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Background: Biomarkers to predict the recurrence risk are required to optimize perioperative treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with human epidermal growth factor 2-positive (HER2-positive) early breast cancer is decided by pathological responses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, whether pathological responses are appropriate biomarkers is unclear. Currently, there are several studies using minimal residual disease (MRD) as a predictor of prognosis in solid tumors. However, there is no standard method for detecting MRD. Objectives: This study aimed at prospectively evaluating the relationship between MRD detection and recurrence in Asian patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. Design: Prospective, observational, single-group, and exploratory. This study will include 60 patients from 2 institutions in Japan and the Philippines. The invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) rates of the MRD-positive and MRD-negative groups are compared in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who undergo surgery after receiving NAC. Methods and analysis: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels of patients will be evaluated 6 times: before NAC, after NAC, after surgery, and annually after surgery for 3 years. We will analyze the genetic profile of blood and tissue samples using the Todai OncoPanel (TOP) and the methylation level of DNA. The primary endpoint is IDFS. Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Patient enrollment began in June 2022, and new participants are still being recruited. Ethics: This study has been approved by the National Cancer Center Hospital Certified Review Board in March 2022 and has been approved by the Research Ethics Board of the participating center. Discussion: Our findings will contribute to determining whether MRD detection using TOP is useful for predicting the recurrence of HER2-positive early breast cancer. If this is proven, MRD detected by TOP could be used in the future as a biomarker to assist in the de-/escalation of treatment strategies in the next interventional trial, thereby avoiding overtreatment in patients at low risk, and in the addition of intensive treatment modalities for those in patients at high risk.

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare malignancy which develops from the smooth muscles. It constitutes about 3 to 10% of all sarcomas in the head and neck area. Furthermore, it is extremely rare in the area of the mouth and jaws due to the rarity of smooth muscle in these areas. Spindle cells with visible smooth muscle differentiation, distinct features of atypia and presence of actin and desmin in Immunohistochemical (IHC) stains are characteristic of LMS. The common pattern of spread is similar with other sarcomas, involving the lung and rarely the lymphatics. Surgery, Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy have been described as standard forms of management. The prognosis is usually poor as rate of local, regional and distant metastasis is high. In this paper, we present a case of a 23 year-old female who presented with Leiomyosarcoma of the mandible. She remained to have good performance status and was able to undergo multiple lines of treatment for progressive disease prior to her demise.

Background: In locally-advanced breast cancers (LABC), the previous primary goal of neoadjuvant systemic therapy was to improve resectability and achieve better margins. Currently, it can also provide important prognostic information based on actual response to therapy. Achieving pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy is targeted because it is associated with favorable disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). The purpose of this study is to report the 5-year disease-free survival rate and overall survival rate among patients with LABC treated with neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery. Methods: All patients with histologically diagnosed locally advanced breast cancer, who completed neoadjuvant therapy and surgery at St. Luke’s Medical Center from January 2007 to December 2017 where included. Response to neoadjuvant therapy were categorized using post-surgical pathologic reports. Survival curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results: The cohort included 231 women, most were diagnosed with stage III disease (n=151). Pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant treatment had a significantly greater 5-year disease-free survival at 73.17% compared to those with residual disease after neoadjuvant treatment at 51.25% (Log-rank test p=0.0107). The locoregional recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival were 83.20% and 62.0% at 5 years, respectively. No deaths were recorded at 5 years for patients who achieved pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: Pathologic complete response has better outcomes in terms of disease-free survival compared to those who did not achieve complete pathologic response after neoadjuvant therapy. Disease-free survival among patients who achieved pathologic complete response does not significantly differ among the different molecular phenotypes. The overall survival of the patients in this cohort does not differ in terms of phenotypic subtypes and mortality is seen among patients with disease progression.

Mollusk trade is vital in many coastal areas and island communities throughout the Philippines because it provides livelihoods, food, and incomes to millions of Filipinos via fisheries (e.g., shellfish fishing and gleaning), shell craft, arts, shell trading and collections, and aquaculture. However, the assessments of the national trends and status of mollusc production and trade in the Philippines are largely non-existent in peer-reviewed literature. The main purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate the status and trends of traded Mollusks in the Philippines based on available online databases and a systematic review of published literature. To date, available databases on Philippine mollusk trade showed an initial increase in traded volume (the 1970s to 2006) but decreased afterward. In contrast, the traded mollusk value continued to generally increase over time (albeit the observed decrease between 2011 and 2016), indicating value increase as mollusk volume decreased. However, there is a great need to (1) resolve many of the obvious inconsistencies in data entries across all the available mollusk trade databases (BFAR, PSA, and CITES) and (2) provide field assessment of the Philippine mollusk trade and the conservation status of all traded mollusk taxa in the country.

