Exploring the real-world effect of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the molecular diagnostics for cancer patients and high-risk individuals.

: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic introduced a global distraction effect in cancer patients' care. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the pandemic on the largest molecular diagnostics center for cancer patients and high-risk individuals in Serbia.: and mutation testing were performed by qPCR and NGS.

The Interplay between Cancer Biology and the Endocannabinoid System-Significance for Cancer Risk, Prognosis and Response to Treatment.

The various components of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), such as the cannabinoid receptors (CBRs), cannabinoid ligands, and the signalling network behind it, are implicated in several tumour-related states, both as favourable and unfavourable factors. This review analyses the ECS's complex involvement in the susceptibility to cancer, prognosis, and response to treatment, focusing on its relationship with cancer biology in selected solid cancers (breast, gastrointestinal, gynaecological, prostate cancer, thoracic, thyroid, CNS tumours, and melanoma). Changes in the expression and activation of CBRs, as well as their ability to form distinct functional heteromers affect the cell's tumourigenic potential and their signalling properties, leading to pharmacologically different outcomes.

Myelopreservation with Trilaciclib in Patients Receiving Topotecan for Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase II Study.

Introduction: Multilineage myelosuppression is an acute toxicity of cytotoxic chemotherapy, resulting in serious complications and dose modifications. Current therapies are lineage specific and administered after chemotherapy damage has occurred. Trilaciclib is a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor that is administered prior to chemotherapy to preserve hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and immune system function during chemotherapy (myelopreservation).

Long-lasting Thrombocytopenia after Transient Pancytopenia Induced by Short-Term Concomitant Radiotherapy and Temozolomide.

Unlabelled: We describe long-lasting and incompletely resolved thrombocytopenia after transient profound pancytopenia in a 62-year-old female patient with glioblastoma after short-term radiotherapy with temozolomide. Pancytopenia was present for more than 4 weeks and thrombocytopenia for more than 6 months, without platelet recovery to normal levels.

Learning Points: Some patients may experience severe haematological manifestations after even short-term radiotherapy with temozolomide.

Treatment patterns and real-world evidence for stage III non-small cell lung cancer in Central and Eastern Europe.

Background The aim of this project was to collect real-world evidence and describe treatment patterns for stage III non-small cell lung cancer in Central and Eastern Europe. Based on real-world evidence, an expert opinion was developed, and the unmet needs and quality indicators were identified. Patients and methods A systematic literature search and a multidisciplinary expert panel of 10 physicians from 7 countries used a modified Delphi process to identify quality indicators and unmet needs in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

Avelumab Maintenance Therapy for Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma.

Background: Platinum-based chemotherapy is standard-of-care first-line treatment for advanced urothelial carcinoma. However, progression-free survival and overall survival are limited by chemotherapy resistance.

Methods: In a phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who did not have disease progression with first-line chemotherapy (four to six cycles of gemcitabine plus cisplatin or carboplatin) to receive best supportive care with or without maintenance avelumab.

Travel burden and clinical presentation of retinoblastoma: analysis of 1024 patients from 43 African countries and 518 patients from 40 European countries.

Background: The travel distance from home to a treatment centre, which may impact the stage at diagnosis, has not been investigated for retinoblastoma, the most common childhood eye cancer. We aimed to investigate the travel burden and its impact on clinical presentation in a large sample of patients with retinoblastoma from Africa and Europe.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis including 518 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 40 European countries and 1024 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 43 African countries.

European practice patterns and barriers to smoking cessation after a cancer diagnosis in the setting of curative versus palliative cancer treatment.

Background: Smoking cessation after a cancer diagnosis is associated with improved overall survival. Few studies have reported oncologists' cessation practice patterns, but differences between the curative and palliative settings have not been described. We aimed to study the oncologist's perceptions on patients' tobacco use, current practices and barriers to providing smoking cessation support, while distinguishing between treatment with curative (C) and palliative (P) intent.

Synthesis, chemical characterization, PARP inhibition, DNA binding and cellular uptake of novel ruthenium(II)-arene complexes bearing benzamide derivatives in human breast cancer cells.

Inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) showed remarkable clinical efficacy in BRCA-mutated tumors. Based on the rational drug design, derivatives of PARP inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide (3-AB), 2-amino-4-methylbenzamide (L1) and 3-amino-N-methylbenzamide (L2), were coordinated to the ruthenium(II) ion, to form potential drugs affecting DNA and inhibiting PARP enzyme. The four conjugated complexes of formula: C1 [(ƞ-toluene)Ru(L1)Cl]PF, C2 [(ƞ-p-cymene)Ru(L1)Cl]PF, C3 [(ƞ-toluene)Ru(L2)Cl] and C4 [(ƞ-p-cymene)Ru(L2)Cl], have been synthesized and characterized.

Predictors of Complications Occurrence Associated With Emergency Surgical Tracheotomy.

Objective: In emergency airway management, the occurrence of surgical tracheotomy complications is increased and may be fatal for the patient. However, the factors that play a role in complication occurrence and lead to lethal outcome are not known. The objective of this study was to determine predictors associated with the occurrence of complications and mortality after emergency surgical tracheostomy.

Expression of SIRT1, SIRT3 and SIRT6 Genes for Predicting Survival in Triple-Negative and Hormone Receptor-Positive Subtypes of Breast Cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by aggressive phenotype and a poorer prognosis compared to the estrogen and progesterone receptor positive, Her2 negative (ER + PR + Her2-) breast cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that sirtuins, a family of histone deacetylases, could have an important role in aggressiveness of TNBC's. The current study evaluated the potential clinical relevance of SIRT1, SIRT3 and SIRT6 gene expressions in two prognostically distinctive subtypes of breast cancer, the most aggressive TNBC and the least aggressive ER + PR + Her2- tumors.

