Absolute Quantification of Selected microRNAs Expression in Endometrial Cancer by Digital PCR.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are involved in the process of carcinogenesis, including the development of endometrial cancer (EC). This study aimed to investigate the association between the expression of three miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-205-5p, and miR-222-3p) in endometrial cancer tissues. In addition, the stability of expression of SNORD48 and U6, which were initially planned to be used as reference miRNAs for normalization, was investigated. Endometrial tissue was obtained from 111 patients with EC during hysterectomy and from 19 patients undergoing surgery for uterine fibroids or pelvic organ prolapse as a control group without neoplastic changes. Our study was based on calculations made with a digital PCR method (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) to measure the absolute expression. In the endometrial cancer tissue, miR-205-5p was upregulated, while miR-222-3p and SNORD48 were downregulated compared to the control group. We detected statistically significant correlation of miR-205-5p, U6, and SNORD48 expression with different histological grades; the expression of miR-205-5p increases with the histopathological grade advancement (intraepithelial neoplasia- EIN = 1590, G1 = 3367.2, G2 = 8067 and G3 = 20,360), while U6 and SNORD expression decreases from EIN to G2 and increases again in the G3 grade (U6: EIN = 19,032, G1 = 16,482.4, G2 = 13,642.4, G3 = 133,008; SNORD48: EIN = 97,088, G1 = 59,520, G2 = 43,544, G3 = 227,200). Our study suggests that upregulation of miR-205-5p and downregulation of miR-222-3p and SNORD48 may influence development of endometrial cancer. Moreover, miR-205-5p, U6, and SNORD48 expression changes may be associated with progression of endometrial cancer. The results also indicate that SNORD48 and U6, commonly used as internal references, may influence endometrial cancer development and progression; therefore, they should not be used as references. However, it is important to note that further research is required to understand their role in endometrial cancer.

Evaluation of outcome and safety profile in high-dose BEAM and Benda-EAM chemotherapy with subsequent autologous stem cell transplantation in lymphoma patients.

Introduction: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto- HSCT) preceded by high-dose chemotherapy is a mainstay in relapsed/refractory lymphoma. The study aimed to compare the efficacy and adverse event profile between BEAM and Benda-EAM (BeEAM) regimens and to evaluate prognostic factors for survival in lymphoma patients undergoing auto-HSCT. Material and methods: We present a single-center retrospective analysis of 82 lymphoma patients (median age 52; IQR 38.2-62.2) who received BEAM (47.6%) or BeEAM (52.4%) followed by auto-HSCT between January 2015 and December 2021. Results: During the post-HSCT period 58% of patients experienced febrile neutropenia (51.3% vs. 64.3% in BEAM and BeEAM, respectively; p = 0.27), 80.5% mucositis (69.2% vs. 90.7%; p = 0.02), 42.5% bacteremia (50% vs. 35.7%; p = 0.26), and 18.8% pneumonia (31.6% vs. 7.1%; p = 0.01). Patients who received bendamustine required more platelet transfusions (p = 0.02). In the multivariate Cox regression model, C-reactive protein level on the first day of hospitalization (hazard ratio - HR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06) and days of agranulocytosis (HR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.00-1.32) were predictors of poorer overall survival (OS), whereas hemoglobin level at the auto-HSCT was a protective factor in terms of OS (HR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.23-0.78) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45-0.96). The median OS since auto-HSCT was 87 months, while the median PFS was 49 months. No differences in PFS and OS between BEAM and BeEAM regimens were proven. Conclusions: Conditioning with BEAM and BeEAM regimens is associated with comparable post-transplant outcomes. The toxicity of these regimens is comparable; however, BEAM is associated with a higher risk of pneumonia, while BeEAM is associated with a higher risk of mucositis.

The PD-1 single-nucleotide polymorphism rs11568821 and rs2227981 as a novel prognosis model in a triple-negative breast cancer patient.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between polymorphisms rs11568821 C/T and at rs2227981 G/A in the programmed cell death 1 gene (PDCD1) and the clinicopathologic characteristics of triple negative breast cancer patient (TNBC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 30 TNBC patients and 30 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with allelic discrimination using PCR with TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. RESULTS: The presence of CC/CT in rs11568821and GG/AG in rs2227981 were not associated with the risk of progression of TNBC. The correlation between rs11568821 minor allele distribution and risk of TNBC has borderline significance (p = 0.0619). The rs2227981 polymorphism has a significant association with grade G (G3, p = 0.0229). There was a trend toward significance (p = 0.063448) in the minor allele presentation and Ki67 > 20% for rs2227981. Other clinical features (e.g. age, TNM stage) did not significantly correlate with the rs11568821 or the rs2227981 polymorphism. CONCLUSION: rs2227981 is associated with grading; hence PDCD1 can be used as a prognostic marker in TNBC.