Thyroid cytology during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single centre experience

Background: In our study, thyroid fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) data in the same calendar period of 1 year before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were compared.Methods: Thyroid FNAB data for the same calendar period of 1 year before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were included in the study. The patients were grouped according to age, gender and thyroid FNABs according to the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology, and the data of both groups were compared considering the diagnoses of the patients who underwent thyroid surgery afterwards.Results: In the post-pandemic period, the number of thyroid FNABs and the number of patients over the age of 40 decreased (all p<0.001). In the post-pandemic period, the rates of atypia of undetermined significance or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), follicular neoplasm or suspicious for a follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN), suspicious for malignancy, and malignant cytology increased despite the decrease in the number of patients (p=0.001). Furthermore, the malignant tumour rate was 1.4% before the pandemic in patients who underwent surgical thyroidectomy and/or lobectomy; this rate was 3.5% in the post-pandemic period (p=0.045).Conclusions: We found an increase in the percentage of AUS/FLUS, FN/SFN, suspicious for malignancy, and malignant cases during the period when there were restrictions, such as pandemics, and the sampling was reduced. This finding is valuable in terms of detecting an increased malignancy rate by performing less thyroid FNAB by carefully determining the indications for thyroid aspiration biopsy regarding the latest guidelines.

A rare case of aggressive primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma: A case report

Synovial sarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal tumour which mostly affects young adults and is mostly seen in extremities. Primary synovial sarcoma arising from the lung is rare, accounting for less than 0.5% of all lung carcinomas. Most commonly it arises from the lung followed by pleura and mediastinum. Primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma is an extremely aggressive malignant tumour that can invade adjacent organs and give distant metastasis. Histologically it is of two main types – monophasic and biphasic. IHC is a must for diagnosis following clinical examination and imaging. Here we report a case of an elderly male with right lung mass lesion infiltrating the visceral and mediastinal pleura. PET – computerized tomography (CT) guided biopsy was s/o synovial sarcoma monophasic type which was further confirmed by IHC. The multimodality treated for this includes wide resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Synovial sarcoma is relatively chemosensitive though it is considered as a high grade tumour with a poor prognosis. Because of the advanced stage of the disease our patient was not a candidate for surgery and was taken up for chemotherapy. He had a survival of 6 months but had succumbed due to non – cancer related cause.

Development and Validation of an Apoptosis-Related Genes Signature in Patients with Gastric Cancer

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignant tumour of the digestive tract. the prognosis of GC patients is still not optimistic. Apoptosis-related genes (ARGs) plays an important role in the development, invasion, metastasis and drug resistance of GC. Therefore, assessing the interaction between ARGs and the prognosis of GC patients may help identify specific biomarkers.Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by integrating gene expression profiling analyses from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) GC cohort and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) Database. Then, a risk score model was built based on Kaplan-Meier (K-M), least absolute shrinkage and selector operation (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Another cohort (GSE84426) was used for external validation. By combining risk scores with clinical variables, a nomogram was constructed to predict the prognosis of GC patients. Results: We screened 39 DEGS and established a three-gene signature(CAV1、F2、LUM) based on 161 ARGs. In addition, three-gene signature was identified as an independent factor in predicting the prognosis of GC patients and validated in an external independent cohort. Finally, we developed a nomogram that can be applied to clinical practice.Conclusions: Our study established a three-gene signature of GC based on ARGs that has reference significance for in-depth research on the apoptosis mechanism of GC and the exploration of new clinical treatment strategies.

Manipulating Histone Acetylation Leads to Adverse Effects in Hemangiosarcoma Cells

Canine hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is a malignant tumour derived from endothelial cells. No effective treatment has yet been developed because of the lack of understanding of its pathogenesis. Histone acetylation, an epigenetic modification, is highly associated with cancer pathogenesis. Manipulating histone acetylation by histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) or bromodomain and extraterminal domain inhibitors (BETi) is one approach to treat various cancers. However, the role of histone acetylation in HSA remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate how histone acetylation functions in HSA pathogenesis using two HDACi, suberanilohydroxamic acid (SAHA) and valproic acid (VPA), and one BETi, JQ1, in vitro and in vivo. Histone acetylation levels were high in cell lines and heterogeneous in clinical cases. SAHA and JQ1 induced apoptosis in HSA cell lines. SAHA and VPA treatment in HSA cell lines upregulated inflammatory-related genes, thereby attracting macrophages. This implies that SAHA and VPA can induce anti-tumour immunity. JQ1 stimulated autophagy and inhibited the cell cycle. Finally, JQ1 suppressed HSA tumour cell proliferation in vivo. These results suggest that HDACi and BETi can be alternative drugs for HSA treatment. Although further research is required, this study provides useful insights for developing new treatments for HSA.

