bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Naples prognostic score may predict overall survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer
Authors: Gulturk Ilkay , Yilmaz Mesut , Tacar Seher Y. , Bakkaloglu Oguz K. , Sonmezoz Gulru B. , Erdal Gulcin S. , Ozmen Aykut , Tural Deniz 
Published: March 2024

Introduction:
Naples prognostic score (NPS) based on nutritional and inflammatory parameters can predict response to chemotherapy and overall survival (OS) in many cancer types. However, its significance in metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC) remains unclear. We evaluated the prognostic significance of the NPS in patients with metastatic PC receiving first line chemotherapy.

Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed 215 patients with metastatic PC receiving first line FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy. NPS’s were calculated using pre-chemotherapy laboratory data. Patients were divided into three groups according to their scores (NPS: 0; 1 & 2; 3 & 4 were grouped as 1, 2 and 3, respectively). The association of NPS with clinicopathological features and OS were evaluated.

Results:
Median age was 64 years, and median OS was 10.5 months. Hemoglobin levels were lower and Ca-19-9 values were higher with increasing NPS. Frequency of patients with bone and/or liver metastases, and with greater than 5 metastatic focus were higher in group 3. A lower NPS was associated with longer OS. The median OS in groups 1, 2, and 3 were 19.5, 12, and 8 months, respectively, and differed significantly. Univariate analysis revealed effect of NPS (3-4) on OS (HR: 2.38, 1.77–3.19). Other prognostic factors affecting OS were age, ECOG, liver, bone or lymph node metastases, number of metastatic foci (<5 vs >5), de-novo metastatic disease, and serum Ca-19-9 levels. NPS (3-4) was identified as an independent prognostic factor negatively affecting OS (HR: 1.89, 1.34–2.65) in multivariate analysis.

Conclusion:
NPS may be a useful prognostic marker for the prediction of OS in metastatic PC patients receiving systemic chemotherapy.
Swallowing in advanced oral cancers: A prospective observational study
Authors: Malik Akshat , Sharin Florida , Balaji Arun , Mathur Yash , Nair Sudhir , Chaturvedi Pankaj , Nair Deepa 
Published: March 2024

Background:
Advanced head and neck cancers are known to cause swallowing dysfunction due to anatomical and post-treatment changes. Literature is sparse on post-surgical and/or multi-modality therapy-associated swallowing function in advanced oral cancers. We conducted this study to longitudinally assess and compare the pre- and post-therapy swallowing dysfunction associated with locally advanced oral cancers.

Methods and Material:
A prospective observational longitudinal study was conducted at a tertiary cancer center from 2017 to 2018 including treatment-naive cT4a oral cancer patients (AJCC 7th edition). The assessment was done pre-surgery, post-surgery, and post-adjuvant setting as per the scales (Dysphagia score, Penetration aspiration scale, and Yale pharyngeal residue (vallecular and pyriform fossa).

Results:
Of the 30 patients in the study, 47.4%, 47.4%, 52.6%, and 47.4% experienced deterioration of Dysphagia score, Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS), vallecula residue, and pyriform residue scores in the postoperative period. And 52.6%, 47.4%, 68.4%, and 57.9% had inferior dysphagia score, PAS, vallecula, and pyriform residue scores even 6 months after completion of adjuvant therapy. The dysphagia score correlated well with other objective assessment scores at different time points.

Conclusion:
Swallowing functions are significantly affected by surgery and adjuvant therapy and continue to be affected even 6 months after completion of treatment. Appropriate rehabilitation and intervention must be offered to patients to reduce this problem. Dysphagia scores can predict the swallowing status similar to other objective assessments.
Methylation study of tumor suppressor genes in human aberrant crypt foci, colorectal carcinomas, and normal colon
Authors: Sarangi Jayati , Das Prasenjit , Ahmad Aijaz , Sulaiman Mohamed , Ghosh Shouriyo , Gupta Brijnandan , Panwar Rajesh , Pal Sujoy , Yadav Rajni , Ahuja Vineet , Sen Sudip , Upadhyay Asish D. , Dash Nihar R. , Sharma Atul , Gupta Siddhartha D. 
Published: March 2024

Background:
Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are the earliest preneoplastic lesions in human colon, identifiable on chromoendoscopic screening. Our objective was to evaluate the %methylation of APC, CDKN2A, MLH1, RASSF1, MGMT, and WIF1 tumor suppressor genes (TSG) in ACF, corresponding colorectal carcinomas (CRC), and normal colonic mucosal controls.

