Promoter Mutations and Their Impact on Gene Expression Profile in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (p) mutations are related to a worse prognosis in various malignancies, including papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Since mechanisms responsible for the poorer outcome of TERTp(+) patients are still unknown, searching for molecular consequences of p mutations in PTC was the aim of our study.

Methods: The studied cohort consisted of 54 PTCs, among them 24 cases with distant metastases.

Various Anti-HSPA2 Antibodies Yield Different Results in Studies on Cancer-Related Functions of Heat Shock Protein A2.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) constitute a major part of the molecular chaperone system and play a fundamental role in cell proteostasis. The HSPA (HSP70) family groups twelve highly homologous HSPA proteins. Certain HSPAs are regarded as important cancer-related proteins, prospective therapeutic targets for cancer treatment, and also as potential cancer biomarkers.

Whole Brain and Cranial Size Adjustments in Volumetric Brain Analyses of Sex- and Age-Related Trends.

Our goal was to determine the influence of sex, age and the head/brain size on the compartmental brain volumes in the radiologically verified healthy population (96 subjects; 54 women and 42 men) from the Upper Silesia region in Poland. The MRI examinations were done using 3T Philips Achieva with the same T1-weighted and T2-weighted protocols. The image segmentation procedures were performed with SPM (Statistical Parameter Mapping) and FSL-FIRST software.

Application of high field magnetic resonance microimaging in polymer gel dosimetry.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to examine the suitability of VIPAR polymer gel-9.4 T magnetic resonance microimaging system for high spatial resolution dose distribution measurements.

Methods: The VIPAR samples (3 cm in outside diameter and 12 cm in height) were exposed to ionizing radiation by using a linear accelerator (Varian TrueBeam, USA; 6 MV x-ray beam).

Circulating HPV16 DNA may complement imaging assessment of early treatment efficacy in patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Early detection of treatment failure may improve clinical outcome and overall survival in patients with head and neck cancer after first-line treatment. Circulating cell-free HPV16 DNA (cfHPV16 DNA) was evaluated as a possible complementary marker to radiological assessment of early response in patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) after radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy.

Methods: The study included 66 patients with HPV-related OPC receiving radical radiotherapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

Significance of HPV16 Viral Load Testing in Anal Cancer.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is highly frequent among patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma, but the viral load (VL) differs between patients. This study aimed to compare the rate of HPV positivity, HPV16VL, p16 and p53 expression between treatment naive and recurrent anal cancer patients. HPV was genotyped via AmpliSens® HPV HCR-genotype-titre-FRT kit.

Infiltrates of M2-Like Tumour-Associated Macrophages Are Adverse Prognostic Factor in Patients with Human Papillomavirus-Negative but Not in Human Papillomavirus-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Introduction: Human papillomavirus with a high oncogenic potential (HR-HPV) is responsible for more than a half of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx. The HR-HPV-dependent cases of this tumour have a better prognosis compared to the HR-HPV-negative cases, despite the usually more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. In addition to genetic and epigenetic factors, the causes of this more favourable course of the disease are also seen in the participation of the tumour microenvironment, including the patient's immune system.