Extracellular vesicles promote migration despite BRAF inhibitor treatment in malignant melanoma cells.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) constitute a vital component of intercellular communication, exerting significant influence on metastasis formation and drug resistance mechanisms. Malignant melanoma (MM) is one of the deadliest forms of skin cancers, because of its high metastatic potential and often acquired resistance to oncotherapies. The prevalence of BRAF mutations in MM underscores the importance of BRAF-targeted therapies, such as vemurafenib and dabrafenib, alone or in combination with the MEK inhibitor, trametinib. This study aimed to elucidate the involvement of EVs in MM progression and ascertain whether EV-mediated metastasis promotion persists during single agent BRAF (vemurafenib, dabrafenib), or MEK (trametinib) and combined BRAF/MEK (dabrafenib/trametinib) inhibition.Using five pairs of syngeneic melanoma cell lines, we assessed the impact of EVs - isolated from their respective supernatants - on melanoma cell proliferation and migration. Cell viability and spheroid growth assays were employed to evaluate proliferation, while migration was analyzed through mean squared displacement (MSD) and total traveled distance (TTD) measurements derived from video microscopy and single-cell tracking.Our results indicate that while EV treatments had remarkable promoting effect on cell migration, they exerted only a modest effect on cell proliferation and spheroid growth. Notably, EVs demonstrated the ability to mitigate the inhibitory effects of BRAF inhibitors, albeit they were ineffective against a MEK inhibitor and the combination of BRAF/MEK inhibitors. In summary, our findings contribute to the understanding of the intricate role played by EVs in tumor progression, metastasis, and drug resistance in MM.

Comparison of surgical strategies in the treatment of low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer.

CONTEXT: Increasing diagnostic sensitivity in the detection of thyroid cancer has led to uncertainties in the optimal surgical approach of the smaller, low risk tumors. Current ATA guidelines consider lobectomy safe between 1 and 4 cm, while ETA advocates for primary total thyroidectomy to avoid reoperation, as final risk stratification is based on the histological results. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to compare the differences in outcomes that are potentially achievable with adherence to the different guidelines, and also to examine the predictive value of clinical parameters on the incidence of postoperative risk factors. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort database analysis to identify the different surgical outcomes (based on postoperative risk factors) using ATA and ETA guidelines; the hypothetical rate of completion thyroidectomy when ATA or ETA recommends lobectomy; the accuracy of our preoperative evaluation; the utility of preoperative findings in predicting the optimal surgical strategy using binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Out of 248 patients, 152 (ATA) and 23 (ETA) cases would have been recommended for initial lobectomy. Following the guidelines, a postoperative risk factor would have been present in 61.8, and 65.2% of the cases, respectively. Except for angioinvasion, tumor size was not a significant predictor for the presence of postoperative risk factors. CONCLUSION: Current pre-operative criteria are inadequate to accurately determine the extent of initial surgery and our postoperative findings verify the frequent need for completion thyroidectomy using both guidelines. As a consequence, in the absence of effective pre-operative set of criteria, we advocate primary total thyroidectomy in most cases.

High Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Count Is Associated with Distinct Gene Expression Profile and Longer Patient Survival in Advanced Ovarian Cancer.

Cancer-related immunity plays a significant role in the outcome of ovarian cancer, but the exact mechanisms are not fully explored. A retrospective, real-life observational study was conducted including 57 advanced ovarian cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry for CD4+, CD8+, and CD45+ was used for assessing tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Furthermore, an immune-related gene expression assay was performed on 12-10 samples from patients with less than and more than 1-year overall survival (OS), respectively. A higher number of CD4+ (p = 0.0028) and CD45+ (p = 0.0221) immune cells within the tumor microenvironment were associated with longer OS of patients. In a multivariate setting, higher CD4+ T cell infiltration predicted longer OS (p = 0.0392). Twenty-three differentially expressed genes-involved in antigen presentation, costimulatory signaling, matrix remodeling, metastasis formation, and myeloid cell activity-were found when comparing the prognostic groups. It was found that tumor-infiltrating immune cell counts are associated with peculiar gene expression patterns and bear prognostic information in ovarian cancer. SOX11 expression emerged and was validated as a predictive marker for OS.

Impact of a Targeted Project for Shortening of Imaging Diagnostic Waiting Time in Patients with Suspected Oncological Diseases in Hungary.

