Correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient of magnetic resonance imaging and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate a possible correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) level in breast cancer (BC). A second objective was to assess whether there were other histopathologic features that could affect mean ADC value. METHODS: In this 4-year retrospective study were included 125 patients who underwent radical or modified mastectomy for monofocal BC. All subjects had performed preoperative MRI with the same 1.5-T machine and protocol, which consisted of STIR, DWI and DCE sequences. Based on TIL score, BCs were stratified into two groups: absent-low TIL (≤ 10%) and medium-high TIL (> 10%). The t test was used to correlate mean ADC value with TIL groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve and Youden index were used in order to identify ADC value threshold to distinguish the two TIL groups. RESULTS: BC patients with absent-low TIL level and medium-high TIL one were, respectively, 66 (52.8%) and 59 (47.2%). Mean ADC value was 1.05 ± 0.19 * 10-3 mm2 s-1. Absent-low TIL group showed a lower mean ADC value than medium-high TIL one (0.96 ± 0.18 * 10-3 mm2 s-1 vs 1.14 ± 0.16 * 10-3 mm2 s-1; p < 0.0001). ADC value threshold in order to distinguish the two TIL groups with maximum sensitivity (67.8%) and specificity (80.3%) was 1.03 * 10-3 mm2 s-1. ADC value was shown to be significantly related to TILs level (p < 0.0001) and cancer histotype (p = 0.0006), with a lower mean ADC value correlated to absent-low TIL level and ductal histotype. CONCLUSION: BCs with absent-low TIL showed a statistically significant lower mean ADC value than those with medium-high TIL. ADC value threshold in order to distinguish these two groups was 1.03 * 10-3 mm2 s-1.

Role of DCE-MR in predicting breast cancer subtypes.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this retrospective study is to find a correlation between dynamic contrast-enhanced MR features with histological, immunohistochemical and loco-regional characteristics of breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 149 patients with histopathologically confirmed invasive breast carcinoma underwent MR imaging. Histological analysis included: histological features (histological type, necrosis, vascular invasion and Mib-1), immunohistochemical characterization (immunophenotype, receptor status, HER2-neu and grading) and loco-regional characteristics (T and N). The kinetic MR features analyzed were: curve type, maximum enhancement, time to peak, wash-in and wash-out rate, brevity of enhancement and area under curve. RESULTS: MRI kinetic parameters and immunohistological features were compared using chi square test, two-tailed student t test and Anova test, with p = 0.05 level of significance. Vascular invasion was shown to be significantly related to time to peak (p = 0.02). The immunohistotype was shown to be significantly related with maximum enhancement (p = 0.05), time to peak (p = 0.04) and wash-in rate (p = 0.01). ER status correlates with maximum and relative enhancement (p = 0.004 and p = 0.028), wash-in rate (p = 0.0018) and area under curve (p = 0.006). PR status was significantly related to time to peak (p = 0.048) and wash-in rate (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Maximum enhancement absolute and relative, time to peak, wash-in rate and area under the curve significantly correlate with several prognostic factors, like ER status, immune profile and tumoral vascular invasion, and may predict the aggressiveness of the tumor.

Pre-treatment neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio may be a useful tool in predicting survival in early triple negative breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of evidence that immune response plays a large role in cancer outcome. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been used as a simple parameter of systemic inflammation in several tumors. The purpose was to investigate the association between pre-treatment NLR, disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with early triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). METHODS: We reviewed the records of patients with stage I-III TNBC at our Institution from 2006 to 2012. The association between pre-treatment NLR and survival was analyzed. The difference among variables was calculated by chi-square test. DFS and OS were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Cox analysis was performed to analyze clinical parameters for their prognostic relevance. RESULTS: A total of 90 patients were eligible. There was no significant correlation among pre-treatment NLR and various clinical pathological factors. Patients with NLR higher than 3 showed significantly lower DFS (p = 0.002) and OS (p = 0.009) than patients with NLR equal or lower than 3. The Cox proportional multivariate hazard model revealed that higher pre-treatment NLR was independently correlated with poor DFS and OS, with hazard ratio 5.15 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-23.88, p = 0.03) and 6.16 (95% CI 1.54-24.66, p = 0.01) respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that pre-treatment NLR may be associated with DFS and OS patients with early TNBC. Further validation and a feasibility study are required before it can be considered for clinical use.

