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Summary: The goal of assessing tumour response on imaging is to identify patients who are likely to benefit — or not — from anticancer treatment, especially in relation to survival. The World Health Organization was the first to develop assessment criteria. This early score, which assessed tumour burden by standardising lesion size measurements, laid the groundwork for many of the criteria that followed. This was then improved by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) which was quickly adopted by the oncology community. At the same time, many interventional oncology treatments were developed to target specific features of liver tumours that result in significant changes in tumours but have little effect on tumour size. New criteria focusing on the viable part of tumours were therefore designed to provide more appropriate feedback to guide patient management. Targeted therapy has resulted in a breakthrough that challenges conventional response criteria due to the non-linear relationship between response and tumour size, requiring the development of methods that emphasize the appearance of tumours. More recently, research into functional and quantitative imaging has created new opportunities in liver imaging. These results have suggested that certain parameters could serve as early predictors of response or could predict later tumour response at baseline. These approaches have now been extended by machine learning and deep learning. This clinical review focuses on the progress made in the evaluation of liver tumours on imaging, discussing the rationale for this approach, addressing challenges and controversies in the field, and suggesting possible future developments.

Inducible genetic switches based on tyrosine recombinase-based DNA excision are a promising platform for the regulation and control of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell activity in cancer immunotherapy. These switches exploit the increased stability of DNA excision in tyrosine recombinases through an inversion–excision circuit design. Here, the authors develop the first mechanistic mathematical model of switching dynamics in tyrosine recombinases and validate it against experimental data through both global optimisation and statistical approximation approaches. Analysis of this model provides guidelines regarding which system parameters are best suited to experimental tuning in order to establish optimal switch performance in vivo. In particular, they find that the switching response can be made significantly faster by increasing the concentration of the inducer drug 4-OHT and/or by using promoters generating higher expression levels of the FlpO recombinase.

Background: Tumours and tumour like lesions of skin have overlapping clinical presentation and sometimes pose a diagnostic difficulty on clinical ground alone. Histopathological examination although helpful to arrive at correct diagnosis, at times may be treacherous and may require ancillary tests such as Immunohistochemistry.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Department of Pathology of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. It was a one year prospective study which enrolled 238 cases of skin biopsies after histopathological confirmation of tumours and tumour like lesions. The specimens were processed by standard method and Hematoxylin and Eosin stained sections were examined. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS 20 version.Results: Epidermal cyst was commonest lesion (11.8%). Among benign tumours squamous papilloma was most frequent while Pilomatricoma and Spiradenoma were most common adnexal tumour. Squamous cell carcinoma constituted 41.8% and was commonest malignant tumour followed by basal cell carcinoma (30.2%). Benign tumours were common in 11-30 years of age, malignant tumours in 61-80 years of age while tumour like lesions were common in 21-30 years of age.Conclusion: Squamous papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma was the most common benign and malignant tumour respectively. Benign adnexal tumours exceeded malignant one and were seen in third decade of life. Epidermal cyst was the commonest tumour like lesions followed by dermoid cysts.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) IX is regarded as a tumour hypoxia marker and CA inhibitors have been proposed as a new class of antitumor agents, with one such agent in Phase II clinical trials. The expression of some CAs, in particular the isoforms CA IX and CA XII, has been correlated with tumour aggressiveness and progression in several cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility that CA IX could represent a marker related to clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC). Bcl-2 and Bax, and the activity of caspase-3, evaluated in tissue biopsies from patients, were congruent with resistance to apoptosis in ccRCCs with respect to healthy controls, respectively. In the same samples, the CA IX and pro-angiogenic factor VEGF expressions revealed that both these hypoxia responsive proteins were strongly increased in ccRCC with respect to controls. CA IX plasma concentration and CA activity were assessed in healthy volunteers and patients with benign kidney tumours and ccRCCs. CA IX expression levels were found strongly increased only in plasma from ccRCC subjects, whereas, CA activity was found similarly increased both in plasma from ccRCC and benign tumour patients, compared to healthy volunteers. These results show that the plasmatic level of CA IX, but not the CA total activity, can be considered a diagnostic marker of ccRCCs. Furthermore, as many reports exist relating CA IX inhibition to a better outcome to anticancer therapy in ccRCC, plasma levels of CA IX could be also predictive for response to therapy.

The identification of recurrent tumour-specific chromosomal abnormalities, including rearrangements and copy number changes, has shown increasingly important diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic implications. In surgical pathology, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a quick and reliable method for the detection of many genetics aberrations, and can be applied to a variety of specimens including formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues; as such, it has been successfully incorporated into diagnostic practice for lymphomas, mesenchymal and other solid tumours. The aim of this review is to discuss the utility, strengths and limitations of FISH when applied to the study of tumour tissue sections, with particular focus on the challenges associated with interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dutch ophthalmologist, Jan van der Hoeve, first introduced the terms phakoma/phakomata (from the old Greek word "ϕαχοσ" = lentil, spot, lens-shaped) to define similar retinal lesions recorded in tuberous sclerosis (1920) and in neurofibromatosis (1923). He later applied this concept: (a) to similar lesions in other organs (e.g. brain, heart and kidneys) (1932) and (b) to other disorders (i.e. von Hippel–Lindau disease and Sturge–Weber syndrome) (1933), and coined the term phakomatoses. At the same time, the American neurologist Paul Ivan Yakovlev and psychiatrist Riley H. Guthrie (1931) established the key role of nervous systems and skin manifestations in these conditions and proposed to name them neurocutaneous syndromes (or ectodermoses, to explain the pathogenesis). The Belgian pathologist, Ludo van Bogaert, came to similar conclusions (1935), but used the term neuro-ectodermal dysplasias. In the 1980s, the American paediatric neurologist Manuel R. Gomez introduced the concept of "hamartia/hamartoma" instead of phakoma/phakomata. "Genodermatoses" and "neurocristopathies" were alternative terms still used to define these conditions. Nowadays, however, the most acclaimed terms are "phacomatoses" and "neurocutaneous disorders", which are used interchangeably. Phacomatoses are a heterogeneous group of conditions (mainly) affecting the skin (with congenital