Evaluation of a new oral health scale of infectious potential based on the salivary microbiota.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to analyse the correlation of our own design of oral health scale (grades 0 and 1-better oral health vs. grades 2 and 3-poorer oral health) with the salivary microbiota. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The oral health scale we elaborated was evaluated in 100 adults (25 patients from each global oral health grade). Saliva samples collected from these patients were analysed using microbiological culture techniques, determining the presence/absence and the concentrations of some odontopathogens and periodontopathogens. RESULTS: In comparison with the global oral health grades 0-1, the grades 2-3 presented significantly higher values for the presence of odontopathogens (78 vs. 38 %; Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus spp. and Actinomyces spp.) and periodontopathogens (100 vs. 90 %; Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Campylobacter spp., Fusobacterium spp. and Prevotella gingivalis). In comparison with the grades 0-1, the grades 2-3 presented significantly higher values for the concentrations (CFU/mL log10) of facultative anaerobes, strict anaerobes, odontopathogens (S. mutans, Lactobacillus spp. and Actinomyces spp.) and periodontopathogens (A. actinomycetemcomitans, Capnocytophaga spp., Campylobacter spp. and Fusobacterium spp.). CONCLUSION: Our new global oral health scale shows a positive correlation with the detection and quantification of certain odontopathogens and periodontopathogens present in the saliva, confirming their possible infectious potential. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our own design of oral health scale could be particularly useful for the epidemiological study of different populations, the evaluation of the influence of oral health on the development of certain systemic diseases as well as the analysis of inter- and intra-individual variability of the oral microbiota in relation to the different grades of the oral health scale.

A multimarker panel for circulating tumor cells detection predicts patient outcome and therapy response in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), proposed as major players in cancer dissemination, have demonstrated clinical prognostic significance in several cancer types. However, their predictive value remains unclear. Here we evaluated the clinical utility of six CTC markers (tissue specific and epithelial to mesenchymal transition transcripts) both as prognostic and predictive tools in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. CTCs were immunoisolated from blood in 50 mCRC patients at baseline and at 4 and 16 weeks after treatment onset. Expression levels of GAPDH, VIL1, CLU, TIMP1, LOXL3 and ZEB2 were determined by qualitative polymerase chain reaction and normalized to the unspecific cell isolation marker CD45. At baseline, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with high CTC markers were 6.3 and 12.7 months, respectively, versus 12.7 and 24.2 for patients with low CTC markers (PFS; p = 0.0003; OS; p = 0.044). Concerning response to therapy, PFS and OS for patients with increased CTC markers along treatment were, respectively, 6.6 and 13.1 months, compared with 12.7 and 24.3 for patients presenting CTC markers reduction (PFS; p = 0.004; OS; p = 0.007). Of note, CTC markers identified therapy-refractory patients not detected by standard image techniques. Patients with increased CTC markers along treatment, but classified as responders by computed tomography, showed significantly shorter survival times (PFS: 7.8 vs. 13.2; OS: 14.4 vs. 24.4; months). In conclusion, we have generated a CTC marker panel for prognosis evaluation and the identification of patients benefiting or not from therapy in mCRC. Our methodology efficiently classified patients earlier than routine computed tomography and from a minimally invasive liquid biopsy.

Targeted Proteomics Identifies Proteomic Signatures in Liquid Biopsies of the Endometrium to Diagnose Endometrial Cancer and Assist in the Prediction of the Optimal Surgical Treatment.

Purpose: Endometrial cancer (EC) diagnosis relies on the observation of tumor cells in endometrial biopsies obtained by aspiration (i.e., uterine aspirates), but it is associated with 22% undiagnosed patients and up to 50% of incorrectly assigned EC histotype and grade. We aimed to identify biomarker signatures in the fluid fraction of these biopsies to overcome these limitations.Experimental Design: The levels of 52 proteins were measured in the fluid fraction of uterine aspirates from 116 patients by LC-PRM, the latest generation of targeted mass-spectrometry acquisition. A logistic regression model was used to assess the power of protein panels to differentiate between EC and non-EC patients and between EC histologic subtypes. The robustness of the panels was assessed by the "leave-one-out" cross-validation procedure performed within the same cohort of patients and an independent cohort of 38 patients.Results: The levels of 28 proteins were significantly higher in patients with EC (n = 69) compared with controls (n = 47). The combination of MMP9 and KPYM exhibited 94% sensitivity and 87% specificity for detecting EC cases. This panel perfectly complemented the standard diagnosis, achieving 100% of correct diagnosis in this dataset. Nine proteins were significantly increased in endometrioid EC (n = 49) compared with serous EC (n = 20). The combination of CTNB1, XPO2, and CAPG achieved 95% sensitivity and 96% specificity for the discrimination of these subtypes.Conclusions: We developed two uterine aspirate-based signatures to diagnose EC and classify tumors in the most prevalent histologic subtypes. This will improve diagnosis and assist in the prediction of the optimal surgical treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 23(21); 6458-67. ©2017 AACR.