CD99 Expression and Prognostic Impact in Glioblastoma: A Single-Center Cohort Study.

Glioblastoma is the most frequent and aggressive brain tumor in adults. This study aims to evaluate the expression and prognostic impact of CD99, a membrane glycoprotein involved in cellular migration and invasion. In a cohort of patients with glioblastoma treated with surgery, radiotherapy and temozolomide, we retrospectively analyzed tumor expression of CD99 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for both the wild type (CD99wt) and the truncated (CD99sh) isoforms. The impact on overall survival (OS) was assessed with the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test and by multivariable Cox regression. Forty-six patients with glioblastoma entered this study. Immunohistochemical expression of CD99 was present in 83%. Only the CD99wt isoform was detected by qRT-PCR and was significantly correlated with CD99 expression evaluated by IHC (rho = 0.309, p = 0.037). CD99 expression was not associated with OS, regardless of the assessment methodology used (p = 0.61 for qRT-PCR and p = 0.73 for IHC). In an exploratory analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas, casuistry of glioblastomas CD99 expression was not associated with OS nor with progression-free survival. This study confirms a high expression of CD99 in glioblastoma but does not show any significant impact on survival. Further preclinical studies are needed to define its role as a therapeutic target in glioblastoma.

Isolated Testicular Metastasis from Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND Prostatic adenocarcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed carcinoma in the male population; the most common sites of secondary lesions are nodes, bones, and lungs. We report the clinical case of a 58-year-old man presenting with a single metastasis in the left testis after a radical prostatectomy/lymphadenectomy for prostate cancer. CASE REPORT This clinical report focuses on a 58-year-old man with prostate cancer who developed an uncommon single metastasis in the left testis after radical surgery and adjuvant pelvic radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are important in the follow-up of prostate cancer. At the same time, physical examination of all possible sites of metastasis and proper evaluation of all signs/symptoms are indispensable in the process of identifying recurrence and for the selection of patients undergoing adjuvant therapy.

Comparative evaluation of CT-based and respiratory-gated PET/CT-based planning target volume (PTV) in the definition of radiation treatment planning in lung cancer: preliminary results.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare planning target volume (PTV) defined on respiratory-gated positron emission tomography (PET)/CT (RG-PET/CT) to PTV based on ungated free-breathing CT and to evaluate if RG-PET/CT can be useful to personalize PTV by tailoring the target volume to the lesion motion in lung cancer patients. METHODS: Thirteen lung cancer patients (six men, mean age 70.0 years, 1 small cell lung cancer, 12 non-small cell lung cancer) who were candidates for radiation therapy were prospectively enrolled and submitted to RG-PET/CT. Ungated free-breathing CT images obtained during a PET/CT study were visually contoured by the radiation oncologist to define standard clinical target volumes (CTV1). Standard PTV (PTV1) resulted from CTV1 with the addition of 1-cm expansion of margins in all directions. RG-PET/CT images were contoured by the nuclear medicine physician and radiation oncologist according to a standardized institutional protocol for contouring gated images. Each CT and PET image of the patient's respiratory cycle phases was contoured to obtain the RG-CT-based CTV (CTV2) and the RG-PET/CT-based CTV (CTV3), respectively. RG-CT-based and RG-PET/CT-based PTV (PTV2 and PTV3, respectively) were then derived from gated CTVs with a margin expansion of 7-8 mm in head to feet direction and 5 mm in anterior to posterior and left to right direction. The portions of gated PTV2 and PTV3 geometrically not encompassed in PTV1 (PTV2 out PTV1 and PTV3 out PTV1) were also calculated. RESULTS: Mean ± SD CTV1, CTV2 and CTV3 were 30.5 ± 33.2, 43.1 ± 43.2 and 44.8 ± 45.2 ml, respectively. CTV1 was significantly smaller than CTV2 and CTV3 (p = 0.017 and 0.009 with Student's t test, respectively). No significant difference was found between CTV2 and CTV3. Mean ± SD of PTV1, PTV2 and PTV3 were 118.7 ± 94.1, 93.8 ± 80.2 and 97.0 ± 83.9 ml, respectively. PTV1 was significantly larger than PTV2 and PTV3 (p = 0.038 and 0.043 with Student's t test, respectively). No significant difference was found between PTV2 and PTV3. Mean ± SD values of PTV2 out PTV1 and PTV3 out PTV1 were 12.8 ± 25.4 and 14.3 ± 25.9 ml, respectively. The percentage values of PTV2 out PTV1 and PTV3 out PTV1 were not lower than 10 % of PTV1 in 6/13 cases (46.2 %) and than 20 % in 3/13 cases (23.1 %). CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data showed that RG-PET/CT in lung cancer can affect not only the volume of PTV but also its shape, as demonstrated by the assessment of gated PTVs outside standard PTV. The use of a gating technique is thus crucial for better delineating PTV by tailoring the target volume to the lesion motion in lung cancer patients.