Background and Objectives: Medical imaging is a key element in the clinical workup of patients with suspected oncological disease. In Hungary, due to the high number of patients, waiting lists for Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were created some years ago. The Municipality of Budapest and Semmelweis University signed a cooperation agreement with an extra budget in 2020 (HBP: Healthy Budapest Program) to reduce the waiting lists for these patients. The aim of our study was to analyze the impact of the first experiences with the HBP. Material and Methods: The study database included all the CT/MRI examinations conducted at Semmelweis University with a referral diagnosis of suspected oncological disease within the first 13 months of the HBP (6804 cases). In our retrospective, two-armed, comparative clinical study, different components of the waiting times in the oncology diagnostics pathway were analyzed. Using propensity score matching, we compared the data of the HBP-funded patients (n = 450) to those of the patients with regular care provided by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) (n = 450). Results: In the HBP-funded vs. the NHIF-funded patients, the time interval from the first suspicion of oncological disease to the request for imaging examinations was on average 15.2 days shorter (16.1 vs. 31.3 days), and the mean waiting time for the CT/MRI examination was reduced by 13.0 days (4.2 vs. 17.2 days, respectively). In addition, the imaging medical records were prepared on average 1.7 days faster for the HBP-funded patients than for the NHIF-funded patients (3.4 vs. 5.1 days, respectively). No further shortening of the different time intervals during the subsequent oncology diagnostic pathway (histological investigation and multidisciplinary team decision) or in the starting of specific oncological therapy (surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy) was observed in the HBP-funded vs. the NHIF-funded patients. We identified a moderately strong negative correlation (r = -0.5736, p = 0.0350) between the CT/MR scans requested and the active COVID-19 case rates during the pandemic waves. Conclusion: The waiting lists for diagnostic CT/MR imaging can be effectively shortened with a targeted project, but a more comprehensive intervention is needed to shorten the time from the radiological diagnosis, through the decisions of the oncoteam, to the start of the oncological treatment.

Platelet glycoprotein VI promotes metastasis through interaction with cancer cell-derived galectin-3.

Increasing evidence suggests that platelets play a predominant role in colon and breast cancer metastasis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Glycoprotein VI (GPVI) is a platelet-specific receptor for collagen and fibrin that triggers platelet activation through immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) signaling and thereby regulates diverse functions, including platelet adhesion, aggregation, and procoagulant activity. GPVI has been proposed as a safe antithrombotic target, because its inhibition is protective in models of arterial thrombosis, with only minor effects on hemostasis. In this study, the genetic deficiency of platelet GPVI in mice decreased experimental and spontaneous metastasis of colon and breast cancer cells. Similar results were obtained with mice lacking the spleen-tyrosine kinase Syk in platelets, an essential component of the ITAM-signaling cascade. In vitro and in vivo analyses supported that mouse, as well as human GPVI, had platelet adhesion to colon and breast cancer cells. Using a CRISPR/Cas9-based gene knockout approach, we identified galectin-3 as the major counterreceptor of GPVI on tumor cells. In vivo studies demonstrated that the interplay between platelet GPVI and tumor cell-expressed galectin-3 uses ITAM-signaling components in platelets and favors the extravasation of tumor cells. Finally, we showed that JAQ1 F(ab')2-mediated inhibition of GPVI efficiently impairs platelet-tumor cell interaction and tumor metastasis. Our study revealed a new mechanism by which platelets promote the metastasis of colon and breast cancer cells and suggests that GPVI represents a promising target for antimetastatic therapies.

Methyl Donors Reduce Cell Proliferation by Diminishing Erk-Signaling and NFkB Levels, While Increasing E-Cadherin Expression in Panc-1 Cell Line.

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive malignancy with high metastatic potential. There are several lifestyle-related determinants in its etiology, including diet. Methyl donors are dietary micronutrients which play an important role in fueling vital metabolic pathways, and as bioactive food components provide methyl groups as substrates and cofactors. The imbalanced nutritional status of methyl donors has recently been linked to pathological conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that dietary methyl donors may improve the physiology of cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, and could be used for intervention therapy. In this study, methyl-donor treatment (L-methionine, choline chloride, folic acid and vitamin B12) of an aggressive pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line (Panc-1) resulted in significantly increased p21WAF1/Cip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor levels, along with apoptotic SubG1 fractions. At the same time, phospho-Erk1/2 levels and proliferation rate were significantly reduced. Though methyl-donor treatments also increased the pro-apoptotic protein Bak, Puma and Caspase-9, it failed to elevate cleaved Caspase-3 levels. In addition, the treatment significantly reduced the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17a and the transcription factor NFkB. Similarly, a significant decrease in VEGF and SDF-1a levels were detected, which may indicate reduced metastatic potential. As expected, E-cadherin expression was inversely associated with these changes, showing elevated expression after methyl-donor treatment. In summary, we found that methyl donors may have the potential to reduce aggressive and proliferative phenotype of Panc-1 cells. This suggests a promising role of dietary methyl donors for complementing relevant cancer therapies, even in treatment-resistant pancreatic adenocarcinomas.

