Preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score is an independent prognostic factor in cholangiocarcinoma patients treated with hepatectomy.

Background: Nutritional status is one of the important factors determining the short- and long-term outcomes of surgery in cancer. This study aimed to assess the prognostic role of preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) patients. Methods: A total of 101 iCCA patients who underwent hepatectomy between 2015 and 2018 at the Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, were included in this retrospective study. Patients were classified according to the CONUT score. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the correlation between clinicopathological features and overall survival. Results: Patients were categorized into normal nutrition (n = 40 or 39.5%), mild (n = 54 or 53.5%), and moderate-severe malnutrition (n = 7). Patients with high CONUT scores had significantly shorter survival (HR 2.55, 95% CI 1.04-6.25, p = 0.04). In multivariable analysis, tumor size (HR = 2.58, p < 0.01), the growth pattern of mass forming combined with periductal (HR = 4, p < 0.01), lymph node metastasis (HR = 7.20, p < 0.01) and high CONUT score (HR = 4.71, p = 0.01) were independent factors for poor survival of iCCA patients. Conclusion: The preoperative CONUT score is a simple prognostic factor to predict the outcomes of iCCA patients undergoing hepatectomy.

Systemic Treatment for Cholangiocarcinoma.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a diverse group of epithelial cancers that affect the biliary tree. The incidence of CCA is low in Western countries but significantly higher in endemic regions such as China and Thailand. Various risk factors contribute to the development of CCA. Recent studies have revealed molecular alterations in biliary tract cancers, providing insights into cholangiocarcinogenesis and potential targeted therapies. Surgical resection is the primary curative treatment for CCA. Adjuvant chemotherapy has been extensively studied, and some regimens have proven to be beneficial. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has shown potential benefits in select cases, but its role remains controversial. In advanced stages, chemotherapy is the standard of care, and molecular profiling has identified potential targets such as FGFR, IDH1, HER2, and other tumor-agnostic therapies. Immunotherapy has demonstrated limited benefit in advanced CCA. This chapter provides an overview of the current evidence and ongoing research evaluating various chemotherapy regimens, targeted therapies, and immunotherapies across different stages of CCA.

Programmed death­ligand 1 expression in tumor cells and tumor­infiltrating lymphocytes are associated with depth of tumor invasion in penile cancer.

The present study aimed to demonstrate the proportion of the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in penile cancer patients and the association with clinicopathological parameters. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens were obtained from 43 patients with primary penile squamous cell carcinoma treated at Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, between 2008 and 2018. PD-L1 expression was evaluated by the immunohistochemistry using an SP263 monoclonal antibody. PD-L1 positivity was defined as >25% tumor cell staining or >25% tumor-associated immune cell staining. The correlation between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. A total of eight of 43 patients (18.6%) were identified as positive for PD-L1 expression in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. In the PD-L1 positive group, there was a significant association with pathological T stage (P=0.014) with a higher percentage of PD-L1 positive tumors in T1 stage compared with T2-T4 stage. In this cohort, there was a trend towards longer survival in patients with positive PD-L1 expression (5-year OS: 75% vs. 61.2%, P=0.19). Lymph node involvement and the location of tumor at the shaft of penis were two independent prognostic factors for survival. In conclusion, the PD-L1 expression was detected in 18% of penile cancer patients and high expression of PD-L1 was associated with the early T stage.

Exosomal microRNAs as potential biomarkers for osimertinib resistance of non-small cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Osimertinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor that specifically targets the T790M mutation in cancer.Unfortunately, most non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients develop osimertinib resistance. Currently, the molecular biomarkers for monitoring osimertinib resistance are not available. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the profile of exosomal miRNA in the plasma of osimertinib-resistant NSCLC patients. METHODS: Plasma exosomal miRNA profiles of 8 NSCLC patients were analyzed by next-generation sequencing at osimertinib-sensitive and osimertinib-resistance stage.The expression of dysregulated exosomal miRNAs was validated and confirmed in another cohort of 19 NSCLC patients by qPCR. The relationship between exosomal miRNA upregulation and clinical prognosis, survival analysis was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: In osimertinib-resistant NSCLC patients, 10 exosomal miRNAs were significantly dysregulated compared to baseline. Upregulation of all 10 candidate exosomal miRNAs tended to correlate with increased latency to treatment failure and improved overall survival. Among them, 4 exosomal miRNAs, miR-323-3p, miR-1468-3p, miR-5189-5p and miR-6513-5p were essentially upregulated and show the potential to be markers for the discrimination of osimertinib-resistance from osimertinib-sensitive NSCLC patients with high accuracy (p< 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the potential role of these exosomal miRNAs as molecular biomarkers for the detection of osimertinib resistance.

Relevance of clinical and autoantibody profiles in systemic sclerosis among Thais.

OBJECTIVE: Autoantibody profiles in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and their relative clinical association vary between studies. The rate for being anti-topoisomerase-I (ATA) positive and the association with diffuse cutaneous the SSc subset (dcSSc) is higher among Thais than among Caucasians. The objective was to evaluate the relevance of clinical presentation, namely being positive for one or more autoantibodies among Thai SSc patients. METHOD: A retrospective, cohort study was performed among SSc patients over 18 years of age at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, during January 2006 to December 2013. Autoantibodies comprising 13 SSc-specific antigens were evaluated using the EUROIMMUN AG (Lübeck, Germany) in order to define their clinical association(s). RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty-five scleroderma patients (200 female; 85 male) were included. The majority (66.7%) were dcSSc subset. ATA was the most common antibody profile in our patients (231 cases; 81.1%), followed by anti-Ro 52 (87 cases; 30.5%). Eleven of our patients (3.9%) were negative for all antibody profiles and 44 cases (15.4%) were negative for ATA and anti-centromere antibody (anti-CENP). Almost 40% (112 cases) were positive for at least two autoantibodies. There was an association between the presence of ATA and hand deformity (odds ratio [OR] 3.94; 95% CI 1.12-13.84), anti-CENP and hand deformity (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.02-0.90), anti-Ku and scleroderma-polymyositis overlap syndrome (OR 6.58; 95% CI 2.16-19.39) and the absence of both ATA and anti-CENP with female sex (OR 2.90; 95% CI 1.12-7.51), limited cutaneous SSc subset (OR 2.70; 95% CI 1.30-5.55) and scleroderma-polymyositis overlap syndrome (OR 2.53; 95% CI 1.04-6.16). Neither ATA nor anti-CENP were associated with the SSc subset. CONCLUSIONS: ATA and anti-CENP were not helpful in differentiating the SSc subset in Thai SSc patients, albeit they were good for predicting hand function. Coexisting ATA and anti-CENP negativity were associated with less extensive skin tightness and SSc overlap syndrome.