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Background:Uveal melanoma is the most frequent primary tumour of the eye. It is molecularly clearly distinct from cutaneous melanoma and shows a different pattern of driver mutations. The influence of sunlight ultraviolet (UV) exposure on the aetiology of uveal melanoma is a matter of debate. The recent identification of driver mutations in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene with UV-induced cytidine-to-thymidine transitions in cutaneous melanoma prompted us to investigate whether these mutations also occur in uveal melanoma.Methods:We analysed 50 cases of uveal melanoma obtained from enucleation surgery for mutations in the genes GNAQ, GNA11, BAP1, SF3B1, EIFAX1 and TERT, measured gene expression using microarrays and analysed gene copy numbers by SNP arrays.Results:We detected a TERT mutation in only one case of a 57-year-old white male patient with clinical and histopathological features typical for uveal melanoma. The tumour showed mutations in GNA11 and EIF1AX that are typical for uveal melanoma and absent from cutaneous melanoma. No mutations were detected in GNAQ, BAP1 and SF3B1 that are frequently mutated in uveal melanoma. Both copies of chromosome 3 were retained. Several tumours among which the one carrying the TERT promoter mutation showed elevated TERT expression. Consistent with previous reports, GNAQ is inversely associated with chromosome 3 monosomy and metastasis. BAP1 mutations are significantly associated with chromosome 3 monosomy but not with relapse.Conclusion:These data indicate that TERT mutations are rare in uveal melanoma. No conclusion can be drawn on their potential influence on tumour progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mismatch repair (MMR) testing on all new cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) has customarily been preferably performed on surgical specimens, as more tissue is available; however, new clinical trials for the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the neoadjuvant setting require MMR testing on biopsy samples. This study aims at identifying advantages, disadvantages and any potential pitfalls in MMR evaluation on biopsy tissue and how to cope with them. The study is prospective-retrospective, recruiting 141 biopsies (86 proficient (p)MMR and 55 deficient (d)MMR) and 97 paired surgical specimens (48 pMMR; 49 dMMR). In biopsy specimens, a high number of indeterminate stains was observed, in particular for MLH1 (31 cases, 56.4%). The main reasons were a punctate nuclear expression of MLH1, relatively weak MLH1 nuclear expression compared to internal controls, or both (making MLH1 loss difficult to interpret), which was solved by reducing primary incubation times for MLH1. A mean of ≥ 5 biopsies had adequate immunostains, compared to ≤ 3 biopsies in inadequate cases. Conversely, surgical specimens rarely suffered from indeterminate reactions, while weaker staining intensity (p < 0.007) for MLH1 and PMS2 and increased patchiness grade (p < 0.0001) were seen. Central artefacts were almost exclusive to surgical specimens. MMR status classification was possible in 92/97 matched biopsy/resection specimen cases, and all of these were concordant (47 pMMR and 45 dMMR). Evaluation of MMR status on CRC biopsy samples is feasible, if pitfalls in interpretation are known, making laboratory-specific appropriate staining protocols fundamental for high-quality diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD10 constitutes a favourable prognostic marker for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Since correlations between CD10, cell cycle and apoptotic abilities were demonstrated in various cell types, we investigated whether differences existed in the cycling/apoptotic abilities of CD10-positive and CD10-negative B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells. Twenty-eight cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (mean age of 6.8 years) were subdivided into two groups according to high (17 cases, 93.2+/-4.5%, MRFI 211+/-82 CD10-positive cells) or low (11 cases, 11.5+/-6.2%, MRFI 10+/-7 CD10-negative cells) expression of CD10. CD10-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells were cycling cells with elevated c-myc levels and propensity to apoptosis, whereas CD10-negative acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells had lower cycling capacities and c-myc levels, and were resistant to apoptosis in vitro. A close correlation between all these properties was demonstrated by the observations that the few CD10-positive cells found in the CD10-negative acute lymphoblastic leukaemia group displayed elevated c-myc and cycling capacities and were apoptosis prone. Moreover, exposure of CD10-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia B cells to a peptide nucleic acid anti-gene specific for the second exon of c-myc caused inhibition of c-myc expression and reduced cell cycling and apoptotic abilities as well as decreased CD10 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2014 OECI Oncology Days was held at the 'Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta' Oncology Institute in Cluj, Romania, from 12 to 13 June. The focus of this year's gathering was on developments in personalised medicine and other treatment advances which have made the cost of cancer care too high for many regions throughout Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]