A Liquid Biopsy-Based Approach for Monitoring Treatment Response in Post-Operative Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Monitoring the therapeutic response of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients is crucial to determine treatment strategies; therefore, we constructed a liquid biopsy-based approach for tracking tumor dynamics in non-metastatic (nmCRC) and metastatic (mCRC) patients (n = 55). Serial blood collections were performed during chemotherapy for measuring the amount and the global methylation pattern of cell-free DNA (cfDNA), the promoter methylation of SFRP2 and SDC2 genes, and the plasma homocysteine level. The average cfDNA amount was higher (p < 0.05) in nmCRC patients with recurrent cancer (30.4 ± 17.6 ng) and mCRC patients with progressive disease (PD) (44.3 ± 34.5 ng) compared to individuals with remission (13.2 ± 10.0 ng) or stable disease (12.5 ± 3.4 ng). More than 10% elevation of cfDNA from first to last sample collection was detected in all recurrent cases and 92% of PD patients, while a decrease was observed in most patients with remission. Global methylation level changes indicated a decline (75.5 ± 3.4% vs. 68.2 ± 8.4%), while the promoter methylation of SFRP2 and SDC2 and homocysteine level (10.9 ± 3.4 µmol/L vs. 13.7 ± 4.3 µmol/L) presented an increase in PD patients. In contrast, we found exact opposite changes in remission cases. Our study offers a more precise blood-based approach to monitor the treatment response to different chemotherapies than the currently used markers.

Co-occurrence of thyroid and breast cancer is associated with an increased oncogenic SNP burden.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological evidence suggests that synchronous or metachronous presentation of breast and thyroid cancers exceeds that predicted by chance alone. The following potential explanations have been hypothesized: common environmental or hormonal factors, oncogenic effect of the treatment for the first cancer, closer follow-up of cancer survivors, shared underlying genetic risk factors. While some cases were found to be related to monogenic disorders with autosomal inheritance, the genetic background of most cases of co-occurring breast and thyroid cancer is thought to be polygenic. METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study we compared the genetic profile of patients with a history of breast cancer (n = 15) to patients with co-occurring breast and thyroid cancer (n = 19) using next generation sequencing of 112 hereditary cancer risk genes. Identified variants were categorized based on their known association with breast cancer and oncogenesis in general. RESULTS: No difference between patients with breast and double cancers was observed in clinical and pathological characteristics or the number of neutral SNPs. The unweighted and weighted number of SNPs with an established or potential association with breast cancer was significantly lower in the group with breast cancer only (mean difference - 0.58, BCa 95% CI [- 1.09, - 0.06], p = 0.029, and mean difference - 0.36, BCa 95% CI [- 0.70, - 0.02], p = 0.039, respectively). The difference was also significant when we compared the number of SNPs with potential or known association with any malignancy (mean difference - 1.19, BCa 95% CI [- 2.27, - 0.11], p = 0.032 for unweighted, and mean difference - 0.73, BCa 95% CI [- 1.32, - 0.14], p = 0.017 for weighted scores). CONCLUSION: Our findings are compatible with the hypothesis of genetic predisposition in the co-occurrence of breast and thyroid cancer. Further exploration of the underlying genetic mechanisms may help in the identification of patients with an elevated risk for a second cancer at the diagnosis of the first cancer.

Methyl-Donors Can Induce Apoptosis and Attenuate Both the Akt and the Erk1/2 Mediated Proliferation Pathways in Breast and Lung Cancer Cell Lines.