pigmentary/vascular abnormalities and/or tumours), the central and peripheral nervous system (with congenital abnormalities and/or tumours) and the eye (with variable abnormalities). Manifestations may involve many other organs or systems including the heart, vessels, lungs, kidneys and bones. Pathogenically, they are explained by interplays between intra- and extra-neuronal signalling pathways encompassing receptor-to-protein and protein-to-protein cascades involving RAS, MAPK/MEK, ERK, mTOR, RHOA, PI3K/AKT, PTEN, GNAQ and GNA11 pathways, which shed light also to phenotypic variability and overlapping. We hereby review the history, classification, genomics, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, surveillance protocols and therapies, in phacomatoses: (1) predisposing to development of tumours (i.e. the neurofibromatoses and allelic/similar disorders and schwannomatosis; tuberous sclerosis complex; Gorlin–Goltz and Lhermitte–Duclos–Cowden syndromes); (2) with vascular malformations (i.e. Sturge–Weber and Klippel–Trenaunay syndromes; megalencephaly/microcephaly–capillary malformation syndromes; CLOVES, Wyburn–Mason and mixed vascular nevus syndromes; blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome; hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia); (3) with vascular tumours (von Hippel–Lindau disease; PHACE(S)); (4) with pigmentary/connective tissue mosaicism (incontinentia pigmenti; pigmentary/Ito mosaicism; mTOR-related megalencephaly/focal cortical dysplasia/pigmentary mosaicism; RHOA-related ectodermal dysplasia; neurocutaneous melanocytosis; epidermal/papular spilus/Becker nevi syndromes; PENS and LEOPARD syndromes; encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis; lipoid proteinosis); (5) with dermal dysplasia (cerebellotrigeminal dermal dysplasia); and (6) with twin spotting or similar phenomena (phacomatosis pigmentovascularis and pigmentokeratotica; and cutis tricolor). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐region segmentation plays a major role in numerous medical diagnostics especially brain tumour identification and classification in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Brain tumour segmentation is used in medical field for early diagnostics and detection of tumour. The main goal of this work is to improve the performance of detection by using grid based techniques with Weighted Bee Swarm Intelligence and K‐means clustering. This technique is more effective due to hybrid combination of segmentation and optimisation as it seems to possess specific tasks of image information and detection to obtain a detailed and accurate image analysis. Grid based segmentation balance overall computation time and reduces complexity. Weighted Bee Swarm Optimisation is used to optimise segmentation parameters to get maximum performance. The various informative regions such as cerebrospinal fluid, grey matter, white matter are segmented by using proposed algorithm which will be most useful to study and characterise the tumour. The experimental outcomes show that the proposed strategy enhances performance measures in terms of sensitivity and specificity analysis. The performance of this technique is also improved by a factor of 1.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image segmentation of magnetic resonance image (MRI) is a crucial process for visualisation and examination of abnormal tissues, especially during clinical analysis. Complexity and variations of the tumour structure magnify the challenges in the automated detection of a brain tumour in MRIs. This study presents an automatic lesion recognition method in the MRI followed by classification. In the proposed multistage image segmentation method, the intent region initialisation is performed using low‐level information by the keypoint descriptors. A set of the linear filter is used to transform low‐level information into higher‐level image features. The set of features and filter training data are accomplished to track the tumour region. The authors adopt a possibilistic model for region growing, and disparity map for the refinement process to grave consist boundary. Further, the features are extracted using the Fisher vector and autoencoder. A set of handcrafted features is also extracted using a segmentation‐based localised region to train and test the support vector machine and multilayer perceptron classifiers. The experiments that are performed using five MRI datasets confirm the superiority of proposal as that of the state‐of‐the‐art methods. It reports 94.5 and 91.76%, average accuracy of segmentation and classification, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Immunodeficient mice injected with human cancer cell lines have been used for human oncology studies and anti‐cancer drug trials for several decades. However, rodents are not ideal species for modelling human cancer because rodents are physiologically dissimilar to humans. Therefore, anti‐tumour drugs tested effective in rodents have a failure rate of 90% or higher in phase III clinical trials. Pigs are similar to humans in size, anatomy, physiology and drug metabolism rate, rendering them a desirable pre‐clinical animal model for assessing anti‐cancer drugs. However, xenogeneic immune rejection is a major barrier to the use of pigs as hosts for human tumours. Interleukin (IL)‐2 receptor γ (IL2RG), a common signalling subunit for multiple immune cytokines including IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐7, IL‐9, IL‐15 and IL‐21, is required for proper lymphoid development. Materials and Methods: IL2RG−/Y pigs were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and examined for immunodeficiency and ability to support human oncogenesis. Results: Compared to age‐matched wild‐type pigs, IL2RG−/Y pigs exhibited a severely impaired immune system as shown by lymphopenia, lymphoid organ atrophy, poor immunoglobulin function, and T‐ and NK‐cell deficiency. Human melanoma Mel888 cells generated tumours in IL2RG−/Y pigs but not in wild‐type littermates. The human tumours grew faster in IL2RG−/Y pigs than in nude mice. Conclusions: Our results indicate that these pigs are promising hosts for modelling human cancer in vivo, which may aid in the discovery and development of anti‐cancer drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the biochemical, molecular, and histopathological mechanisms involved in the hypoglycaemic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) in experimental diabetic rats. ZnONPs were prepared by the sol–gel method and characterised by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). To explore the possible hypoglycaemic and antioxidant effect of ZnONPs, rats were grouped as follows: control group, ZnONPs treated group, diabetic group, and diabetic + ZnONPs group. Upon treatment with ZnONPs, a significant alteration in the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and the levels of insulin, haemoglobin A1c, and the expression of cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+), CD8+ T cells, glucose transporter type‐4 (GLUT‐4), tumour necrosis factor, and interleukin‐6 when compared to diabetic and their control rats. ZnONPs administration to the diabetic group showed eminent blood glucose control and restoration of the biochemical profile. This raises their active role in controlling pancreas functions to improve glycaemic status as well as the inflammatory responses. Histopathological investigations showed the non‐toxic and therapeutic effect of ZnONPs on the pancreas. TEM of pancreatic tissues displayed restoration of islets of Langerhans and increased insulin‐secreting granules. This shows the therapeutic application of ZnONPs as a safe anti‐diabetic agent and to have a potential for the control of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injectable hydrogels have become the material of choice for the treatment of solid tumours based on their advantages in loading anti‐tumour materials. This study reviews the main scientific research achievements on anti‐tumour injectable hydrogels in recent