Evaluation of Colon Capsule Utilisation in Europe-CAPTURE EU Survey Findings.

Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) is a non-invasive method for visualising the colon, but its clinical adoption has been slow. Although the COVID-19 pandemic reignited interest in CCE, its role in conventional gastrointestinal investigations remains unclear, leading to varied practices across Europe. This highlights the need for a comprehensive understanding of diverse approaches to CCE in clinical practice.

Learning from Other Tumors: Pathways for Progress and Overcoming Challenges in Cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a group of complex and heterogeneous tumors originating from the epithelial cells of bile ducts that can occur in intrahepatic, perihilar, or distal localizations [...

Does Personality Influence the Quality of Life of Patients with Brain Tumors Treated with Radiotherapy?

Understanding the role of personality traits in shaping treatment outcomes is crucial given the multifaceted challenges posed by brain tumors and the significant adverse impact of radiotherapy (RT) on patients' well-being. This study aimed to provide insights into how personality traits affect psychosocial well-being and quality of life during RT in patients with high-grade malignant brain tumors. Personality traits in patients with high-grade glioma were assessed using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R).

and Beyond: Impact on Therapeutic Choices Across Cancer.

Background: Identifying patients with gm is crucial to facilitate screening strategies, preventive measures and the usage of targeted therapeutics in their management. This review examines the evidence for the latest predictive and therapeutic approaches in -associated cancers.

Clinical Description: Data supports the use of adjuvant olaparib in patients with gm high-risk HER2-negative breast cancer.

The Effect of Ionising Radiation on the Properties of Tumour-Derived Exosomes and Their Ability to Modify the Biology of Non-Irradiated Breast Cancer Cells-An In Vitro Study.

The vast majority of breast cancer patients require radiotherapy but some of them will develop local recurrences and potentially metastases in the future. Recent data show that exosomal cargo is essential in these processes. Thus, we investigated the influence of ionising radiation on exosome properties and their ability to modify the sensitivity and biology of non-irradiated cells.

Assessment of candidate high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma predisposition genes through integrated germline and tumour sequencing.

High-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) has a significant hereditary component, only half of which is explained. Previously, we performed germline exome sequencing on BRCA1 and BRCA2-negative HGSOC patients, revealing three proposed and 43 novel candidate genes enriched with rare loss-of-function variants. For validation, we undertook case-control analyses using genomic data from disease-free controls.

Lentivirus-mediated gene therapy for Fabry disease: 5-year End-of-Study results from the Canadian FACTs trial.

Background: Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder due to a deficiency of α-galactosidase A (α-gal A) activity. Our goal was to correct the enzyme deficiency in Fabry patients by transferring the cDNA for α-gal A into their CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). Overexpression of α-gal A leads to secretion of the hydrolase; which can be taken up and used by uncorrected bystander cells.

Single-cell Rapid Capture Hybridization sequencing to reliably detect isoform usage and coding mutations in targeted genes.

Single-cell long-read sequencing has transformed our understanding of isoform usage and the mutation heterogeneity between cells. Despite unbiased in-depth analysis, the low sequencing throughput often results in insufficient read coverage thereby limiting our ability to perform mutation calling for specific genes. Here, we developed a single-cell Rapid Capture Hybridization sequencing (scRaCH-seq) method that demonstrated high specificity and efficiency in capturing targeted transcripts using long-read sequencing, allowing an in-depth analysis of mutation status and transcript usage for genes of interest.

A first-in-human phase 1/2 dose-escalation study of MAK683 (EED inhibitor) in patients with advanced malignancies.

Purpose: MAK683, a first-in-class and highly selective allosteric inhibitor of the embryonic ectoderm development subunit of polycomb repressive complex 2, has shown sustained antitumor activity in tumor xenograft models. This first-in-human phase 1/2 study evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and clinical activity of single-agent MAK683 in advanced malignancies.

Methods: MAK683 was administered fasted once daily or twice daily continuously in 28-day treatment cycles.