Introduction: Squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone is extremely rare comprising 0.2% of all tumors of head and neck. Symptoms are nonspecific and may be mistaken for other more benign conditions as otitis, cholesteatoma and polyp. Hence, this condition may present as a diagnostic challenge. Case Discussion: We describe a case series of three patients who presented with external auditory canal (EAC) mass. The most common signs and symptoms are pruritus, decreased hearing and yellowish discharge. They were initially treated with otic antibiotics which afforded no relief. The first case is a 51 year-old female who underwent wide excision of the right ear canal and middle ear mass and right temporal craniotomy. Histopathology showed moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with temporal tumor and subdural extension consistent with metastasis. The second case is a 53 year-old male who refused surgical management. He was non-compliant with work-up and follow-up and later on presented with left facial asymmetry and headache. CT scan showed a left inner and middle ear canal mass with extension to the auditory canal and protrusion into the left cerebellar hemisphere. Punch biopsy of the left EAC mass was done and pathologic report showed well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Lastly, a 54 year old male who underwent Radical mastoidectomy with histopathology reports of a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: Standard treatment modality is still unclear because of the rarity of this condition. However, surgical resection with negative margins followed by concurrent chemotherapy and radiation is the most commonly performed approach1. For the above-mentioned patients, concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy was given which showed significant treatment response.

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy has given important prognostic and predictive information based on pathologic response as seen on studies showing that pathologic complete response (pCR) is associated with favorable disease-free and overall survival in some molecular subtypes. The main objective is to determine the pCR rate among patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) in our institution. Method: A total of 259 patients with LABC who received neoadjuvant therapy and underwent definitive surgery at St. Luke’s Medical Center Quezon City from 2007 to 2017 were retrospectively analyzed through chart review. Results: Patients’ median age at diagnosis was 51 years old. 57% were premenopausal and 42% were postmenopausal. The most common histology was Invasive Ductal at 92%. The most common subtype was Luminal/HER2 negative (52%). Majority of the patients have Stage III disease. The most common chemotherapy regimen used was sequential Anthracycline and Taxane (AC/EC/FEC then Taxane with or without Trastuzumab and Docetaxel with or without Trastuzumab followed by FEC) at 31%, Anthracycline-based (Doxorubicin or Epirubicin with Cyclophosphamide/5FU -EC/ AC/FAC) at 28%, and concurrent Anthracycline-based and Taxane (TAC/AT/ET) at 27%. Of the 95 patients with Her 2 positive disease, 21 (22%) received anti-Her2 blockade as part of their neoadjuvant regimen. The pCR, defined as absence of invasive residual cancer in the breast and axillary lymph nodes, with or without ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS) was seen in 46 patients (18%). Among the patients who achieved pCR, the most common subtype is Luminal/HER2 negative at 17% and the most common regimen used was Docetaxel followed by FEC (5FU+EC) at39%. Conclusion: Among 259 patients, pCR is achieved in 18% of patients using standard chemotherapy. This study shows that the most common neoadjuvant regimen used was sequential Anthracycline and Taxane and most common subtype is Luminal/Her negative.

Primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity is a rare malignancy with an incidence of 0.2 to 8% of all melanomas. Melanoma arises from the malignant transformation of the melanocyte and cutaneous melanomas are the most common followed by ocular, mucosal and melanoma of unknown primary site. Here we present a case of a 54 year old male who presented with a pigmented lesion on the palate, a type of mucosal melanoma. Due to the rarity of this disease, it is infrequently studied. Hence, epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis and prognosis still remains to be less understood than cutaneous melanoma. Early diagnosis is warranted as therapeutic options are limited for advanced and metastatic disease. Surgery is the primary therapeutic management and complete resection is the main goal. If not feasible, radiotherapy may also be employed to achieve local control and enhance locoregional response. Prognosis is generally poor for metastatic disease and there are no guidelines yet on the use of systemic therapy.

