Dynamics of Serum CA19-9 in Patients Undergoing Pancreatic Cancer Resection.

BACKGROUND: Carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 is an established perioperative prognostic biomarker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, it is unclear how CA19-9 monitoring should be used during postoperative surveillance to detect recurrence and to guide the initiation of recurrence-focused therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the value of CA19-9 as a diagnostic biomarker for disease recurrence in patients who underwent PDAC resection. METHODS: Serum CA19-9 levels at diagnosis, after surgery, and during postoperative follow-up were analyzed in patients who underwent PDAC resection. All patients with at least two postoperative follow-up CA19-9 measurements before recurrence were included. Patients deemed to be nonsecretors of CA19-9 were excluded. The relative increase in postoperative CA19-9 was calculated for each patient by dividing the maximum postoperative CA19-9 value by the first postoperative value. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to identify the optimal threshold for the relative increase in CA19-9 levels to identify recurrence in the training set using Youden's index. The performance of this cutoff was validated in a test set by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) and was compared to the performance of the optimal cutoff for postoperative CA19-9 measurements as a continuous value. In addition, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were assessed. RESULTS: In total, 271 patients were included, of whom 208 (77%) developed recurrence. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that a relative increase in postoperative serum CA19-9 of 2.6× was predictive of recurrence, with 58% sensitivity, 83% specificity, 95% positive predictive value, and 28% negative predictive value. The AUC for a 2.6× relative increase in the CA19-9 level was 0.719 in the training set and 0.663 in the test set. The AUC of postoperative CA19-9 as a continuous value (optimal threshold, 52) was 0.671 in the training set. In the training set, the detection of a 2.6-fold increase in CA19-9 preceded the detection of recurrence by a mean difference of 7 months ( P <0.001) and in the test set by 10 months ( P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A relative increase in the postoperative serum CA19-9 level of 2.6-fold is a stronger predictive marker for recurrence than a continuous CA19-9 cutoff. A relative CA19-9 increase can precede the detection of recurrence on imaging for up to 7 to 10 months. Therefore, CA19-9 dynamics can be used as a biomarker to guide the initiation of recurrence-focused treatment.

Patient-derived organoid models help define personalized management of gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with different gastrointestinal cancers varies widely. Despite advances in treatment strategies, such as extensive resections and the addition of new drugs to chemotherapy regimens, conventional treatment strategies have failed to improve survival for many tumours. Although promising, the clinical application of molecularly guided personalized treatment has proven to be challenging. This narrative review focuses on the personalization of cancer therapy using patient-derived three-dimensional 'organoid' models. METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted to identify relevant articles. An overview of the literature and published protocols is presented, and the implications of these models for patients with cancer, surgeons and oncologists are explained. RESULTS: Organoid culture methods have been established for healthy and diseased tissues from oesophagus, stomach, intestine, pancreas, bile duct and liver. Because organoids can be generated with high efficiency and speed from fine-needle aspirations, biopsies or resection specimens, they can serve as a personal cancer model. Personalized treatment could become a more standard practice by using these cell cultures for extensive molecular diagnosis and drug screening. Drug sensitivity assays can give a clinically actionable sensitivity profile of a patient's tumour. However, the predictive capability of organoid drug screening has not been evaluated in prospective clinical trials. CONCLUSION: High-throughput drug screening on organoids, combined with next-generation sequencing, proteomic analysis and other state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic methods, can shape cancer treatment to become more effective with fewer side-effects.

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7±13.9 [SD] years; range: 21-83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1±12.3 [SD] years; range: 36-86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing. RESULTS: The pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8-100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7-93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0-87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6-100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93-100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8-100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936-1.0). CONCLUSIONS: Radiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.

CT quality assurance in the mid 1980s. Part 1.

The authors evaluate present quality-assurance programs for computed tomography systems, using data from a survey of CT facilities by 21 states and recommendations provided by manufacturers in compliance with amendments to the federal performance standard for diagnostic x-ray equipment. Part 2 of this article, to be published in an upcoming issue, offers a discussion of the impact of CT quality-assurance programs and conclusions from this review.

CT quality assurance in the mid 1980s. Part 2.

In part 1 of this article, the authors evaluated present quality-assurance programs for computed tomography systems, using data from a survey of CT facilities by 21 states and recommendations provided by manufacturers in compliance with amendments to the federal performance standard for diagnostic x-ray equipment. This concluding part offers a discussion of the impact of CT quality-assurance programs and conclusions from this review.

Targeting cell cycle and hormone receptor pathways in cancer.

The cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)/retinoblastoma (RB)-axis is a critical modulator of cell cycle entry and is aberrant in many human cancers. New nodes of therapeutic intervention are needed that can delay or combat the onset of malignancies. The antitumor properties and mechanistic functions of PD-0332991 (PD; a potent and selective CDK4/6 inhibitor) were investigated using human prostate cancer (PCa) models and primary tumors. PD significantly impaired the capacity of PCa cells to proliferate by promoting a robust G1-arrest. Accordingly, key regulators of the G1-S cell cycle transition were modulated including G1 cyclins D, E and A. Subsequent investigation demonstrated the ability of PD to function in the presence of existing hormone-based regimens and to cooperate with ionizing radiation to further suppress cellular growth. Importantly, it was determined that PD is a critical mediator of PD action. The anti-proliferative impact of CDK4/6 inhibition was revealed through reduced proliferation and delayed growth using PCa cell xenografts. Finally, first-in-field effects of PD on proliferation were observed in primary human prostatectomy tumor tissue explants. This study shows that selective CDK4/6 inhibition, using PD either as a single-agent or in combination, hinders key proliferative pathways necessary for disease progression and that RB status is a critical prognostic determinant for therapeutic efficacy. Combined, these pre-clinical findings identify selective targeting of CDK4/6 as a bona fide therapeutic target in both early stage and advanced PCa and underscore the benefit of personalized medicine to enhance treatment response.

A human homologue of the yeast replication protein Cdc21. Interactions with other Mcm proteins.

We present the amino acid sequence of the human homologue of the yeast replication protein Cdc21, a member of the Mcm family of nuclear proteins. Specific antibodies, raised against protein hCdc21, were used to investigate the expression of the protein through the cell cycle. The protein is highly phosphorylated in mitotic cells. The phosphorylated form of protein hCdc21 appears to be less tightly bound to nuclear structures than the underphosphorylated form suggesting that phosphorylation/dephosphorylation reactions may determine the nuclear distribution of the protein. Protein hCdc21 forms a stable trimeric complex with two novel human Mcm proteins, p85Mcm and p105Mcm. Protein BM28/Mcm2 is more loosely associated with the trimeric hCdc21 complex.

Expression, phosphorylation and nuclear localization of the human P1 protein, a homologue of the yeast Mcm 3 replication protein.

The human protein P1 belongs to a newly discovered class of mammalian nuclear proteins with high sequence homology to yeast replication proteins. We present the entire amino acid sequence of the human protein P1 as predicted from the cDNA sequence, and show that P1 shares three central regions of high sequence similarity (about 75%) and a highly hydrophilic carboxy-terminal region with the yeast Mcm3 replication protein. The human genome most probably contains one P1 gene which is activated when HeLa cells progress to S phase, as shown by a several-fold increase in P1-specific mRNA. However, the amounts of P1 protein do not detectably change during this period, but P1 protein becomes phosphorylated at the beginning of S phase. In contrast to the yeast Mcm proteins, which disappear from nuclei after initiation of DNA replication, protein P1 remains in the nucleus during and after S phase. P1 is dispersed in mitotic cells and may be excluded from binding to chromosomes.

Interactions of human nuclear proteins P1Mcm3 and P1Cdc46.

