Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth-ranked cancer type by associated mortality. The proportion of early diagnosis is low, and most patients are diagnosed at the advanced stages. First-line therapy standardly includes fluoropyrimidines and platinum compounds with trastuzumab for HER2-positive cases. For recurrent disease, there are several alternative options including ramucirumab, a monoclonal therapeutic antibody that inhibits VEGF-mediated tumor angiogenesis by binding with VEGFR2, alone or in combination with other cancer drugs. However, overall response rate following ramucirumab or its combinations is 30%–80% of the patients, suggesting that personalization of drug prescription is needed to increase efficacy of treatment. We report here original tumor RNA sequencing profiles for 15 advanced GC patients linked with data on clinical response to ramucirumab or its combinations. Three genes showed differential expression in the tumors for responders versus nonresponders: CHRM3, LRFN1, and TEX15. Of them, CHRM3 was up-regulated in the responders. Using the bioinformatic platform Oncobox we simulated ramucirumab efficiency and compared output model results with actual tumor response data. An agreement was observed between predicted and real clinical outcomes (AUC ≥ 0.7). These results suggest that RNA sequencing may be used to personalize the prescription of ramucirumab for GC and indicate potential molecular mechanisms underlying ramucirumab resistance. The RNA sequencing profiles obtained here are fully compatible with the previously published Oncobox Atlas of Normal Tissue Expression (ANTE) data.

We report the diagnostic challenges and the clinical course of a patient with an extraordinary presentation of B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with eosinophilia. We identified a novel ZBTB20-JAK2 gene fusion as a chimeric RNA transcript using the Archer platform. This gene fusion from the same patient was recently identified by Peterson et al. (2019) at the genomic level using a different sequencing technology platform. The configuration of this gene fusion predicts the production of a kinase-activating JAK2 fusion protein, which would normally lead to a diagnosis of Philadelphia chromosome–like B-ALL (Ph-like B-ALL). However, the unusual presentation of eosinophilia led us to demonstrate the presence of this gene fusion in nonlymphoid hematopoietic cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies with morphologic correlation. Therefore, we believe this disease, in fact, represents blast crisis arising from an underlying myeloid neoplasm with JAK2 rearrangements. This case illustrates the difficulty in differentiating Ph-like B-ALL and myeloid/lymphoid neoplasm with eosinophilia and gene rearrangements (MLN-EGR) in blast crisis. As currently defined, the diagnosis of MLN-EGR relies on the hematologic presentations and the identification of marker gene fusions (including PCM1-JAK2, ETV6-JAK2, and BCR-JAK2). However, these same gene fusions, when limited to B-lymphoblasts, also define Ph-like B-ALL. Yet, our case does not conform to either condition. Therefore, the assessment for lineage restriction of gene rearrangements to reflect the pathophysiologic difference between B-ALL and MLN-EGR in blast crisis is likely a more robust diagnostic approach and allows the inclusion of MLN-EGR with novel gene fusions.

Background:

Sex steroid hormones and sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) have been implicated in the etiology of invasive breast cancer, but their associations with risk of the precursor lesion, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast, remain unclear.

Background:

The recent expansion of treatment options in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has necessitated a greater understanding of patient preferences for treatment benefits, about which little is known.

Background:

New technologies are being developed for early detection of multiple types of cancer simultaneously. To quantify the potential benefit, we estimated reductions in absolute cancer–related deaths that could occur if cancers diagnosed after metastasis (stage IV) were instead diagnosed at earlier stages.

Germline alterations of the tumor suppressor PTEN have been extensively characterized in patients with PTEN hamartoma tumor syndromes, encompassing subsets of Cowden syndrome, Bannayan–Riley–Ruvalcaba syndrome, Proteus and Proteus-like syndromes, as well as autism spectrum disorder. Studies have shown an increase in the risk of developing specific cancer types in the presence of a germline PTEN mutation. Furthermore, outside of the familial setting, somatic variants of PTEN occur in numerous malignancies. Here we introduce and discuss the prospect of moving toward a systems pathology approach for PTEN diagnostics, incorporating clinical and molecular pathology data with the goal of improving the clinical management of patients with a PTEN mutation. Detection of a germline PTEN mutation can inform cancer surveillance and in the case of somatic mutation, have value in predicting disease course. Given that PTEN functions in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, identification of a PTEN mutation may highlight new therapeutic opportunities and/or inform therapeutic choices.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a lethal childhood brain cancer with dismal prognosis and MR imaging is the primary methodology used for diagnosis and monitoring. Our aim was to determine whether advanced diffusion, perfusion, and permeability MR imaging metrics predict survival and pseudoprogression in children with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

It is currently not completely clear how well radiologists perform in evaluating large-vessel occlusion on CTA in acute ischemic stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential factors associated with diagnostic error.

New images reveal threads of ultra-hot gas woven throughout the sun's corona, in the most detailed look at previously unseen parts of the atmosphere of our closest star

Just in time for Mother's Day/continued at-home quarantine comes this 750mL 'My Personal Bottomless Mimosa' glass from BigMouth, Inc and available on Amazons. The surprisingly all-glass drinkware (but still hand-wash only on account of the decorations) combines the shape of a champagne bottle with a mimosa glass to holds 8 (read: 2-3) servings, and is perfect for letting the rest of your family know you're not to be bothered for the rest of the day because it may still be early here but, dammit, it's 5 o'clock somewhere that's nine and half hours ahead. Thanks to Tracey H, who informed me she can't count the number of times she's been asked to leave a bottomless brunch for really putting its bottomlessness to the test. Heck yeah, that's called doing God's work.

