1,720,967 research outputs found

    Genetic abnormalities as diagnostic and prognostic markers in B cell lymphomas: role of new molecular technologies in personalized medicine for extranodal diffuse large B cell lymphoma (EN-DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL)

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    A plethora of molecular biomarkers are available nowadays in the field of cancer research. However, it is crucial to understand when and how they can be integrated into the clinical setting, translating experimental results from bench to bedside, with the aim of improving patients’ care. We decided to investigate the role of some of these biomarkers in two subtypes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which still represent a challenge for both researchers and clinicians. We started from diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCLs), investigating a multicentric series of primary extranodal DLBCLs. Overall, data analysis provided strong evidence that the distribution of immunophenotypic, cytogenetic and survival characteristics is site-dependent. We next moved to follicular lymphoma (FL). The translocation (14;18), leading to BCL2 protein overexpression, is considered the genetic hallmark of FL. We tested the incidence of BCL2 negative FLs in a series of Italian patients from the Insubric region, concluding that BCL2 rearrangement in FL is not as frequent as generally reported and that the genetic landscape of FL is more complex than previously thought. What we learned is that even within an individual clinical entity, there is considerable heterogeneity with respect to genetic alterations, expression of commonly assayed markers and, most important, outcome. The personalized approach acknowledges this complexity and gives us tools for the continuous improvement of patients’ care

    Unraveling Tumor Heterogeneity in an Apparently Monolithic Disease: BCL2 and Other Players in the Genetic Landscape of Nodal Follicular Lymphoma

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    Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Western countries. Although traditionally considered a well-defined, easy to diagnose lymphoproliferative disorder, in the last few years it has become clear that it is in fact composed of many different clinicopathological entities, encompassing a variegated and complex genetic background. This has led to the inclusion of specific FL variants and separate entities in the latest update of the WHO classification. However, even in the context of classical FL, many aspects of intra-and inter-tumoral heterogeneity have been recognized, with a major influence on diagnosis and clinical practice at different time points during the course of the disease. This review focuses on the molecular cytogenetic heterogeneity in classical FL from precursors and early development to progression and transformation, in terms of both clonal heterogeneity and unusual genetic features. Several factors have been investigated and suggested to contribute to the broad spectrum of clinicopathological, phenotypic, and genetic features observed in otherwise morphologically classical cases. Among them, deregulation of the epigenetic machinery and interactions with tumor microenvironment seem to play a pivotal role, together with genetic aberrations involving well-known molecular pathways and mechanisms physiologically operating in the germinal center. In the era of personalized medicine, precision diagnostics based both on understanding of the complex interplay among all these factors and on novel developments will become crucial to predict the outcome and guide the treatment of FL patients

    MR imaging in locally advanced rectal cancer: quantitative evaluation of the full response to neoadjuvant therapy

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    To assess the diagnostic performance of DW Imaging (DWI) for the discrimination of complete responder (CR) from the non-complete responder (n-CR) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) undergoing chemotherapy and radiation (CRT)

    ACTH-producing tumor

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    ACTH-producing pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) are rare neoplasms, accounting for a minority of all PanNETs. Nevertheless, they are one of the leading non-pulmonary causes of the so-called ectopic ACTH-dependent Cushing's syndrome (ECS). The first ECS-associated PanNET was described in 1950 by Del Castillo and coworkers. Since then, less than 150 cases have been reported in the English literature The diagnosis of ACTH-producing PanNETs may be a clinical challenge, in particular when the presentation of the Cushingâs syndrome is not typical. The milestones of the diagnosis are the detection of high circulating levels of ACTH and cortisol and the discovery of a pancreatic mass. ACTH-producing PanNETs have a female predominance, and the age of the patients is somewhat younger than in other PanNETs. Morphologically, they show the features of well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors, but they are often larger than other PanNETs and frequently metastatic at the time of the diagnosis. Immunohistochemical staining helps to define the corticotroph phenotype of tumor cells.The prognosis of these tumors is often poor, with patients dying in a few months or years with metastatic disease

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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