21. Automated analysis of proliferating cells spatial organisation predicts prognosis in lung neuroendocrine neoplasmsMatteo Bulloni, Giada Sandrini, Irene Stacchiotti, M. Barberis, Fiorella Calabrese, Lina Carvalho, Gabriella Fontanini, Greta Alì, Francesco Fortarezza, Paul Hofman, Izidor Kern, 2021, original scientific article Keywords: neuroendocrine tumors, lung neoplasms, carcinoma, prognosis, pathology, histology, Ki-67 antigen, machine learning, image enhancement, lung cancer, neuroendocrine neoplasms
Published in DiRROS: 09.11.2021; Views: 887; Downloads: 363
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22. Gene expression levels of the prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins PHD1 and PHD2 but not PHD3 are decreased in primary tumours and correlate with poor prognosis of patients with surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancerAna Koren, Matija Rijavec, Tomaž Krumpestar, Izidor Kern, Aleksander Sadikov, Tanja Čufer, Peter Korošec, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Background: Hypoxia correlates with poor prognosis in several cancer types, including lung cancer. Prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins (PHDs) play a role in cell oxygen sensing, negatively regulating the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway. Our study aim was to evaluate PHD1, PHD2 and PHD3 mRNA expression levels in primary tumours and normal lungs of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to correlate it with selected regulators of HIF signalling, with clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival (OS). Methods: Tumour tissue samples were obtained from 60 patients with surgically resected NSCLC who were treated with radical surgery. In 22 out of 60 cases, matching morphologically normal lung tissue was obtained. PHD1, PHD2 and PHD3 mRNA expressions were measured using RT-qPCR. Results: The PHD1 and PHD2 mRNA levels in primary tumours were significantly decreased compared to those in normal lungs (both p < 0.0001). PHD1 and PHD2 expression in tumours was positively correlated (rs = 0.82; p < 0.0001) and correlated well with HIF pathway downstream genes HIF1A, PKM2 and PDK1. Decreased PHD1 and PHD2 were associated with larger tumour size, higher tumour stage (PHD1 only) and squamous cell carcinoma. Patients with low PHD1 and patients with low PHD2 expression had shorter OS than patients with high PHD1 (p = 0.02) and PHD2 expression (p = 0.01). PHD1 showed borderline independent prognostic values in multivariate analysis (p = 0.06). In contrast, we found no associations between PHD3 expression and any of the observed parameters. Conclusions: Our results show that reduced expression of PHD1 and PHD2 is associated with the development and progression of NSCLC. PHD1 could be further assessed as a prognostic marker in NSCLC.
Keywords: non-small-cell lung carcinoma, prognosis, non-small cell lung cancer, mRNA expression, prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins
Published in DiRROS: 21.05.2021; Views: 1282; Downloads: 899
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23. Prognostic impact of PD-1 and PD-L1 expression in malignant pleural mesothelioma : an international multicenter studyLuka Brčić, Thomas Klikovits, Zsolt Megyesfalvi, Berta Mosleh, Katharina Sinn, Richard Hritcu, Viktoria Laszlo, Tanja Čufer, Aleš Rozman, Izidor Kern, Katja Mohorčič, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Background: Programmed cell death 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) immune-checkpoint blockade is a promising new therapeutic strategy in cancer. However, expression patterns and prognostic significance of PD-L1 and PD-1 are still controversial in human malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor samples from 203 MPM patients receiving standard treatment without immunotherapy were collected from 5 European centers. PD-L1 and PD-1 expression of tumor cells (TCs) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were measured by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinical parameters and long-term outcome. Results: High (>10%) PD-L1 TC and PD-1 TILs expressions were found in 18 (8%) and 39 (24%) patients, respectively. PD-L1 was rarely expressed by TILs [>/=1%, n=13 (8%); >10%, n=1]. No significant associations were found between the PD-L1 or PD-1 expression of TCs or TILs and clinicopathological parameters such as stage or histological subtype. Notably, patients with high (>10%) TC-specific PD-L1 expression exhibited significantly worse median overall survival (OS) (6.3 vs. 15.1 months of those with low TC PD-L1 expression; HR: 2.51, P<0.001). In multivariate cox regression analysis adjusted for clinical parameters, high TC PD-L1 expression (>10%) proved to be an independent negative prognostic factor for OS (HR: 2.486, P=0.005). There was no significant correlation between PD-L1 or PD-1 expression of TILs and OS. Conclusions: In this multicenter cohort study, we demonstrate that high (>10%) PD-L1 expression of TCs independently predicts worse OS in MPM. Further studies are warranted to investigate the value of PD-L1/PD-1 expression as a marker for treatment response in MPM patients receiving immunotherapy.