Background: Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) at the present time. However, it rarely presents in the intranasal cavity as the primary site. There is scarcity of local data on this disease, and the outcomes to the standard treatment are still unclear. Objective: In this case series, we presented 2 patients with primary intranasal DLBCL that were treated with chemotherapy ± anti-CD20 antibody and radiotherapy. Results: Both cases were in the early stage of disease. One patient was given systemic chemotherapy (CHOP) plus anti-CD20 antibody (Rituximab), and the other patient was only given chemotherapy (CHOP) due to financial constraints. The systemic treatment was followed by Involved-Field Radiotherapy (IFRT). Both patients demonstrated with an objective radiologic and clinical response to the treatment. The patients had no evidence of disease recurrence at 36 months. Conclusion: The cases presented showed that primary intranasal DLBCL appears to have an objective and durable response to the treatment for DLBCL as prescribed by the guidelines. The findings in this study can be added to the pool of data to expand our comprehension of this disease process.

Background: Biomarkers to predict the recurrence risk are required to optimize perioperative treatment. Adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with human epidermal growth factor 2-positive (HER2-positive) early breast cancer is decided by pathological responses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, whether pathological responses are appropriate biomarkers is unclear. Currently, there are several studies using minimal residual disease (MRD) as a predictor of prognosis in solid tumors. However, there is no standard method for detecting MRD. Objectives: This study aimed at prospectively evaluating the relationship between MRD detection and recurrence in Asian patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. Design: Prospective, observational, single-group, and exploratory. This study will include 60 patients from 2 institutions in Japan and the Philippines. The invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) rates of the MRD-positive and MRD-negative groups are compared in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who undergo surgery after receiving NAC. Methods and analysis: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels of patients will be evaluated 6 times: before NAC, after NAC, after surgery, and annually after surgery for 3 years. We will analyze the genetic profile of blood and tissue samples using the Todai OncoPanel (TOP) and the methylation level of DNA. The primary endpoint is IDFS. Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Patient enrollment began in June 2022, and new participants are still being recruited. Ethics: This study has been approved by the National Cancer Center Hospital Certified Review Board in March 2022 and has been approved by the Research Ethics Board of the participating center. Discussion: Our findings will contribute to determining whether MRD detection using TOP is useful for predicting the recurrence of HER2-positive early breast cancer. If this is proven, MRD detected by TOP could be used in the future as a biomarker to assist in the de-/escalation of treatment strategies in the next interventional trial, thereby avoiding overtreatment in patients at low risk, and in the addition of intensive treatment modalities for those in patients at high risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The survival outcomes of patients with metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma based on tumor laterality has already been established based on large-scale retrospective studies. As for the non-metastatic disease, the data is much more conflicting. Local data in this population is also scarce. In this study, we determined the difference in survival of right-sided versus left-sided colorectal cancer patients after surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed a total of 124 patients who were diagnosed with early to locally advanced (stage I to IVA) colorectal adenocarcinoma and underwent definitive surgery and adjuvant systemic treatment per physician’s preference. The patients were stratified according to the primary tumor laterality: Right-Sided Colon cancer (RCC) and Left-sided Colon cancer (LCC). The primary outcome being investigated is the disease-free survival (DFS) at 3 years and 5 years. Secondary outcomes are overall survival (OS) at 3 years and 5 years, and site of disease recurrence across laterality. Results: The findings did not show a significant difference in the 3-year and 5-year DFS between RCC and LCC after surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy (3-year DFS: 50.0% in the RCC group and 54.3% in the LCC group; P=.671; 5-year DFS: 36.7% in the RCC group and 36.2% in the LCC group, P=.474). The OS difference was also not significant at 3 years and 5 years (3-year OS: 68.8% in the RCC group and 73.9% in the LCC group, P=.572; 5-year OS: 31.3% in the RCC group and 26.1% in the LCC group, P=.474). The overall recurrence rate was not significantly different in both groups (65.6% in the RCC group and 66.3% in the LCC group; P=.944). Majority of the recurrences were at a distant site in both groups (61.1% in the RCC group and 69.6% in the LCC group; P=.501) and the most common were in the lungs, and liver. Conclusion: The survival outcome of non-metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma was not significantly different between RCC and LCC after surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. The outcome was also similar after stratification of the population into early and locally advanced disease. More diverse clinical characteristics other than tumor location may be prognostic of disease-free and survival outcomes in the non-metastatic setting of colorectal cancer. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to validate the correlation of survival to the specific stage and anatomic location.

