Optimising Patient Outcomes in Tongue Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

A multidisciplinary approach to the management of tongue cancer is vital for achieving optimal patient outcomes. Nursing and allied health professionals play essential roles within the team. We developed symposia comprising a series of online lectures offering a detailed perspective on the role each discipline and consumer perspective has in the management of patients with tongue cancer. The topics, including epidemiology and prevention, diagnosis, treatment planning, surgery, adjuvant care, and the management of recurrent or metastatic disease, were thoroughly examined. The symposia highlighted the significance of fostering collaboration and continuous learning through a multidisciplinary approach. This initiative should be relevant to healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers striving to enhance patient outcomes in tongue cancer care through innovative collaboration.

The utility of magnetic resonance imaging in prostate cancer diagnosis in the Australian setting.

Objectives: To investigate the utility of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for prostate cancer diagnosis in the Australian setting. Patients and methods: All consecutive men who underwent a prostate biopsy (transperineal or transrectal) at Royal Melbourne Hospital between July 2017 to June 2019 were included, totalling 332 patients. Data were retrospectively collected from patient records. For each individual patient, the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis at biopsy based on clinical findings was determined using the European Randomized study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) risk calculator, with and without incorporation of MRI findings. Results: MRI has good diagnostic accuracy for clinically significant prostate cancer. A PI-RADS 2 or lower finding has a negative predictive value of 96% for clinically significant cancer, and a PI-RADS 3, 4 or 5 MRI scan has a sensitivity of 93%. However, MRI has a false negative rate of 6.5% overall for clinically significant prostate cancers. Pre- biopsy MRI may reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, as up to 50.0% of negative or ISUP1 biopsies have MRI PI-RADS 2 or lower. Incorporation of MRI findings into the ERSPC calculator improved predictive performance for all prostate cancer diagnoses (AUC 0.77 vs 0.71, P = .04), but not for clinically significant cancer (AUC 0.89 vs 0.87, P = .37). Conclusion: MRI has good sensitivity and negative predictive value for clinically significant prostate cancers. It is useful as a pre-biopsy tool and can be used to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies. However, MRI does not significantly improve risk predictions for clinically significant cancers when incorporated into the ERSPC risk calculator.

Case Report: Neurocysticercosis Acquired in Australia.

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a disease caused by infection of the central nervous system with the larval stage of the tapeworm Taenia solium. This disease is endemic in many parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where animal husbandry practices are common such that pigs reared for human consumption ingest feces from humans infected with T. solium. Neurocysticercosis is rarely acquired in economically affluent regions, including North America, Central Europe, Japan, and Australasia, and in countries where pork consumption is discouraged by religious or social practices. In these countries, NCC is usually diagnosed in immigrants or returning travelers who have spent time in endemic regions. Here, we report a case of NCC in a 25-year-old woman presenting with worsening visual symptoms in association with headache, diagnosed previously as a migraine with visual aura. This person had always lived in Australia and had never traveled overseas to a country endemic for T. solium. The unusual features of the clinical presentation and epidemiology are highlighted to raise physicians' awareness that attention needs to be paid to the risk of autochthonous infection occurring in non-endemic countries.

Sensitive molecular testing methods can demonstrate NSCLC driver mutations in malignant pleural effusion despite non-malignant cytology.

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) may be diagnosed by cytologic evaluation of pleural fluid, though false negative results can occur. Pleural effusions may provide a source of tumour material for genotyping in lung cancer patients. Detection of MPE may be improved through use of highly sensitive molecular techniques. We identified five patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with initial pleural fluid samples that were non-malignant on cytology, but were subsequently clinically confirmed to have MPE. Tumour mutation status was confirmed via routine testing of diagnostic clinical specimens. Cytologically negative pleural fluid cell-block specimens were analysed by amplicon-based parallel sequencing (APS) for somatic mutations commonly detected in NSCLC, and selected cases by improved and complete enrichment CO-amplification at lower denaturation temperature PCR (ICECOLD PCR) for known mutations. Mutations were detected in three out of three (sensitivity 100%) cytologically non-malignant pleural fluids from patients with a known mutation: two patients with known Kirsten rat sarcoma (KRAS) mutation demonstrated the same KRAS mutation in their pleural fluids by APS, both at approximately 2% mutant allele frequency. In one patient with a known KRAS mutation, ICECOLD PCR detected the same KRAS variant at 0.7% frequency. No mutations were detected in patients with wild-type findings from reference samples (specificity 100%). Sensitive DNA sequencing methods can detect cancer-driver mutations in cytologically non-malignant pleural fluid specimens from NSCLC patients with MPE. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of sensitive molecular diagnostic techniques for improvement of diagnostic assessment of pleural effusions in patients with lung cancer.