Tumor microenvironment and epithelial mesenchymal transition as targets to overcome tumor multidrug resistance.

It is well established that multifactorial drug resistance hinders successful cancer treatment. Tumor cell interactions with the tumor microenvironment (TME) are crucial in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and multidrug resistance (MDR). TME-induced factors secreted by cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) create an inflammatory microenvironment by recruiting immune cells.

Repurposing old drugs to fight multidrug resistant cancers.

Overcoming multidrug resistance represents a major challenge for cancer treatment. In the search for new chemotherapeutics to treat malignant diseases, drug repurposing gained a tremendous interest during the past years. Repositioning candidates have often emerged through several stages of clinical drug development, and may even be marketed, thus attracting the attention and interest of pharmaceutical companies as well as regulatory agencies.

Polyphenols as Possible Agents for Pancreatic Diseases.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is very aggressive and it is estimated that it kills nearly 50% of patients within the first six months. The lack of symptoms specific to this disease prevents early diagnosis and treatment. Today, gemcitabine alone or in combination with other cytostatic agents such as cisplatin (Cis), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, capecitabine, or oxaliplatin (Oxa) is used in conventional therapy.

Analysis of Spatial Distribution and Prognostic Value of Different Pan Cytokeratin Immunostaining Intensities in Breast Tumor Tissue Sections.

Cancer risk prognosis could improve patient survival through early personalized treatment decisions. This is the first systematic analysis of the spatial and prognostic distribution of different pan cytokeratin immunostaining intensities in breast tumors. The prognostic model included 102 breast carcinoma patients, with distant metastasis occurrence as the endpoint.

Bone microRNA-21 as surgical stress parameter is associated with third molar postoperative discomfort.

Objective: To evaluate an association between bone levels of inflammation/oxidative stress mediators and postoperative discomfort after third molar conventional or piezosurgery.

Material And Methods: Twenty-six subjects with bilaterally impacted mandibular third molars, who underwent either piezo or conventional surgery, were included in a split-mouth design study. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) expression, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins, as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in alveolar bone, were evaluated.

Care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer stage III - the Central European real-world experience.

Background Management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is affected by regional specificities. The present study aimed at determining diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including outcome of patients with NSCLC stage III in the real-world setting in Central European countries to define areas for improvements. Patients and methods This multicentre, prospective and non-interventional study collected data of patients with NSCLC stage III in a web-based registry and analysed them centrally.

Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Pediatric Patients in Serbia, Greece, and Romania. Current Status and Challenges for Collaboration.

can cause fatal pneumonia (PcP). Many children have been exposed to the fungus and are colonized in early age, while some individuals at high risk for fungal infections may develop PcP, a disease that is difficult to diagnose. Insufficient laboratory availability, lack of knowledge, and local epidemiology gaps make the problem more serious.

Patient-reported outcomes from KATHERINE: A phase 3 study of adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine versus trastuzumab in patients with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer.

Background: The phase 3 KATHERINE trial demonstrated significantly improved invasive disease-free survival with adjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) versus trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer and residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted therapy.

Methods: Patients who received taxane- and trastuzumab-containing neoadjuvant therapy (with/without anthracyclines) and had residual invasive disease (breast and/or axillary nodes) at surgery were randomly assigned to 14 cycles of adjuvant T-DM1 (3.6 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks) or trastuzumab (6 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks).

Sentinel lymph node biopsy in clinically node negative patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Purpose: The incidence of histologically proven lymph node metastases (LNM) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) reaches 80%. According to different guidelines surgical management in clinically N0 (cN0) patients with PTC remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate if sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNb) using methylene blue dye is accurate in the detection of LNM in the lateral neck compartment in cN0 patients with PTC.

3D MRI-based evaluation of the 2D brachytherapy planning in patients with advanced cervical cancer: An analysis of the delivered dose.

Purpose: To analyze the dose distribution achieved during 2D radiography-based brachytherapy (BRT) planning, by using a 3D MRI-based BRT replanning evaluation, in patients with advanced cervical carcinoma, treated with definitive concomitant chemoradiation (CCRT).

Methods: The curative CCRT was applied to 30 patients with advanced cervical carcinoma. For each patient, 2D radiography-based planning and a 3D MRI-based BRT replanning were performed.

rs1138272 Polymorphism Affects Prostate Cancer Risk.

: One of the most frequent genetic alterations reported to date in prostate cancer (PC) is aberrant methylation of glutathione transferase P1 (). Taking into consideration the involvement of oxidative stress in PC pathogenesis and recent advances in scientific understanding of the role of Ala114Val rs1138272 polymorphism in carcinogenesis, we hypothesized that this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) influences the risk of PC independently of, or in combination with, other GST polymorphisms, including IIe105Val rs1695 or and deletion polymorphisms. : Genotyping was performed in 237 PC cases and in 236 age-matched controls by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for deletion of GST polymorphisms and by quantitative PCR for SNPs.

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale.

Oncologist Burnout Syndrome in Eastern Europe: Results of the Multinational Survey.

Purpose: Burnout is defined as a three-dimensional syndrome-emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA)-caused by chronic occupational stress. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of burnout among oncologists in Eastern Europe and to identify the contributing factors.

Methods: The study was conducted as an online survey between October 2017 and March 2018.