Comparison of 68Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC and 18F-FDG PET/CT in the Evaluation of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma-A Prospective Study.

PURPOSE OF STUDY: 18F-FDG PET/CT plays a major role in diagnosis and staging of head and neck cancer; however, FDG has lower uptake in adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC). Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression is found to be associated with endothelial cells or tumor neovasculature in malignant AdCC and salivary duct carcinoma. Thus, present study is aimed to compare the role of 68Ga-PSMA and 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with primary and/or metastatic AdCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Histopathologically proven AdCC patients were intravenously injected with 370 MBq (10 mCi) of 18F-FDG and 111-185 MBq (3-5 mCi) of 68Ga-PSMA. Images were acquired at 60 and 45 minutes postinjection for 18F-FDG and 68Ga-PSMA, respectively, on dedicated PET/CT scanners. Visual and semiquantitative analyses of PSMA expression in regional and metastatic sites were performed by 2 experienced nuclear medicine physicians. RESULTS: Seventeen patients (7 men, 10 women) having mean age of 44 ± 14.19 years were prospectively included in the study. Of 17 patients, FDG PET/CT was performed in only 14 (82%) patients. PSMA and FDG uptakes were seen at the primary site in 16 (94%) and 13 (93%) patients, respectively, whereas 1 patient was postradical tumor excision. Lung lesions (n = 7) and lymph nodes (n = 5) were detected on both FDG and PSMA PET scans. However, cerebellar and meningeal metastasis (n = 1, 6%) and bony lesions (n = 2, 12%) were detected only on PSMA PET/CT but not visualized on FDG PET/CT scan. CONCLUSIONS: PSMA may have theranostic importance in unresectable or metastatic AdCC, besides having a role in staging/restaging.

Fabrication of alkoxysilane substituted polymer-modified disposable biosensing platform: Towards sperm protein 17 sensing as a new cancer biomarker.

SP17 is a mammalian protein found in the testis and spermatozoa that have been identified as a tumor-associated antigen in a range of human cancers. A unique method for fabricating the first ultrasensitive, selective, and label-free immunosensor for the detection of SP17, a new cancer biomarker in complicated serum samples, is presented in this paper. This immunosensor was also the first biosensor built using a disposable ITO sheet modified with an aminosilane known as APTMS as an immobilization platform for fabricating the SP17 biosensor. The immobilization of chemical and biological species onto the electrode surface was cross-verified by various analytical and morphological techniques. Stepwise modifications done on the immunoelectrodes were also studied using electrochemical techniques. Selective interaction between anti-SP17 and SP17 with varying concentrations (100-5000 pg mL-1) was measured with the DPV technique. The immunosensor exhibited low LOD and LOQ of 70.07 and 233.57 pg mL-1, respectively, with a sensitivity of 0.013 µA mL pg-1 cm-2. The fabricated immunosensor performance was analyzed by quantifying the SP17 concentrations in patient serum samples. The data obtained from the developed immunosensor demonstrated excellent reproducibility, repeatability, and selectivity among various interferants, including cancer biomarkers. Further, the observed results have been validated via ELISA, which showed good agreement with the electrochemical results. This could establish a new platform for detecting other cancer biomarkers and can be employed for clinical diagnostics applications.

Simple and facile carbon dots based electrochemical biosensor for TNF-α targeting in cancer patient's sample.

Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF-α) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine having key roles in cell death, differentiation, survival, proliferation, migration and is a modulator of immune system. Therefore, TNF-α is an ideal biomarker for several disease diagnosis including cancer. However, out of all the biomarkers of cancer, TNF-α) is less explored for cancer detection. Only a few reports are available of developing biosensors for TNF-α targeting in human serum samples. Also, Carbon Dots (CDs) remains less explored in biosensor application. In this regard, for the first time, a sensitive and low-cost electrochemical biosensor based on CDs has developed. CDs were synthesized by simple yet facile microwave pyrolysis. Poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) was selected as the matrix to hold CDs to fabricate the biosensing platform. This novel CD-PMMA nanocomposite featuring excellent biocompatibility, exceptional electrocatalytic conductivity, and large surface area. CD-PMMA was applied as transducing material to efficiently conjugate antibodies specific towards TNF-α and fabricate electrochemical immunosensor for specific detection of TNF-α. The fabricated immunosensor was used for the detection of TNF-α within a wide dynamic range of 0.05-160 pg mL-1 with a lower detection limit of 0.05 pg mL-1 and sensitivity of 5.56 pg mL-1 cm-2. Furthermore, this CDs based immunosensor retains high sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. This immunosensor demonstrated a high correlation with the conventional technique, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for early screening of cancer patient serum samples.

Intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma: A case report.

Facial nerve schwannoma occurring within the parotid gland is a rare tumour. We report a case of schwannoma within the parotid gland in a young female patient, who underwent ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and subsequent surgical excision of the lesion. The lesion showed hyperintensity on T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRI. There was no adjacent lymphadenopathy. Although hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted MRI could suggest malignant tumours, the characteristic "string sign" provided the clue for the diagnosis of schwannoma.

Clinical significance of TC21 overexpression in oral cancer.

BACKGROUND: In search of novel molecular markers for oral cancer, we reported increased levels of TC21/R-Ras2 transcripts in oral squamous cell carcinoma by differential display. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of TC21 in oral cancer. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis of TC21 protein expression was carried out in 120 leukoplakias, 83 OSCCs and 30 non-malignant tissues, confirmed by immunoblotting, and correlated with clinicopathological parameters as well as disease prognosis. Co-immunoprecipitation assays were carried out to identify the interaction partners of TC21 protein in oral cancer cells and tissues. RESULTS: TC21 nuclear expression increased from normal oral tissues to leukoplakia and frank malignancy (P < 0.001). TC21 overexpression was observed in 74.2% leukoplakia with no dysplasia, 75.9% dysplasias and 79.5% OSCCs in comparison with normal oral tissues. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the area-under-the curve values were 0.895, 0.885, and 0.919, while the positive predictive values were 95.8%, 95.6%, and 97.1%, for nuclear immunostaining for normal versus leukoplakia with no dysplasia, leukoplakic lesions with dysplasia, and OSCCs, respectively. Immunoblotting confirmed overexpression of TC21 in oral lesions. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays, we showed interactions of TC21 with Erk2, PI3-K, 14-3-3zeta and 14-3-3sigma proteins in oral cancer cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that alteration in TC21 expression is an early event in oral cancer and correlates with poor prognosis of OSCCs. TC21 interactions with Erk2, PI3-K, 14-3-3zeta and 14-3-3sigma proteins in oral cancer cells and tissues suggests the involvement of TC21 in signaling pathways in oral cancer.