years. The gel‐forming mechanism of anti‐tumour injectable hydrogels was listed, and the advantages and difficulties of each gel‐forming mechanism were summarised. In addition, several current anti‐tumour methods based on injectable hydrogels were discussed, including chemotherapy, hyperthermia‐based therapy, catalytic therapy and immune therapy, as well as the integration of diagnosis and treatment to monitor the progress of cancer treatment. The anti‐tumour mechanism and the advantages and disadvantages of various tumour treatments were analysed. Finally, the future development trend of injectable hydrogels for anti‐tumour therapy was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance and prospective molecular mechanism of RUNX family transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). The authors used immunohistochemistry (IHC), RNA‐seq, and microarray data from multi‐platforms to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the clinicopathological significance and molecular mechanism of RUNX2 in the occurrence and development of LUSC. RUNX2 expression was significantly higher in 16 LUSC tissues than in paired non‐cancerous tissues detected by IHC (P < 0.05). RNA‐seq data from the combination of TCGA and genotype‐tissue expression (GTEx) revealed significantly higher expression of RUNX2 in 502 LUSC samples than in 476 non‐cancer samples. The expression of RUNX2 protein was also significantly higher in pathologic T3‐T4 than in T1‐T2 samples (P = 0.031). The pooled standardised mean difference (SMD) for RUNX2 was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.58–1.16), including 29 microarrays from GEO and one from ArrayExpress. The co‐expression network of RUNX2 revealed complicated connections between RUNX2 and 45 co‐expressed genes, which were significantly clustered in pathways including ECM‐receptor interaction, focal adhesion, protein digestion and absorption, human papillomavirus infection and PI3K‐Akt signalling pathway. Overexpression of RUNX2 plays an essential role in the clinical progression of LUSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed chemotherapy–immunotherapy treatment protocol is developed for cancer treatment. Chemotherapy pushes the trajectory of the system towards the desired equilibrium point, and then immunotherapy alters the dynamics of the system by affecting the parameters of the system. A co‐existing cancerous equilibrium point is considered as the desired equilibrium point instead of the tumour‐free equilibrium. Chemotherapy protocol is derived using the pseudo‐spectral (PS) controller due to its high convergence rate and simple implementation structure. Thus, one of the contributions of this study is simplifying the design procedure and reducing the controller computational load in comparison with Lyapunov‐based controllers. In this method, an infinite‐horizon optimal control problem is proposed for a non‐linear cancer model. Then, the infinite‐horizon optimal control of cancer is transformed into a non‐linear programming problem. The efficient Legendre PS scheme is suggested to solve the proposed problem. Then, the dynamics of the system is modified by immunotherapy is another contribution. To restrict the upper limit of the chemo‐drug dose based on the age of the patients, a Mamdani fuzzy system is designed, which is not present yet. Simulation results on four different dynamics cases how the efficiency of the proposed treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CPC634 is docetaxel entrapped in core-cross linked polymeric micelles. In preclinical studies, CPC634 demonstrated enhanced pharmacokinetics and improved therapeutic index. This phase I dose escalation study is the first-in-human study with CPC634. Methods: adult patients with advanced solid tumours received CPC634 intravenously either 3-weekly (Q3W) (part 1, dose range 15–100 mg/m2), 2-weekly (Q2W) (part 2, 45 mg/m2) or Q3W with dexamethasone premedication (part 3, 60 mg/m2). Results: thirty-three patients were enrolled. Skin toxicity was dose limiting (DLT) at ≥60 mg/m2 in part 1 and at 45 mg/m2 in part 2 and was the most common CPC634 related grade ≥ 3 adverse event (24%). With dexamethasone premedication no DLTs were observed at 60 mg/m2 Q3W. CPC634 exhibited a dose-proportional pharmacokinetic profile. At 60 mg/m2, the plasma area under the curve was 4067.5 ± 2974.0 ng/h/mL and the peak plasma level 217.3 ± 91.9 ng/mL with a half-life of 39.7 ± 9.4 h for released docetaxel. Conclusion: CPC634 could be administered safely upon pretreatment with dexamethasone. Cumulative skin toxicity was the main DLT. The recommended phase 2 dose was determined at 60 mg/m2 Q3W with dexamethasone premedication. Unlabelled Image • CPC634 consists of docetaxel covalently entrapped in a stabilized, 65 nm sized core-cross linked polymeric micelles (CCL-PMs) • The RP2D of CPC634 is 60 mg/m2 Q3W with dexamethasone premedication • The most important DLT was cumulative skin toxicity • The pharmacokinetic profile of CPC634 is dose-proportional with prolonged systemic exposure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumour segmentation is the process of separating the tumour from normal brain tissues. A glioma is a kind of tumour, which fires up in the glial cells of the spine or the brain. This study introduces a technique for classifying the severity levels of glioma tumour using a novel segmentation algorithm, named DeepJoint segmentation and the multi‐classifier. Initially, the brain images are subjected to pre‐processing and the region of interest is extracted. Then, the segmentation of the pre‐processed image is done using the proposed DeepJoint segmentation, which is developed through the iterative procedure of joining the grid segments. After the segmentation, feature extraction is carried out from core and oedema tumours using information‐theoretic measures. Finally, the classification is done by the deep convolutional neural network (DCNN), which is trained by an optimisation algorithm, named fractional Jaya whale optimiser (FJWO). FJWO is developed by integrating the whale optimisation algorithm in fractional Jaya optimiser. The performance of the proposed FJWO–DCNN with the DeepJoint segmentation method is analysed using accuracy, true positive rate, specificity, and sensitivity. The results depicted that the proposed method produces a maximum accuracy of 96%, which indicates its superiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Malignant Blue Cell Tumours (MBCTs) is common heterogeneous tumours among paediatric age groups. Their heterogeneity is reflected in their therapeutic and prognostic diversity. Mere morphology is not enough to differentiate them. Immunohistochemistry is a key tool for identification of small blue cell tumours that lack evidence of lineage differentiation on the ground of light microscopic morphology. Aim: To identify the immunohistochemical identity of paediatric MBCTs in Duhok-Iraq. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed on 120 cancers reported morphologically as MBCTs over 11-year period, from January 2009 to December 2019. Clinical data and histomorphologic acumen were considered and integrated with the immunohistochemical findings. Applying autostainer, immunohistochemistry was performed using monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. Results: Lymphoma/leukaemia topped the diagnostic list 36 (30%) formed the commonest category, followed by Ewing’s/Primitive Neuro Ectodermal Tumour (PNET) 29 (24.2%), Neuroblastoma 16 (13.3%), Wilm’s tumour 11 (9.2%), Rhabdomyosarcoma 9 (7.5%) and Medulloblastoma 7 (5.8%). The remainders comprised Retinoblastoma (3.4%), Glioblastoma and Ependymoma (2.5% each). Hepatoblastoma and Astroblastoma formed the least frequent tumours (0.8% each). These tumours were more frequently located in the soft tissue (30%) followed by brain (14.2%), bone (10%), Lymph Node (LN) (9.2%) and kidney (10%). Conclusion: Integration of clinical data and histomorphologic acumen help much for categorisation of MBCTs. Application of immunohistochemistry in this study has shown a significant improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of paediatric MBCTs. Loss of some differentiation antigens and aberrant expression of some markers often necessitate the use of panels of antibodies and, even molecular testing to target the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hence, in this study, the authors aimed to develop a dendrimer‐based imaging agent comprised of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)‐citrate, technetium‐99 m (99m Tc), and folic acid. The dendrimer‐G3 was synthesised and conjugated with folic acid, which confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, dynamic light scattering, and transition electron microscopy. 