Methods:
In this study, macroscopically normal-appearing mucosal flaps were sampled 5–10 cm away from the tumor mass from 302 fresh colectomy specimens to identify ACF-like lesions. Thirty-five cases with multiple ACFs were selected (n 35) as the main study group, with corresponding sections from CRC (n 35) as disease controls, and mucosal tissue blocks from 20 colectomy specimens (normal controls), operated for non-neoplastic pathologies. Genomic DNA was extracted, and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on a customized methylation array model. %Methylation data were compared among the groups and with clinicopathological parameters. Selected target mRNA and protein expression studies were performed.

Results:
%Methylation of TSGs in ACF was intermediate between normal colon and CRC, although a statistically significant difference was observed only for the WIF1 gene (P < 0.01). Also, there was increased nuclear β-catenin expression and upregulation of CD44-positive cancer-stem cells in ACF and CRCs than in controls. Right-sided ACFs and dysplastic ACFs had a higher %methylation of CDKN2A (P < 0.01), whereas hyperplastic ACFs had a higher %methylation of RASSF1 (P 0.04). The topographic characteristics of ACFs did not correlate with TSG %methylation.

Conclusions:
Early epigenetic methylation of WIF1 gene is one of the mechanisms for ACF development in human colon.
Prognostic value of radiomic features in patients with esophageal cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy
Authors: Jinnouchi Haruka , Yamashita Hideomi , Nozawa Yuki , Nakamoto Takahiro , Sawayanagi Subaru , Katano Atsuto 
Published: March 2024

Background:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of radiomic features in patients who underwent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Methods:
In this retrospective study, two independent cohorts of esophageal cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy were included. Radiomics features of each patient were extracted from pre-treatment computed tomography (CT) images. Radiomic features were selected by employing univariate and multivariate analyses in the test cohort. Selected radiomic features were verified in the validation cohort. The endpoint of the present study was overall survival.

Results:
A total of 101 esophageal cancer patients were included in our study, with 71 patients in the test cohort and 30 patients in the validation cohort. Univariate analysis identified 158 radiomic features as prognostic factors for overall survival in the test cohort. A multivariate analysis revealed that root mean squared and Low-High-High (LHH) median were prognostic factors for overall survival with a hazard ratio of 2.23 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16–4.70, P = 0.017) and 0.26 (95% CI: 0.13–0.54, P < 0.001), respectively. In the validation cohort, root mean squared high/LHH median low group had the most preferable prognosis with a median overall survival of 73.30 months (95% CI: 32.13–NA), whereas root mean squared low/LHH median low group had the poorest prognosis with a median overall survival of 9.72 months (95% CI: 2.50–NA), with a P value of < 0.001.

Conclusions:
We identified two radiomic features that might be independent prognostic factors of overall survival of esophageal cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy.
Depletion of CNOT4 modulates the DNA damage responses following ionizing radiation (IR)
Authors: Eskandarian Samira , Grand Roger J. , Irani Shiva , Saeedi Mohsen , Mirfakhraie Reza 
Published: March 2024

Background:
The Ccr4–Not complex (CNOT complex in mammals) is a unique and highly conserved complex with numerous cellular functions. Until now, there has been relatively little known about the importance of the CNOT complex subunits in the DNA damage response (DDR) in mammalian cells. CNOT4 is a subunit of the complex with E3 ubiquitin ligase activity that interacts transiently with the CNOT1 subunit. Here, we attempt to investigate the role of human CNOT4 subunit in the DDR in human cells.

