Prognostic and predictive role of liquid biopsy in lung cancer patients.

Introduction: Lung cancer (LC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Approximately 80% of LC cases are of the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) type, and approximately two-thirds of these cases are diagnosed in advanced stages. Only systemic treatment methods can be applied to patients in the advanced stages when there is no chance of surgical treatment. Identification of mutations that cause LC is of vital importance in determining appropriate treatment methods. New noninvasive methods are needed to repeat and monitor these molecular analyses. In this regard, liquid biopsy (LB) is the most promising method. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of LB in detecting EGFR executive gene mutations that cause LC. Methods: One hundred forty-six patients in stages IIIB and IV diagnosed with non-squamous cell non-small cell LC were included. Liquid biopsy was performed as a routine procedure in cases where no mutation was detected in solid tissue or in cases with progression after targeted therapy. Liquid biopsy samples were also obtained for the second time from 10 patients who showed progression under the applied treatment. Mutation analyses were performed using the Cobas® EGFR Test, a real-time PCR test designed to detect mutations in exons 18, 20, and 21 and changes in exon 19 of the EGFR gene. Results: Mutation positivity in paraffin blocks was 21.9%, whereas it was 32.2% in LB. Solids and LB were compatible in 16 patients. Additionally, while no mutation was found in solid tissue in the evaluation of 27 cases, it was detected in LB. It has been observed that new mutations can be detected not only at the time of diagnosis, but also in LB samples taken during the follow-up period, leading to the determination of targeted therapy. Discussion: The results showed that "liquid biopsy" is a successful and alternative non-invasive method for detecting cancer-causing executive mutations, given the limitations of conventional biopsies.

Cellular Biomarkers in Mytilus galloprovincialis L. (Mediterranean Mussels) from Izmir Bay (Turkey).

In this study, cellular biomarkers and heavy metal concentration in the Mytilus galloprovincialis L. (Mediterranean mussels) collected from eight sites of Izmir Bay (Turkey) were determined to reveal water pollution for the first time in these stations. Results show that heavy metals (As, Cu, Hg, Zn, Cd, Sn, Pb) have been specified in mussels' tissues collected from all stations. According to GST, SOD, CAT activities, and TBARS contents, mussels in the outer bay have exposed more oxidative stress than the ones in the inner bay. Digestive gland tissues of them were showed more inhibition at AChE levels than gills. Also, abnormal nucleus rates and micronucleus frequencies (MN) were found to be higher in the inner bay than in the outer bay. This study showed that heavy metal pollution in different levels is an environmental issue on the Izmir Bay. Especially the coastal regions of the bay have been extremely affected by anthropogenic effects due to growing population.

How Safe Is the Use of Intrathecal Vancomycin?

BACKGROUND: Central nervous system infection after neurosurgical procedures is a severe complication with high morbidity rates and sometimes mortality. Our experimental study aimed to investigate the biochemical and histopathologic effects of vancomycin on neural tissues when applied to the cisterna magna. METHODS: Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control (Group 1) and different vancomycin dose groups (Groups 2, 3, and 4). In Group 1, 0.1 mL cerebrospinal fluid was drained from the cisterna magna and 0.1 mL 0.9% NaCI (normal saline) was administered into the subarachnoid space. In the study groups, 0.1 mL cerebrospinal fluid was drained from the cisterna magna and 0.1 mg/200g rat per day (Group 2), 0.2 mg/200g rat per day (Group 3), and 0.4 mg/200g rat per day (Group 4) vancomycin were administered into the subarachnoid space for 7 days. All rats were sacrificed on the eighth day. Serum superoxide dismutase and catalase levels were measured. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The findings showed that the administration of 0.2 and 0.4 mg/kg doses had significant differences in superoxide dismutase and catalase activity compared with the controls (P < 0.05). These vancomycin doses also induced the apoptotic process, and the enzyme activity results correlated with immunohistochemical results. CONCLUSIONS: Dose-related neurotoxicity of intrathecal vancomycin was shown at the cellular level. The importance of dose regulation of intrathecal vancomycin has come into view. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature that has investigated the neurotoxic effects of vancomycin.

Concordance in molecular genetic analysis of tumour tissue, plasma, and exhaled breath condensate samples from lung cancer patients.

AIM: Lung adenocarcinoma is characterized by poor prognosis and short survival rates. Therefore, tools to identify the tumoural molecular structure and guide effective diagnosis and therapy decisions are essential. Surgical biopsies are highly invasive and not conducive for patient follow-up. To better understand disease prognosis, novel non-invasive analytic methods are needed. The aim of the present study is to identify the genetic mutations in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue, plasma, and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples by next-generation sequencing and evaluate their utility in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. METHOD: FFPE, plasma, and EBC samples were collected from 12 lung adenocarcinoma patients before treatment. DNA was extracted from the specimens using an Invitrogen PureLink Genomic DNA Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. Amplicon-based sequencing was performed using Ion AmpliSeq Colon and Lung Cancer Research Panel v2. RESULTS: Genetic alterations were detected in all FFPE, plasma, and EBC specimens. The mutations in PIK3CA, MET, PTEN, SMAD4, and FGFR2 genes were highly correlated in six patients. Somatic and novel mutations detected in tissue and EBC samples were highly correlated in one additional patient. The EGFR p.L858R and KRAS p.G12C driver mutations were found in both the FFPE tissue specimens and the corresponding EBC samples of the lung adenocarcinoma patients. CONCLUSION: The driver mutations were detected in EBC samples from lung adenocarcinoma patients. The analysis of EBC samples represents a promising non-invasive method to detect mutations in lung cancer and guide diagnosis and follow-up.