2,3‐bis‐(2‐methoxy‐4‐nitro‐5‐sulfophenyl)‐2H‐Tetrazolium‐5‐Carboxanilide cytotoxicity assay kit was used to measure the cellular toxicity of dendrimer. Imaging and biodistribution studies were conducted on the mice bearing tumour. The results showed that the fabricated dendrimer‐G3 has a size of 90 ± 3 nm, which was increased to 100 ± 4 nm following the conjugation with folic acid. The radiostablity investigation showed that the fabricated dendrimers were stable in the human serum at various times. Toxicity assessment confirmed no cellular toxicity against HEK‐293 cells at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mg/μl concentrations. The in vivo studies demonstrated that the synthesised dendrimers were able to provide a bright SPECT image applicable for tumour detection. In conclusion, the authors' study documented the positive aspects of PEG‐citrate dendrimer conjugated with folic acid as the SPECT contrast agent for breast cancer detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the great advancement in understanding the pharmacology and biology of cancer, it still signifies one of the most serious human‐health related problems. The current treatments for cancer may include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, but these procedures have several limitations. Current studies have shown that nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as a novel strategy for cancer treatment. Developing nanosystems that allow lower doses of therapeutic agents, as well as their selective release in tumour cells, may resolve the challenges of targeted cancer therapy. In this review, the authors discuss the role of the size, shape, and surface modifications of NPs in cancer treatment. They also address the challenges associated with cancer therapies based on NPs. The overall purpose of this review is to summarise the recent developments in designing different hybrid NPs with promising therapeutic properties for different types of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Española de Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatologia (English Edition) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The assessment of bone mainly relies on standard radiographs, CT, MRI, and bone scintigraphy depending on the anatomic region complexity and clinical scenario. Ultrasound (US), due to different acoustic impedance between soft tissues and the bone cortex, only allows the evaluation of the bone surfaces. Nevertheless, US can be useful in the evaluation of several bone disorders affecting the limbs as a result of its tomographic capabilities and high definition. This pictorial review article summarises our clinical experience in adults and reviews the literature on US bone examination. We first present the US appearance of normal bone and the main congenital anatomic variations, after which we illustrate the US findings of a variety of bone disorders. Although US has limits in bone assessment, its analysis must be a part of every musculoskeletal US examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minor salivary gland tumours represent 9–25% of all salivary gland tumours. South African epidemiological reports on minor salivary gland tumours are lacking. This study aims to evaluate the frequency, epidemiology and histology of minor salivary gland tumours in a defined South African population from 1997 to 2016. This cross sectional retrospective review of epithelial minor salivary gland neoplasms recorded patient demographic data: prevalence, age, gender, site, histology. There were 553 benign (57%) and malignant (43%) minor salivary gland tumours, in patients between the ages of 9 and 93 years. There was no significant age (p = 0.64) or gender (p = 0.18) difference between males and females. Common histologic types of salivary gland tumours in the continually evolving spectrum were pleomorphic adenoma (52%), adenoid cystic carcinoma (12%) and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (10%). Common sites were the palate (56%), cheek (11%), lip (9%) and paranasal sinuses (7%). Minor salivary gland tumours represent 2.3% of head and neck pathology. Although this prevalence is higher than reported, there is no overall increase in number diagnosed per year. Minor salivary gland tumours were more prevalent in females. Benign tumours occurred at a younger age than malignant tumours. This study serves as a baseline for future studies, especially in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumours have increased rapidly in recent years as in other tumour types. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis of brain tumour is vital for treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathological assessments are the most common methods used in the detection of brain tumours. The research studies on non‐invasive imaging methods such as MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have become widespread in recent years for brain tumour detection. In this study, a computer‐assisted method is proposed for automatic grading of brain tumours on MRS signals. The classification of brain tumours with different grades is performed using long short term memory (LSTM) neural networks. In addition, additional features from MRS signals based on spectral entropy and instantaneous frequency are extracted. As a result of the experimental studies on the international MRS database (INTERPRET), it is seen that grading is achieved using the proposed method with average accuracy of 98.20%, sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 97.53% performance results in three test studies carried out for the classification of brain tumour. Furthermore, in the grading of brain tumours using the proposed method, the average area under of the receiver operating characteristic curve is measured with high performance of 0.9936. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a major cause of death. Thus, the incidence and mortality rate of cancer is globally important. Regarding vast problems caused by chemotherapy drugs, efforts have progressed to find new anti‐cancer drugs. Pyrazole derivatives are known as components with anti‐cancer properties. In here, Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were first functionalized with (3‐chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane, then 2‐((pyrazol‐4‐yl) methylene) hydrazinecarbothioamide (P) was anchored on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles (PL). The synthesized nano‐compounds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Zeta potential, dynamic light scattering, and energy‐dispersive x‐ray spectrometry analyses. The cytotoxicity effect was evaluated using MTT assay, apoptosis test by Flow cytometry, cell cycle analysis, Caspase‐3 activity assay and Hoechst staining on MCF‐7 cell line. The high toxicity for tumor cells and low toxicity on normal cells (MCF10A) was considered as an important feature (selectivity index, 10.9). Based on results, the IC50 for P and PL compounds were 157.80 and 131.84 μM/ml respectively. Moreover, apoptosis inducing, nuclear fragmentation, Caspase 3 activity and induction of cell rest in sub‐G1 and S phases, were also observed. The inhibitory effect of PL was significantly higher than P, which could be due to the high penetrability of Fe3 O4 nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the