Screening for the Production and Characterization of L-asparaginase from Endophytic Fungi

L-asparaginase (EC 3.5.11. L-asparagine amidohydrolase) is first enzyme, studied very intensively in human beings with regard to its anti-tumor potential against tumor of lymphoid precursor, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The current drugs are suffering from many side effects like immune suppression, infertility, secondary neoplasm. The immunogenic complications associated with its present microbial sources Escherichia coli; Erwinia carotovora limits its medicinal frontier. So there exists a need of switching to novel natural sources to serve as non-immunogenic and better production sources of L-asparaginase. In the present study, four cultures of fungal endophytes viz. TSF-1, TSF-2, TSF-3 and TSF-4 selected on the basis of primary and secondary screening was carried on with L-asparagine as a sole carbon and nitrogen source and phenol red as pH indicator. The maximum protein content was observed to be present in TSF-2 i.e. 2.727 mg /mL and possessed maximum activity of 6.054 Units/ml. Sample was separated by SDS-PAGE, stained by silver staining, showed a single band with molecular weight of approximately ~45kDa.

Current issues of molecular diagnostics of bladder cancer

Nowadays, it is generally accepted that cancer is a genetic disease. Tumour cells appear due to the accumulation of mutations in critical proto-oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Urothelial bladder cancer is a frequent oncological pathology, and therefore it is a significant social problem. The practical relevance of the study is due to the fact that the findings can significantly improve the efficiency of bladder cancer diagnosis. The purpose of the study was to consider all modern methods for diagnosing bladder cancer in one paper. As a research method, the analysis of scientific data obtained from the experimental study of bladder cancer was carried out. According to the data of the investigated sources, a fairly large number of scientists believe that bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common tumours affecting the urinary tract. It is believed that important prognostic factors include the presence of vascular invasion and tumour complexes in the vessels, which increases the risk of the secondary neoplasm growth even at the pT1 stage. However, when assessing vascular invasion, pathologists often mistake the cracks formed around the tumour complexes for vessels. In this case, the study suggests conducting an immunohistochemical analysis for clear visualisation of blood vessels.

Fibroblastic meningioma mimicking an intracerebral hemorrhage: case report

ABSTRACT A 50-year-old woman presented to the emergency room complaining of severe headache. A non-contrasted head CT was obtained, which demonstrated a hyperdense image compatible with an intracerebral hemorrhage in the posterior region of the left temporal lobe. The patient displayed no neurological deficit during the consultation and a subsequent MRI showed a temporoinsular bleeding lesion that was suggestive of an atypic meningioma or a metastatic lesion. Afterwards, neck, chest and abdomen CT scans were performed, and the imaging ruled out a secondary neoplasm. The patient underwent surgical resection of the lesion, and a solid tumor was found with no bleeding associated. The pathology reported a WHO I fibroblastic meningioma.

Spectrum of morbid anatomy of liver in autopsy cases

Background: Purpose of autopsy is to learn the truth about the person’s health during and how the person died. Thus, autopsy study provides valuable information about the disease. The main aim of the study was to know the spectrum of morbid anatomical changes in liver autopsy.Methods: A prospective study was carried out on 100 liver specimens of autopsy cases comprising of 37 cases of roadside accidents, 17 of poisoning, 13 of burns, 10 of chronic illness, 7 each of hanging and head injury, 4 of myocardial infarction and 5 of death due to miscellaneous causes. Representative microsections of liver were evaluated for histopathological parameters like congestion, ballooning degeneration, hepatocellular necrosis, sinusoidal dilation, fatty change, bile stasis, fibrosis, lobular inflammation and portal inflammation.Results: Out of total 100 cases, 77 were males and 23 females. Male to female ratio was 3.34:1. Hepatomegaly was seen in 15% of cases. Chronic venous congestion was the main histopathological diagnosis seen in 61% of the cases followed by chronic hepatitis in 12%, normal liver histology in 9%, hepatic steatosis and cirrhosis in 6%, granulomatous hepatitis in 2%, and sinusoidal congestion, portal triaditis and secondary neoplasm in 1% each.Conclusions: Chronic venous congestion, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatic steatosis were the common liver diseases identified. Autopsy study is useful to monitor the cause of death and to plan medical strategy. Histopathological examination of the liver is specialized learning tool to study the various diseases of liver which is a great value in improving the diagnosis.

Machine learning imputation of metastatic status from open claims in melanoma patients.

e21540 Background: Metastatic status is a crucial variable in most oncology studies but is not available in claims data. The objective of this study is to develop a machine learning model for Imputation of metastatic status from claims data with ground. Truth is derived from highly curated electronic medical record data. Methods: We used a set of 11389 melanoma patients from the ConcertAI real world database of intersecting claims and EMR data that includes data from CancerLinQ Discovery. Using features from claims and our gold standard labels from EMR we built an ML model using (XGBoost) extreme gradient boosting, an algorithm that iteratively combines a set of decision trees into a single model. We used 60% of the data for training, 20% for hyper-parameter tuning, and 20% for holdout testing. The model was built using 55 features. Results: The table below summarizes results. Metrics are on the final hold out set which was unseen by the model and entirely composed of highly curated EMR data. Conclusions: We are able to build a high precision model for the imputation of metastatic melanoma status using claims data. This could enable significantly better use of claims data stemming from the ability to find a metastatic cohort with very few false positives. Providing more precise cohort identification for comparative effectiveness studies. We found features such as secondary neoplasm diagnosis, anti-neoplastic meds, and radiation ranking highly in our analysis of model feature importances. Using techniques to analyze non-linear feature interactions in our AI model we found an interaction relationship between long term anti-neoplastic therapy, reported pain and metastatic status which we plan to further study. This work is preliminary and we are working to further improve model performance.[Table: see text]

The International System for Reporting Serous Fluid Cytopathology: How to Incorporate Molecular Data in Cytopathology Reports

Serous effusion cytology is widely employed in the initial evaluation of the etiology of effusions with a high diagnostic sensitivity. To standardize practices, The International System for Reporting Serous Fluid Cytology (TIS) was developed following best international practices, the most up-to-date literature, and expert consensus. In the context of this system, ancillary techniques play an important role. Besides defining basic principles in laboratory specimen handling, adequacy criteria, and a standardized reporting terminology with five diagnostic categories, TIS provides an actionable framework for using immunohistochemical and molecular testing in effusion samples, namely, in atypical, suspicious of malignant samples. For diagnostic purposes, these tests may be employed to distinguish between a primary and secondary neoplasm, to confirm a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma vs. reactive mesothelial hyperplasia, and to correctly classify and determine the primary location of a metastasis. Theranostic molecular tests may also be used for these samples to evaluate potential therapeutic targets. Pathologists play a central role in guiding this process by determining adequacy and selecting appropriate ancillary tests. The activity in this area of research should increase in the near future as new therapeutic targets are discovered and new drugs enter the clinical practice.

Mucinous Adenocarcinoma Transformation in Ovarian Mature Cystic Teratoma Complicating Pregnancy: A Case Report

Most adnexal masses found in pregnancy are simple benign cysts less than 5 cm in diameter. On the other hand, the majority of persistent adnexal masses 5 cm or greater in diameter are mature teratomas. Malignant transformation occurs in 0.2 to 2 percent of mature teratomas, and squamous cell carcinoma arising from ectoderm is the most common secondary neoplasm. The mucinous cystadenocarcinoma transformation is very rare. We presented a 38-year-old G2Ab1 woman at 32 weeks of gestation with a huge, rapid growth adnexal mass who came to our emergency department due to severe preeclampsia, stage 1 of IUGR, and borderline AFI. After 48 hours of expectant management, a cesarean section associated with unilateral salpingooophorectomy was done, and the histopathology of the cyst revealed mature teratoma that was focally involved with mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. The complete surgical staging was done, and due to the stage of disease (1C1), she received adjuvant chemotherapy, and she has remained disease-free in her last follow up after one year.

COT-18 Prognosis and problems about secondary intracranial neoplasm in childhood cancer survivors: a single-institution retrospective cohort study

Objective: As childhood cancer survivors gradually increased, late complications of treatment have been at issue and risk of secondary neoplasm is increasing cumulatively. We retrospectively analyzed clinical outcome and problems of treatment for secondary intracranial neoplasm. Patients and Methods: 497 patients (children, adolescents and young adults) with malignant central nervous system neoplasm were treated in our institution from 1971 to 2015. 188 cases (37.8%) were enrolled in this follow-up study. Diagnosis of primary neoplasm included low grade glioma (29%), embryonal tumor (23.5%), germ cell tumor (24.5%), ependymoma (8%), other (15%). Results: Fourteen cases of them were diagnosed as secondary intracranial neoplasm. Twelve cases were operated and histopathological diagnosis included 6 glioblastomas, 1 anaplastic astrocytoma, 1 anaplastic ependymoma, 4 meningiomas. In all cases, histopathological finding and molecular profile of secondary intracranial neoplasm differed from that of primary malignant brain tumors. Duration from the first operation of primary tumors to diagnosis of secondary intracranial neoplasm ranged from 5 to 36 years (average: 29.3). In malignant glioma cases except meningioma cases, origin of them was contained in high irradiation field (>40Gy). In malignant glioma cases, Chemotherapies using temozolomide and bevacizumab were selected after tumor removal. In 3 cases of them, reirradiation was performed. Response for treatment was poor or transient in most cases, median survival time was 12 months. Of late complications, such as endocrinological problem needed replacement (55%), cerebrovascular event (15.9%), secondary neoplasm (7.4%), secondary neoplasm was importantly related with prognosis. Conclusion: It is difficult to plan therapeutic strategies against second malignant neoplasm because of lack of information in case of long-term survivors and restriction for first radiation. Clinical outcome of them is poor and new treatment targets should be developed. It is important to plan clinical trials to reduce treatment intensity and usable long-term follow-up system.