Human nuclear proteins P1Mcm3 and P1Cdc46 have high sequence similarities with the corresponding yeast proteins known to be required for the initiation of genome replication. Nuclei of proliferating HeLa cells contain relatively high amounts of P1Mcm3 (about 10(6) molecules/nucleus) of which only a small fraction is bound to a nuclear structure, most probably chromatin. At 0.5 M NaCl, the structure-bound nuclear protein can be partially solubilized as a dimer composed of P1Mcm3 and the related protein P1Cdc46. However, most protein P1Mcm3 is not bound to a nuclear structure and appears in the nucleoplasm. About 10% of protein P1Mcm3 in the soluble fraction is free and uncomplexed, and the remaining P1Mcm3 forms stable complexes with protein P1Cdc46. These P1Mcm3/Cdc46 complexes occur as dimers and in high-molecular-mass complexes (approximately 500 kDa). The high-molecular-mass complexes dissociate in 0.5 M NaCl and release P1Mcm3/Cdc46 dimers. It has frequently been proposed that the Mcm proteins may function as licensing factors for genome replication. Our data imply that the active form of an Mcm protein is not a monomer, but a protein complex that includes an Mcm3/Cdc46 dimer. DNA polymerase alpha is not a component of this complex.

Properties of the human nuclear protein p85Mcm. Expression, nuclear localization and interaction with other Mcm proteins.

Recently we identified a cDNA fragment encoding a conserved part of a new human minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) protein, provisionally termed P1.1Mcm3. Here, we report that the protein is most highly related to a yeast cell-division-cycle protein, Cdc47, encoded by the open reading frame YBR1441 on chromosome 11 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The human protein migrates on a polyacrylamide gel with an apparent molecular mass of 85 kDa and shares areas of significant similarity with the Mcm family of replication proteins. It is, therefore, designated as p85Mcm. Microscopic immuno-fluorescence studies revealed that protein p85Mcm is located in the nuclei of interphase cells, but is evenly distributed throughout the cell during mitosis. The amounts of p85Mcm do not significantly change during the cell cycle, but mRNA levels rise with the beginning of the S phase. However, in vitro differentiation of HL60 cells results in a striking decrease of both p85Mcm mRNA and protein levels, suggesting a role for p85Mcm in proliferating, but not in differentiated cells. Under physiological salt conditions, p85Mcm is a component of a high molecular-mass complex including other Mcm proteins. The complex dissociates at high ionic strength giving rise to stable subcomplexes, one of which contains protein p85Mcm together with Mcm proteins hCdc21 and p1O5Mcm.

The P1 family: a new class of nuclear mammalian proteins related to the yeast Mcm replication proteins.

Monospecific antibodies against an oligopeptide, conserved among the Mcm class of yeast replication proteins, were used to screen a human cDNA library. Eight of the isolated cDNA clones have the potential to code for sections of proteins with high sequence similarities to the yeast proteins Mcm3 and Cdc46 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Cdc21 from S. pombe. Our results establish a novel and highly conserved family of nuclear proteins in mammalian cells.

Properties of the nuclear P1 protein, a mammalian homologue of the yeast Mcm3 replication protein.

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against a multiprotein 'holoenzyme' form of calf thymus DNA polymerase alpha-primase and used to probe a human cDNA-protein expression library constructed in the lambda gt11 vector. The probe identified a series of cDNA clones derived from a 3.2 kb mRNA which encodes a novel 105 kDa polypeptide, the P1 protein. In intact cells, the P1 protein was specifically associated with the nucleus, and in cell extracts, it was associated with complex forms of DNA polymerase alpha-primase. The synthesis of human P1-specific mRNA was stimulated upon addition of fresh serum to growth-arrested cells, and RNA blot analyses with the human P1-cDNA probe indicated that P1 is encoded by a strictly conserved mammalian gene. The amino acid sequence deduced from a 240-codon open reading frame resident in the largest human P1-cDNA (0.84 kb) displayed greater than 96% identity with that deduced from the equivalent segment of a 795-codon open reading frame of a larger mouse P1-cDNA (2.8 kb). Throughout its length, the primary structure of mammalian P1 displayed strong homology with that of Mcm3, a 125 kDa yeast protein thought to be involved in the initiation of DNA replication (Gibson et al. 1990. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10: 5707-5720). The P1-Mcm3 homology, the strong conservation of P1 among mammals, its nuclear localization, and its association with the replication-specific DNA polymerase alpha strongly suggest an important role of the P1 protein in the replication of mammalian DNA.