enhancement of synergistic antitumour activity to treat cancer and the correlation between inflammation and carcinogenesis, the authors designed chitosan nanoparticles for co‐delivery of 5‐fluororacil (5‐Fu: an as anti‐cancer drug) and aspirin (a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug) and induced synergistic antitumour activity through the modulation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB)/cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) signalling pathways. The results showed that aspirin at non‐cytotoxic concentrations synergistically sensitised hepatocellular carcinoma cells to 5‐Fu in vitro. It demonstrated that aspirin inhibited NF‐κB activation and suppressed NF‐κB regulated COX‐2 expression and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. Furthermore, the proposed results clearly indicated that the combination of 5‐Fu and aspirin by chitosan nanoparticles enhanced the intracellular concentration of drugs and exerted synergistic growth inhibition and apoptosis induction on hepatocellular carcinoma cells by suppressing NF‐κB activation and inhibition of expression of COX‐2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug delivery is one of the major challenges in the treatment of central nervous system disorders. The brain needs to be protected from harmful agents, which are done by the capillary network, the so‐called blood–brain barrier (BBB). This protective guard also prevents the delivery of therapeutic agents to the brain and limits the effectiveness of treatment. For this reason, various strategies have been explored by scientists for overcoming the BBB from disruption of the BBB to targeted delivery of nanoparticles (NPs) and cells and immunotherapy. In this review, different promising brain drug delivery strategies including disruption of tight junctions in the BBB, enhanced transcellular transport by peptide‐based delivery, local delivery strategies, NP delivery, and cell‐based delivery have been fully discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise diagnosis of brain tumour by experienced radiologists involves a complex set of processes including magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data and histopathological evaluations. In this study, a new hybrid feature extraction method, called as aiMRS, based on the negative selection algorithm and clonal selection algorithm of artificial immune systems is developed on MRS data for the detection and classification of brain tumours. In the study, differentiation of benign and malignant brain tumours, classification of normal brain tissue and brain tumour, and detection of metastasis and primary brain tumours are performed with high precision using pattern recognition methods based on the proposed aiMRS method. According to the experimental results performed on a large data set created with the MRS data obtained from INTERPRET database, when the proposed feature extraction method applied, classification of normal brain tissue and brain tumours, benign and malignant brain tumours and metastasis and primary brain tumours is achieved with 100, 98.58 and 98.94% accuracy, respectively. These results show that this proposed system can be used as a secondary tool in physicians' decision‐making processes for the classification of brain tumours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine whether the greyscale value depicted in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) differentiates different benign osseous lesions of jaws and to measure the greyscale value of various osseous lesions of jaws and to find the correlation (if any) of these greyscale values to that of histopathological diagnosis. Material and methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology of the Dental Institute after obtaining approval from the Ethical Committee. CBCT scans of osseous lesions of jaws confirmed with histopathological reports depicting cystic or tumour-like lesions were included in the study. Greyscale values depicted in CBCT scans of osseous lesions were measured. The greyscale values were grouped as per the histopathological diagnosis, and these ranges were then tabulated and statistically evaluated. Results: The mean value with standard deviation of greyscale values for cystic lesions was 1208.375 ± 93 and for that of the tumour group was 1603 ± 425.5. Conclusions: The greyscale value is a useful tool in differentiating between different groups of osseous lesions of jaws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Posterior fossa brain tumours are one of the most devastating forms of human illnesses which are more common in children. Brainstem compression, herniation and death are the risks with tumours in this critical location. Objective: To evaluate our results, complications and outcome of posterior fossa tumour surgery in Benha University Hospital. Patients and methods: A prospective study including 44 patients with posterior fossa tumours were performed at the Neurosurgery Department in Benha University Hospital between the period of March 2015 and October 2018. In each case, diagnosis was made clinically and confirmed radiologically and histo-pathologically. Results: Out of 44 patients, 28 (63.6%) patients were males and 16 (36.4%) were females. The mean age was 17.5 + 14.2 years (ranged 2–30 years). This study showed that excellent surgical outcome was observed in 12 cases (27.3%), good in 22 cases (50%) while poor outcome was observed in 10 cases (22.7%). The best outcome is astrocytoma then ependymoma while the worst outcome is metastatic then medulloblastoma which is statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The surgical treatment of posterior fossa tumours still represents a challenge for neurosurgeons. Our Benha experience shows the accepted results, complications and surgical outcome in relation to previous clinical studies. Trial registration: IRB#3747. Registered 18 September 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) conjugated with anti‐epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody (anti‐EGFR‐SPIONs) were characterised, and its cytotoxicity effects, ex vivo and in vivo studies on Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC1) cells in C57BL/6 mice were investigated. The broadband at 679.96 cm−1 relates to Fe–O, which verified the formation of the anti‐EGFR‐Mab with SPIONs was obtained by the FTIR. The TEM images showed spherical shape 20 and 80 nm‐sized for nanoparticles and the anti‐EGFR‐SPIONs, respectively. Results of cell viability at 24 h after incubation with different concentrations of nanoprobe showed it has only a 20% reduction in cell viabilities. The synthesised nanoprobe administered by systemic injection into C57BL/6 mice showed good Fe tumour uptake and satisfied image signal intensity under ex vivo and in vivo conditions. A higher concentration of nanoprobe was achieved compared to non‐specific and control, indicating selective delivery of nanoprobe to the tumour. It is concluded that the anti‐EGFR‐SPIONs was found to be as an MR imaging contrast nanoagent for lung cancer (LLC1) cells detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Gd2 O2 S:Ln3+ (Ln3+ = Yb3+, Er3+) upconversion nanotubes (UCNTs) were synthesised by using Gd(OH)3 :Ln3+ (Ln3+ = Yb3+, Er3+) nanotubes as the template. The luminescent and biological properties of Gd2 O2 S:Ln3+ (Ln3+ = Yb3+, Er3+) UCNTs, along with photodynamic therapy (PDT) applications of the Gd2 O2 S:8%Yb3+, 2%Er3+ UCNT–Ce6 (chlorin e6) nanocomposites, were systematically studied. The resultant UCNTs showed excellent biocompatibility with human retinal pigment cells (ARPE‐19) even after a prolonged incubation time of 72 h, and could be used as luminescent probes. Microscopic imaging revealed that the UCNTs existed mainly in cytoplasm. PDT studies on the Gd2 O2 S:8%Yb3+, 2%Er3+ UCNT–Ce6 nanocomposites indicate that the growth of the tumour (cell) could be inhibited dramatically when it was injected (incubated) with Gd2 O2 S:8%Yb3+, 2%Er3+ UCNT–Ce6 nanocomposites under the irradiation of 980 nm laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main focus of the current study is the fabrication of a multifunctional nanohybrid based on graphene oxide (GO)/iron oxide/gold nanoparticles (NPs) as the combinatorial cancer treatment agent. Gold and iron oxide NPs formed on the GONPs via the in situ synthesis approach. The characterisations showed that gold and iron oxide NPs formed onto the GO. Cell toxicity assessment revealed that the fabricated nanohybrid exhibited negligible toxicity against MCF‐7 cells in low doses (<50 ppm). Temperature measurement showed a time and dose‐dependent heat elevation under the interaction of the nanohybrid with the radio frequency (RF) wave. The highest temperature was recorded using 200 ppm concentration nanohybrid during 40 min exposure. The combinatorial treatments demonstrated that the maximum cell death (average of 53%) was induced with the combination of the nanohybrid with RF waves and radiotherapy (RT). The mechanistic study using the flow cytometry technique illustrated that early apoptosis was the main underlying cell death. Moreover, the dose enhancement factor of 1.63 and 2.63 were obtained from RT and RF, respectively. To sum up, the authors' findings indicated that the prepared nanohybrid could be considered as multifunctional and combinatorial cancer therapy agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the huge number of multi‐drug resistant (MDR) bacteria requires an alternative to the drugs. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are a strong candidate for this due to their bactericidal properties, which can be better concluded by understanding their morphology and chemistry. The study hypothesised that AgNPs synthesised using leaves of Syzygium cumini can be used to treat locally emerging MDRs forming biofilms on indwelling medical devices. Synthesised particles were characterised by methods like UV–visible spectroscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Zetasizer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and high‐performance liquid chromatography were used to predict phytochemicals present in the leaves. The shape of particles is revealed to be relatively spherical, with average size to be around 10–100 nm. Phenolic compounds are attributed to the formation of nanoparticles, stability analysis shows particles to be stable, and zeta potential determined the surface charge to be −20.1 mV. Biosynthesised particles are found to possess efficient antibacterial activity MDR bacteria developing biofilms in medical devices; hence, it is concluded that S. cumini based NPs can be used to develop a layer on implant‐related medical devices. Toxicity evaluation against A594 cancer cells portrays AgNPs to be potential tumour reduction agents in a concentration‐dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four subtypes of breast cancer, luminal A, luminal B, basal‐like, human epidermal growth factor receptor‐enriched, have been identified based on gene expression profiles of human tumours. The goal of this study is to find whether the same groups' genes would exhibit different networks among the four subtypes. Differential expressed genes between each of the four subtypes and the normal samples were identified. The overlaps between the four groups of differentially expressed genes were used to construct regulations networks for each of the four subtypes. Univariate and multivariate Cox regressions were employed to test the genes in the four regulation networks. This study demonstrated that the common genes in four subtypes showed different regulation. Also, the hsa‐miR‐182 and decorin pair performs different functions among the four subtypes of breast cancer. The result indicated that heterogeneity of breast cancer is not only reflected in the different expression patterns among different genes, but also in the different regulatory networks of the same group of genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary bone tumours of the talus are a rare entity and seldom described in the literature. Due to this, often the diagnosis and management of such cases are delayed. This study aims to describe a spectrum of lesions identified within our department and provide a pictorial review with the goal to aid radiologists in the evaluation and diagnosis of such lesions. A retrospective study was conducted within our department, identifying all talar lesions, confirmed on histopathological and radiological diagnosis. Results revealed 75 cases of talar lesions. Benign tumours formed the bulk of the lesions identified accounting for 85% of all cases. The most common benign tumour was chondroblastoma (n = 23). Malignant tumours were detected in 6 cases. Other lesions included osteomyelitis and avascular necrosis. We present a variety of tumours and tumour-like conditions of the talus. Radiologists as well as orthopaedic surgeons need to be aware of such lesions, to prompt early diagnosis and initiate management in timely fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of airway and chest wall tumours is a highly specialized area in thoracic surgery which affects a small number of the wider patient population. Familiarization with thoracic anaesthesia, rigid bronchoscopy, LASER technology, airway stenting not only provides stabilization of the airway and relieves obstruction to breathing but provides lifesaving treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual evaluation of many magnetic resonance images is a difficult task. Therefore,computer‐assisted brain tumor classification techniques have been proposed.These techniques have several drawbacks or limitations. Capsule based neuralnetworks are new approaches that can preserve spatial relationships of learnedfeatures using dynamic routing algorithm. By this way, not only performance oftumor recognition increases but also sampling efficiency and generalisationcapability improves. Therefore, in this work, a Capsule Network (CapsNet) isused to achieve fully automated classification of tumors from brain magneticresonance images. In this work, prevalent three types of tumors (pituitary,glioma and meningioma) have been handled. The main contributions in this paperare as follows: 1) A comprehensive review on CapsNet based methods is presented.2) A new CapsNet topology is designed by using a Sobolev gradient‐basedoptimisation, expectation‐maximisation based dynamic routing and tumor boundaryinformation. 3) The network topology is applied to categorise three types ofbrain tumors. 4) Comparative evaluations of the results obtained by othermethods are performed. According to the experimental results, the proposedCapsNet based technique can achieve extraction of desired features from imagedata sets and provides tumor classification automatically with 92.65%accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio‐fabrication of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has several advantages like biocompatibility, less toxicity, and eco‐friendly in nature over their chemical and physical methods. Currently, the authors fabricated AuNPs using aqueous root extract of Momordica dioica (M. dioica) and explored their anticancer application with mechanistic approaches. Different biophysical techniques such as UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and dynamic light scattering were employed for AuNPs characterisation. The synthesised AuNPs were mono‐dispersed, crystalline in nature, anionic surface (−23.9 mV), and spherical particle of an average diameter of 9.4 nm. In addition, the AuNPs were stable in buffers solutions and also biocompatible towards normal human cells (human vascular endothelial cells and human lung cells). The AuNPs were exhibited anticancer activity against different cancer cell lines such as human breast cancer cells, human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and human lung cancer cells. Further, the pro‐apoptotic genes such as Bcl2 were down‐regulated and BAX, Caspase‐3, −8, and −9 were up‐regulated in HeLa cells as compared to untreated cells. Annexin‐V‐FITC assay results showed that the AuNPs were