Dietary methyl-donors play important roles in physiological processes catalyzed by B vitamins as coenzymes, and are used for complementary support in oncotherapy. Our hypothesis was that methyl-donors can not only assist in tolerating cancer treatment but may also directly interfere with tumor growth and proliferation. Therefore, we investigated the proposed cancer inhibitory effects of methyl-donors (in a mixture of L-methionine, choline chloride, folic acid, and vitamin B12) on MCF7 and T47D breast cancer as well as A549 and H1650 lung cancer cell lines. Indeed, methyl-donor treatment significantly reduced the proliferation in all cell lines, possibly through the downregulation of MAPK/ERK and AKT signaling. These were accompanied by the upregulation of the pro-apoptotic Bak and Bax, both in MCF7 and H1650 cells, at reduced anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 and Bcl-2 levels in MCF7 and H1650 cells, respectively. The treatment-induced downregulation of p-p53(Thr55) was likely to contribute to protecting the nuclear localization and apoptosis inducing functions of p53. The presented features are known to improve the sensitivity of cancer therapy. Therefore, these data support the hypothesis, i.e., that methyl-donors may promote apoptotic signaling by protecting p53 functions through downregulating both the MAPK/ERK and the AKT pathways both in breast and lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Our results can emphasize the importance and benefits of the appropriate dietary supports in cancer treatments. However, further studies are required to confirm these effects without any adverse outcome in clinical settings.

Comparison of different motion correction techniques for dynamic FDG-PET/CT studies in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to evaluate interchangeability of different motion correction methods in the assessment of dynamic FDG-PET/CT studies in breast cancer patients as well as to assess the interrater reliability of these methods. METHODS: In our prospective study we included patients with malignant breast tumours. Dynamic PET acquisition lasted for 60 minutes after tracer (FDG) injection. Every study was assessed by the same two experienced observers. We assessed plasma activity noninvasively. In case of the primary tumour VOIs we applied two different approaches to correct motion artefacts: method I) frame-by-frame manual motion correction; method II) frame-by-frame semi-automatic software-based motion correction. FDG two-compartment kinetic modelling was applied to assess K1, k2, k3 rate coefficients and to calculate Ki (tracer flux constant) and MRFDG (FDG metabolic rate). RESULTS: Thirty-five lesions detected during 34 dynamic studies were included in this current analysis. Interrater reliability of both applied motion correction methods proved to be excellent (ICC=0.89-0.99), except Ki measured by method I (ICC=0.66). Bland-Altman analysis revealed that method II resulted in significantly lower values than method I regarding k3 and Ki in case of both observers, and regarding MRFDG in one of the observers. In case of K1 and k2 the two methods were in good agreement. CONCLUSIONS: Both applied methods proved to be reproducible and reliable, especially method II, where every measured kinetic parameter showed excellent interrater reliability. Different approaches of motion correction could have a significant effect on the results of the kinetic modelling; therefore careful selection of the most reliable method is advised.

Neoadjuvant PF-05280014 (a potential trastuzumab biosimilar) versus trastuzumab for operable HER2+ breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: This randomised, double-blind study compared pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of PF-05280014 (potential trastuzumab biosimilar) and trastuzumab reference product (Herceptin) sourced from the European Union (trastuzumab-EU) as neoadjuvant treatment for operable human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. METHODS: Patients (N = 226), stratified by primary tumour size and hormone receptor status, were randomised 1:1 to PF-05280014 or trastuzumab-EU (8 mg/kg loading dose; 6 mg/kg thereafter), each with docetaxel and carboplatin, every 3 weeks for six treatment cycles. Primary endpoint was percentage of patients with trough plasma concentration (Ctrough) >20 µg/ml at Cycle 5 (Cycle 6 predose). Efficacy endpoints included pathological complete response and objective response rate. Non-inferiority of PF-05280014 to trastuzumab-EU was declared if the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval for the stratified difference between groups in the percentage of patients with Cycle 5 Ctrough >20 µg/ml was above the prespecified non-inferiority margin of - 12.5%. RESULTS: For PF-05280014 vs trastuzumab-EU patients, respectively, 92.1% vs 93.3% had Cycle 5 Ctrough >20 µg/ml; the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval (- 8.02%, 6.49%) for the stratified difference between groups was above the non-inferiority margin (- 12.5%). Pathological complete response (47.0% vs 50.0%) and central radiology review-assessed objective response (88.1% vs 82.0%) rates were comparable. Incidence of all-causality, grade 3-4 treatment-emergent adverse events was 38.1% vs 45.5%; antidrug antibody rates were 0% vs 0.89%. CONCLUSIONS: PF-05280014 demonstrated non-inferior pharmacokinetics and comparable efficacy, safety and immunogenicity to trastuzumab-EU in patients with operable HER2-positive breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

[Chemobrain]. / Chemobrain.

