EGFR-dependent aerotaxis is a common trait of breast tumour cells.

BACKGROUND: Aerotaxis, the chemotactism to oxygen, is well documented in prokaryotes. We previously reported for the first time that non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells also display unequivocal directional migration towards oxygen. This process is independent of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)/prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHD) pathway but controlled by the redox regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), with a reactive oxygen species (ROS) gradient overlapping the oxygen gradient at low oxygen concentration. Since hypoxia is an acknowledged hallmark of cancers, we addressed the putative contribution of aerotaxis to cancer metastasis by studying the directed migration of cancer cells from an hypoxic environment towards nearby oxygen sources, modelling the in vivo migration of cancer cells towards blood capillaries. METHODS: We subjected to the aerotactic test described in our previous papers cells isolated from fresh breast tumours analysed by the Pathology Department of the Saint-Etienne University Hospital (France) over a year. The main selection criterion, aside from patient consent, was the size of the tumour, which had to be large enough to perform the aerotactic tests without compromising routine diagnostic tests. Finally, we compared the aerotactic properties of these primary cells with those of commonly available breast cancer cell lines. RESULTS: We show that cells freshly isolated from sixteen human breast tumour biopsies, representative of various histological characteristics and grades, are endowed with strong aerotactic properties similar to normal mammary epithelial cell lines. Strikingly, aerotaxis of these primary cancerous cells is also strongly dependent on both EGFR activation and ROS. In addition, we demonstrate that aerotaxis can trigger directional invasion of tumour cells within the extracellular matrix contrary to normal mammary epithelial cells. This contrasts with results obtained with breast cancer cell lines, in which aerotactic properties were either retained or impaired, and in some cases, even lost during the establishment of these cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our results support that aerotaxis may play an important role in breast tumour metastasis. In view of these findings, we discuss the prospects for combating metastatic spread. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRBN1462021/CHUSTE.

Presence of Urinary Exosomes for Liquid Biopsy of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Protocol for a Pilot Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 70%-80% of kidney cancers are clear cell renal cell carcinomas (CCRCCs). Patient management is based on imaging (abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography), surgical excision of the tumor, and pathological analysis. A tissue biopsy is therefore necessary to confirm the diagnosis and avoid unnecessary nephrectomy. For metastatic cancers, a tissue biopsy is essential for establishing the targeted therapy. This biopsy of tumor material is invasive and painful. Other techniques such as liquid biopsy would help reduce the need for tissue biopsy. The development of a simple biological test for diagnosis is essential. CA9 is a powerful marker for the diagnosis of CCRCC. Exosomes have become a major source of liquid biopsy because they carry tumor proteins, RNA, and lipids. Urine is the most convenient biological liquid for exosome sampling. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study (PEP-C study) is mainly to determine whether it is possible to detect urinary exosomal CA9 for the molecular diagnosis of CCRCC. METHODS: This study will include 60 patients with CCRCC and 40 noncancer patients. Exosomes will be isolated from urine samples and exosomal CA9 will be detected by transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: This study is currently underway with funding support from the CHU Saint-Etienne of France. CONCLUSIONS: We expect to demonstrate that urinary tumor exosomes could be a novel liquid biopsy to diagnose CCRCC and to guide clinicians in treatment decision-making. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04053855; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04053855. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/24423.

Metastatic meningiomas: an unusual clinical and pathological diagnosis with highly variable outcome.

Metastatic meningioma is a rare situation. We conducted a retrospective study from our databases and identified cases of metastatic meningioma. We report three presentations of patients with medical history of surgical removal of meningioma presenting several years later a liver tumor with bone metastasis or multiple lung tumors. These observations highlight the difficulty of the clinical and pathological diagnosis and the absence of consideration of metastatic state for histologically "benign" but clinically aggressive meningiomas in the current WHO 2007 classification of meningiomas. We also reviewed published cases of metastatic meningiomas since they are clearly distinguished from haemangiopericytoma.

A rare variant of inguinal hernia: Cryptorchid testis at the age of 50 years. Etiopathogenicity, prognosis and management.

INTRODUCTION: Cryptorchidism is characterized by the extra-scrotal position of the testis. The surgical community has little to no knowledge of cryptorchid testis in adults apart from of pediatric surgeons. Therefore, we sought to describe this unusual cause of inguinal hernia. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 50-year-old man was referred with a inguinal hernia. Diagnosis of cryptorchidism was made during surgery, as the patient underwent an operation for repair of his left inguinal hernia. The testicle was non-viable and a left testicle was resected. Histopathology report confirmed a atrophic testis without testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT). DISCUSSION: This is an extremely rare case of cryptorchidism revealed in an adult. The patient remained asymptomatic for 50 years. Most studies have concluded that there is a direct correlation between how long the testis was subjected to a cryptorchid position and TGCT incidence. The recommended age of surgical correction is before the age of 2 years. In our case, we did not find correlation between the time of surgery and risk of TGCT. Histopathology report confirmed the presence of leydig cells, seminiferous tubule and Sertoli cells without TGCT. Very little is known about link between cryptorchidism and TGCT. The correct diagnosis of inguinal hernia is usually made during an inguinal hernia repair. CONCLUSION: The surgeon must always be alert to the possibility of cryptorchid testis during a surgical exploration of an inguinal hernia. In suspected cases, laparoscopy ultrasonographic, CT scan and laparoscopy evaluation may be helpful in diagnosing of this atypical inguinal hernia before surgery.

Implementation of molecular intra-operative assessment of sentinel lymph node in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is used as a staging procedure in early breast cancer, however, histology based intra-operative assessment of the SLN status has a low sensitivity. The one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) method was developed to detect metastases by amplification of cytokeratin (CK) 19 mRNA. Experience with OSNA during a French multi-centric prospective study, as well as intra-operative clinical routine use, is reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: For the clinical study 80 SLNs from 46 patients were assessed. During routine use, the central slice of the SLN from 197 patients was investigated by permanent histology and the remainder was assessed by OSNA. RESULTS: During the clinical study, OSNA detected 15/17 metastases, including all the macrometastases, reaching a 96.3% concordance rate, 88.2% sensitivity and 98.4% specificity. During routine use, both OSNA and histology detected 25 patients with metastasis. CONCLUSION: OSNA is an accurate tool for intra-operative assessment of SLN status and could reduce the need for second surgery.