The latest medical research on Breast Cancer

To evaluate the impact of antibiotic (ATB) exposure on the outcome of chemoimmunotherapy in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

In this multicenter retrospective study, 132 patients with ES-SCLC who received chemoimmunotherapy were included from three hospitals in China. Patients receiving ATB within 30 days prior to initiating ICI therapy (p-ATB) and those receiving concurrent ICI therapy until cessation (c-ATB)were compared to those who did not (n-ATB). Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) were assessed. To avoid immortal time bias, c-ATB was analyzed as a time-dependent covariate in the Cox proportional hazards model.

Among the 132 patients, 25 were included in the p-ATB group and 26 in the c-ATB group, while 81 patients were categorized in the n-ATB group. Multivariate analysis revealed no significant differences in PFS (aHR = 1.028, 95% CI: 0.666-1.589, p = 0.900) and OS (aHR = 0.957, 95% CI: 0.549-1.668, p = 0.877) between the p-ATB and n-ATB groups. Similarly, p-ATB had no significant impact on ORR (p = 0.510) or irAEs (p = 0.516). The use of c-ATB had no significant effect on either PFS (aHR: 1.165, 95% CI: 0.907-1.497; p = 0.232) or OS (aHR: 1.221, 95% CI: 0.918-1.624; p = 0.171) by multivariate analysis.

p-ATB has no significant impact on PFS, OS, ORR, or the incidence of irAEs in ES-SCLC patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy. Similarly, c-ATB does not seem to affect PFS or OS.

Breast cancer treatments often lead to unfavourable changes in body composition, physical fitness, and quality of life (QoL). We compared the effects of resistance training (RT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on these outcomes in survivors of breast cancer.

Twenty-eight survivors of breast cancer, post-treatment (Stage I-III), aged 55.5 ± 8.8 years and body mass index 27.9 ± 5 kg/m2 were randomly allocated to a 12-week supervised RT (n = 14) or HIIT (n = 14) intervention, 3 days per week. Body composition (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry), upper and lower body muscle strength (1-repetition maximum), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) (Ekblom Bak Cycle Test), and QoL domains (EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR45) were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks.

There were no significant differences between groups at baseline. Exercise attendance ranged from 81 to 85%. Between groups, there were significant differences (p ≤ 0.001) after 12 weeks in chest press strength for RT (mean difference [MD] = 4.7 kg) and CRF for HIIT (MD = 1.9 ml/min/kg). Within groups, there were significant improvements (p < 0.05) for % lean mass and % fat mass in both RT and HIIT, as well as for upper and lower body muscle strength, CRF, and QoL domains. No major adverse events were noted.

Both exercise groups improved body composition, physical fitness, and QoL domains over 12 weeks of RT or HIIT, although mode-specific benefits were apparent with more substantial improvements in lean mass and muscle strength with RT and reductions in % fat mass and improved CRF with HIIT. Tailored exercise programs should address the specific health needs of each patient.

Protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) has been found to be highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its specific molecular mechanism needs to be further explored.

PTK7 mRNA expression in NSCLC tumor tissues was examined by quantitative real-time PCR. The protein levels of PTK7, ubiquitin-specific peptidase 8 (USP8), PIK3CB, and PI3K/AKT were determined by western blot. Human monocytes (THP-1) were induced into macrophages and then co-cultured with the conditioned medium of NSCLC cells. Macrophage M2 polarization was assessed by detecting CD206+ cells using flow cytometry. The interaction between PTK7 and USP8 or PIK3CB was assessed by Co-IP assay. Animal study was performed to evaluate the effects of PTK7 knockdown and PIK3CB on NSCLC tumorigenesis in vivo.

PTK7 expression was higher in NSCLC tumor tissues and cells. After silencing of PTK7, NSCLC cell proliferation, invasion, and macrophage M2 polarization were inhibited, while cell apoptosis was promoted. USP8 enhanced PTK7 protein expression by deubiquitination, and the repressing effects of USP8 knockdown on NSCLC cell growth, invasion, and macrophage M2 polarization were reversed by PTK7 overexpression. PTK7 interacted with PIK3CB, and PIK3CB overexpression could abolish the regulation of PTK7 silencing on NSCLC cell progression. USP8 positively regulated PIK3CB expression by PTK7, thus activating PI3K/AKT pathway. Downregulation of PTK7 reduced NSCLC tumorigenesis by decreasing PIK3CB expression.

USP8-deubiquitinated PTK7 facilitated NSCLC malignant behavior via activating the PIK3CB/PI3K/AKT pathway, providing new idea for NSCLC treatment.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology is preferred for axillary lymph node metastasis with low costs and minimal risks. To improve diagnostic performance by incorporating clinical-radiological-pathological parameters, a large cohort pre-operative aspirates in were reviewed for parameters affecting adequacy rate and accuracy.

Axillary nodal aspirates from three institutions with histologic correlation were retrieved. Case notes were reviewed for parameters pertaining to the primary tumor, nodal status, histologic and cytologic diagnoses.

Totally 1361 specimens were included. The risk of malignancy for C1-C5 categories were 53.39%, 27.45%, 70.97%, 83.33% and 88.00%, increasing to 75.86%, 94.59% and 99.28% for C3/C4/C5 categories excluding cases with neoadjuvant therapy. Node size (p < 0.001) and histologic grade (p = 0.003) of primary tumor positively correlated with specimen adequacy. Presence of in situ component trended towards inadequacy (p = 0.069). Lymph node size remained a strong predictor of concordant cytologic diagnosis (p < 0.001). A higher percentage of involved node (p = 0.006) and HER2 overexpressed breast cancers (p = 0.027) increased concordance. Cases with ≥ 4 (up to ≥ 10) positive nodes were more likely to be concordant (p = 0.009- < 0.001), with improvements of 8.27%-12.37%. For size, cut-offs of ≥ 5 and ≥ 10 mm were significant (p = 0.006- < 0.001).

It is critical that clinical-radiological-pathological findings be interpreted together with cytology. Aspirates from smaller nodes are more likely to be non-informative, irrespective of the total number of suspicious nodes, or a high-grade primary. In axillae with less than 4 suspicious nodes and/or a target node of less than 5-10 mm, the diagnostic accuracy of aspiration cytology decreases and should be interpreted cautiously.