Material and Methods:
In this study, cell viability in the absence of CNOT4 was assessed using a Cell Titer-Glo Luminescence assay up to 4 days post siRNA transfection. In a further experiment, CNOT4-depleted HeLa cells were exposed to 3Gy ionizing radiation (IR). Ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) and ATM Rad3-related (ATR) signaling pathways were then investigated by western blotting for phosphorylated substrates. In addition, foci formation of histone 2A family member X (γH2AX), replication protein A (RPA), TP53 binding protein 1 (53BP1), and DNA repair protein RAD51 homolog 1 was also determined by immunofluorescence microscopy comparing control and CNOT4-depleted HeLa cells 0, 8, and 24 h post IR treatment.

Results:
Our results from cell viability assays showed a significant reduction of cell growth activity at 24 (P value 0.02) and 48 h (P value 0.002) post siRNA. Western blot analysis showed slightly reduced or slightly delayed DDR signaling in CNOT4-depleted HeLa cells after IR. More significantly, we observed increased formation of γH2AX, RPA, 53BP1, and RAD51 foci after IR in CNOT4-depleted cells compared with the control cells.

Conclusion:
We conclude that depletion of CNOT4 affects various aspects of the cellular response to DNA damage.
Single-agent temozolomide as salvage therapy in heavily pretreated metastatic sarcoma patients
Authors: Dogan Izzet , Paksoy Nail , Basaran Mert 
Published: March 2024

Background:
Treatment options for patients with metastatic sarcoma are limited. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of temozolomide in pretreated patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

Methods:
We recorded the pathological, clinical, and treatment data of the patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma retrospectively. We evaluated the efficacy and side effects of temozolomide in this patient group.

Results:
This study involved 16 patients. The average age was detected as 48 (21–73) years. Six (37.5%) patients had de-novo metastatic disease at diagnosis. Primary of tumors had originated from intra-abdominal (43.7%), extremity (31.3%), head-and-neck (12.5%), and intrathoracic (12.5%) regions. The patients previously had received at least two different chemotherapy regimens (75%), pazopanib (50%) and palliative radiotherapy (31.3%). Temozolomide-related median progression-free survival time was found as 3.5 (95% CI, 2.6-4.3) months. One patient (6.3%) had a partial response, while four patients (25%) had stable disease. Nine individuals (56.3%) had grade 1–2 adverse events, while one patient (6.3%) had grade 3–4 adverse events.

Conclusions:
We observed that temozolomide was well tolerated but had limited efficacy in the treatment of metastatic sarcoma patients. In patients with extensively pretreated soft tissue sarcoma, temozolomide may be considered a therapeutic option as a single-agent.
Expression of HIF-1α and Nestin in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its association with vasculogenic mimicry
Authors: Murugesan Ambika , Bharath C , Balakrishnan Sekar , Kandasamy Saravanan , Priyadharshini Indra , Ravi Saranyan 
Published: March 2024

Oral cancer is a common cause of morbidity and mortality with poor prognosis in head and neck carcinomas. The cancer is a complex structure, where 50%–60% of solid tumors exhibit areas of hypoxia which is influenced by the transcriptional activity of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). HIF promotes stemness and proliferation of vessel-like structures tumors which are responsible for invasion and metastasis.

Aim:
To evaluate and correlate the expression of HIF1-α and Nestin in tumor center and periphery of nonmetastatic, and recurrent oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its association with vasculogenic mimicry.

Materials and Methods:
About 60 histopathological proven cases of OSCC with proper tumor center and periphery were collected. Among them 25 are nonmetastatic, 25 metastatic, and 10 recurrent cases of OSCC. Immunohistochemical analysis of HIF, Nestin, and CD31/PAS (periodic acid Schiff) was done.