Assessment of Health Beliefs Among Iraqi Breast Cancer Patients in Baghdad using either Tamoxifen or Trastuzumab

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed form of malignant tumour in Iraqi women. Tamoxifen and trastuzumab are highly effective adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. This study's objectives were to define the patient's belief in tamoxifen or trastuzumab when used as adjuvant therapy and to determine the variation in belief between the two medications in a sample of Iraqi breast cancer patients. The cross-section survey was conducted using the BMQ-Specific questionnaire. Ninety-seven participants (sixty-seven tamoxifen, thirty trastuzumab) participated in this study. The mean of specific-necessity scale for tamoxifen was (3.7) and for trastuzumab (4). The findings showed a high necessity for both medicines, and there were no significant differences in the scale of necessity between the two treatments. Regarding the scale of concern, the trastuzumab group's values are higher (3.35) than tamoxifen (3). Most participants who use tamoxifen or trastuzumab strongly agree with or agree with all the questions on the necessity scale with higher percentages for trastuzumab. Besides, the concern scale results showed the percentage of patients who agree / strongly agree is higher in the trastuzumab group. For the correlation between the need or concern score, the result showed only one significant negative correlation (R=-0.366, P-value=0.011) between the necessity score and the age of the participants for tamoxifen users. In Conclusion, this survey clearly showed a high level of necessity and a high level of concern regarding the use of two effective adjuvant therapy for women with breast cancer, tamoxifen and trastuzumab. Furthermore, this study shows that while the level of need for tamoxifen is higher than for trastuzumab, there were no significant variations between them.

Anlotinib Suppresses Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth and Metastasis by Targeting the RAS Protein to Inhibit the PI3K/Akt Signalling Pathway

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant tumour originating from the mucosal lining of the oral cavity. Its characteristics include hidden onset, high recurrence, and distant metastasis after operation. At present, clinical treatment usually includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or the joint use of these modalities. Unfortunately, multidrug resistant is one of the important obstacles that causes cancer chemotherapy failure. Anlotinib, which has recently been proven to have good antitumour effects, is a novel multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor. However, there are few studies of the anlotinib-associated mechanism in OSCC and its underlying molecular mechanism. In our study, in vitro models of human oral squamous cell carcinoma HSC-3 cells were used to determine the efficacy of anlotinib. On the one hand, we showed that anlotinib treatment significantly reduced the viability and proliferation of HSC-3 cells and decreased cell migration by inhibiting the activation of the Akt phosphorylation pathway. On the other side, anlotinib inhibited PI3K/Akt/Bad phosphorylation and promoted apoptosis of HSC-3 cells by activating RAS protein expression. In brief, these results indicated that anlotinib had prominent antitumour activity in OSCC, mainly by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt phosphorylation pathway. This work provides evidences and a basic principle for using anlotinib to treat patients with OSCC for clinical research.

Diagnosis of Brain Tumor Using Nano Segmentation and Advanced-Convolutional Neural Networks Classification

The field of nanotechnology has lately acquired prominence according to the raised level of correct identification and performance in the patients using Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD). Nano-scale imaging model enables for a high level of precision and accuracy in determining if a brain tumour is malignant or benign. This contributes to people with brain tumours having a better standard of living. In this study, We present a revolutionary Semantic nano-segmentation methodology for the nanoscale classification of brain tumours. The suggested Advanced-Convolutional Neural Networks-based Semantic Nano-segmentation will aid radiologists in detecting brain tumours even when lesions are minor. ResNet-50 was employed in the suggested Advanced-Convolutional Neural Networks (A-CNN) approach. The tumour image is partitioned using Semantic Nano-segmentation, that has averaged dice and SSIM values of 0.9704 and 0.2133, correspondingly. The input is a nano-image, and the tumour image is segmented using Semantic Nano-segmentation, which has averaged dice and SSIM values of 0.9704 and 0.2133, respectively. The suggested Semantic nano segments achieves 93.2 percent and 92.7 percent accuracy for benign and malignant tumour pictures, correspondingly. For malignant or benign pictures, The accuracy of the A-CNN methodology of correct segmentation is 99.57 percent and 95.7 percent, respectively. This unique nano-method is designed to detect tumour areas in nanometers (nm) and hence accurately assess the illness. The suggested technique’s closeness to with regard to True Positive values, the ROC curve implies that it outperforms earlier approaches. A comparison analysis is conducted on ResNet-50 using testing and training data at rates of 90%–10%, 80%–20%, and 70%–30%, corresponding, indicating the utility of the suggested work.

