Cerebrospinal fluid tumor DNA for liquid biopsy in glioma patients' management: Close to the clinic?

Cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ct-DNA) reflecting the whole tumor spatial and temporal heterogeneity currently represents the most promising candidate for liquid biopsy strategy in glioma. Unlike other solid tumors, it is now widely accepted that the best source of ct-DNA for glioma patients is the cerebrospinal fluid, since blood levels are usually low and detectable only in few cases. A cerebrospinal fluid ct-DNA liquid biopsy approach may virtually support all the stages of glioma management, from facilitating molecular diagnosis when surgery is not feasible, to monitoring tumor response, identifying early recurrence, tracking longitudinal genomic evolution, providing a new molecular characterization at recurrence and allowing patient selection for targeted therapies.

Cytofluorometric assessment of dendritic cell-mediated uptake of cancer cell apoptotic bodies.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells (APCs) able to intake and crosspresent antigens (Ags) on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II molecules to T cells thus initiating primary and memory immune responses. DC-mediated Ag uptake and crosspresentation represent crucial steps toward cancer recognition and eventually elimination. Cytofluorometry is a standardized procedure to study phagocytosis.

Quality of life assessment and reporting in colorectal cancer: A systematic review of phase III trials published between 2012 and 2018.

Background: In this study, our aim was to describe quality of life (QoL) prevalence and heterogeneity in QoL reporting in colorectal cancer phase III trials.

Methods: We included all phase III trials evaluating anticancer drugs in colorectal cancer patients published between 2012 and 2018 by 11 major journals.

Results: Out of the 67 publications identified, in 41 (61.

A regulatory microRNA network controls endothelial cell phenotypic switch during sprouting angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis requires the temporal coordination of the proliferation and the migration of endothelial cells. Here, we investigated the regulatory role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in harmonizing angiogenesis processes in a three-dimensional in vitro model. We described a microRNA network which contributes to the observed down- and upregulation of proliferative and migratory genes, respectively.

Thyroid hormone inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression via induction of differentiation and metabolic reprogramming.

Background & Aims: Only limited therapeutic options are currently available for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), making the development of effective alternatives essential. Based on the recent finding that systemic or local hypothyroidism is associated with HCC development in humans and rodents, we investigated whether the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) could inhibit the progression of HCCs.

Methods: Different rat and mouse models of hepatocarcinogenesis were investigated.

Activation of RSK by phosphomimetic substitution in the activation loop is prevented by structural constraints.

The activation of the majority of AGC kinases is regulated by two phosphorylation events on two conserved serine/threonine residues located on the activation loop and on the hydrophobic motif, respectively. In AGC kinase family, phosphomimetic substitutions with aspartate or glutamate, leading to constitutive activation, have frequently occurred at the hydrophobic motif site. On the contrary, phosphomimetic substitutions in the activation loop are absent across the evolution of AGC kinases.

Assessment of IFN-γ and granzyme-B production by in "sitro" technology.

Tumor neantigens (TNAs) and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are crucial triggers of anticancer immune responses. Through major histocompatibility complex, such antigens activate T cells, which, by releasing interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and granzyme B (GRZB), act as crucial effectors against tumor onset and progression. However, in response to immune pressure, cancer cells use different strategies to favor the establishment of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME).

Homologous Recombination Repair Deficiency and the Immune Response in Breast Cancer: A Literature Review.

The success of cancer immunotherapy with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has demonstrated the importance of targeting a preexisting immune response in a broad spectrum of tumors. This is particularly novel and relevant for less immunogenic tumors, such as breast cancer (BC), where the efficacy of ICB was more evident in the triple-negative (TNBC) subtype, in earlier stages, and in association with chemotherapy. Tumors harboring homologous recombination DNA repair (HRR) deficiency (HRD) are supposed to have a higher number of mutations, hence a higher tumor mutational burden, which could potentially make them more sensitive to immunotherapy.

TRK Fusions Are Enriched in Cancers with Uncommon Histologies and the Absence of Canonical Driver Mutations.

Purpose: TRK inhibitors achieve marked tumor-agnostic efficacy in TRK fusion-positive cancers and consequently are now an established standard of care. Little is known, however, about the demographics, outcomes, response to alternative standard therapies, or genomic characteristics of TRK fusion-positive cancers.

Experimental Design: Utilizing a center-wide screening program involving more than 26,000 prospectively sequenced patients, genomic and clinical data from all cases with TRK fusions were extracted.

Immunogenomics of Colorectal Tumors: Facts and Hypotheses on an Evolving Saga.

Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors is an approved treatment option for a subpopulation of patients with colorectal cancers that display microsatellite instability. However, not all individuals within this subgroup respond to immunotherapy, and molecular biomarkers for effective patient stratification are still lacking. In this opinion article, we provide an overview of the different biological parameters that contribute to rendering colorectal cancers with microsatellite instability potentially sensitive to immunotherapy.

Quality of life analysis in lung cancer: A systematic review of phase III trials published between 2012 and 2018.