Over the past ten years, in oncology there is an increased interest in understanding the cognitive dysfunction caused by chemotherapy also known as chemobrain or chemofog. As a result of oncological therapies the number of survivors of malignant diseases has increased considerably, but the side effects also appear to be more prevalent and severe including persistent cognitive symptoms. Symptoms of chemobrain include memory impairment, loss of concentration, speech and psychomotor deceleration, attention and learning coordination problems, and disturbance of executive functions. The symptoms may be transient but are often long-lasting, the latter negatively affecting functionality and quality of life. Structural and functional imaging studies (MRI, fMRI, PET) and neuropsychological tests are not consistent in the diagnosis of chemobrain. Several factors are suspected leading to the appearance of symptoms, but the specific patomechanism is not yet known. Nutrition status, age, anemia, inflammatory cytokines, stress, and depression can all affect the quality of life and may be related to cognitive symptoms. Currently, there is no treatment strategy for preventing or alleviating cognitive impairement related to chemobrain, and several pharmacotherapies are under investigation. Results imply that understanding the patomechanism of chemobrain can also yield a deeper understanding of cognitive dysfunction associated with depression.

[In vivo analysis of circulating cell-free DNA release and degradation]. / A sejten kívüli szabad DNS felszabadulásának és degradációjának in vivo elemzése.

INTRODUCTION: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) was first detected in human plasma in the 1940s, but the knowledge on its regulation and rate of release is incomplete. CfDNA can originate from both normal and tumour cells. AIM: Our aims were to investigate the rate of cfDNA's release in SHO mice/HT-29 colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line xenograft model and to define the decay of methylated and non-methylated DNA fragments in C57BL/6 bloodstream. METHOD: SHO mice were xenografted with human HT-29 cells, than blood samples were collected over 2 months. CfDNA was isolated, then quantified by real-time PCR with highly specific genomic and mitochondrial human and mouse primer sets. This method permitted to define the ratio of human/mouse DNA. To assess the degradation rate of cfDNA, 3000 bp sized methylated and non-methylated DNA fragments were injected into healthy and C38 tumour-cell vaccinated C57BL/6 mice's bloodstream. The decay of amplicons was measured with 19 PCR assays. RESULTS: The amount of human DNA until the 2nd week was below the limit of detection. From the third week, a continuous growth was experienced, which reached 18.26% by the 8th week. Moreover, it was found that in healthy animals the non-methylated DNA disappears from the plasma after 6 hours, while the methylated fragment was detectable even after 24 hours. In animals with tumour, both amplicons were detectable after 24 hours. CONCLUSION: The examination of the role and mechanism of cfDNA shows an increasing level of interest. This work can contribute to a better understanding of the release and degradation of cfDNA. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(6): 223-233.

[Systemic treatment options of primary hepatocellular carcinoma]. / A primer májdaganat gyógyszeres kezelési lehetõségei.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary malignancy of the liver, with increasing incidence worldwide. Chronic liver diseases, especially liver cirrhosis, are the primary risk factors in the pathogenesis. Curative therapy is usually possible only in early disease, however, most cases are diagnosed at advanced stage. Until recently sorafenib was the only viable option for systemic treatment, however, over the past years many new targeted and immunotherapy drugs proved to be efficient in first and second line as well.

[Experience with cabazitaxel therapy for patients with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer in Hungary]. / Hazai tapasztalatok kasztrációrezisztens metasztatikus prosztatadaganatos betegek kabazitaxelterápiájával.

Our aim was to assess the efficacy and adverse effects of cabazitaxel (CBZ), a chemotherapeutic agent that can be administered to patients with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after docetaxel (DOC) therapy. We retrospectively analyzed data of CBZ received by mCRPC patients in 12 Hungarian oncological centers between 01/2016 and 06/2017. CBZ (25 or 20 mg/m2 q3w) was administered after DOC. Physical and laboratory examinations were performed in every cycle, tumor response was evaluated in every third cycle based on PCWG2 criteria. Adverse effects were evaluated based on CTCAE 4.0. Data of 60 patients were analyzed. CBZ was administered in 2nd and 3rd lines in 31.6% and 46.6%, while in 4th and 5th lines in 15% and 6.6% patients, respectively. Its starting dose was 25 mg/m2 and 20 mg/m2 in 65% and 35% of cases, respectively. The median number of cycles was 5. Progression-free survival and overall survival were 5.52 and 15.77 months, respectively. Survival results were similar in case of DOC-CBZ-ART/alfaradin and DOC-ART/alfaradin-CBZ sequences. Adverse effects were detected in 63,3% of patients. The most common adverse effects were neutropenia, anemia, and diarrhea. Our observations suggest that CBZ, with the appropriate support and chemotherapeutic experience, is well-tolerated and effective therapy of mCRPC after DOC.