Standardisation of the radiological definition of supramaximal resection in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma remains the most common and lethal primary malignant brain tumour, with high rates of recurrence and progression despite gross-total resection of the contrast-enhancing region based on T1-weighted MRI. There has been growing interest in exploring "supramaximal" resections that extend beyond contrast-enhancing borders, with initial retrospective data suggesting survival benefit, but there is currently no consensus definition. In this systematic review, we explore the evolution of supramaximal resection in glioblastoma, dissect the incongruencies in the literature regarding its definition, qualitatively appraise each definition and discuss the results of various studies that have explored its impacts on patient outcomes.

Adenomas from individuals with pathogenic biallelic variants in the MUTYH and NTHL1 genes demonstrate base excision repair tumour mutational signature profiles similar to colorectal cancers, expanding potential diagnostic and variant classification applications.

Background: Colorectal cancers (CRCs) from people with biallelic germline likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants in MUTYH or NTHL1 exhibit specific single base substitution (SBS) mutational signatures, namely combined SBS18 and SBS36 (SBS18+SBS36), and SBS30, respectively. The aim was to determine if adenomas from biallelic cases demonstrated these mutational signatures at diagnostic levels.

Methods: Whole-exome sequencing of FFPE tissue and matched blood-derived DNA was performed on 9 adenomas and 15 CRCs from 13 biallelic MUTYH cases, on 7 adenomas and 2 CRCs from 5 biallelic NTHL1 cases and on 27 adenomas and 26 CRCs from 46 non-hereditary (sporadic) participants.

Addressing Financial Toxicity From a Global Perspective: How to Advance Shared-Learning to Facilitate Change?

Financial Toxicity is a global issue requiring international efforts, but importantly, where to next?

Preliminary characterisation of the spatial immune and vascular environment in triple negative basal breast carcinomas using multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemistry.

Triple negative breast cancers often contain higher numbers of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes compared with other breast cancer subtypes, with their number correlating with prolonged survival. Since little is known about tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte trafficking in triple negative breast cancers, we investigated the relationship between tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and the vascular compartment to better understand the immune tumour microenvironment in this aggressive cancer type. We aimed to identify mechanisms and signaling pathways responsible for immune cell trafficking in triple negative breast cancers, specifically of basal type, that could potentially be manipulated to change such tumours from immune "cold" to "hot" thereby increasing the likelihood of successful immunotherapy in this challenging patient population.

A review of Kilovoltage (kV) Radiotherapy Treatment in the UK: Quality Control, Radiation Dosimetry, Treatment Equipment and Workload.

Objectives: To survey kilovoltage (kV) radiotherapy in the UK, updating a 2016 study, focussing on radiotherapy physics, including equipment quality control (QC) and radiation dosimetry, with information on installed equipment and clinical activity.

Methods: All UK radiotherapy physics departments (n = 68) were invited to complete a comprehensive survey. An analysis of the installed equipment base, patient numbers, clinical activity, QC testing and radiation dosimetry processes were undertaken.

Optimizing Low-Dose [18F]FDG-PET/CT Scans: Ensuring Quality Amid Radiotracer Availability Challenges - Insights from a Peripheral Tertiary Care Center.

Background: The introduction of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has significantly advanced medical imaging. In oncology, F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/CT is particularly crucial for staging, evaluating treatment response, monitoring follow-up, and planning radiotherapy. However, in resource limiting hospitals, the availability of fluorine-labeled F-FDG limits optimal scan acquisition.

GFR Estimation and Correlation for Oncology Patients by Two Methods, Gates Method and Dual Time Point Plasma Sampling Method.

Background: With the increasing number of oncology cases and a parallel surge in chemotherapeutic drugs for treatment, the treating physicians conducts nephrotoxicity evaluation to provide a personalized dosing strategy. Of the various tests available, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) under gamma camera with help of Gates method has gained importance, being a good index of overall kidney functions. In addition to this, there has been an alternate and old method for GFR estimation: plasma sampling.