Objectives: We previously reported that quality of life (QoL) is not included among trial endpoints and QoL results are underreported in a significant proportion of phase III oncology trials. Here we describe QoL adoption, reporting and methodology of QoL analysis in lung cancer trials.

Materials And Methods: We selected all primary publications of lung cancer phase III trials assessing anticancer drugs published between 2012 and 2018 by 11 major journals.

Significance of TIM3 expression in cancer: From biology to the clinic.

Targeting inhibitory immune checkpoint molecules has dramatically changed treatment paradigms in medical oncology. Understanding the best strategies to unleash a pre-existing immune response or to induce an efficient immune response against tumors has emerged as a research priority. In this work, we focus on a novel target for cancer immunotherapy, the inhibitory receptor T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM3).

The density and spatial tissue distribution of CD8 and CD163 immune cells predict response and outcome in melanoma patients receiving MAPK inhibitors.

Background: Clinical response to MAPK inhibitors in metastatic melanoma patients is heterogeneous for reasons still needing to be elucidated. As the patient immune activity contributes to treatment clinical benefit, the pre-existing level of immunity at tumor site may provide biomarkers of disease outcome to therapy. Here we investigated whether assessing the density and spatial tissue distribution of key immune cells in the tumor microenvironment could identify patients predisposed to respond to MAPK inhibitors.

Atypical haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in patient with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with fluorouracil and oxaliplatin: a case report and a review of literature.

. Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA) are relatively rare but severe disorders characterised by non-immune haemolytic anaemia, thrombocytopaenia and organ failure. In patients with metastatic cancer, sporadic forms of TMA can be triggered by chemotherapeutic agents or can occur as complication of malignancy itself or of infections.

Targeting Semaphorin 4D in Cancer: A Look from Different Perspectives.

Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) plays a role in various cell types including B lymphocytes, differentiating neurons, endothelial cells, and cancer cells. Preclinical and studies have shown that Sema4D-directed antibodies in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors reshape the tumor microenvironment by promoting recruitment of effector lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells, while reducing immunosuppressive cell types, which ultimately leads to tumor rejection. Hence, early-stage clinical trials with combination therapies including anti-Sema4D antibodies are ongoing.

Molecular Assay for Ovarian Cancer Patients: A Survey through Italian Departments of Oncology and Molecular and Genomic Diagnostic Laboratories.

In Italy, 5200 new ovarian cancers were diagnosed in 2018, highlighting an increasing need to test women for . The number of labs offering this test is continuously increasing. The aim of this study was to show the results coming from the intersociety survey coordinated by four different Clinical and Laboratory Italian Scientific Societies (AIOM, SIAPEC-IAP, SIBIOC, and SIGU).

Lenalidomide-based induction and maintenance in elderly newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: updated results of the EMN01 randomized trial.

n the EMN01 trial, the addition of an alkylator (melphalan or cyclophosphamide) to lenalidomide-steroid induction therapy was prospectively evaluated in transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma. After induction, patients were randomly assigned to maintenance treatment with lenalidomide alone or with prednisone continuously. The analysis presented here (median follow-up of 71 months) is focused on maintenance treatment and on subgroup analyses defined according to the International Myeloma Working Group Frailty Score.

How I treat squamous ENT cancer.

The definition of 'head and neck cancer' (HNC) identifies squamous cell carcinoma arising from the pharynx, the larynx and the oral cavity. Most of them are induced by smoking and alcohol abuse, but tumours arising in the nasopharynx and in the oropharynx may be virus induced, Epstein-Barr virus and human papillomavirus, respectively. Medical oncologists are involved in HNC in locally advanced disease and in relapsed/metastatic disease not suitable for salvage radiotherapy or surgery.

Dynamic Interplay between Pericytes and Endothelial Cells during Sprouting Angiogenesis.

Vascular physiology relies on the concerted dynamics of several cell types, including pericytes, endothelial, and vascular smooth muscle cells. The interactions between such cell types are inherently dynamic and are not easily described with static, fixed, experimental approaches. Pericytes are mural cells that support vascular development, remodeling, and homeostasis, and are involved in a number of pathological situations including cancer.

Second line therapy with axitinib after only prior sunitinib in metastatic renal cell cancer: Italian multicenter real world SAX study final results.

Background: This multi-institutional retrospective real life study was conducted in 22 Italian Oncology Centers and evaluated the role of Axitinib in second line treatment in not selected mRCC patients.

Methods: 148 mRCC patients were evaluated. According to Heng score 15.

Correction: By promoting cell differentiation, miR-100 sensitizes basal-like breast cancer stem cells to hormonal therapy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.2962.

Virtual Surgical Planning for Mandible Reconstruction With a Double Barrel Fibula Flap and Immediate Implant Placement.

This brief clinical report describes our experience with virtual surgical planning in a case of mandibulectomy and mandibular reconstruction with a double barrel vascularized osteofasciocutaneous fibula free flap and immediate implant placement in a case of mandibular ameloblastoma. Fibular segments were positioned to obtain the best result both for masticatory function and for aesthetic facial appearance. Furthermore, in this particular case, as well as being positioned for future masticatory rehabilitation, the implants have served to stabilize the fibula segments in the reconstructive intraoperative phase.