PREDICTIVE VALUE OF SOMATIC MUTATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MALIGNANCY IN THYROID NODULES BY CYTOPATHOLOGY.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our prospective longitudinal study was to evaluate the predictive efficacy of genetic testing for malignancies in fine-needle aspiration biopsy samples that are cytologically benign at the time of biopsy. METHODS: A total of 779 aspirated cytological samples collected from thyroid nodules of 626 patients were included in a 3-year follow-up study. Consecutive patients with cytologically benign thyroid nodules by the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology were enrolled in the study. At enrollment, somatic 1-point nucleotide polymorphisms of BRAF and RAS family genes were tested by melting-point analysis, while RET/PTC and PAX8/PPAR-gamma rearrangements were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The genetic test was considered to be positive if a somatic mutation was found. Malignant cytopathologic diagnoses were confirmed by histopathology. RESULTS: In samples collected from 779 thyroid nodules, there were 39 BRAF, 33 RAS mutations, and 1 RET/PTC rearrangements found at the beginning of the study. No PAX8/PPAR-gamma rearrangement was identified. There were 52 malignant thyroid tumors removed during follow-up, out of which 24 contained a somatic mutation. The specificity of the presence of somatic mutations for malignancies was as high as 93.3%, and sensitivity was 46.2%. The negative predictive value of genetic testing reached 96.0%. CONCLUSION: Our results show that our set of genetic tests can predict the appearance of malignancy in benign thyroid nodules (at the beginning of follow-up) with high specificity and strong negative predictive value. ABBREVIATIONS: BRAF = v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 FLUS = follicular lesion of undetermined significance FNAB = fine-needle aspiration biopsy FTC = follicular thyroid carcinoma HRAS = homologous to the oncogene from the Harvey rat sarcoma virus KRAS = homologous to the oncogene from the Kirsten rat sarcoma virus NRAS = first isolated from a human neuroblastoma/neuroblastoma RAS = viral oncogene homolog PAX8 = paired box 8 PCR = polymerase chain reaction PPAR-gamma = peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma PTC = papillary thyroid carcinoma RAS = rat sarcoma RET = rearranged during transfection tyrosine-kinase proto-oncogene SM = somatic mutation SNP = single-nucleotide polymorphism.

Morphological and pathological response in primary systemic therapy of patients with breast cancer and the prediction of disease free survival: a single center observational study.

AIM: To identify breast cancer subtypes likely to respond to primary systemic therapy (PST or neoadjuvant therapy) and to assess the accuracy of physical examination (PE) and breast ultrasonography (US) in evaluating and predicting residual size of breast carcinoma following PST. METHODS: 116 patients who received at least two cycles of PST between 1998 and 2009 were selected from a prospectively collected clinical database. Radiological assessment was done by mammography and US. Prior to PST, tumors were subclassified according to core biopsy (NCB) and/or fine-needle aspiration-based immunohistochemical profiles of NCB. Pathological response rates were assessed following the surgeries by using Chevallier classification. Tumor measurements by PE and US were obtained before and after PST. Different clinical measurements were compared with histological findings. Disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed. RESULTS: Pathological complete remission (pCR=Chevallier I/II) was observed in 25 patients (21.5%), 44% of whom had triple negative histology, 28% Her2 positive and 76% had high-grade tumor. Of 116 patients, 24 received taxane-based PST, 48 combined taxane + anthracycline treatment, 8 trastuzumab combinations, 21 anthracycline-based treatments, and 15 other treatments. In the taxane treated group, the pCR rate was 30%, in the taxane + anthracycline group 25%, in the anthracycline group 9.5%, and in trastuzumab group 37.5%. After PST, PE and US were both significantly associated with pathology (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively). Concerning OS, significant difference was observed between the Chevallier III and IV group (P=0.031) in favor of Chevallier III group. In the pCR group, fewer events were observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that even limited, routinely used immunohistochemical profiling of tumors can predict the likelihood of pCR to PST: patients with triple negative and Her2-positive cancers are more likely to achieve pCR to PST. Also, PE is better correlated with pathological findings than US.