Intratumorous heterogeneity for RAS mutations in a treatment-naïve colorectal tumour.

Activating mutations in KRAS and NRAS genes in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are associated with a lack of response to treatment with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies. Mutations in these genes are thought to be mutually exclusive, however reports have described CRCs with two activating rat sarcoma (RAS) mutations. This has fuelled discussion about whether these mutations are the result of intratumorous heterogeneity, or if they are co-occurring in the same cancer cell clone. We present a case of a colorectal tumour with three RAS mutations detected during routine diagnostic testing. Further detailed analysis with laser capture microdissection and next generation sequencing excluded the possibility of all three mutations being present in the same clone, presenting the highest resolution evidence of intratumorous heterogeneity of RAS mutations to date.

Evaluating the Genomic Yield of a Single Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in Lung Cancer: Meeting the Challenge of Doing More With Less.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive techniques, including endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), yield small specimens that are adequate for cytologic diagnosis of lung cancer, but also need to provide material for molecular analysis to guide treatment. The number of EBUS-TBNA passes needed for mutation testing remains unclear. We sought to assess the adequacy of a single pass for genomic profiling of actionable mutations. METHODS: In a prospective observational study, paired samples from the same lesion were obtained from patients undergoing EBUS-TBNA for lung cancer diagnosis/staging. Following tumor cell confirmation by rapid on-site evaluation, a "reference" sample comprising ≥ 3 passes was obtained and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded. A "study" sample comprising a single pass was taken and snap-frozen. The primary outcome was DNA yield and quality from a single pass. The secondary outcome was diagnostic accuracy of a single pass for detecting actionable mutations. RESULTS: In 40 patients, single-pass specimens yielded a mean 3.98 µg of highly intact DNA, well above the minimum threshold for targeted sequencing, which was performed in adenocarcinoma cases (n = 24). In 23 cases, there was 100% agreement in mutation status between reference and study samples. In 1 case, the reference sample failed to generate a molecular diagnosis owing to insufficient tumor cells; however, the study specimen identified a KRAS mutation. Tumor cell percentage in mutation-positive specimens was 1% to 70%, suggesting that single-pass samples detect mutations even when tumor cell content is low. CONCLUSION: Single EBUS-TBNA passes yield DNA of high quantity and quality with high accuracy for molecular profiling, irrespective of tumor cell content.

A 10 year retrospective study of surgical outcomes of adult intracranial pilocytic astrocytoma.

Pilocytic astrocytomas (PA) are benign neoplasms commonly located in the cerebellum with a peak incidence in the first two decades of life. PA occurrence in adults is rare and very little information is available in the literature about tumour characteristics in this population. This study retrospectively identified 20 adults with PA. The characteristics of the tumour, treatment modalities and patient outcomes are discussed, as well as identifying factors that may be associated with worse prognosis. The mean age at diagnosis was 27 years. The majority of PA were located in the posterior fossa. Other tumour locations included the cerebral hemispheres, brainstem, tectal plate and optochiasmatic region (optic chiasm, hypothalamus and third ventricle). All patients in this study underwent surgery, two received adjuvant chemotherapy and one received adjuvant radiotherapy. Tumour recurrence occurred in six patients and two eventually died from the disease. When achieved, complete tumour resection was found to be curative. Tumour location affects extent of surgical resection; tumours in inaccessible locations were associated with higher rates of recurrence. Overall survival and progression free survival rates were 87% and 60% respectively. The degree of surgical resection and tumour location were found to affect prognosis. Unfavourable outcomes were observed in these adults with PA compared to those expected for a younger population, suggesting a possible association between age and outcome.