Time-efficient HPLC Validation Methodology for the Qualitative Analysis of 68Ga PSMA-11 in Routine Clinical Usage under Isocratic Method.

Background: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has shown to be a promising agent for prostate cancer imaging under PET-CT. With the automation in radiolabeling with 68Ga, using iTG 68Ge/68Ga generator, it has helped introduce various new diagnostic agents and achieve good manufacturing practices (GMP) simultaneously. However, before any radiopharmaceutical is put into clinical usage, it should always be checked for its radiochemical purity and other quality parameters before injecting in the patient.

Favourable Outcome of Relapsed PCNSL Among Transplant Eligble Patients.

Purpose: The prognosis of relapsed primary central nervous system lymphoma remains a concern. This study aimed to compare the effects of various patient- and disease-related factors on the prognosis of relapsed primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).

Methods: We retrospectively collected real-world data from eight Finnish hospitals on 198 patients diagnosed with PCNSL between 2003 and 2020.

Acidic pH can attenuate immune killing through inactivation of perforin.

Cytotoxic lymphocytes are crucial to our immune system, primarily eliminating virus-infected or cancerous cells via perforin/granzyme killing. Perforin forms transmembrane pores in the plasma membrane, allowing granzymes to enter the target cell cytosol and trigger apoptosis. The prowess of cytotoxic lymphocytes to efficiently eradicate target cells has been widely harnessed in immunotherapies against haematological cancers.

Immunogenomic determinants of exceptional response to immune checkpoint inhibition in renal cell carcinoma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors can lead to 'exceptional', durable responses in a subset of persons. However, the molecular basis of exceptional response (ER) to immunotherapy in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) has not been well characterized. Here we analyzed pretherapy genomic and transcriptomic data in treatment-naive persons with mccRCC treated with standard-of-care immunotherapies: (1) combination of programmed cell death protein and ligand 1 (PD1/PDL1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 inhibitors (IO/IO) or (2) combination of PD1/PDL1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor inhibitors (IO/VEGF).

Prospective validation of ORACLE, a clonal expression biomarker associated with survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Human tumors are diverse in their natural history and response to treatment, which in part results from genetic and transcriptomic heterogeneity. In clinical practice, single-site needle biopsies are used to sample this diversity, but cancer biomarkers may be confounded by spatiogenomic heterogeneity within individual tumors. Here we investigate clonally expressed genes as a solution to the sampling bias problem by analyzing multiregion whole-exome and RNA sequencing data for 450 tumor regions from 184 patients with lung adenocarcinoma in the TRACERx study.

Alkaline phosphatase decline and pain response as predictors of overall survival benefit in patients treated with radium-223: a post hoc analysis of the REASSURE study.

Background: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) declines and pain responses can occur during radium-223 (Ra) treatment, but their association with treatment outcomes is unclear.

Methods: For patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with Ra in the REASSURE study, we investigated whether ALP decline (Week 12) and/or pain response (during treatment) are associated with improved overall survival (OS). The Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) was used to assess pain at baseline and pain response (in patients with baseline BPI-SF score ≥2).

Spatial omics shed light on the tumour organisation of glioblastoma.

The glioblastoma tumour microenvironment is characterised by immense heterogeneity, with malignant and non-malignant cells that interact in a complex ecosystem. Emerging evidence suggests that the tumour microenvironment is key in facilitating rapid proliferation, invasion, migration and cancer cell survival, crucial for treatment resistance. Spatial omics technologies have enabled the molecular characterisation of regions or individual cells within their spatial context, providing previously unattainable insights into the complex organisation of the glioblastoma tumour microenvironment.

Assessing the feasibility and external validity of natural language processing-extracted data for advanced lung cancer patients.

Background: Manual extraction of real-world clinical data for research can be time-consuming and prone to error. We assessed the feasibility of using natural language processing (NLP), an AI technique, to automate data extraction for patients with advanced lung cancer (aLC). We assessed the external validity of our NLP-extracted data by comparing our findings to those reported in the literature.