Kevin Durant said it best when he received the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award for the 2013-14 season. He was the one on the court scoring more than 30 points per ......

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, the wife of one of President Donald Trump's senior advisers, has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising alarm about the virus' potential spread within the White House's inner most circle.

The heir to the throne, 71, spent seven days self isolating at his Scottish home Birkhall, when he was told he had contracted the disease late last month.

Fundraising hero Captain Tom Moore praised the NHS for doing a "magnificent job" as he opened Yorkshire's new Nightingale hospital via video link today.

A nurse who came from South Africa to the UK to bring her "passion for care" to the NHS has died after contracting coronavirus.

Twin sisters who had both worked as nurses have died after both testing positive for coronavirus.

A pug has become the first dog to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the US, an animal rights organisation has reported.

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has hit near southern Puerto Rico, jolting many people from their beds and causing damage across the island.

An earthquake with a reported magnitude of 6.6 has taken place south of the Greek island of Crete.

Antibody tests at 98 per cent accuracy would put up to a quarter of population at risk of infection, government advisers have warned.

From Tashkent to Samarkand and Bukhara, travel writer Caroline Eden believes Uzbekistan offers a dazzling mix of traditional style and a modern outlook

Twenty five years after the fall of the USSR, it’s interesting how the Soviet-era hangover lingers in Uzbekistan. Hulking apartment blocks are gradually being upgraded, and while you won’t spot statues of Lenin (they’ve been replaced by the nomadic conqueror Tamerlane and celebrated medic Ibn-Sina) you will see plenty of samovars (Russian kettles) and Soviet military medals for sale in the markets. But you will also see master ikat weavers reviving weaving traditions, and many musicians and artists are now turning to their Islamic heritage for influence. This mix of Soviet legacy and Uzbek Islam is one of the things that makes the country so fascinating.

The North Magnetic Pole has been racing across the top of the world, from Canada towards Siberia.

Researchers suggest unusual rapid shift is due to competing patches of magnetic field

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser

Magnolia, from Ross, California, was chosen among 327,000 contestants who submitted their photos, videos and stories through Gerber's contest website.

Blake Lively will star in "Dark Days at the Magna Carta," a post-apocalyptic thriller that's being developed at Netflix as a possible trilogy. Michael Paisley will write the screenplay for "Dark Days at the Magna Carta," set amid a catastrophic event and centering on a woman going to extreme lengths to survive and save her […]

Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay is calling for use of the Magnitsky Act if specific individuals in China can be identified as having suppressed information related to COVID-19.

Follow our live coronavirus updates HERE Fiancee Carrie Symonds said: "There were times last week that were very dark indeed"

'I thought at the time it was a work of fiction,' author says

Coronavirus: the symptoms

A sweet way to quell any Friday night boredom

Receive a test and treatment in the same day

Blake Lively is producing with Shawn Levy, her husband Ryan Reynolds's frequent collaborator.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed the impact that club legend Sir Kenny Dalglish being diagnosed with coronavirus had on him and his players.

Leeds United great Norman Hunter remains "severely unwell" in hospital almost a week after being admitted with coronavirus.

Suspending professional football in England ahead of the government's decision to formally ban mass gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic may have saved a number of lives, according to experts.

Former France defender Willy Sagnol believes all the conditions are in place for Paul Pogba to leave Manchester United and sign for Real Madrid this summer.

Dominic Matteo has opened up on the frightening moment that he was hit with a shock brain tumour diagnosis after seeking out an eye test.

The 46-year-old actress is now revealing the agony she went through before receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) last August."Ever since my son was born, I was in an MS flare-up and didn't know, and I was giving it everything to seem normal," Blair told Robin Roberts in an interview that aired Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "And I was self-medicating when he wasn't with me. Blair recalled that she would get so fatigued prior to her diagnosis that she would need to pull over to take a nap after dropping her son, now 7, off at his school one mile away from their home. During her interview with "GMA" at her Los Angeles home, Blair was in an "exacerbation" of MS, or an attack that causes new symptoms or the worsening of existing symptoms.

Coronation Street is set to tackle another hard-hitting storyline as Steve McDonald and Leanne Battersby's son Oliver is diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder

Leanne and Steve are told their son has a life-threatening illness on Corrie

A small study funded by the National Institutes of Health suggests that sleep problems among children who have a sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may further raise the likelihood of an ASD diagnosis, compared to at-risk children who do not have difficulty sleeping. Previous research has shown that young children who have a sibling with ASD are at a higher risk for also being diagnosed with the condition.

First-generation headsets helped magnify objects for people with impaired vision, but they also prompted motion sickness. A redesign is aimed at fixing this, but problems persist as patients adjust.
Medscape Medical News

Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay is calling for use of the Magnitsky Act if specific individuals in China can be identified as having suppressed information related to COVID-19.

This swimmer spent years battling endometriosis, an insidious enemy within her own body that consumed her with crippling pain. The fact that most coaches in women's sport are men also didn't help, she says.