Chromium exposure and germinal embryonal carcinoma: first two cases and review of the literature.

The aim of the study was to determine the potential role of occupational exposures to chromium (Cr) in the onset of extragonadal germinal embryonal carcinoma. The first two cases of workers in a company with Cr exposure are reported. The published scientific literature regarding the topic in peer-reviewed journals including MEDLINE and CancerLit databases was extensively reviewed. Two young patients who were coworkers in the same company, exposed to Cr, developed extragonadal germinal embryonal carcinomas. One of them also developed angiosarcoma of the mediastinum. To the best of our knowledge these are the first two cases of germinal embryonal carcinoma in patients with occupational exposure to Cr.

KRAS4A and KRAS4B in liquid biopsy of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma patients treated with Pembrolizumab or chemotherapy plus Pembrolizumab.

KRAS is involved in the stability and expression of PD-L1. We investigated the expression of circulating mRNA (cmRNA) of KRAS4A and KRAS4B and the possible impact on progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma treated with immunotherapy. Patients without driver mutations undergoing Pembrolizumab (P) or P plus chemotherapy (PC) were prospectively accrued for liquid biopsy analysis of KRAS4A, KRAS4B, and PD-L1 cmRNA. Both KRAS isoforms were also studied for association with PD-L1 cmRNA. Of 56 patients, 28 received P and 28 PC. Patients with high levels of both KRAS isoforms showed significantly better PFS. The median PFS for KRAS4A was 29 months (95% CI 22-29 months) and KRAS4B 24 months (95% CI 13-29 months), respectively. The median PFS of patients with low levels of both isoforms was 12 months (95% CI 6-15 months for KRAS4A and 95% CI 5-20 months for KRAS4B). High KRAS4A retained a significant positive association with PFS in the multivariate model. An exploratory analysis in treatment subgroups found a positive association between high KRAS4A and KRAS4B with PFS in patients treated with P. PD-L1 cmRNA was significantly higher in patients with high KRAS isoforms levels and this effect was pronounced for high KRAS4A carriers. KRAS4A deserves further investigation as a potential marker for defining patients who may benefit the most from immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy and improving personalized cancer immunotherapeutic strategies.

Irinotecan-Induced Transient Dysarthria: Case Series and Updated Literature Review.

Irinotecan-based regimens are used worldwide for the treatment of several recurrent or advanced gastrointestinal malignancies. In this paper we describe the cases of four patients treated in our institution who developed acute dysarthria while receiving intravenous infusion of irinotecan. In all our cases, dysarthria occurred during the infusion of the first course of irinotecan, and then resolved rapidly without any sequelae. Imaging of the brain was performed, but failed to show any evidence of an acute neurological event. We also reviewed the literature on this very uncommon adverse event. The pathogenesis of irinotecan-induced dysarthria is still unknown and is not completely elucidated by the current pharmacodynamic or kinetic explanations; therefore, we could only hypothesize some assumptions.

Cerebellum and detection of sequences, from perception to cognition.

The idea that cerebellar processing is required in a variety of cognitive functions is well accepted in the neuroscience community. Nevertheless, the definition of its role in the different cognitive domains remains rather elusive. Current data on perceptual and cognitive processing are reviewed with special emphasis on cerebellar sequencing properties. Evidences, obtained by neurophysiological and neuropsychological lesion studies, converge in highlighting comparison of temporal and spatial information for sequence detection as the key stone of cerebellar functioning across modalities. The hypothesis that sequence detection might represent the main contribution of cerebellar physiology to brain functioning is presented and the possible clinical significance in cerebellar-related diseases discussed.

Evaluation of Multifocality and Multicentricity With Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Each Breast Cancer Subtype.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether diagnostic performance of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detection of multifocality and multicentricity (MFMC) of breast cancer (BC) can be influenced by different histotypes or immunophenotypes in newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this institutional review board-approved retrospective study, 289 patients who underwent both preoperative breast MRI and radical or modified mastectomy in our institution because of primary BCs were selected. Patients were stratified based on the pathologic report in 2 main histotypes and 5 immunophenotypes. By matching the radiologic report with the corresponding pathologic report for each patient, breast MRI performance for detection of MFMC were obtained in each histotype and immunophenotype and subsequently compared. RESULTS: Overall breast MRI sensitivity for MFMC detection was 88.1%, specificity was 80.0%, positive predictive value 82.1%, negative predictive value 85.8%, diagnostic accuracy 83.7%, and area under the curve 0.835. Breast MRI sensitivity for MFMC detection in triple-negative BC was 84.6% (P = .88), specificity 70.8% (P = .63), positive predictive value 61.1% (P = .02), negative predictive value 89.5% (P = .20), diagnostic accuracy 75.7% (P = .65), and area under the curve 0.777 (P = .87). CONCLUSION: Performance of breast MRI for the detection of MFMC are not influenced by the BC histotypes, in accordance with published literature. Conversely, the triple-negative immunophenotypes demonstrated lower performance, statistically significant only for positive predictive value (P = .02), for the detection of MFMC.