Keywords: mesothelioma - anatomy and histology - analysis, 1malignant pleural mesothelioma, programmed death-ligand 1, programmed cell death 1, PD-L1
Published in DiRROS: 31.03.2021; Views: 1324; Downloads: 578
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24. Morphologic and molecular classification of lung neuroendocrine neoplasmsJasna Metovic, Marco Barella, Fabrizio Bianchi, Paul Hofman, Veronique Hofman, Myriam Remmelink, Izidor Kern, Lina Carvalho, Linda Pattini, Angelica Sonzogni, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) of the lung encompass neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) composed of typical (TC) and atypical (AC) carcinoids and full-fledged carcinomas (NECs) inclusive of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small cell carcinoma (SCLC). NETs and NECs are thought to represent distinct and separate lesions with neither molecular overlap nor common developmental continuum. Two perspectives were addressed regarding the morphologic and molecular classification of lung NENs: (i) a supervised approach by browsing the traditional classification, the relevant gene alterations, and their clinical implications; and (ii) an unsupervised approach, by reappraising neoplasms according to risk factors and natural history of disease to construct an interpretation model relied on biological data. We herein emphasize lights and shadows of the current classification of lung NENs and provide an alternative outlook on these tumors focused on what we currently know about the biological determinants and the natural history of disease.
Keywords: neuroendocrine tumors, lung neoplasms, carcinoma, lung tumors, morphologic classification, molecular classification
Published in DiRROS: 02.02.2021; Views: 1234; Downloads: 794
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25. T2-high asthma, classified by sputum mRNA expression of IL4, IL5, and IL13, is characterized by eosinophilia and severe phenotypeMatija Rijavec, Tomaž Krumpestar, Sabina Škrgat, Izidor Kern, Peter Korošec, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Asthma is a common chronic disease, with different underlying inflammatory mechanisms. Identification of asthma endotypes, which reflect a variable response to different treatments, is important for more precise asthma management. T2 asthma is characterized by airway inflammation driven by T2 cytokines including interleukins IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. This study aimed to determine whether induced sputum samples can be used for gene expression profiling of T2-high asthma classified by IL4, IL5, and IL13 expression. Induced sputum samples were obtained from 44 subjects, among them 36 asthmatic patients and eight controls, and mRNA expression levels of IL4, IL5, and IL13 were quantified by RT-qPCR. Overall, gene expression levels of IL4, IL5, and IL13 were significantly increased in asthmatic patients' samples compared to controls and there was a high positive correlation between expressions of all three genes. T2 gene mean was calculated by combining the expression levels of all three genes (IL4, IL5, and IL13) and according to T2 gene mean expression in controls, we set a T2-high/T2-low cutoff value. Twenty-four (67%) asthmatic patients had T2-high endotype and those patients had significantly higher eosinophil blood and sputum counts. Furthermore, T2-high endotype was characterized as a more severe, difficult-to-treat asthma, and often uncontrolled despite the use of inhaled and/or oral corticosteroids. Therefore, the majority of those patients (15 [63%] of 24) needed adjunct biological therapy to control their asthma symptoms/exacerbations. In conclusion, we found that interleukins IL4, IL5, and IL13 transcripts could be effectively detected in sputum from asthmatic patients. Implementation of T2 gene mean can be used as sputum molecular biomarker to categorize patients into T2-high endotype, characterized by eosinophilia and severe, difficult-to-treat asthma, and often with a need for biological treatment.
