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Cancer cachexia is common in patients with oesophagogastric cancer (OG) and is linked to overall survival (OS). One of the key components of cachexia is anorexia; it is not known whether anorexia impacts on OS and there is no method of routine screening in current practice. Diagnosis relies on patients describing the symptoms, clinicians diagnosing anorexia and acting upon it. Patients with oesophageal/gastroesophageal junction or gastric cancer were assessed using the Functional Assessment of Anorexia Cachexia Therapy Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale (FAACT A/CS). FAACT A/CS includes 12 questions validated previously to diagnose anorexia in patients with cancer. Of the 182 patients included, 69% scored ≤37/48 and were considered to be anorexic; FAACT A/CS was a better predictor of OS in metastatic patients than body mass index or weight loss in the six months prior to cancer diagnosis. The median OS of patients with FAACT A/CS scores of >37 was longer than patients with scores of ≤37 (19.3 months vs 6.7 months, Hazard Ratio [HR] 2.9, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.4-6.0, p37 had substantially longer OS than those with PS 0-2 and FAACT A/CS ≤37 (18.7 months vs 7.9 months, HR 2.5 (95% CI 1.2-5.1, P

INTRODUCTION:Expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2 and HER3 have been investigated in small BTC studies using variable scoring systems. METHODS:HER2 and HER3 overexpression/amplification were explored following internationally agreed guidelines using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in-situ hybridisation (FISH), respectively. Logistic regression and survival analysis (Kaplan Meier, Log rank test and Cox Regression) were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS:Sixty-seven eligible patients with Stage I/II (31.3%) or III/IV (68.7%) disease at diagnosis were included. Membrane HER2 overexpression/amplification was identified in 1 patient (1%). HER3 overexpression was predominantly cytoplasmic; the rate of overexpression/amplification of HER3 in membrane and cytoplasm was 16% [ampullary cancer (AMP) (1/13; 8%), gallbladder cancer (GBC) (1/10; 10%), intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) (6/26; 23%), extra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) (3/18; 17%)] and 24% [AMP (1/13; 8%), GBC (1/10; 10%), ICC (10/26; 38%), ECC (4/18; 22%)], respectively. CONCLUSIONS:A significant subset of patients with BTC expressed HER3. Inhibition of HER3 warrants further investigation. A better understanding of the downstream effects of HER3 in BTC requires further mechanistic investigations to identify new biomarkers and improve patient selection for future clinical trials.

To explore mechanisms underlying reduced fixation of eyes in autism, children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing children were tested in five visual search experiments: simple color feature; color-shape conjunction; face in non-face objects; mouth region; and eye region. No group differences were found for reaction time profile shapes in any of the five experiments, suggesting intact basic search mechanics in children with ASD. Contrary to early reports in the literature, but consistent with other more recent findings, we observed no superiority for conjunction search in children with ASD. Importantly, children with ASD did show reduced accuracy for eye region search (p = .005), suggesting that eyes contribute less to high-level face representations in ASD or that there is an eye region-specific disruption to attentional processes engaged by search in ASD.

Insects utilize diverse families of ion channels to respond to environmental cues and control mating, feeding, and the response to threats. Although degenerin/epithelial sodium channels (DEG/ENaC) represent one of the largest families of ion channels in Drosophila melanogaster, the physiological functions of these proteins are still poorly understood. We found that the DEG/ENaC channel ppk23 is expressed in a subpopulation of sexually dimorphic gustatory-like chemosensory bristles that are distinct from those expressing feeding-related gustatory receptors. Disrupting ppk23 or inhibiting activity of ppk23-expressing neurons did not alter gustatory responses. Instead, blocking ppk23-positive neurons or mutating the ppk23 gene delayed the initiation and reduced the intensity of male courtship. Furthermore, mutations in ppk23 altered the behavioral response of males to the female-specific aphrodisiac pheromone 7(Z), 11(Z)-Heptacosadiene. Together, these data indicate that ppk23 and the cells expressing it play an important role in the peripheral sensory system that determines sexual behavior in Drosophila.