induced apoptosis by accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species. To their knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of bioactive metal nanoparticles from M. dioica and it may open up new avenues in therapeutic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain cancer is a major health problem that affects the lives of many people. Clinicians depend on their medical knowledge to analyse laboratory test results and clinical information extracted manually from medical images, to identify the essential characteristics of tumours such as size, shape, and location. The accurate diagnosis of brain tumours is very essential for deciding the most appropriate treatment protocols and procedures. Apart from being tedious, slow and time‐consuming manual segmentation of brain image scans is also prone to human error. In order to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the diagnosis of brain tumours, rigorous image processing and segmentation is required. In this study the authors present an automated image segmentation method for detecting and localising multiple brain tumours of different sizes and intensities by using a technique of object counting coupled with an evaluation process. The object counting technique were carried out using multiple binary images with different threshold values, and the evaluation process was based on assessment criteria of specific tumour parameters. Different magnetic resonance images with multiple tumours were used for testing the proposed method. The results indicated that the proposed method is effective in detecting and localising multiple true tumours in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiogenesis, or capillary growth from pre-existing vasculature, is an essential component of several physiological processes, both vital and pathological. These include dermal wound healing and tumour growth that together pose some of the most significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Over the last few decades, mathematical modelling has proven to be a valuable tool for unravelling the complex network of interactions that underlie such processes. Moreover, theoretical frameworks that describe some of the mechanical and chemical aspects of angiogenesis inherent in wound healing and tumour growth have revealed intriguing similarities between the two processes. In this review, we highlight some of the significant contributions made by mathematical models of tumour-induced and wound healing angiogenesis and illustrate how advances in each field have been made using insights from the other. We also detail some open problems that could be addressed through a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic manotheranostics can be a fascinating charm to diagnose a tumour with MRI, and treatment through hyperthermia. This study aims to synthesise and characterise magnetically responsive polymer colloids (MRPCs). Healthy tissue damage done by chemotherapy session could be minimised by MRPCs. For the colloidal formulation of MRPCs, the oil in water emulsion technique was employed with the aid of sonication and stirring. The organic phase of emulsion contained methotrexate (MTX) drug, Eudragit E100 and CoFe2 O4 (synthesised by co‐precipitation) in ethanol, and the aqueous phase contained tween 80 in deionised water. The emulsion was optimised by studying/adjusting two different parameters, i.e. the concentration of constituents and sonication cycles. Multiple formulations were produced at sonication amplitude of 60% at 20 kHz, followed by centrifugation and lyophilisation. Characterisation of MRPCs was done for morphology, size measurement (23–25 nm), surface charge (∼15.12), coercivity (∼1549.6 G), magnetisation (2.6 emu) and retentivity (1.34 emu). Drug release in simulating physiological environment (pH = 7.4), was observed for up to 48 h, and, to determine the best release kinetic mechanism results were compared with kinetic models. Magnetic hyperthermia studies showed that MRPCs achieved an acceptable temperature of 42°C, for hyperthermia treatments in cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer researchers require accurate diagnoses for the samples, cell lines, patients or populations that they study. These diagnoses are underpinned by an internationally accepted taxonomy – the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours. This is still largely based on the histopathological examination of biopsy specimens, but increasingly also molecular methods and radiological examination of patients. Classifications evolve as new evidence arises, and for tumours that evidence is available in a quantity that is both remarkable and daunting. Evaluating this deluge of new information and incorporating it into the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours is now the responsibility of an editorial board, and up to 200 editors and authors work on each system to update it within the new 5th edition. Just as cancer researchers depend on the classification for diagnoses, so too the classification depends on the generation of high-quality, trustworthy data by cancer researchers. It is not just a case of quantity but quality too. Scientific fraud is thankfully rare, but high-profile cases are damaging and standards need to improve, not least to ensure that accurate information enters the classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen therapy has attracted increasing attention in clinical/preclinical studies as an emerging and promising therapy technique owing to its selective antioxidative properties. Microfactories for intracellular local hydrogen production are an efficient intracellular hydrogen delivery system with targeted, controlled, and sustained release. In this Minireview, recently developed materials, technologies, and strategies for locally generated hydrogen therapy are summarized. Different driving forces including ultrasound, light, and chemical reactions are critical to the in situ production of hydrogen for the hydrogen therapy process. The therapeutic mechanisms and effectiveness of this locally generated hydrogen were evaluated based on the type of disease models, with an emphasis on tissue inflammation and cancer. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities of constructing these microfactories for locally generated hydrogen therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful, ubiquitous imaging technique that provides detailed high‐contrast images differentiating soft tissues. The low radio‐frequency bias field creates intensity inhomogeneity generating low contrast that often creates difficulty for quantitative and qualitative analyses. Segmentation aids in analysis of changes occurring in brain, where bias effect severely affects performance. The graph‐cut (GC) segmentation provides supervised computer‐assisted diagnosis and treatment. GC's interactive nature requires manual selection of kernels for initialisation. The shrinkage behaviour of GC creates inaccurate and fallacious extraction. On the basis of these problems, this study proposes gradient‐based kernel selection GC method that simultaneously removes shrinkage problem and locates tumour in image, eliminating human interaction with accurate segmentation for even bias field images. The proposed method addresses these problems by emphasising on directive inclination of intensity scales of symmetrical halves of images. The proposed method is evaluated for high‐grade glioma and low‐grade glioma images with and without bias field. The average performance metrics evaluated for these images depict remarkable improvement in comparison with existing techniques. The proposed technique is validated by applying on real‐time dataset of tumour images obtained from State Government Hospital, Shimla, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence highlights the importance of interactions between tumour cells and stromal cells for tumour initiation, progression, and metastasis. In tumours that contain adipocyte in their stroma, adipocytes contribute to modification of tumour microenvironment and affect metabolism of tumour and tumour progression by production of cytokines and adipokines from the lipids. The omentum and bone marrow (BM) are highly adipocyte-rich and are also common metastatic and primary tumour developmental sites. Omental adipocytes exhibit metabolic cross-talk, immune modulation, and angiogenesis. BM adipocytes secrete adipokines, and participate in solid tumour metastasis through regulation of the CCL2/CCR2 axis and metabolic interactions. BM adipocytes also contribute to the progression of hematopoietic neoplasms. Here, we here provide an overview of research progress on the cross-talks between omental/BM adipocytes and tumour cells, which may be pivotal modulators of tumour biology, thus highlighting novel therapeutic targets. Abbreviations: MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1IL, interleukinSTAT3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3FABP4, fatty acid binding protein 4PI3K/AKT, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase BPPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorPUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acidTAM, tumour-associated macrophagesVEGF, vascular endothelial growth factorVEGFR, vascular endothelial growth factor receptorBM, bone marrowBMA, bone marrow adipocytesrBMA, regulated BMAcBMA, constitutive BMAUCP-1, uncoupling protein-1TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor-alphaRANKL, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligandVCAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1JAK2, Janus kinase 2CXCL (C–X–C motif) ligandPGE2, prostaglandin E2COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2CCL2, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa BMM, multiple myelomaALL, acute lymphoblastic leukemiaAML, acute myeloid leukemiaGDF15, growth differentiation factor 15AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinaseMAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinaseAPL, acute promyelocytic leukemiaCCR2, C-C motif chemokine receptor 2SDF-1α, stromal cell-derived factor-1 alphaFFA, free fatty acidsLPrA, leptin peptide receptor antagonistMCD, malonyl-CoA decarboxylase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Oral lesions are divided into non-neoplastic lesions, potentially malignant lesions and neoplastic lesions. More clinical data are needed to determine their helpful clinical pattern. Aim: To present the epidemiological, clinical and histopathological characteristics of the oral lesions. Material and methods: The retrospective study group comprised records of 208 patients which were reviewed according to selected epidemiological and clinical features. All the biopsy specimens were classified into: reactive lesions, precancerous lesions/potentially malignant lesions, salivary gland pathologies, benign and malignant tumours. Results: The lower lip was the most common site involved followed by buccal and vestibular mucosa. The most frequent diagnoses were fibroma, mucocele and papilloma. The predominant pathomorphological forms were nodule and bulla. The most frequent salivary gland pathology was mucocele. Fibroma was the most frequent pathomorphological diagnosis, followed by mucocele and reactive lesions such as irritation fibroma (IF) and granuloma. Conclusions: In cases of oral mucosal lesions, we propose the following algorithm: the exclusion of all odontogenic and iatrogenic causes; the detection and elimination of harmful habits, parafunctions and irritants from the oral cavity especially from the vestibule of the oral cavity and from the lips; all surgical treatment should be performed only after the proper detection and elimination of causative factors to decrease the risk of recurrence; excisional biopsy or in more diffuse lesions incisional biopsy is recommended to confirm clinical diagnosis; and consideration of other factors that can modify the clinical pattern of oral lesions, such as oral hygiene, systemic diseases, and drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a kind of squamous cell carcinoma, occurs in the top and the side wall of nasopharyngeal, which harms human health and life. In this study, a novel blood test (SERS) was carried out for 30 NPC patients and 30 normal ones. Using multi‐variate statistical analysis for spectral data, the diagnostic sensitivities of 89.3% (50/56) and 85.7% (48/56) can be achieved for 633 and 785 nm exciting wavelength, respectively. Also corresponding specificities are 71.4% (41/56) and 78.6% (44/56), respectively. These results demonstrated that the two kinds of excitation wavelength all have the feasibility of obtaining high‐quality SERS spectra to differentiate cancer from normal samples. Furthermore, the performance of the SERS test with 785 nm wavelength excitation is nearly equal to the SERS experimental effect under 633 nm wavelength excitation for NPC detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopically-assisted partial parotidectomy for benign tumours has been reported, but we have evaluated its feasibility through different concealed incisions compared with conventional parotidectomy. A total of 124 patients with parotid tumours were enrolled in this retrospective study: an endoscopically-assisted group (n = 37) compared with a group operated on conventionally (n = 87). The incision for endoscopically-assisted partial, total parotidectomy and selective neck dissection was based on location and pathological characters of the parotid tumour. The sex and age of the patients, diameter of the tumour, and histopathological features were comparable between the two groups. The mean length of the incision in the endoscopic group was significantly shorter than that in the conventional group. However, intraoperative blood loss, operating time, and duration of hospital stay were significantly reduced, and postoperative secretion of saliva was significantly improved in the endoscopic group, among whom there were no recurrences of tumour. More importantly, all patients who had endoscopically-assisted operations were satisfied with the cosmetic result. Endoscopically-assisted parotidectomy is superior to conventional resection as judged by postoperative cosmetic and functional outcomes. It is noteworthy that the site of incision depends mainly on location, and on the suspected low grade of malignancy of the parotid tumour seen on preoperative computed tomography and magnetic resonance images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) can be an important conservation threat to green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) due to its widespread distribution and complex aetiology. Thus, understanding the impacts of FP in sea turtle populations is a research priority towards conservation efforts. The body condition index (BCI), based on straight carapace length (SCL) and body mass (BM), is an accurate indicator of body-nutritional condition that can be used in routine green turtle health evaluations. This study aimed to compare BCI in FP-free (N = 369) and FP-affected (N = 518) green turtles from Brazilian feeding areas. Body condition indices were evaluated in terms of the South-west Atlantic Fibropapillomatosis Score – FPSSWA (mild, moderate and severe), study sites (five Brazilian states), origin (intentional capture, fishery, stranding and afloat) and sex (when known). Curved and straight carapace lengths, and body mass were recorded in order to calculate BCI. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in BCI among green turtles from different study areas (P = 0.02), and lower BCI values in FP-free than in FP-positive individuals (P < 0.0001). With regards to origin, the highest BCI was found in the intentional capture group (N = 245; 1.47 ± 0.16), followed by fishery (N = 180; 1.46 ± 0.20). Analysis according to sex revealed a higher mean BCI among females than males (P < 0.017). This study provides relevant data on the health and nutritional status of green turtles along the Brazilian coast, in important feeding areas for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]