Cancer-related activation of cytokine networks are central aspects of tumor development. The goal of the study was to examine the possibility of plasma cytokines for the screening of colorectal ...cancer (CRC).
We carried out a multicenter, hospital-based case-control study in 66 adult Japanese patients with CRC and 87 healthy adult Japanese. A multiplex bead array immunoassay was used to examine 27 different plasma cytokines. Their association with the presence of CRC was evaluated by logistic regression analysis after adjusting for potential confounding factors.
Thirteen plasma cytokines were notably associated with the presence of CRC (p< 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that the combinatorial assessment of some of these plasma cytokines showed "good" capability for discriminating between CRC patients and control subjects (area under the curve (AUC): 0.819 for the combination of IL-9, Eotaxin, G-CSF, and TNF-α; 0.832 for the combination of IL-4, IL-8, Eotaxin, IP-10, and TNF-α). Individual cytokine assessments presented lower AUCs (0.657-0.755) than the combinatorial cytokine assessments.
The levels of several plasma cytokines varied significantly between CRC patients and control subjects, suggesting the possibility of differentially expressed plasma cytokines as potential biomarkers for detecting the presence of CRC. Our results should be validated in other populations.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
To quantitate plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in healthy individuals and to clarify how these levels are affected by blood sample handling procedures during short-term storage.
Methods
...Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-treated plasma samples were simultaneously collected from 14 healthy individuals and stored on ice prior to analysis of the IL-6 levels. White blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells, and platelets were counted immediately after blood collection. IL-6 levels were analyzed every 30 minutes using a commercial electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.
Results
Correlation coefficients between plasma IL-6 levels and WBC counts ranged between 0.605 and 0.554, higher than those for other cell types. The lowest IL-6 value in healthy individuals was estimated at 0.04 pg/mL and the mean values remained under 2 pg/mL over time.
Conclusion
Analysis of IL-6 levels in EDTA-treated plasma samples centrifuged within 1 hour and stored on ice can be performed within 90 minutes of short-term storage if the analytical method has a sensitivity in the range of 10 fg/mL.
A 42-year-old man visited our hospital due to a gradually swelling subcutaneous mass on the back of the right shoulder. The biopsy specimen was diagnosed pathologically as pleomorphic liposarcoma. ...Systemic computed tomography and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography revealed multiple organ metastases, including involvement of the heart, skin, liver, bone, and lung. Six cycles of doxorubicin plus ifosfamide initially controlled the disease. However, newly developed lung metastases grew rapidly during subsequent cycles of chemotherapy, and the patient died 10 months after the initial diagnosis. The initial presentation of multiple organ involvement, including the heart, is a rare clinical manifestation of pleomorphic liposarcoma.
Objective
To develop a combinatorial panel of salivary cytokines that manifests the presence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that will eventually improve prognosis by facilitating the early ...diagnosis and management of this common cancer.
Methods
We performed a case-control study comparing salivary cytokine profiles of 35 adult subjects with NSCLC with those of 35 matched, healthy nonsmokers. Multiplex bead array assays were used to quantify 27 cytokines in saliva, serum, and oral mucosal transudate samples. Logistic regression analysis was used to develop an informative cytokine panel. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the discriminant ability of the panel.
Results
A combinatorial 12-cytokine panel (interleukin receptor antagonist IL1RN, IL1B, IL6, IL7, IL8, IL10, C-C motif chemokine ligand 11 CCL11, tumor necrosis factor, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 CXCL10, C-C motif chemokine ligand 3, C-C motif chemokine ligand 4, and platelet-derived growth factor-BB) distinguished patients with NSCLC from healthy controls. Further, ROC analysis revealed that a cytokine panel comprising IL10 (odds ratio, 1.156) and CXCL10 (odds ratio, 1.000) discriminated NSCLC with a sensitivity of 60.6% and specificity of 80.8% (area under the ROC curve, 0.701).
Conclusion
A combinatorial panel of select salivary cytokines indicates the presence of NSCLC.
Neuroendocrine neoplasms are rare disease and could originate from throughout the body, however, there have been little epidemiological studies in Japan, especially the organ distribution. This study ...was to examine the epidemiological information of neuroendocrine neoplasms in the Japanese population using data from a hospital-based cancer registry.
Using data from the national database of hospital-based cancer registries, we examined the organ distribution, the stage and initial treatment of neuroendocrine neoplasms newly diagnosed and treated in designated and non-designated cancer care hospitals between 2009 and 2015. In the present study, neuroendocrine neoplasms consisted of neuroendocrine tumors and carcinoma.
A total of 33,215 (17,485 neuroendocrine carcinomas and 15,730 neuroendocrine tumors) cases were diagnosed. The majority in neuroendocrine carcinoma occur in lung (31.1%) followed in decreasing frequency by stomach (12.9%), pancreas (7.5%), rectum (6.7%) and esophagus (5.8%). On the other hand, the half of neuroendocrine tumor originated rectum (50.9%) and followed by pancreas (13.9%), duodenum (9.0%), lung/bronchus (8.9%), and stomach (8.7%). Neuroendocrine carcinoma presented at more advanced stage and higher age than neuroendocrine tumors. Most cases of neuroendocrine tumors were treated surgically, while half of neuroendocrine carcinomas were treated with non-surgical therapy consisting of chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy.
