Oncology Commons^™

Targeting Homologous Recombination Addicted Tumors: Challenges And Opportunities, Talia Golan, Jonathan Brody, Md

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) and molecular subtyping of tumors have opened the door to clinically available targeted therapies. Although the treatment of many solid tumors still rely on a steady regimen of non-targeted chemotherapeutic agents, it is becoming increasingly more apparent that certain tumors with defects in DNA damage repair (DDR) genes may be exquisitely sensitive to DNA damaging agents or therapies targeting key elements of this pathway such PARP1, ATR, or ATM. Still, for tumors with DDR defects the challenges are multi-fold including: (I) identifying these tumors in patients in time for a window of opportunity …

Lymph Node Ratio Is An Important And Independent Prognostic Factor For Patients With Stage Iii Melanoma, Adam C. Berger, Michael Fierro, John C. Kairys, David Berd, Takami Sato, Jocelyn Andrel, Terry Hyslop, Michael J. Mastrangelo

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION:

The incidence of melanoma is dramatically increasing worldwide. We hypothesized that the ratio of metastatic to examined lymph node ratio (LNR) would be the most important prognostic factor for stage III patients.

METHODS:

We retrospectively reviewed our institutional database of melanoma patients and identified 168 patients who underwent lymph node dissection (LND) for stage III disease between 1993 and 2007. Patients were divided into three groups based on LNR (≤10%, n = 93; 10-≤25%, n = 45; and >25%, n = 30). Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS:

The median survival time of …

Pp32 (Anp32a) Expression Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Cell Growth And Induces Gemcitabine Resistance By Disrupting Hur Binding To Mrnas., Timothy K Williams, Christina L Costantino, Nikolai A Bildzukewicz, Nathan G Richards, David W Rittenhouse, Lisa Einstein, Joseph A Cozzitorto, Judith C Keen, Abhijit Dasgupta, Myriam Gorospe, Gregory E Gonye, Charles J Yeo, Agnieszka K Witkiewicz, Jonathan R Brody

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

The expression of protein phosphatase 32 (PP32, ANP32A) is low in poorly differentiated pancreatic cancers and is linked to the levels of HuR (ELAV1), a predictive marker for gemcitabine response. In pancreatic cancer cells, exogenous overexpression of pp32 inhibited cell growth, supporting its long-recognized role as a tumor suppressor in pancreatic cancer. In chemotherapeutic sensitivity screening assays, cells overexpressing pp32 were selectively resistant to the nucleoside analogs gemcitabine and cytarabine (ARA-C), but were sensitized to 5-fluorouracil; conversely, silencing pp32 in pancreatic cancer cells enhanced gemcitabine sensitivity. The cytoplasmic levels of pp32 increased after cancer cells are treated with certain stressors, …

One Year Survival With Poorly Differentiated Metastatic Pancreatic Carcinoma Following Chemoembolization With Gemcitabine And Cisplatin., Daniel B Brown, Carin F Gonsalves, Charles J Yeo, Agnes K Witkiewicz, Brian I Carr

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

While hepatic arterial chemoembolization is efficacious for a number of malignancies, there is scant data regarding treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. We report a complete radiographic response at one year from diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. Gemcitabine/cisplatin based chemoembolization may be of potential benefit for patients with liver-dominant metastases from pancreatic carcinoma. Given the typical survival of 6 months or less in this patient group with standard therapies, further research is warranted.

Microrna Expression Profiling Of Male Breast Cancer., Matteo Fassan, Raffaele Baffa, Juan P Palazzo, Joshua Lloyd, Marco Crosariol, Chang-Gong Liu, Stefano Volinia, Hannes Alder, Massimo Rugge, Carlo M Croce, Anne Rosenberg

Department of Urology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION : MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that control gene expression by targeting mRNAs and triggering either translation repression or RNA degradation. Their aberrant expression may be involved in human diseases, including cancer. To test the hypothesis that there is a specific miRNA expression signature which characterizes male breast cancers, we performed miRNA microarray analysis in a series of male breast cancers and compared them with cases of male gynecomastia and female breast cancers. METHODS : Paraffin blocks were obtained at the Department of Pathology of Thomas Jefferson University from 28 male patients including 23 breast …

Distinguishing Post-Treatment Changes From Recurrent Disease In Cholangiocarcinoma: A Case Report., Timothy N Showalter, A Omer Nawaz, Frederick M Fellin, Pramila R Anne, Ernest L Rosato, Adam P Dicker

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Three-dimensional techniques for radiotherapy have expanded possibilities for partial volume liver radiotherapy. Characteristic, transient radiographic changes can occur in the absence of clinical radiation-induced liver disease after hepatic radiotherapy and must be distinguished from local recurrence. CASE PRESENTATION: In this report, we describe computed tomography changes after chemoradiotherapy for cholangiocarcinoma as an example of collaboration to determine the clinical significance of the radiographic finding. CONCLUSION: Because of improved three-dimensional, conformal radiotherapy techniques, consultation across disciplines may be necessary to interpret post-treatment imaging findings.

Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis Masquerading As Carcinoma Of The Breast: A Case Report And Review Of The Literature., Richard Tuli, Brian J O'Hara, Janet Hines, Anne L Rosenberg

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis is an uncommon, benign entity with a diagnosis of exclusion. The typical clinical presentation of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis often mimics infection or malignancy. As a result, histopathological confirmation of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis combined with exclusion of infection, malignancy and other causes of granulomatous disease is absolutely necessary. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a young woman with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, initially mistaken for mastitis as well as breast carcinoma, and successfully treated with a course of corticosteroids. CONCLUSION: There is no clear clinical consensus regarding the ideal therapeutic management of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis. Treatment options …

Analysis Of Epstein-Barr Virus Reservoirs In Paired Blood And Breast Cancer Primary Biopsy Specimens By Real Time Pcr., R Serene Perkins, Katherine Sahm, Cindy Marando, Diana Dickson-Witmer, Gregory R Pahnke, Mark Mitchell, Nicholas J Petrelli, Irving M Berkowitz, Patricia Soteropoulos, Virginie M Aris, Stephen P Dunn, Leslie J Krueger

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is present in over 90% of the world's population. This infection is considered benign, even though in limited cases EBV is associated with infectious and neoplastic conditions. Over the past decade, the EBV association with breast cancer has been constantly debated. Adding to this clinical and biological uncertainty, different techniques gave contradictory results for the presence of EBV in breast carcinoma specimens. In this study, minor groove binding (MGB)-TaqMan real time PCR was used to detect the presence of EBV DNA in both peripheral blood and tumor samples of selected patients. METHODS: Peripheral blood and breast …