Keywords: asthma, gene expression, interleukin-4, interleukin-5, interleukin-13, severe asthma, endotype, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, biologic treatment
Published in DiRROS: 02.02.2021; Views: 1374; Downloads: 880
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26. Clinical and molecular practice of European thoracic pathology laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. The past and the near futurePaul Hofman, M. Ilié, E. Chamorey, P. Brest, R. Schiappa, V. Nakache, M. Antoine, M. Barberis, H. Begueret, F. Bibeau, Izidor Kern, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Background: This study evaluated the consequences in Europe of the COVID-19 outbreak on pathology laboratories orientated toward the diagnosis of thoracic diseases. Materials and methods: A survey was sent to 71 pathology laboratories from 21 European countries. The questionnaire requested information concerning the organization of biosafety, the clinical and molecular pathology, the biobanking, the workload, the associated research into COVID-19, and the organization of education and training during the COVID- 19 crisis, from 15 March to 31 May 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Results: Questionnaires were returned from 53/71 (75%) laboratories from 18 European countries. The biosafety procedures were heterogeneous. The workload in clinical and molecular pathology decreased dramatically by 31% (range, 3%-55%) and 26% (range, 7%-62%), respectively. According to the professional category, between 28% and 41% of the staff members were not present in the laboratories but did teleworking. A total of 70% of the laboratories developed virtual meetings for the training of residents and junior pathologists. During the period of study, none of the staff members with confirmed COVID-19 became infected as a result of handling samples. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on most of the European pathology laboratories included in this study. Urgent implementation of several changes to the organization of most of these laboratories, notably to better harmonize biosafety procedures, was noted at the onset of the pandemic and maintained in the event of a new wave of infection occurring in Europe.
Keywords: covid-19, pathology, safety, lung neoplasms, biosafety, lung cancer
Published in DiRROS: 18.01.2021; Views: 1393; Downloads: 676
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27. PD-L1 expression can be regarded as prognostic factor for survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients after chemoradiotherapyMartina Vrankar, Matjaž Zwitter, Izidor Kern, Karmen Stanič, 2018, original scientific article Abstract: The standard treatment for inoperable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA NSCLC) includes concurrent or sequential chemotherapy (ChT) and radiation therapy (RT). Long term survival rates with these approaches remains only in the order of 15%, therefore new treatment strategies, including immunotherapy, are under investigation, with programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) as one of the major players. We evaluated the clinical significance of PD-L1 expression in tumor samples from patients with inoperable LA NSCLC who underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in our institution between 2005 and 2010 and correlated their expression with clinicopathological parameters and outcome of treatment. Among 107 patients treated with concurrent CRT, a total of 43 (36 males and 7 females) had sufficient tissue for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The expression of PD-L1 was demonstrated in 7 tumors, in 6 males and 1 female. No statistical significant differences in patient characteristics, including age, smoking status and gender, were found according to the PD-L1 expression. After a median follow up of 103.6 months, median progression free survival (PFS) was 19.9 months in patients without and 10.1 months in patients with PD-L1 expression (p=0.008). Median overall survival (OS) was 28.4 and 12.1 months for PD-L1 negative and PD-L1 positive patients, respectively (p=0.012). In conclusions, patients with PD-L1 expression had shorter PFS and OS after concurrent CRT in LA NSCLC. Unfortunately, only small number of patients had tissue available for the IHC testing, therefore no firm conclusions could be made and further investigation is warranted.
Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, lung cancer, chemoradiotherapy, survival
Published in DiRROS: 17.12.2020; Views: 1415; Downloads: 444
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28. Immunohistochemistry of pulmonary biomarkers : a perspective from members of the pulmonary pathology societyErik Thunnissen, Timothy Craig Allen, Julien Adam, Dara L. Aisner, Mary Beth Beasley, Alain C. Borczuk, Philip T. Cagle, Vera Luiza Capelozzi, Wendy Cooper, Izidor Kern, 2018, original scientific article Abstract: The use of immunohistochemistry for the determination of pulmonary carcinoma biomarkers is a well-established and powerful technique. Immunohistochemisty is readily available in pathology laboratories, is relatively easy to perform and assess, can provide clinically meaningful results very quickly, and is relatively inexpensive. Pulmonary predictive biomarkers provide results essential for timely and accurate therapeutic decision making; for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, predictive immunohistochemistry includes ALK, (ROS1, EGFR in Europe), and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) testing. Handling along proper methodologic lines is needed to ensure patients receive the most accurate and representative test outcomes.