Our results demonstrated that neuroendocrine neoplasms could originate from various organs and the site distribution was different between neuroendocrine carcinoma and tumor. The national database of hospital-based cancer registries in Japan is a valuable source for evaluating the organ distribution of the rare systemic disease.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) elicit potent cell cycle arrest in EGFR‐mutant non–small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. However, little is known about the ...mechanisms through which these drugs alter the tumor phenotype that contributes to the immune escape of EGFR‐mutant cells. Using EGFR‐mutant NSCLC cell lines and tissue samples from patients, we investigated the changes in immune checkpoints expressed in tumor cells following EGFR inhibition. Subsequently, we also analyzed the role of soluble factors from the dying tumor cells in the activation of immune signaling pathways involved in therapy resistance. Upon EGFR‐TKI treatment, we found that EGFR‐mutant cells upregulated the expression of innate immune checkpoint CD24 in vitro. We then analyzed biopsy samples from six patients who developed resistance to a first‐generation EGFR‐TKI without the acquired T790M mutation. Immunohistochemistry revealed that levels of tumor CD24 expression were increased upon treatment compared with those from pre‐treatment samples. Monocyte‐derived macrophages facilitated antibody‐dependent cellular phagocytosis when EGFR‐TKI‐treated EGFR‐mutant cells were incubated with anti‐CD24 antibodies in vitro, suggesting that CD24 may be a therapeutical target for EGFR‐mutant lung cancer. Moreover, EGFR inhibition accelerated the release of cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) from dying tumor cells, which activated the type I interferon signaling pathways in human THP‐1 monocytes in a stimulator of interferon genes‐dependent manner. Our study indicates that EGFR inhibition in EGFR‐mutant NSCLC cells fosters a tumor microenvironment associated with immune escape. Thus, CD24 targeted therapy and cfDNA monitoring may contribute to improved treatment outcomes in patients with EGFR‐mutant NSCLC.
EGFR inhibition in EGFR‐mutant lung cancer cells results in the upregulation of tumor CD24. It also accelerates the release of tumor‐derived cell‐free DNA, triggering the type I interferon pathways. These biomarkers are potential targets to overcome the resistance to EGFR‐targeted therapy.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
Although thymic carcinoma is a rare epithelial neoplasm that tends to be aggressive and metastasize widely, its incidence in Japan remains unclear. This study was to examine the ...incidence and initial treatment of thymic carcinoma in the Japanese population using data from a hospital-based cancer registry.
Methods
Using data from the national database of hospital-based cancer registries, we examined the incidence and initial treatment of thymic carcinoma diagnosed and treated in designated and non-designated cancer care hospitals between 2009 and 2015. Based on Japanese population estimates, we calculated the incidence rate of thymic cancer in Japan.
Results
A total of 2587 thymic carcinoma cases were diagnosed between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2015. These patients consisted of 1705 (66%) men and 882 (34%) women, with a median age of 65.5 years (range, 16–96 years). The number and proportion of thymic carcinoma to all registered cancer cases per year increased each year. The incidence rate was estimated to be 0.29/100000 during the observation period, with an annual onset incidence of 0.38/100000 in 2015. Almost half of all cases of thymic carcinoma were treated surgically, while the others were treated with non-surgical therapy consisting of chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy.
Conclusions
We estimated the incidence rate of thymic carcinoma in Japan based on the designated cancer care hospital-based cancer registry. The half of all patients with thymic carcinoma was unfit for multimodality therapy, including thoracic surgery.
We estimated an incidence rate for thymic carcinoma of 0.29 cases per 100 000 person-years in Japan based on the designated cancer care hospital-based cancer registry.
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) is abundantly present throughout the gastrointestinal tract and stored mostly in enterochromaffin (EC) cells, which are located on the mucosal surface. 5-HT ...released from EC cells stimulate both intrinsic and extrinsic nerves, which results in various physiological and pathophysiological responses, such as gastrointestinal contractions. EC cells are believed to have the ability to respond to the chemical composition of the luminal contents of the gut; however, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel TRPA1, which is activated by pungent compounds or cold temperature, is highly expressed in EC cells. We also found that TRPA1 agonists, including allyl isothiocyanate and cinnamaldehyde, stimulate EC cell functions, such as increasing intracellular Ca²⁺ levels and 5-HT release, by using highly concentrated EC cell fractions and a model of EC cell function, the RIN14B cell line. Furthermore, we showed that allyl isothiocyanate promotes the contraction of isolated guinea pig ileum via the 5-HT₃ receptor. Taken together, our results indicate that TRPA1 acts as a sensor molecule for EC cells and may regulate gastrointestinal function.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Tumor cells in extramammary Paget’s disease sometimes overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Several case reports indicated successful response to HER2 inhibitor in patients ...with HER2‐positive metastatic extramammary Paget’s disease. However, these were single‐case reports, and most cases were evaluated only by immunohistochemistry and treated with HER2 inhibitor monotherapy. Here, we report cases of HER2‐positive metastatic extramammary Paget’s disease identified by both immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, and the patients were treated with HER2 inhibitor (trastuzumab) and paclitaxel combination chemotherapy. Partial response was observed in one case. The case was positive on both immunohistochemistry (3+) and in situ hybridization (HER2/chromosome 17 centromere, ≥2.0). Our observations suggest that HER2 should be checked in patients with advanced and/or metastatic extramammary Paget’s disease, and that therapy with HER2 blockers should be considered as an option for treatment of HER2‐positive extramammary Paget’s disease, especially in cases positive for both HER2 gene amplification and overexpression.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK