Design and Development of AI based Approach for Histopathology Cancer Screening and Identification

Cancer is a heterogeneous disorder comprising various types and sub-types. Early detection, screening, and diagnosis of cancer types are necessary for facilitating cancer research in early diagnosis, management, and the evolution of successful therapies. Existing methodologies were only able to classify and diagnose a single variety of cancer based on a homogeneous dataset but more focused on predicting patient survivability then cure. This research defines a machine learning-based methodology to develop an universal approach in diagnosis, detection, symptoms-based prediction, and screening of histopathology cancer, their types, and sub types using a heterogeneous dataset based on images and scans. In this architecture, we use VGG-19 based 3D-Convolutional Neural Network for deep feature extraction and later perform regression using a random forest algorithm. We create a heterogeneous dataset consisting of results from laboratory tests, imaging tests and biopsy reports, not only relying on clinical images. Initially, we categorize tumors and lesions as benign or malignant and classify the malignant lesions into their sub-types, detecting their severity and growth rate. Our system is designed to predict risk at multiple time-points, leverage optional risk factors if they are available and produce predictions that are consistent across mammography machines. We found the classification accuracy for categorizing tumors as cancerous to be 95% whereas the accuracy for classification of malignant lesions into their sub-types to be 94%..

Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Frailty in Older Adults over the Spectrum of Cancer: A Narrative Review

Background: The interplay between different neuropsychiatric conditions, beyond dementia, in the presence of a diagnosis of cancer in older adults may mediate patients’ fitness and cancer-related outcomes. Here, we aimed to investigate the presence of depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety, attitude, motivation, and support in older adults receiving a diagnosis of cancer and the dimension of frailty in order to understand the magnitude of the problem. Methods: This review provides an update of the state of the art based on references from searches of PubMed between 2000 and June 2021. Results: The evidence obtained underscored the tight association between frailty and unfavorable clinical outcomes in older adults with cancer. Given the intrinsic correlation of neuropsychiatric disorders with frailty in the realm of cancer survivorship, the evidence showed they might have a correlation with unfavorable clinical outcomes, late-life geriatric syndromes and higher degree of frailty. Conclusions: The identification of common vulnerabilities among neuropsychiatric disorders, frailty, and cancer may hold promise to unmask similar shared pathways, potentially intercepting targeted new interventions over the spectrum of cancer with the delivery of better pathways of care for older adults with cancer.

Electrochemical Signal Substance for Multiplexed Immunosensing Interface Construction: A Mini Review

Appropriate labeling method of signal substance is necessary for the construction of multiplexed electrochemical immunosensing interface to enhance the specificity for the diagnosis of cancer. So far, various electrochemical substances, including organic molecules, metal ions, metal nanoparticles, Prussian blue, and other methods for an electrochemical signal generation have been successfully applied in multiplexed biosensor designing. However, few works have been reported on the summary of electrochemical signal substance applied in constructing multiplexed immunosensing interface. Herein, according to the classification of labeled electrochemical signal substance, this review has summarized the recent state-of-art development for the designing of electrochemical immunosensing interface for simultaneous detection of multiple tumor markers. After that, the conclusion and prospects for future applications of electrochemical signal substances in multiplexed immunosensors are also discussed. The current review can provide a comprehensive summary of signal substance selection for workers researched in electrochemical sensors, and further, make contributions for the designing of multiplexed electrochemical immunosensing interface with well signal.

Psychological traumatic events in the recent past and association with diagnosis of cancer

Emotional stress due to psychological trauma causes immune system dysfunction resulting in high risk of development of cancer. The study aimed to correlation psychological trauma in the past five years of cancer diagnosis. This study was a community based survey including cancer patients diagnosed with different cancers undergoing treatment or follow-up by using snowball sampling and questionnaire based technique. The study was conducted during a period of one year from December 2019 till December 2020. All recruited patients were requested for an interview. The results of the study showed a high rate of major psychological trauma among cancer patients. Sudden death of a close relative with and without trauma of natural disaster were high. The study conclude that risk of cancer development rises with major emotional trauma specially death of a close relative.

RESEARCH OF CANCER CASES AMONG LONG-LIVED WOMEN IN LVIV REGION (UKRAINE) DURING 1991–2019 YEARS

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Aim of our study was to describe the spectrum of cancer among longlivers women in Lviv region (Ukraine) from database during 1991-2019. Material and methods. We studied 444 longlivers women aged 90+ who were diagnosed of cancer, treated and followed-up. Results. 104 women (23%) were diagnosed cancer to stage I, II -142 (32%), III -71 (10%), IV -57 (13%):other malignant neoplasms of skin (38.29%), breast (9.46%), colon (6.98%) and pancreas (4.95%) cancer. Diagnosis was confirmed cytology -169 (38.1%), histology-139 (31.3%). CT and MRI were used in rare cases in older women – 11(2.5%). Half of the women (227 or 51.13%) lived beyond 1 year after diagnosis. The rest is from 1 to 13 years. The relationship between life expectancy after diagnosis of cancer and type of treatment is weak (Сramer ratio ; Pearson's criterion ). Detected that the relationship between life expectancy after diagnosis and the age of patients at the time of oncologic diagnosis is weak too (Сramer ratio ; Pearson's criterion ). The relationship between life expectancy after diagnosis and stage of cancer is strong (Сramer ratio ; Pearson's criterion ). Conclusion. Aggressive anticancer treatments are less commonly used in cancer patients aged 90+, which may be one of the reasons for poorer survival due to comorbidities and natural causes. Life expectancy has relationship on the stage of the cancer, but does not have relationship on the age of the long-lived women and the type of treatment.

Fast and specific enrichment of cancer-related exosomes by DNA-nanoweight-assisted centrifugation

Exosomes are nanoscale membrane vesicles actively released by cells and play an important role in the diagnosis of cancer-related diseases. However, it is challenging to efficiently enrich exosomes from extracellular fluids. In this work, we used DNA-tetrahedron as a nanoweight during centrifugation to precisely enrich tumor exosomes from a complex biological environment. Two different DNA tetrahedral nanostructures (DTAs), each carrying a specific aptamer for exosome biomarker recognition, were incubated with clinical samples simultaneously. One DTA triggered the cross-linking of multiple target exosomes, and therefore enabled low-speed and fast centrifugation for enrichment. The other DTA further narrowed down the target exosome subtype and initiated a hybridization chain reaction (HCR) for sensitive signal amplification. The method enabled the detection of 180 MCF-7-derived exosomes per microliter and 560 HepG2-derived exosomes per microliter, with 1000-fold higher sensitivity than conventional ELISA. This easy-to-operate method can enrich exosomes with excellent specificity and therefore will be appealing in biomedical research and clinical diagnosis.

Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration with Anti-CV2/CRMP5 Antibodies in Ovarian Cancer: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are rare presentations of an underlying oncological disease and more unusual during an oncological disease. They most likely present in small-cell lung carcinomas and thymomas, but present in <1% of the gynecological neoplasms. Acknowledging the pathophysiology is essential for management, explaining its clinical presentation, and future research. We present a patient with an underlying gynecological cancer that during her disease developed a PNS with an unusual autoantibody (anti-CV2/CRMP5) mediating the disease. We report a case of a 62-year-old female diagnosed with ovarian cancer who in the course of her disease developed neurological symptoms associated with cerebellar degeneration. After ruling out differential diagnoses such as metastases, a PNS was suspected and studied, in which anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies were positive. With her clinical presentation, radiological features, autoantibody positivity on cerebrospinal fluid, and an underlying oncological disease, cerebellar degeneration was diagnosed. The pathophysiology of PNS is not fully understood; therefore, its diagnosis and management are complex. Diagnosis is based on clinical presentation and specific antibodies associated. Unfortunately, patients have a bad prognosis and diminished quality of life, and therefore a multidisciplinary approach is needed. It is important to mention that the presentation of PNS does not mandatorily appear before the diagnosis of cancer, and multiple cases have been reported in which patients with an underlying oncological disease develop these syndromes. As medical oncologists and neurologists, we must consider and study these syndromes as a possible etiology in cases with an underlying cancer who develop neurological symptoms in the course of their disease.

Thymidine Kinase 1: Making Its Mark In Immunotherapy

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In the U.S. alone, almost 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer each year and just over a quarter of those diagnosed will pass away from the disease. Skin cancers are the most common forms of cancer. Early detection of cancer and cancer biomarkers enables clearer understanding of cancer progression in a patient and more effective treatments in response to the disease. Clinically relevant biomarkers are not only tools for early diagnosis of cancer but may also prove useful as immune targets for various immunotherapies, such as monoclonal antibody-based therapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. This review provides a brief overview of the rescue pathway enzyme thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) and its history and biology, as well as discusses its role as a biomarker and potential immune target.

Circulating Tumor DNA in Oncology

When somatic cells in the human body undergo apoptosis or necrosis, the released DNA enters the bloodstream. This type of DNA is called cell-free DNA (cfDNA). In patients with cancer, DNA released from tumor cells is called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), which carries genetic alterations specific to tumor cells. In recent years, ctDNA has attracted particular attention in terms of the concept of liquid biopsy in cancer care. Conventionally, tissue biopsy is required for the definitive diagnosis of cancer, and imaging examinations, such as CT, are performed for evaluating recurrence and residual lesions. Although the treatment burden on cancer patients is being slightly reduced due to advances in medicine, invasive examinations and medical exposure are still unavoidable. In addition, the prognosis of cancer varies considerably depending on the degree of progression at the time of detection. Therefore, the early detection of cancer is of utmost importance. With the increase in health consciousness, more people undergo regular health checkups, and it becomes necessary to diagnose cancer in a larger number of patients at an earlier stage. Although the accuracy of early detection has been improved by new imaging tests and examination techniques, each organ must be examined separately, and some organs are more difficult to examine than others in a regular health checkup. The process of cancer screening, diagnosis, and detection of recurrence after treatment is extensive. It can also be expensive, and some of the examinations may be invasive. If all of these processes can be replaced by the analysis of ctDNA in liquid biopsy, only a single blood sample is required. Under these circumstances, various studies are currently in progress on the use of ctDNA in clinical practice as an approach that may greatly reduce such burden. We present an overview of the current situation of ctDNA, as well as its future issues and prospects.