Keywords: pulmonary biomarkers, immunohistochemistry, pathology
Published in DiRROS: 17.12.2020; Views: 1176; Downloads: 432
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29. Reproducibility of malignant pleural mesothelioma histopathologic subtypingLuka Brčić, Gregor Vlačić, Franz Quehenberger, Izidor Kern, 2018, original scientific article Abstract: Context. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare tumor with poor prognosis. Several studies have analyzed potential prognostic markers, but histologic type remains the single most important prognostic factor. Histologic subtypes of epithelioid MPM seem to have prognostic and therapeutic implications. Interobserver agreement in histologic pattern classification should be high. Objective. To assess interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility in histologic differentiation between the main types of MPMs, and in further subtyping of epithelioid-type mesothelioma. Design. One representative hematoxylin-eosin-stained slide was selected from the archive for each of 200 patients with MPM. They were reviewed independently by 3 pathologists and classified according to the current World Health Organization classification of pleural tumors. After the first round of evaluations, a consensus meeting was organized where problems were addressed and representative images for each histologic category were selected. Two months later, cases were reevaluated by all 3 pathologists. Results. After the first round, overall interobserver agreement for histologic subtyping of mesothelioma was fair (k, 0.36). The agreement was increased to substantial (k, 0.63) in the second round. Improvement was found in interobserver agreement for all types of MPM, and for most epithelioid subtypes. Conclusions. Moderate to substantial agreement in histologic typing and subtyping of MPM can be achieved. However, training with additional clarification of diagnostic criteria, their strict application, and help from consensus-based illustrative images is needed.
Keywords: connective and soft tissue neoplasms -- pathology, malignant pleural mesothelioma, histopathology
Published in DiRROS: 30.11.2020; Views: 5991; Downloads: 468
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30. Systemic and airway oxidative stress in competitive swimmersSabina Škrgat, Peter Korošec, Izidor Kern, Mira Šilar, Julij Šelb, Matjaž Fležar, Robert Marčun, 2018, original scientific article Abstract: Background: The environment in swimming pools, which contain chlorine, might interact with the airway epithelium, resulting in oxidative stress and/or inflammation during high intensity training periods. Methods: We evaluated pulmonary functional (metacholine challenge test, FEV1 and VC), cellular (eosinophils and neutrophils), inflammatory (FeNo, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-[alpha]), oxidative (8-isoprostanes) and angiogenesis factors (VEGF) in induced sputum and peripheral blood of 41 healthy non-asthmatic elite swimmers (median 16 years) during the period of high intensity training before a national championship. The second paired sampling was performed seven months later after training had been stopped for one month. Results: There was a ten-fold increase (median 82-924 pg/ml; P < 0.001) in 8-isoprostanes in induced sputum and five-fold increase (median 82-924 pg/ml; P < 0.001) in sera during training in comparison to the period of rest. However, there was no difference in FEV1 (113 vs 116%), VC (119 vs 118%), FeNo (median 34 vs 38 ppb), eosinophils (2.7 vs 2.9% in sputum; 180 vs 165 cells/[micro]l in blood), neutrophils, different cytokines or VEGF in induced sputum or sera. The only exception was TNF-[alpha], which was moderately increased in sera (median 23 vs 40 pg/ml; P=0.02) during the peak training period. Almost half (18 of 41) of swimmers showed bronchial hyperresponsiveness during the peak training period (PC20 cutoff was 4 mg/ml). There was no correlation between hyperresponsiveness and the markers of oxidative stress or inflammation. Conclusions: High intensity training in healthy, non-asthmatic competitive swimmers results in marked oxidative stress at the airway and systemic levels, but does not lead to airway inflammation. However, we could not confirm that oxidative stress is associated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (AHR), which is often observed during the peak exercise training period.
Keywords: bronchial diseases, swimming, oxidative stress, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, competitive swimmers, training
Published in DiRROS: 23.11.2020; Views: 1774; Downloads: 498
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