Isolated metastasis of an EGFR-L858R-mutated NSCLC of the meninges: the potential impact of CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in EGFRmut NSCLC in diagnosis, follow-up and treatment.

Brain and leptomeningeal metastasis (LMM) of non-small cell lung cancer is still associated with poor prognosis. Moreover, the current diagnostic standard for LMM often yields false negative results and the scientific progress in this field is still unsatisfying. We present a case of a 71-year old patient with an isolated LMM. While standard diagnostics could only diagnose a cancer of unknown primary, the use of [68Ga]-Pentixafor-PET/CT (CXCR4-PET/CT, a radiotracer targeting CXCR4) and a liquid biopsy of the cerebrospinal fluid revealed the primary NSCLC. The detection of L858R-EGFR, a common driver mutation in NSCLC, enabled us to treat the patient with Afatinib and monitor treatment using [68Ga]-Pentixafor PET/CT. To estimate the impact of CXCR4 signaling and its ligands in NSCLC brain metastasis we looked at their expression and correlation with EGFR mutations in a primary and brain metastasis data set and investigated the previously described binding of extracellular ubiquitin to CXCR4. In conclusion, we describe a novel approach to improve diagnostics towards LMM and underline the impact of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in brain metastasis in a subset of NSCLC patients. We cannot confirm a correlation of CXCR4 expression with EGFR mutations or the binding of extracellular ubiquitin as previously reported.

Neonatal Nav1.5 protein expression in normal adult human tissues and breast cancer.

Expression of the neonatal splice variant of the voltage-gated sodium channel α-subunit (VGSC) subtype Nav1.5 (nNav1.5), encoded by the gene SCN5A, was shown earlier to be upregulated in human breast cancer (BCa), both in vitro and in vivo. Channel activity promoted BCa invasion of Matrigel®in vitro and metastasis in vivo. Consequently, expression of nNav1.5 has been proposed as a functional biomarker of BCa cells with metastatic potential. Here, we have determined immunohistochemically both nNav1.5 and total VGSC (tVGSC) protein expression in a range of adult human tissues. Some VGSC protein was expressed in normal colon, small intestine, stomach, prostate, bladder and breast. As expected, high levels of VGSC protein were expressed in brain, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle. On the other hand, nNav1.5 protein was not expressed in any of the normal tissues tested except breast where a low-level of protein was present. In comparison to normal breast, nNav1.5 protein expression in BCa was consistently widespread and occurred at a significantly higher level. We also questioned whether there was any relationship between the nNav1.5 protein expression and the estrogen receptor (ERα) status of BCa and obtained the following results. First, all cases lacking nNav1.5 were positive for ERα. Second, in all ERα-negative tissues, nNav1.5 protein was expressed in plasma membrane. Third, however, in ERα-positive cases, nNav1.5 protein expression was observed in both plasma membrane and cytoplasm. In conclusion, nNav1.5 protein has a restricted expression pattern among human tissues. High level expression occurs in BCa and associates with ERα status. These results further support the proposition that nNav1.5 is a novel biomarker of metastatic BCa.

Population genetic data for 15 autosomal STR markers in Turkish Cypriots from Cyprus.

Fifteen autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers [D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, THO1, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA] were analyzed in 501 unrelated, randomly selected Turkish Cypriot individuals from the island of Cyprus. While no locus duplications or null alleles were detected in these samples, eight allelic variants were observed in total, 75% of which were intermediate allelic variants that were absent in the system allelic ladder. Allelic frequencies and statistical parameters of forensic interest were calculated at each locus. For the 15 STR loci tested, combined matching probability (pM) was 2.15717 × 10(-18) and combined power of exclusion (PE) was 0.9999995213. No deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed, except for the vWA locus, which became insignificant after the Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. Locus-by-locus comparisons of the Turkish Cypriot allelic frequencies with those published for the neighboring and/or historically related populations with similar loci coverage (Turkish, Greek, Greek Cypriot, Italian and Lebanese) revealed some statistically significant differences at one to five loci. In general, an increase in the number of such significant differences between the Turkish Cypriot data and those for other populations correlated closely with an increase in the geographic distance and/or a decrease in the amount of historical contact. The Turkish Cypriot autosomal STR population study will find immediate use in the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus Project on the "Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons" and it will also be available for criminal, parentage and other missing person investigations.

Photo-toxic effects of 809-nm diode laser and indocyanine green on MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT), due to its positive outcomes in clinical applications, easiness of practice and few side effects, is a good candidate for an efficient treatment of cancer. Indocyanine green (ICG), a water-soluble, anionic tricarbocyanine and non-toxic molecule is a promising photosensitive agent for PDT applications on tumor cells. ICG exhibits strong maximum absorption at around 805 nm which will be an advantage for its use in PDT; light at that wavelength can be used to treat deeper tumors. In this study the inhibitory growth effects of ICG-PDT on MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells were investigated in a time course experiment. Cells were irradiated with a continuous wave diode laser (lambda=809 nm, 60 mW, 24 J cm(-2)). Cell viability was measured by MTT assay 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 48h after light irradiation. The results showed that ICG-PDT application exerted its photo-oxidative effect on MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells immediately. Relative cell viability was determined throughout the 48h time course, and a consistent decrease was observed after ICG-PDT applications. In conclusion, ICG when used in combination with near-infrared light showed a very fast (within 3h) and persistent (up to 48h) photo-toxic effect on MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells.