and choice of treatment for recurrence.

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  • Despite significant investment and effort over the past 52 years in the "War on Cancer," traditional treatment methods like chemotherapy and radiation have fallen short of expectations.
  • A new approach proposes targeting cancer-stromal synapses, the connections between cancer cells and their surrounding microenvironment, which could lead to more effective treatment.
  • This method aims to disrupt these synapses using targeted chemical agents, potentially enhancing treatment safety, precision, and reducing the likelihood of drug resistance.
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  • The CAPItello-291 study examined the effectiveness of the drug combination capivasertib and fulvestrant in treating advanced HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer in patients whose cancer progressed after previous treatments.
  • Results indicated that patients receiving the capivasertib plus fulvestrant treatment experienced longer progression-free survival (7.2 months) compared to those receiving placebo plus fulvestrant (3.6 months).
  • Common side effects included diarrhea and rashes, but the study is still ongoing, and more results are anticipated in the future.
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  • - Capivasertib, a selective pan-AKT inhibitor, was shown to significantly improve progression-free survival when added to fulvestrant compared to fulvestrant alone in patients with advanced breast cancer (P < 0.001), specifically those who had previously experienced disease progression on aromatase inhibitors.
  • - In a randomized trial with 708 patients, individuals received either capivasertib plus fulvestrant or a placebo plus fulvestrant, with safety analyses revealing common adverse events (AEs) like diarrhea, rash, and hyperglycemia associated with capivasertib treatment.
  • - Among 705 patients analyzed, 72.4% experienced diarrhea, while 38% had a rash
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  • CAPItello-291 is a phase 3 clinical trial studying the effects of capivasertib combined with fulvestrant on progression-free survival in patients with advanced hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who experienced relapse after aromatase inhibitors.
  • The trial involved a diverse group of participants, including both men and women aged 18 and older, and was conducted across 193 centers in 19 countries, focusing on those with a specific type of breast cancer and previous treatment history.
  • Researchers also assessed the impact of this treatment on quality of life, symptoms, and tolerability, aiming to analyze how the new combination therapy affects overall health and wellbeing beyond just cancer progression.
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Background: Breast cancer (BC) mortality primarily stems from metastases rather than the primary tumor itself. Perioperative stress, encompassing both surgical and anesthetic factors, profoundly impacts the immune system, leading to alterations in neuroendocrine pathways and immune functions, potentially facilitating tumor progression and metastasis. Understanding the immunomodulatory effects of different anesthesia techniques is crucial for optimizing perioperative care in patients with BC.

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Background: Nucleobindin-2 (Nucb2) and nesfatin-1 (N1) are widely distributed hormones that regulate numerous physiological processes, from energy homeostasis to carcinogenesis. However, the role of nesfatin-2 (N2), the second product of Nucb2 proteolytic processing, remains elusive. To elucidate the relationship between the structure and function of nesfatins, we investigated the properties of chicken and human homologs of N1, as well as a fragment of Nucb2 consisting of N1 and N2 conjoined in a head-to-tail manner (N1/2).

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Background: The role of cytoreductive surgery for patients with recurrent or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (mGISTs) responding to imatinib (IM) has not yet been established. We carried out a retrospective analysis of the outcomes of patients with mGISTs in two Russian cancer centers. We compared two cohorts: treated (Group S) or not treated with surgery (Group NS) after a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD) while on IM.

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Background: Modern breast cancer chemotherapy regimens (BC) consider individual patient parameters and ranges of cardiotoxic doses. However, clinicians often record clinical and laboratory-instrumental signs of cardio- and vasculotoxicity in patients, which emphasizes the high importance of searching for markers of early toxic response.

Aim: To study the characteristics of the response of arterial stiffness on the background of anthracycline-containing chemotherapy to determine potential markers of vasculotoxicity in BC patients.

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  • * Researchers compared macroscopic examination of tumors to digital X-ray imaging, finding a high correlation and significant differences in tumor size measurements between the two methods.
  • * The findings suggest that using digital X-ray not only aids in identifying critical tumor features but also enhances the precision of assessing how effectively tumors respond to treatment.
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  • The study investigates the efficacy and safety of the AKT inhibitor capivasertib when combined with fulvestrant therapy for patients with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer.
  • In a phase 3 trial, patients who had previously experienced disease progression while on aromatase inhibitors were randomly assigned to receive either capivasertib with fulvestrant or a placebo with fulvestrant.
  • Results showed that the combination therapy significantly improved progression-free survival: 7.2 months for the capivasertib group compared to 3.6 months for placebo, with higher rates of adverse events, such as rash and diarrhea, in the capivasertib group.
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More than 275 million people in the world are carriers of a heterozygous mutation of the gene, associated with cystic fibrosis, the most common autosomal recessive disease among Caucasians. Some recent studies assessed the association between carriers of variants and some pathologies, including cancer risk. The aim of this study is to analyze the landscape of germline pathogenic heterozygous variants in patients with diagnosed malignant neoplasms.

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Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most frequent mesenchymal tumors of gastrointestinal tract. The most common sites of metastases are the liver and the peritoneum, whereas breast metastases from GIST are extremely rare. We present a second case of GIST breast metastasis.

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Background: Approximately 5-10% of all cancers are associated with hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS). Early identification of HCPS is facilitated by widespread use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and brings significant benefits to both the patient and their relatives. This study aims to evaluate the landscape of genetic variants in patients with personal and/or family history of cancer using NGS-based multigene panel testing.

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Background: Antiangiogenic drugs are widely used in oncological practice and are aimed at inhibiting angiogenesis. Despite the high antitumor efficacy, their use may be limited by nephrotoxicity, and therefore the search for early biomarkers of kidney damage remains relevant, which will preserve a favorable safety profile of therapy.

Aim: To determine urinary biomarkers of tubular and podocyte damage in patients receiving treatment with antiangiogenic drugs.

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Purpose: Combining standard of care (pertuzumab-trastuzumab [PH], chemotherapy) with cancer immunotherapy may potentiate antitumor immunity, cytotoxic activity, and patient outcomes in high-risk, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer. We report the phase III IMpassion050 primary analysis of neoadjuvant atezolizumab, PH, and chemotherapy in these patients.

Methods: Patients with a primary tumor of > 2 cm and histologically confirmed, positive lymph node status (T2-4, N1-3, M0) were randomly assigned 1:1 to atezolizumab/placebo with dose-dense doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide, followed by paclitaxel, and PH.

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Anti-angiogenic anticancer drugs that block vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) can cause kidney damage. An early assessment of the risk of nephrotoxicity would allow the development of optimal treatment approaches and allow for relatively safer therapeutic regimens. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of neutrophilic gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and nephrin levels in urine as early biomarkers for the nephrotoxicity of anti-VEGF drugs.

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In prion diseases, the prion protein (PrP) becomes misfolded and forms fibrillar aggregates that are responsible for prion infectivity and pathology. So far, no drug or treatment procedures have been approved for prion disease treatment. We have previously shown that engineered cell-penetrating peptide constructs can reduce the amount of prion aggregates in infected cells.

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Endocrine therapy (ET) for the treatment of patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR-positive/HER2-negative) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has changed markedly over recent years with the emergence of new ETs and the use of molecularly targeted agents. Cytotoxic chemotherapy continues, however, to have an important role in these patients and it is important to maximize its efficacy while minimizing toxicity to optimize outcomes. This review examines current HR-positive/HER2-negative MBC clinical guidelines and addresses key questions around the use of chemotherapy in the face of emerging therapeutic options.

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The cellular prion protein (PrP) is a mainly α-helical 208-residue protein located in the pre- and postsynaptic membranes. For unknown reasons, PrP can undergo a structural transition into a toxic, β-sheet rich scrapie isoform (PrP) that is responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Metal ions seem to play an important role in the structural conversion.

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Background: Anti-angiogenic anticancer drugs that block the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway can cause renal damage. Assessment of the risk of nephrotoxicity allows developing optimal treatment approaches and ensuring the relative safety of therapy.

Aim: To assess early clinical and laboratory manifestations and risk factors for nephrotoxicity of antiangiogenic drugs.

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The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is an immunoglobulin-type multiligand transmembrane protein expressed in numerous cell types, including the central nervous system cells. RAGE interaction with S100B, released during brain tissue damage, leads to RAGE upregulation and initialization of a spiral proinflammatory associated with different neural disorders. Here, we present the structural characterization of the hetero-oligomeric complex of the full-length RAGE with S100B, obtained by a combination of mass spectrometry-based methods and molecular modeling.

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Broadband mid-infrared (B-MIR) thermography using fibre optic waveguides can be critical in real-time imaging in harsh environments such as additive manufacturing, personalised medical diagnosis and therapy. We investigate the polarisation effect on thermal measurements through poly-crystalline fibre bundle employing a simple broadband cross-polarisation configuration experimental set-up. Silver halide poly-crystalline fibres AgClBr (0 ≤ ≤1) (AgClBr-PolyC) have very wide transmission bandwidth spanning over the spectral range from 1 µm up to 31 µm FWHM.

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