* Context.--The ability to determine ROS1 status has become mandatory for patients with lung adenocarcinoma, as many global authorities have approved crizotinib for patients with ROS1-positive lung adenocarcinoma. Objective.--To present analytical correlation of the VENTANA ROS1 (SP384) Rabbit Monoclonal Primary Antibody (ROS1 [SP384] antibody) with ROS1 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Design.--The immunohistochemistry (IHC) and FISH analytical comparison was assessed by using 122 nonsmall cell lung cancer samples that had both FISH (46 positive and 76 negative cases) and IHC staining results available. In addition, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as well as DNA and RNA next generation sequencing (NGS) were used to further examine the ROS1 status in cases that were discrepant between FISH and IHC, based on staining in the cytoplasm of 2+ or above in more than 30% of total tumor cells considered as IHC positive. Here, we define the consensus status as the most frequent result across the 5 different methods (IHC, FISH, RT-PCR, RNA NGS, and DNA NGS) we used to determine ROS1 status in these cases. Results.--Of the IHC scoring methods examined, staining in the cytoplasm of 2+ or above in more than 30% of total tumor cells considered as IHC positive had the highest correlation with a FISH-positive status, reaching a positive percentage agreement of 97.8% and negative percentage agreement of 89.5%. A positive percentage agreement (100%) and negative percentage agreement (92.0%) was reached by comparing ROS1 (SP384) using a cutoff for staining in the cytoplasm of 2+ or above in more than 30% of total tumor cells to the consensus status. Conclusions.--Herein, we present a standardized staining protocol for ROS1 (SP384) and data that support the high correlation between ROS1 status and ROS1 (SP384) antibody. (Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2020;144:735-741; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2019-0085-OA), Annually, lung cancer affects 222 500 patients and accounts for 155 870 deaths in the United States. (1) Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a subset of lung cancer that [...]

Abstract Background Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15–20% of breast cancers. Due to its heterogeneity and high rates of relapse, there is a need to optimize treatment efficacy. Platinum chemotherapy is still controversial and currently not recommended as first-line treatment for TNBC. Recent studies have shown promising activity of this regimen. This study was done to evaluate the effect of platinum chemotherapy on pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant treatment for early TNBC and progression-free survival (PFS) in metastatic TNBC. Methods A systematic search of Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, Clinical trials databases and hand search were done to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the use of platinum-based chemotherapy in adults with TNBC. Studies were appraised using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Using the random effects model, pooled Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for pCR, and Hazard Ratios (HRs) with 95%CI for PFS were analyzed. Results Eleven RCTs were included (N = 2946). Platinum-based chemotherapy showed pCR benefit of 40%vs27% (OR1.75,95% CI 1.46–2.62,p

When cells change functions or activities (such as during differentiation, response to extracellular stimuli, or migration), gene expression undergoes large-scale reprogramming, in cell type- and function-specific manners. Large changes in gene regulation require changes in chromatin architecture, which involve recruitment of chromatin remodeling enzymes and epigenomic modification enzymes to specific genomic loci. Transcription factors must also be accurately assembled at these loci. SATB1 is a genome organizer protein that facilitates these processes, providing a nuclear architectural platform that anchors hundreds of genes, through its interaction with specific genomic sequences; this activity allows expression of all these genes to be regulated in parallel, and enables cells to thereby alter their function. We review and describe future perspectives on SATB1 function in higher-order chromatin structure and gene regulation, and its role in metastasis of breast cancer and other tumor types.

