Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Anna Crescenzi, Zubair Baloch
Summary: The use of immunohistochemistry is crucial in thyroid pathology, going beyond the confirmation of thyroid origin to include molecular profiling and prediction of clinical behavior. It has also influenced the classification scheme of thyroid tumors. Immunostains should be interpreted in conjunction with cytologic and architectural features, and their validation is essential for specimens with limited cellularity.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Rafi Haque, Caroline M. Watson, Jiaqi Liu, E. Kathleen Carter, Duc M. Duong, James J. Lah, Aliza P. Wingo, Blaine R. Roberts, Erik C. B. Johnson, Andrew J. Saykin, Leslie M. Shaw, Nicholas T. Seyfried, Thomas S. Wingo, Allan I. Levey
Summary: This study developed a reliable and high-throughput mass spectrometry assay to detect 48 key proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and found that this panel of proteins performed at least as well as existing biomarkers in predicting clinical diagnosis, brain imaging results, cognitive decline, and dementia severity in Alzheimer's disease. Combining this panel with existing biomarkers significantly improved diagnostic accuracy and prediction of disease progression.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dorin Novacescu, Bogdan Ovidiu Feciche, Alin Adrian Cumpanas, Razvan Bardan, Andrei Valentin Rusmir, Yahya Almansour Bitar, Vlad Ilie Barbos, Talida Georgiana Cut, Marius Raica, Silviu Constantin Latcu
Summary: Advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is currently considered an incurable and heterogeneous cancer, with constantly rising mortality rates. While there have been advancements in clinical definitions, genetic characterization, and therapeutic approaches for RCC, there is still a lack of definitive cure for advanced cases. The integration of scientific knowledge regarding RCC pathogenesis into clinical management is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
Article
Microbiology
Jill Jasmine Dalimot, Ilka Mc Cormick Smith, Jasmin Gerkrath, Sylvia Hartmann, Oliver A. Cornely, Soo Chan Lee, Joseph Heitman, Volker Rickerts
Summary: This study focused on improving the accuracy of mucormycosis diagnosis from tissue samples using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) targeting specific regions of fungal ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of Mucorales. While the probe combination showed success in targeting Mucorales and enhancing diagnosis, autofluorescence and variations in physiological states of fungi and antifungal therapy may impact the FISH signal obtained. Further studies are needed to determine the value of FISH in diagnosing mucormycosis from different clinical samples.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Eftychia Chatziioannou, Jana Rossner, Thazin New Aung, David L. Rimm, Heike Niessner, Ulrike Keim, Lina Maria Serna-Higuita, Irina Bonzheim, Luis Kuhn Cuellar, Dana Westphal, Julian Steininger, Friedegund Meier, Oltin Tiberiu Pop, Stephan Forchhammer, Lukas Flatz, Thomas Eigentler, Claus Garbe, Martin Roecken, Teresa Amaral, Tobias Sinnberga
Summary: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in cutaneous melanoma. The analysis of 321 primary tumors and 191 metastatic samples showed that low eTILs were closely associated with unfavorable prognosis. In therapy-naive metastases, high eTILs were associated with better survival outcomes in patients receiving anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Valentina Angerilli, Francesca Galuppini, Fabio Pagni, Nicola Fusco, Umberto Malapelle, Matteo Fassan
Summary: The current practice of pathology is influenced by the increasing complexity of modern medicine, especially precision oncology, as well as major technological advancements. In the era of next-generation technologies, pathologists are responsible for integrating and interpreting morphologic and molecular information, delivering critical answers to diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive queries, and playing a prominent role in molecular tumor boards.
Article
Pathology
Umberto Malapelle, Caterina De Luca, Antonino Iaccarino, Francesco Pepe, Pasquale Pisapia, Maria Russo, Roberta Sgariglia, Mariantonia Nacchio, Elena Vigliar, Claudio Bellevicine, Fernando C. Schmitt, Giancarlo Troncone
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Naples Federico II predictive pathology laboratory streamlined their workflow by transitioning to automated testing platforms, resulting in more efficient and cost-effective management of predictive molecular testing for oncological patients.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Sharia Hernandez, Rossana Lazcano, Alejandra Serrano, Steven Powell, Larissa Kostousov, Jay Mehta, Khaja Khan, Wei Lu, Luisa M. Solis
Summary: Characterization of the tumor microenvironment through immunoprofiling is vital for understanding immune cell interactions and predicting immunotherapy response. The nanoString GeoMx (R) Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) allows highplex profiling at the protein and RNA level, offering spatial and temporal assessment of limited tissue samples. This review discusses the technical details, advantages, and limitations of this platform and provides important considerations for translational immune-oncology research.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pasquale Pisapia, Antonino Iaccarino, Caterina De Luca, Gennaro Acanfora, Claudio Bellevicine, Roberto Bianco, Bruno Daniele, Luisa Ciampi, Marco De Felice, Teresa Fabozzi, Luigi Formisano, Pasqualina Giordano, Cesare Gridelli, Giovanni Pietro Ianniello, Annamaria Libroia, Paolo Maione, Mariantonia Nacchio, Fabio Pagni, Giovanna Palmieri, Francesco Pepe, Gianluca Russo, Maria Salatiello, Antonio Santaniello, Rachele Scamarcio, Davide Seminati, Michele Troia, Giancarlo Troncone, Elena Vigliar, Umberto Malapelle
Summary: This study fills the information gap regarding the role of ICIs in NSCLC patients with other driver mutations and provides a molecular landscape of clinically relevant oncogenic drivers in PD-L1 positive NSCLC patients. The results demonstrate that some patients with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score of 50% or higher and concomitant gene alterations may benefit from ICIs treatment, even in the presence of a KRAS gene alteration.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Elaheh Tarighati, Hadi Keivan, Hojjat Mahani
Summary: Breast cancer is a common cancer that affects women worldwide. With advancements in technology and new diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the mortality rate of breast cancer has decreased. Prognostic and predictive biomarkers play a crucial role in determining treatment options for breast cancer patients. Molecular markers such as ER, PR, HER2, and Mib1/Ki-67 are significant in the standard care of primary, recurrent, and metastatic breast cancer patients.
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Aswin Shanmugalingam, Kerry Hitos, Nirmala Pathmanathan, Senarath Edirimmane, T. Michael Hughes, Nicholas K. Ngui
Summary: The study aimed to analyze the concordance between HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) and evaluate the benefit of repeating HER2 testing on the same breast cancer specimens. The results showed perfect positive concordance and agreement between non-equivocal IHC and ISH results, indicating that IHC alone can be reliably used for HER2 status testing based on the 2018 ASCO/CAP guidelines.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH AND TREATMENT
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Gelareh Farshid, Sophia Otto, Maria Collis, Setha Napper, Mario Nicola
Summary: MDM2 amplification is common in atypical lipomatous tumors/well-differentiated liposarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma. SISH is a reference test for MDM2 assessment and shows a overall performance indices with sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 78.5%, positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 95.8%.
APPLIED IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR MORPHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Pathology
Haizhen Lu, Dong Kuang, Ping Zhou, Jing Zeng, Qingxin Xia, Jian Wang, Pei Duan, Lili Jiang, Shengbing Zang, Yiping Jin, Xiangnan Jiang, Jielin Li, Wenmin Tang, Jiansong Zhou, Jihua Chen, Jianming Ying
Summary: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PD-L1 expression in Chinese patients with R/M HNSCC. The results showed that approximately 41.8% of cases expressed PD-L1, which was significantly associated with sex, smoking history, and primary tumor site.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PATHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Javier Peinado-Serrano, Alvaro Quintanal-Villalonga, Sandra Munoz-Galvan, Eva M. Verdugo-Sivianes, Juan C. Mateos, Maria J. Ortiz-Gordillo, Amancio Carnero
Summary: The search for gene signatures that can predict the response to radiotherapy treatment is important for clinical decision making. This study analyzed gene expression levels in different NSCLC cell lines and identified a six-gene signature that can predict overall survival and progression-free survival in NSCLC patients.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Tian Huang, Bruno Guillotin, Ramin Rahni, Kenneth D. Birnbaum, Doris Wagner
Summary: This study developed a whole-mount RNA-FISH method for plants, which allows investigation of three-dimensional spatial gene expression patterns in entire plant tissues.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Veronique Tack, Zandra C. Deans, Nicola Wolstenholme, Simon Patton, Elisabeth M. C. Dequeker
Article
Medical Laboratory Technology
Yael Shinar, Isabella Ceccherini, Dorota Rowczenio, Ivona Aksentijevich, Juan Arostegui, Eldad Ben-Chetrit, Guilaine Boursier, Marco Gattorno, Hasmik Hayrapetyan, Hiroaki Ida, Nobuo Kanazawa, Helen J. Lachmann, Anna Mensa-Vilaro, Ryuta Nishikomori, Christian Oberkanins, Laura Obici, Osamu Ohara, Seza Ozen, Tamara Sarkisian, Katie Sheils, Nicola Wolstenholme, Evelien Zonneveld-Huijssoon, Marielle E. van Gijn, Isabelle Touitou
CLINICAL CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Pathology
Francesca Fenizia, Nicola Wolstenholme, Jennifer A. Fairley, Etienne Rouleau, Melanie H. Cheetham, Martin P. Horan, Emina Torlakovic, Benjamin Besse, Raed Al Dieri, Dina G. Tiniakos, Zandra C. Deans, Simon J. Patton, Nicola Normanno
Summary: Tumour Mutation Burden (TMB) is considered a potential biomarker for immune checkpoint inhibitors, and a survey found that many laboratories globally have introduced TMB analysis, although concerns exist about the reproducibility of results due to variability in testing methods.
Article
Pathology
Riziero Esposito Abate, Melanie H. Cheetham, Jennifer A. Fairley, Raffaella Pasquale, Alessandra Sacco, Wolstenholme Nicola, Zandra C. Deans, Simon J. Patton, Nicola Normanno
Summary: Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is an agnostic biomarker for immune checkpoint inhibitors, but its testing methods are not standardized. A pilot external quality assessment (EQA) scheme validated the materials and procedures for TMB testing and found significant variability in the results.