Clinical and pathologic predictors of clinical outcome of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Although worldwide use of asbestos has decreased, the incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is expected to increase over the next few decades. A number of scoring systems has been proposed to assess clinicopathologic features and to predict the prognosis. We assessed the relationship between patients' features and disease evolution in order to choose the best treatment able to prolong overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients with locally advanced or metastatic MPM, treated at the Department of Medical Oncology, Università Politecnica Marche, Italy, from January 2003 to September 2013. Data on age, sex, smoking history, asbestos exposure, performance status, tumor stage, histology, type of treatment, and routine laboratory tests including complete blood count panel, date of death, or censored status were collected. The OS and PFS were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox analysis was performed to analyze the prognostic relevance of clinical parameters. RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 62 patients. Univariate analysis showed that histologic type, performance status, response to first-line therapy, pretreatment hemoglobin levels, and plasmatic Ca125 were significant prognostic factors. Conversely, no significant correlation was found between age, sex, smoking history, reported exposure to asbestos, stages at diagnosis, treatments, and OS and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that anemia and increased Ca125 might be considered negative prognostic parameters in MPM patients and confirmed the prognostic role of histotype, performance status, and response to first-line chemotherapy.

Hormonal receptors in lung adenocarcinoma: expression and difference in outcome by sex.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer seems to have different epidemiological, biomolecular and clinical characteristics in females than in males, with a better prognosis for women. The aim of the study is to determine gender differences in lung adenocarcinoma in terms of androgen (AR), estrogen (ER)α and progesterone (PgR) receptors expression and their impact on outcome. RESULTS: Overall survival was significantly better in ERα and in PgR positive lung adenocarcinoma patients (median survival 45 vs. 19 months).Eight out of 62 patients showed positive expression of nuclear (n) AR and 18 of cytoplasmic (c) AR with a significantly better survival (49 vs. 19 and 45 vs. 19 months, respectively). There was a significant difference in survival between patients with vs. without c-AR expression (30 vs. 17 months). Finally, in the subgroup of women, median survival was greater in positive expression of c-AR than for women with negative c-AR (45 vs. 21 months). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted an analysis on a cohort of 62 patients with advanced NSCLC treated at our institution. We investigated the immunohistochemical expression of n/c AR, ERα and PgR in 62 NSCLC and we correlated it with patients' clinic-pathologic characteristics and with prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the positive expression of one hormonal receptor could represent a prognostic factor.Furthermore our study suggests that AR should become object of close examination in a larger series of lung adenocarcinoma patients, also for selection of the patients with best prognosis that can perform more chemotherapy lines.

Impact of VEGF, VEGFR, PDGFR, HIF and ERCC1 gene polymorphisms on thymic malignancies outcome after thymectomy.

