Improved understanding of gastrointestinal stromal tumors biology as a step for developing new diagnostic and therapeutic schemes.

A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor of the human gastrointestinal tract, with an estimated incidence of 10-15 per 1 million per year. While preparing holistic care for patients with GIST diagnosis, scientists might face several difficulties - insufficient risk stratification, acquired or secondary resistance to imatinib, or the need for an exceptional therapy method associated with wild-type tumors. This review summarizes recent advances associated with GIST biology that might enhance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. New molecules might be incorporated into risk stratification schemes due to their proven association with outcomes; however, further research is required. Therapies based on the significant role of angiogenesis, immunology, and neural origin in the GIST biology could become a valuable enhancement of currently implemented treatment schemes. Generating miRNA networks that would predict miRNA regulatory functions is a promising approach that might help in better selection of potential biomarkers and therapeutical targets in cancer, including GISTs.

The complexity of tumour angiogenesis based on recently described molecules.

Tumour angiogenesis is a crucial factor associated with tumour growth, progression, and metastasis. The whole process is the result of an interaction between a wide range of different molecules, influencing each other. Herein we summarize novel discoveries related to the less known angiogenic molecules such as galectins, pentraxin-3, Ral-interacting protein of 76 kDa (RLIP76), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), B7-H3, and delta-like ligand-4 (DLL-4) and their role in the process of tumour angiogenesis. These molecules influence the most important molecular pathways involved in the formation of blood vessels in cancer, including the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor interaction (VEGFR), HIF1-a activation, or PI3K/Akt/mTOR and JAK-STAT signalling pathways. Increased expression of galectins, RLIP76, and B7H3 has been proven in several malignancies. Pentraxin-3, which appears to inhibit tumour angiogenesis, shows reduced expression in tumour tissues. Anti-angiogenic treatment based mainly on VEGF inhibition has proved to be of limited effectiveness, leading to the development of drug resistance. The newly discovered molecules are of great interest as a potential source of new anti-cancer therapies. Their role as targets for new drugs and as prognostic markers in neoplasms is discussed in this review.

Histopathological analysis of mucinous breast cancer subtypes and comparison with invasive carcinoma of no special type.

Mucinous breast cancer (MBC) is a rare histological type of breast cancer characterized primarily by mucin's production and extracellular presence. MBC is usually associated with a better prognosis than other invasive breast neoplasms. Because of the low prevalence, MBC biology is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to introduce the last 2-year experience regarding MBC pathological diagnostics in our clinical center and comparison of the obtained data with invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (NST) comprising the most common invasive breast cancer. We identified 24 MBC cases representing 3.09% of all 766 invasive breast cancers, including 15 cases of pure type and 9 mixed MBCs. The median MBC patients' age at presentation was 65.5 years. Compared to NST, MBC presented a higher T stage with a statistically larger tumor median size, although lower regional lymph node involvement, tumor histological grade and TNM stage. MBC is a rare type of breast cancer, accounting for about 4% of all diagnosed breast cancers. Our findings are consistent with those published in recent years and show significant differences between MBC and NST cancer patients and also highlight differences between pure and mixed MBC, emphasizing the essence of their differentiation. MBC is associated with a better long-term prognosis than NST and is characterized by the less aggressive biological behavior expressed through favorable clinicopathologic features in terms of tumor grade, regional lymph node involvement and hormone receptor status.

αB-crystallin as a promising target in pathological conditions - A review.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: αB-crystallin belongs to the ubiquitous family of small heat-shock proteins. It was discovered as a physiological protein of the eye lens, maintaining its liquid-like property. Furthermore, αB-crystallin was proved to playa bipolar role in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. This review discusses current knowledge about the biology and genetics of αB-crystallin, and summarizes recent advances in understanding its role in ophthalmic and neurological disorders, as well as breast cancer, renal cancer and other malignancies. STATE OF KNOWLEDGE: α-crystallins are established as important elements of the protein quality control network, and consequently their defects are related to multiple human diseases. New studies highlight αB-crystallin's involvement in proliferative diabetic retinopathy angiogenesis and point out its therapeutic potential in age-related macular degeneration. αB-crystallin is thought to be associated with the disease-causing protein aggregates, leading to its connection with such neurological disturbances as anaplastic astrocytoma, Parkinson disease, aging deficits in the peripheral nervous system and multiple sclerosis. In breast cancer, it was proven to be a marker of aggressive behaviur and cerebral metastases. Strong expression of αB-crystallin promoted growth and migration of clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells and was correlated with lower overall survival rate. Considering other malignancies, its various roles were established in colorectal and gastric cancers, head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and osteosarcomas. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies concerning αB-crystallin seem to be enormously promising, as they might improve our understanding of common human pathologies as well as contemporary diagnostics and treatment.

Occurrence of adverse events in the activity of hospital wards in the opinions of doctors and nursing management staff.

INTRODUCTION: An adverse event is an incident induced while providing health care services or resulting from it, not related to the natural course of a given disease or health condition, which causes or is likely to cause negative consequences for the patient, including their death, a threat to life, the necessity of hospitalisation or its prolongation, permanent or considerable health detriment; or is a foetal disease, congenital defect or the result of foetal damage. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this analysis is to explore the problem of the occurrence of adverse events from the perspective of doctors and ward nurses who manage wards. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research on the occurrence of adverse events among doctors and nurses (the management staff) was conducted with the use of a postal survey. RESULTS: It was ascertained that 86.5% of the medical personnel had taken part in an adverse event, of which 20.2% took part in an occurrence associated with pharmacotherapy, 16.2% - in an event related to diagnostics and diagnosis, or an infection - 15.7%. 14.2% of respondents were involved in an occurrence linked to a medical device malfunction, and 14.1% - in an adverse event related to an operation. CONCLUSIONS: The adverse events most often identified in the nursing professional group are occurrences associated with pharmacotherapy, and in the doctors' professional group - occurrences related to diagnostics and diagnosis. The research established that the most frequent reason for not informing patients about the occurrence of an adverse event is fear of their filing a complaint. Medical management staff show high acceptance of an adverse event reporting system as a tool for improving patient safety.

Causes of delays in breast cancer diagnosis in Poland.

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women. The results of breast cancer treatment to a large extent depend on the time of the primary diagnosis of the disease. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the most common causes of the delay and the delay time in the diagnosis of breast cancer in Polish women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was performed using a diagnostic survey and analysis of medical documentation from the Subcarpathian Regional Oncology Center, Poland. A total of 231 patients with diagnosed breast cancer were recruited to the study. RESULTS: Delays in diagnosing of breast cancer were found in 83.1% of all the patients. The average time from the first symptom observation by a woman to the first medical consultation was on average 61.7 days. The most common cause of the delay in medical consultation in the examined group was a fear of diagnosing cancer (31.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The examined women require permanent health education in the field of breast cancer and the importance of early diagnosis of the disease for the effectiveness of treatment and prognosis.

Hypoxia in breast cancer.

Breast cancer continues to be one of the most common malignancies and is a serious problem particularly in women, although men may also be affected. Such lesions are commonly accompanied by hypoxia, and therefore hypoxia-dependent mechanisms, such as overexpression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), the mechanisms are studied as part of the search for a novel method of cancer treatment. Blocking the activity of HIF and HIF-dependent molecular changes raises hopes for identification of a molecular target to inhibit the tumor growth or even to completely prevent its progression. However, this is difficult due to the crucial role HIF plays in numerous processes occurring not only in cancer cells but mostly in healthy systemic cells in physiological conditions.