Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from 21 fresh-frozen tumor tissues and blood samples of the same meningioma patients. The entire mtDNA D-loop region (positions 16024-576) was polymerase chain reaction amplified using designed primers, and then amplification products were purified before the direct DNA sequencing proceeds.
Results: Overall, 10 (47.6%) patients were detected to harbor a total of 27 somatic mtDNA D-loop mutations. Most of these mtDNA mutations were identified in the hypervariable segment II (40.7%), with 33.3% being located mainly in the conserved sequence block II of the D310 sequence. Furthermore, 58 different germline variations were observed at 21 nucleotide positions.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that mtDNA alterations in the D-loop region may be an important and early event in developing meningioma. Further studies are needed, including validation in a larger patient cohort, to verify the clinicopathological outcomes of mtDNA mutation biomarkers in meningiomas.
Objective: To assess the association of IL-17AG197A and IL-17FA7488G polymorphisms with CRC risk.
Materials and Methods: We performed the genotyping by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method on blood samples from 80 healthy individuals and paraffin-embedded tumor tissues from 70 CRC patients.
Results: Our study showed that IL-17A197AA genotype was significantly associated with an increased CRC risk with odds ratios of 6.08 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.25-16.42, P < 0.001) and 2.80 (95% CI: 1.23-6.35, P = 0.014), in comparison with GG and AG genotypes, respectively. However, IL-17FA7488G polymorphism was not significantly associated with CRC risk (P = 0.102). No significant association of IL-17AG197A and IL-17FA7488G polymorphisms with patient and tumor variables was found.
Conclusion: This report from Malaysia shows the relationship of IL-17A197AA genotype with susceptibility to CRC.
Patients and Methods: Data from 56 patients with mRCC, treated with sunitinib at our institute (2006-2014), were analyzed retrospectively. Prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses performed by log-rank test and Cox regression.
Results: Fifty-one (91.1%) patients received starting dose of sunitinib of 50 mg/day in 4/2 schedule. The median PFS was 12.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.5-20.9 months) and the median OS was 16.9 months (95% CI, 3.8-29.9 months). The objective response rate was 27.5%. Dose interruption and reduction due to toxicities were required in 37.5% and 60.7% of patients, respectively. The most common Grades 3-4 toxicities were hand-foot syndrome (HFS) (23.2%), thrombocytopenia (16.1%), and hypertension (14.3%). The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥2, hemoglobin < lower limit of normal, neutrophil > upper limit of normal (ULN), platelet > ULN, no prior nephrectomy, metastatic sites >1, liver metastases, lymph node metastases, and development of HFS were independent prognostic factors.
Conclusions: Sunitinib treatment has acceptable efficacy and safety profile in Malaysian mRCC patients. The MSKCC and IMDC factors are relevant for predicting survival in our patient cohort while HFS is a promising prognostic predictor which warrants further investigation.
Materials and Methods: Original research studies associating genetic features and normal tissue complications following radiation therapy were identified from PubMed. The distribution of radiogenomic studies was determined by mining the statement of country of origin and racial/ancestrial distribution and the inclusion in analyses. Descriptive analyses were performed to determine the distribution of studies across races/ancestries, countries, and continents and the inclusion in analyses.
Results: Among 174 studies, only 23 with a population of more one race/ancestry which were predominantly conducted in the United States. Across the continents, most studies were performed in Europe (77 studies averaging at 30.6 patients/million population [pt/mil]), North America (46 studies, 20.8 pt/mil), Asia (46 studies, 2.4 pt/mil), South America (3 studies, 0.4 pt/mil), Oceania (2 studies, 2.1 pt/mil), and none from Africa. All 23 studies with more than one race/ancestry considered race/ancestry as a covariate, and three studies showed race/ancestry to be significantly associated with endpoints.
Conclusion: Most toxicity-related radiogenomic studies involved a single race/ancestry. Individual Participant Data meta-analyses or multinational studies need to be encouraged.
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.