[Immunotherapy opportunities in breast cancer]. / Új immunterápiás lehetõségek az emlõrák kezelésében.

The prognostic value of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer has long been recognized by histopathologists. These observations were reaffirmed by recent immunohistochemistry and gene expression profiling studies that also revealed an association between greater chemotherapy sensitivity and extensive lymphocytic infiltration in early stage breast cancers treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These results suggest that local anti-tumor immune response can at least partially control cancer growth and may mediate the antitumor effects of chemotherapy. However, until recently, there was no direct clinical evidence to demonstrate that enhancing anti-tumor immune response could lead to clinical benefit in breast cancer patients. The recent development of clinically effective immune checkpoint inhibitors made it possible to test the therapeutic impact of augmenting the local anti-tumor immune response. Two Phase I clinical trials using single agent anti-PD-1 (MK-3475, pembrolizumab) and anti-PD-L1 (MPDL3280A, atezolizumab) antibodies demonstrated close to 20% tumor response rates in heavily pretreated, metastatic, triple negative breast cancers. The most remarkable feature of the responses was their long duration. Several patients had disease control close to a year, or longer, which has not previously been seen with chemotherapy regimens in this patient population. A large number of clinical trials are currently underway with these and similar drugs in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings to define the role of this new treatment modality in breast cancer.

[Systemic therapy of breast cancer: practice guideline]. / Az emlõrák szisztémás kezelése: szakmai útmutatás.

The article presents the practice guideline of systemic treatment of breast cancer and recommendations of the 3rd Hungarian Breast Cancer Consensus Conference. It reflects the recent international guidelines (ESMO, NCCN, ABC2, St Gallen's) irrespectively of the current financial opportunities. Here we follow the early - locally advanced - locally relapsed - metastatic breast cancer line for didactic considerations and we discuss the different subgroups of breast cancer based on hormone receptor and HER2 receptor status. Diagnosis and treatment options of rare clinical entities are summarised at the end of the paper.

Response evaluation after primary systemic therapy of Her2 positive breast cancer ­ an observational cross-sectional study.

AIM: To evaluate (I) trastuzumab-containing primary systemic therapy (PST) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) overexpressing breast carcinomas.; (II) compare the patients who achieved and those who did not achieve pathological complete remission (pCR), and (III) analyze the accuracy of different clinical-imaging modalities in tumor response monitoring. METHODS: 188 patients who received PST between 2008 and 2014 were reviewed and 43 Her2 overexpressing breast cancer patients (28 Luminal B/Her2-positive and 15 Her2-positive) were enrolled. 26 patients received mostly taxane-based PST without trastuzumab (Group 1) and 17 patients received trastuzumab-containing PST (Group 2). We compared the concordance between pCR and complete remission (CR) defined by breast-ultrasound, CR defined by standard 18F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (FDG-PET/CT) criteria (Method 1) and CR defined by a novel, breast cancer specific FDG-PET/CT criteria (Method 2). Sensitivity (sens), specificity (spec), and positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated. RESULTS: Ten patients (38.5%) in Group 1 and eight (47%) in Group 2 achieved pCR. pCR was significantly more frequent in Her2-positive than in Luminal B/Her2-positive tumors in both Group 1: (P=0.043) and Group 2: (P=0.029). PET/CT evaluated by the breast cancer specific criteria (Method 2) differentiated pCR from non-pCR more accurately in both groups (Group 1: sens=77.8%, spec=%, PPV=100%, NPV=71.4%; Group 2: sens=87.5%, spec=62.5%, PPV=70%, NPV=83.3%) than standard PET/CT criteria (Method 1) (Group 1: sens=22.2% spec=100% PPV=100% NPV=41.7%; in Group 2: sens=37.5%, spec=87.5%, PPV=75% NPV=58.3%) or breast ultrasound (Group 1, sens=83.3% spec=25% PPV=62.5% NPV=50%; Group 2, sens=100% spec=12.5% PPV=41.6% NPV=100%). CONCLUSION: The benefit of targeted treatment with trastuzumab-containing PST in Her2 overexpressing breast cancer was defined in terms of pCR rate. Luminal B/Her2-positive subtype needs further subdivision to identify patients who would benefit from PST. Combined evaluation of tumor response by our novel, breast cancer specific FDG-PET/CT criteria accurately differentiated pCR from non-pCR patients.