We aimed to analyze genotypes of VEGF-A, VEGFR2, Flt4, PDGFRα, HIF-1α and ERCC1 and their correlation with thymic tumor risk and patient outcome. DNA of 57 consecutive patients (43 thymomas and 14 thymic carcinomas) who underwent total thymectomy at our Institution was extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue. We selected polymorphisms in the following genes:HIF1-α (rs2057482T > C, rs1951795A > C, rs2301113C > A, rs10873142C > T, rs11158358G > C, rs12434438G > A, rs11549465C > T, rs11549467G > A), VEGF-A (rs2010963G > C, rs699947A > C), VEGFR-2 (rs2305948C > T, rs1870377T > A), VEGFR-3 (rs307826T > C, rs307821C > A), PDGFR-α (rs35597368C > T) and ERCC1 (rs11615A > G). Gene polymorphisms were determined by Real-Time PCR using TaqMan assays. As compared to the general population, the allele frequency of PDGFR-α rs35597368T was significantly higher (95% vs. 87%, p = 0.036), while the frequency of alleles HIF1-α rs2057482C (78% vs. 90%), rs1951795C (69% vs. 87%), rs2301113A (70% vs. 83%), rs10873142T (70% vs. 87%), rs11158358C (75% vs. 88%), rs12434438A (67% vs. 84%) were significantly lower. VEGFR-3 rs307821C frequency was significantly higher in thymomas vs. thymic carcinomas (79% vs. 72%, p = 0.0371). The following factors were significantly correlated with a longer overall survival: VEGFR-3 rs307826C, VEGFR-2 rs1870377A, PDGFR-α rs35597368T/C, HIF1-α rs2301113C, rs2057482C/T, rs1951795C, rs11158358G/C and rs10873142T/C, ERCC1 rs11615A (p < 0.05). Our results suggest, for the first time, that PDGFR-α, HIF-1α and VEGFR-3 SNPs are associated with thymic cancer risk and survival.

[ (11) C]-methionine positron emission tomography in the postoperative imaging and followup of patients with primary and recurrent gliomas.

We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of [(11)C]-methionine positron emission tomography ([(11)C]-MET PET) in the management of glioma patients. We retrospectively analysed data from 53 patients with primary gliomas (16 low grade astrocytomas, 15 anaplastic astrocytomas and 22 glioblastomas) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) > 70. Patients underwent [(11)C]-MET PET scans (N = 249) and parallel contrast-enhanced MRI (N = 193) and/or CT (N = 113) controls. In low grade glioma patients, MRI or CT findings associated with [(11)C]-MET PET additional data allowed discrimination residual disease from postsurgical changes in 96.22% of these cases. [(11)C]-MET PET early allowed detection of malignant progression from low grade to anaplastic astrocytoma with high sensitivity (91.56%) and specificity (95.18%). In anaplastic astrocytomas, we registered high sensitivity (93.97%) and specificity (95.18%) in the postoperative imaging and during the followup of these patients. In GBM patients, CT and/or MRI scans with additional [(11)C]-MET PET data registered a sensitivity of 96.92% in the postsurgical evaluation and in the tumour assessment during temozolomide therapy. A significant correlation was found between [(11)C]-MET mean uptake index and histologic grading (P < 0.001). These findings support the notion that complementary information derived from [(11)C]-MET PET may be helpful in postoperative and successive tumor assessment of glioma patients.

Thymic neoplasms: an update on the use of chemotherapy and new targeted therapies. A literature review.

Thymic malignancies represent a wide range of clinical, histological and molecular entities, with probably considerable heterogeneity even among tumors of the same histotype. Systemic chemotherapy with cisplatin-based regimens continues to represent the standard of care in metastatic or inoperable refractory/recurrent diseases and ADOC regimen (including cisplatin, doxorubicin, vincristine and cyclophosphamide) demonstrated the longer overall response rate and median survival in the first line setting, although no randomized trial is available; and there is still a lack of standard treatment after first-line failure. To date research efforts are focused on translational studies on molecular pathways involved in thymic tumors carcinogenesis, aimed to better understand and predict the efficacy of chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Recent molecular characterization includes identification of a number of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, chromosomal aberrations, angiogenic factors, and tumor invasion factors involved in cellular survival and proliferation and in tumor growth. The use of biologic drugs is currently not recommended in a routine practice because there are limited data on their therapeutic role in thymic epitelial tumors. Because of the lack of data from adequate-sized, prospective trials are required for validation and the enrolment of patients with advanced disease into available clinical trials has to be encouraged.

Androgen receptor expression in early triple-negative breast cancer: clinical significance and prognostic associations.

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are characterized by aggressive tumour biology resulting in a poor prognosis. Androgen receptor (AR) is one of newly emerging biomarker in TNBC. In recent years, ARs have been demonstrated to play an important role in the genesis and in the development of breast cancer, although their prognostic role is still debated. In the present study, we explored the correlation of AR expression with clinical, pathological and molecular features and its impact on prognosis in early TNBC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ARs were considered positive in case of tumors with >10% nuclear-stained. Survival distribution was estimated by the Kaplan Meier method. The univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The difference among variables were calculated by chi-square test. RESULTS: 81 TNBC patients diagnosed between January 2006 and December 2011 were included in the analysis. Slides were stained immunohistochemically for estrogen and progesterone receptors, HER-2, Ki-67, ALDH1, e-cadherin and AR. Of the 81 TNBC samples, 18.8% showed positive immunostaining for AR, 23.5% and 44.4% of patients were negative for e-cadherin and ALDH1, respectively. Positive AR immunostaining was inversely correlated with a higher Ki-67 (p < 0.0001) and a lympho-vascular invasion (p = 0.01), but no other variables. Univariate survival analysis revealed that AR expression was not associated with disease-free survival (p = 0.72) or overall survival (p = 0.93). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of AR is associated with some biological features of TNBC, such as Ki-67 and lympho-vascular invasion; nevertheless the prognostic significance of AR was not documented in our analysis. However, since ARs are expressed in a significant number of TNBC, prospective studies in order to determine the biological mechanisms and their potential role as novel treatment target.

State of the art for cardiotoxicity due to chemotherapy and to targeted therapies: a literature review.

Cardiotoxicity is a common complication of many anti-cancer agents and it remains a major limitation, strongly impacting the quality of life and the overall survival, regardless of the oncologic prognosis. Cardiotoxicity may occur during or shortly after treatment (within days or weeks), or it may become evident months, and sometimes years, after completion of chemotherapy. Cardiotoxicity associated with cancer therapies can range from asymptomatic subclinical abnormalities, including electrocardiographic changes and temporary left ventricular ejection fraction decline, to life-threatening events such as congestive heart failure or acute coronary syndromes. The aim of this review is to summarize potential cancer chemotherapeutics-related cardiovascular toxicities in adult cancer-patients and to suggest monitoring and treatment options for each agent, that can serve as a tool in the clinical practice.

Role of maspin in cancer.

Maspin (mammary serine protease inhibitor), is a member of the serine protease inhibitor/non-inhibitor superfamily. Its expression is down-regulated in breast, prostate, gastric and melanoma cancers but over-expressed in pancreatic, gallbladder, colorectal, and thyroid cancers suggesting that maspin may play different activities in different cell types. However, maspin expression seems to be correlated with better prognosis in prostate, bladder, lung, gastric, colorectal, head and neck, thyroid and melanoma cancer. In breast and ovarian cancer maspin significance is associated with its subcellular localization: nucleus maspin expression correlates with a good prognosis, whilst in pancreatic cancer it predicts a poor prognosis. Since tumor metastasis requires the detachment and invasion of tumor cells through the basement membrane and stroma, a selectively increased adhesion by the presence of maspin may contribute to the inhibition of tumor metastasis. Furthermore the different position of maspin inside the cell or its epigenetic modifications may explain the different behavior of the expression of maspin between tumors. The expression of maspin might be useful as a prognostic and possibly predictive factor for patients with particular types of cancer and data can guide physicians in selecting therapy. Its expression in circulating tumor cells especially in breast cancer, could be also useful in clinical practice along with other factors, such as age, comorbidities, blood examinations in order to select the best therapy to be carried out. Focusing on the malignancies in which maspin showed a positive prognostic value, therapeutic approaches studied so far aimed to re-activate a dormant tumor suppressor gene by designed transcription factors, to hit the system that inhibits the expression of maspin, to identify natural substances that can determine the activation and the expression of maspin or possible "molecules binds" to introduce maspin in cancer cell and gene therapy capable of up-regulating the maspin in an attempt to reduce primarily the risk of metastasis.Further studies in these directions are necessary to better define the therapeutic implication of maspin.

Novel small molecule EGFR inhibitors as candidate drugs in non-small cell lung cancer.

In the last decade, better understanding of the role of epidermal growth factor receptor in the pathogenesis and progression of non-small cell lung cancer has led to a revolution in the work-up of these neoplasms. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as erlotinib and gefitinib, have been approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, demonstrating an improvement in progression-free and overall survival, particularly in patients harboring activating EGFR mutations. Nevertheless, despite initial responses and long-lasting remissions, resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors invariably develops, most commonly due to the emergence of secondary T790M mutations or to the amplification of mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met), which inevitably leads to treatment failure. Several clinical studies are ongoing (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov), aimed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combined approaches and to develop novel irreversible or multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors and mutant-selective inhibitors to overcome such resistance. This review is an overview of ongoing Phase I, II, and III trials of novel small molecule epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors and combinations in non-small cell lung cancer patients.