Results:
Based on the extent of tumor cells stained, staining intensity and index score, expression of both HIF and Nestin was highly significant in periphery of metastatic OSCC with a P value of 0.003* and 0.001*. The total number of vessels expressed in nonmetastatic, metastatic, and recurrent OSCC was not significant but the overall expression of CD31/PAS was significant in the periphery of the tumor with a P value of 0.024*. Correlating the overall expression, HIF showed a positive relation with Nestin and CD31/PAS with a P value of 0.026* and 0.038* in nonmetastatic OSCC using Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis.

Conclusion:
Based on the above results hypoxia plays a vital role in cancer stem cells maintenance with the formation of vessel-like structures by tumor cells at an early stage of cancer development.
Association of systemic inflammatory markers with prognosis in erlotinib-treated EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Yetişir Abdullah Evren , Paydaş Semra , Büyükşimşek Mahmut , Oğul Ali , Kolsuz İrem , Kıdı Mehmet Mutlu 
Published: March 2024

Background:
To evaluate the relationship of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) with the derived neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods:
The study included 43 patients with EGFR-mutant metastatic NSCLC. The dNLR, NLR, LMR, and PLR values were calculated using the baseline complete blood counts before and after treatment with erlotinib.

Results:
The NLR value had the best diagnostic test performance with a sensitivity of 91.3%. dNLR, NLR, LMR, and PLR were found to be significant for the prediction of OS and PFS. While the delta dNLR and NLR values were significant for OS, only the delta NLR value was significant for PFS.

Conclusions:
The dNLR, NLR, LMR, and PLR values were found to be significant in the prediction of OS and PFS in erlotinib-treated metastatic NSCLC. Further clinical studies are needed to determine the ideal target-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor in cases of metastatic NSCLC presenting with the EGFR-activating mutation.
Cancer trend and radiotherapy utilization at a tertiary academic hospital in Malaysia
Authors: Gan Daniel E. H. , Bustam Anita Z. 
Published: March 2024

Aims:
To determine the trend of cancer cases referred to the Department of Clinical Oncology in UMMC in terms of patient volumes over a period of 10 years. To define the stage at presentation of the top five cancers in males and females, respectively. To determine the overall radiotherapy utilization rates.

Methods and Material:
This is a retrospective analysis of all new cases seen at the Department of Clinical Oncology, University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), from the year 2009 to 2018 inclusive. The top five cancers in males and females were defined in terms of patient volumes and stage at presentation. The overall actual radiotherapy utilization rates were determined.

Results:
A total of 12,672 patients were included for analysis. A total of 62.9% of the cases were females and 37.1% were males. The median age of presentation was 59 years old. Breast cancer was the most common cancer, followed by colorectal, lung, thyroid, and prostate cancer. The most common presenting stage was stage 4. The overall actual radiotherapy utilization rate (aRTU) was 40.1%. Curative intent makes up 74.3% of radiotherapy and 66.6% of chemotherapy utilization.

Conclusions:
The cancer distribution and trends among our patients are comparable with national and regional data. The overall actual radiotherapy utilization rate in the UMMC was lower than the estimated optimal rate of 53% but higher than the actual rate of 28% for Malaysia. This study provides valuable insight into current cancer trends and treatment demands to facilitate service planning.
Efficacy of the collapsed cone algorithm calculated radiotherapy plans in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT): A comparative dosimetric study in tumors of thorax
Authors: Mishra Atul , Pathak Ramji , Mittal Kailash Kumar , Srivastava Anoop Kumar , Dayashankar Maurya Surendrakumar , Mishra Surendra Prasad , Singh Sudesh Kumar 
Published: March 2024

Aim:
In this study, efficacy of collapsed cone algorithm-generated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) were evaluated for treatment of thoracic esophageal cancer.

Materials and Methods:
Ten previously treated patients with VMAT were considered for evaluation. The planning parameters were evaluated in terms of max dose, mean dose, Homogeneity Index, Conformity Index for planning target volume, and organ at risk doses. Total monitor unit, treatment time, and gamma passing index were also reported.

Results:
The target dose coverage of the VMAT and IMRT plans achieved the clinical dosimetric criteria for all ten patients in the evaluation. Under the condition of equivalent target dose distribution, the VMAT plan’s Conformity Index, monitor unit, treatment time, and gamma passing index rate were superior than in the IMRT plan, and the result was statistically significant.