SATB1 drives metastasis when expressed in breast tumor cells by radically reprogramming gene expression. Here, we show that SATB1 also has an oncogenic activity to transform certain non-malignant breast epithelial cell lines. We studied the non-malignant MCF10A cell line, which is used widely in the literature. We obtained aliquots from two different sources (here we refer to them as MCF10A-1 and MCF10A-2), but found them to be surprisingly dissimilar in their responses to oncogenic activity of SATB1. Ectopic expression of SATB1 in MCF10A-1 induced tumor-like morphology in three-dimensional cultures, led to tumor formation in immunocompromised mice, and when injected into tail veins, led to lung metastasis. The number of metastases correlated positively with the level of SATB1 expression. In contrast, SATB1 expression in MCF10A-2 did not lead to any of these outcomes. Yet DNA copy-number analysis revealed that MCF10A-1 is indistinguishable genetically from MCF10A-2. However, gene expression profiling analysis revealed that these cell lines have significantly divergent signatures for the expression of genes involved in oncogenesis, including cell cycle regulation and signal transduction. Above all, the early DNA damage-response kinase, ATM, was greatly reduced in MCF10A-1 cells compared to MCF10A-2 cells. We found the reason for reduction to be phenotypic drift due to long-term cultivation of MCF10A. ATM knockdown in MCF10A-2 and two other non-malignant breast epithelial cell lines, 184A1 and 184B4, enabled SATB1 to induce malignant phenotypes similar to that observed for MCF10A-1. These data indicate a novel role for ATM as a suppressor of SATB1-induced malignancy in breast epithelial cells, but also raise a cautionary note that phenotypic drift could lead to dramatically different functional outcomes.

Biomolecular proton conducting materials have been touted as promising for seamlessly and directly interfacing natural biological systems with traditional artificial electronics. As such, proton conduction has been explored for a variety of protein- and polypeptide-based materials. Within this context, cephalopod structural proteins called reflectins have demonstrated several favorable properties, including outstanding electrical figures of merit as proton conductors and intrinsic biocompatibility with cellular systems. However, the processing of reflectins into films has typically used low-throughput material-intensive strategies and has often required organic solvents. Herein, we report the preparation of devices from active layers fabricated via inkjet printing of reflectin solubilized in water and the systematic evaluation of their electrical performance. Taken together, our findings represent a step forward in the manufacturing and development of unconventional bioelectronic platforms from the reflectin family of proteins.

In his comment to the debate risen on his essay about globalization and crisis of “historical thought”, Giuseppe Carlo Marino replies the previous comments by recalling their principal theoretical nodes and by developing the emerging points of the several contributions. Through a deep study of the principal questions dealt in the essay, Marino suggests interesting vision and poses innovative interpretations of the contemporanean world at the light of the events and political economical and cultural evolutions of the recent history.

American historian Daniel Boorstin, D. J. (1961) [The image: A guide to pseudo-events in America. Vintage Books.] introduced the concept of "pseudo-events" as non-spontaneous happenings that are planned and organized to generate news content that are not in touch with actual reality. Pseudo-events figured prominently in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic with alternative newsgathering methods normalized due to the public health situation. This study explored how COVID-19 pseudo-events have altered news decisions by journalists prompting them to fall into a routine of COVID-19 pseudo-events coverages that provide positive perceptions of newsmakers and overshadowed actual realities in communities. Using media scholar Perry Parks' intervention into pseudo-events using the non-representational theory or NRT (2017), the researchers interviewed 11 city reporters in Metro Manila from the country's three most circulated newspapers. Comparative case studies were conducted and shed light on the changes in journalists' dispositions and news decisions toward pseudo-events. The study aimed to draw out the factors that help journalists alter their news decision-making processes and choose which "pseudo-events" need to be covered. The research aimed to deepen the understanding of pseudo-events and contribute to the improvement of news coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mollusk trade is vital in many coastal areas and island communities throughout the Philippines because it provides livelihoods, food, and incomes to millions of Filipinos via fisheries (e.g., shellfish fishing and gleaning), shell craft, arts, shell trading and collections, and aquaculture. However, the assessments of the national trends and status of mollusc production and trade in the Philippines are largely non-existent in peer-reviewed literature. The main purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate the status and trends of traded Mollusks in the Philippines based on available online databases and a systematic review of published literature. To date, available databases on Philippine mollusk trade showed an initial increase in traded volume (the 1970s to 2006), but decreased afterward. In contrast, the traded mollusk value continued to generally increase over time (albeit the observed decrease between 2011 and 2016), indicating value increase as mollusk volume decreased. However, there is a great need to (1) resolve many of the obvious inconsistencies in data entries across all the available mollusk trade databases (BFAR, PSA, and CITES) and (2) provide field assessment of the Philippine mollusk trade and the conservation status of all traded mollusk taxa in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]