High endothelial venules are rare in colorectal cancers but accumulate in extra-tumoral areas with disease progression.

Prolonged patient survival after surgical resection, is associated with a higher cytotoxic and memory T cell density within colorectal cancers (CRC). High endothelial venules (HEVs) are specialized blood vessels present in secondary lymphoid organs (SLO) that allow ingress of naïve and central memory T cells from the blood. It has been proposed that HEVs in tumors might serve as a similar route of entry for lymphocytes into the tumor and result in an improved prognosis. The present study aimed to characterize HEVs and their microenvironment in resected tumors from colorectal cancer patients (n = 62). We observed HEVs in association with lymphoid aggregates in 49 out of 62 patients. However, these HEV+ lymphoid aggregates were largely at the invasive margin of the tumor and although there was an association with lymphocytes and HEVs at the invasive margin (p = 0.002) there was only a very weak association with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Indeed, lymphoid aggregates were associated with more advanced disease (Dukes' stage C) and did not indicate a favorable prognosis.

EGFR mutation analysis in sputum of lung cancer patients: a multitechnique study.

OBJECTIVES: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations have been identified in lung adenocarcinomas and are associated with high response chance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. EGFR mutations can be detected in tumour tissue, cytology specimens and blood from lung cancer patients. Thus far, EGFR mutation analysis has not been systematically demonstrated for sputum samples. The aim of the present study was to determine whether EGFR mutation analysis is attainable on sputum samples, employing different assays in a multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sputum DNA from 10 lung cancer patients with confirmed EGFR mutation in their tumour tissue, 10 lung cancer patients without evidence of an EGFR mutation, and 10 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was used for mutation analysis by Cycleave PCR, COLD-PCR, PangaeaBiotech SL Technology (PST), and High Resolution Melting, respectively. Targeted resequencing (TruSeq Amplicon Cancer Panel) and droplet digital PCR were additionally performed on the 10 samples with EGFR mutation. RESULTS: Dependent on the assay, EGFR mutations could be detected in 30-50% of the sputum samples of patients with EGFR mutations. The different techniques revealed consistent results, with slightly higher sensitivity for PST. Neither the lung cancer patients without EGFR mutation nor the COPD controls tested positive for EGFR mutations in their sputum samples, indicating high clinical specificity of all assays. CONCLUSION: EGFR mutations can be detected in sputum samples from patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, which may replace biopsy procedure for some patients.

Molecular genetics external quality assessment pilot scheme for KRAS analysis in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Laboratories are increasingly required to perform molecular tests for the detection of mutations in the KRAS gene in metastatic colorectal cancers to allow better clinical management and more effective treatment for these patients. KRAS mutation status predicts a patient's likely response to the monoclonal antibody cetuximab. To provide a high standard of service, these laboratories require external quality assessment (EQA) to monitor the level of laboratory output and measure the performance of the laboratory against other service providers. National External Quality Assurance Services for Molecular Genetics provided a pilot EQA scheme for KRAS molecular analysis in metastatic colorectal cancers during 2009. Very few genotyping errors were reported by participating laboratories; however, the reporting nomenclature of the genotyping results varied considerably between laboratories. The pilot EQA scheme highlighted the need for continuing EQA in this field which will assess the laboratories' ability not only to obtain accurate, reliable results but also to interpret them safely and correctly ensuring that the referring clinician has the correct information to make the best clinical therapeutic decision for their patient.