Conclusion:
Collapsed cone algorithm-based VMAT can have a more effective and better approach for esophageal cancer than IMRT
Single-nucleotide polymorphism in CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, and CYP2C9 genes and their association with gastrointestinal cancer: A hospital-based case-control study
Authors: Patil Madhavi N. , Datkhile Kailas D. , Gudur Anand K. , Gudur Rashmi A. , Patil Satish R. 
Published: March 2024

Background:
Cytochrome P450 (CYP) comprises a group of phase-I metabolizing enzymes that are important in xenobiotics metabolism. Genetic polymorphism of CYPs has been comprehensively studied for their association with a range of diseases. In this study, we assessed single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CYP1A, CYP1B, CYP2B, and CYP2C and their role in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer susceptibility in the rural population of Maharashtra.

Materials and Methods:
In this hospital-based case-control study, the association of polymorphism of CYP genes was studied by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The study subjects included 200 clinically confirmed GI cancer patients and equal number of healthy controls. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and P value were evaluated to find out the level of association, where P ≤ 0.005 was considered statistically significant.

Results:
After the analysis of CYP1A1*2A (rs4646903), CYP1B1*3 (rs1059836), CYP2B6*5 (rs3211371), CYP2C8*2 (rs11572103), CYP2C9*2 (rs1799853), and CYP2C9*3 (rs1057910), we noticed that variant (T) allele of CYP2B6*5 possessed significantly elevated risk (OR = 4.43; 95% CI: 2.20–8.90; P < 0.0001) of GI cancer in studied population. The genotypic distribution of G/C heterozygote allele of CYP1B1*3 (OR = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.12–0.32; P < 0.0001) and homozygous variant C/C allele (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.13–0.45; P < 0.0001) showed a negative association with the development of GI cancer.

Conclusion:
The findings from this study supported that polymorphism of CYP2B6*5gene may be involved in the development of GI cancer. However, other SNPs of CYP1A, CYP1B, and CYP2C genes did not signify the risk for GI cancer in the studied population of rural Maharashtra.
Hospital factors determining overall survival in cancer patients undergoing curative treatment
Authors: Muzumder Sandeep , Tripathy Arkaja , Alexander Hadrian N. , Srikantia Nirmala 
Published: March 2024

Background:
In oncology, overall survival (OS) and quality of life (QoL) are key indicators. The factors that affect OS and QoL include tumor-related characteristics (stage and grade), patient-related factors (performance status and comorbidities), and cancer-directed therapy (CDT)-related aspects. In addition, external factors such as governance or policy (e.g., inaccessibility to CDT, increased distance to service, poor socioeconomic status, lack of insurance), and hospital-related factors (e.g., facility volume and surgeon volume) can influence OS and QoL.

Materials and Methods:
The primary objective of this narrative review was to identify hospital-related factors that affect OS and QoL in patients receiving curative CDT. The authors defined extrinsic factors that can be modified at the hospital level as “hospital-related” factors. Only factors supported by randomized controlled trials (RCT), systematic reviews (SR) and/or meta-analyses (MA), and population database (PDB) analyses that address the relationship between OS and hospital factors were considered.

Results:
The literature review found that high hospital or oncologist volume, adherence to evidence-based medicine (EBM), optimal time-to-treatment initiation (TTI), and decreased overall treatment time (OTT) increase OS in patients undergoing curative CDT. The use of case management strategies was associated with better symptom management and treatment compliance, but had a mixed effect on QoL. The practice of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in cancer patients did not result in an increase in OS. There was insufficient evidence to support the impact of factors such as teaching or academic centers, hospital infrastructure, and treatment compliance on OS and QoL.

Conclusion:
The authors conclude that hospital policies should focus on increasing hospital and oncologist volume, adhering to EBM, optimizing TTI, and reducing OTT for cancer patients receiving curative treatment.