Influencing factors of depressive symptoms in patients with malignant tumour

Objective To assess the influencing factors of depressive symptoms in malignant tumour patients. Methods Participants were 2079 inpatients with malignant tumour (1291: depressive symptoms; 788 no depressive symptoms). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to evaluate sociodemographic and clinical factors influencing depressive symptoms. Results Risk factors were family income ≤5000 yuan (odds ratio [OR]: 4.966, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.938–8.395) and 5001–10,000 yuan (OR: 3.111, 95% CI: 1.840–5.260); Karnofsky Performance Status of 70 (OR: 2.783, 95% CI: 1.281–6.042) and 80 (OR: 1.834, 95% CI: 1.139–2.953); disease course ≤1 year; palliative treatment (OR: 2.288, 95% CI: 1.292–4.055); progressive disease (OR: 1.876, 95% CI: 1.284–2.739); pain (OR: 1.973, 95% CI: 1.555–2.505); cancer type: lung (OR: 3.199, 95% CI: 1.938–5.279), oesophagus (OR: 3.288, 95% CI: 1.673–6.464), cervix (OR: 1.542, 95% CI: 1.056–2.253) and partial knowledge of disease condition (OR: 2.366, 95% CI: 1.653–3.385). Return to work (OR: 0.503, 95% CI: 0.348–0.727) and physical exercise (OR: 0.437, 95% CI: 0.347–0.551) were protective against depressive symptoms. Conclusions Several factors affected depressive symptoms in malignant tumour patients, including income, disease type and course, palliative treatment, return to work and physical exercise.

Undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma with hyaline bodies in a cat

Background Primary laryngeal neoplasms are rare in cats, with lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma being the most commonly diagnosed tumour types. These tumours are usually highly aggressive, difficult to treat, and have a poor prognosis. Here an undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma with hyaline bodies in a cat is reported. Case presentation A 13-year-old cat was presented for progressive respiratory signs. Diagnostic procedures revealed a partially obstructive laryngeal mass. Cytology was compatible with a poorly differentiated malignant tumour, with neoplastic cells frequently containing large intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies. After 1 month the patient was euthanised due to a worsening clinical condition and submitted for post-mortem examination, which confirmed the presence of two laryngeal masses. Histopathology confirmed the presence of an undifferentiated neoplasm with marked features of malignancy. Strong immunolabelling for pancytokeratin led to a diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma, however, histochemical and immunohistochemical investigations could not elucidate the origin of the large intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies observed in tumour cells, which appeared as non-membrane bound deposits of electron-dense material on transmission electron microscopy. Conclusion This is the first report of primary undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma in a cat. Our case confirms the clinical features and the short survival that have been reported in other studies describing feline laryngeal tumours. Moreover, for the first time in feline literature, we describe the presence of intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies in neoplastic cells that were compatible with the so-called hyaline granules reported in different human cancers and also in the dog.

The Circ_0001367/miR-545-3p/LUZP1 Axis Regulates Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion in Glioma Cells

Glioma is the most common primary intracranial malignant tumour in adults. It has a high incidence and poses a serious threat to human health. Circular RNA is a hotspot of cancer research. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of circ_0001367 in gliomagenesis and the underlying mechanism. First, qRT-PCR was conducted, which showed that circ_0001367 level was downregulated in glioma tissues and cells. Next, gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays were performed, which indicated that circ_0001367 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells. Subsequent bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assays, RNA immunoprecipitation assays and cell function assays demonstrated that circ_0001367 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells by absorbing miR-545-3p and thereby regulating the expression of leucine zipper protein (LUZP1). Finally, an in vivo experiment was conducted, which demonstrated that circ_0001367 inhibited glioma growth in vivo by modulating miR-545-3p and LUZP1. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrate that the circ_0001367/miR-545-3p/LUZP1 axis may be a novel target for glioma therapy.