Protein-Based Predictive Biomarkers to Personalize Neoadjuvant Therapy for Bladder Cancer-A Systematic Review of the Current Status.

The clinical outcome of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is poor despite the approval of neoadjuvant chemotherapy or immunotherapy to improve overall survival after cystectomy. MIBC subtypes, immune, transcriptome, metabolomic signatures, and mutation burden have the potential to predict treatment response but none have been incorporated into clinical practice, as tumor heterogeneity and lineage plasticity influence their efficacy. Using the PRISMA statement, we conducted a systematic review of the literature, involving 135 studies published within the last five years, to identify studies reporting on the prognostic value of protein-based biomarkers for response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients with MIBC. The studies were grouped based on biomarkers related to molecular subtypes, cancer stem cell, actin-cytoskeleton, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, apoptosis, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. These studies show the potential of protein-based biomarkers, especially in the spatial context, to reduce the influence of tumor heterogeneity on a biomarker's prognostic capability. Nevertheless, currently, there is little consensus on the methodology, reagents, and the scoring systems to allow reliable assessment of the biomarkers of interest. Furthermore, the small sample size of several studies necessitates the validation of potential prognostic biomarkers in larger multicenter cohorts before their use for individualizing neoadjuvant therapy regimens for patients with MIBC.

The dimerization of SnCl2(g): mass spectrometric and theoretical studies.

The vaporization of SnCl2(s) was investigated in the temperature range between 382 and 504 K by the use of Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry. The Sn+, SnCl+, SnCl2+, Sn2Cl3+, and Sn2Cl4+ ions were detected in the mass spectrum of the equilibrium vapor. The SnCl2(g) and Sn2Cl4(g) gaseous species were identified, and their partial pressures were determined. The structure and vibrational properties of both species and corresponding fragmentation products were studied applying density functional theory and second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theoretical approaches. Molecular parameters yielded thermodynamic functions by the use of statistical thermodynamics. The sublimation enthalpies of SnCl2(g) and Sn2Cl4(g) at 298 K resulting from the second- and third-law methods are evaluated as 130.9 +/- 6.2 kJ mol(-1) and 155.8 +/- 7.3 kJ mol(-1), respectively. The enthalpy changes of the dissociation reactions Sn2Cl4(g) = 2 SnCl2(g) were obtained as delta(d)H degrees(298) = 106.8 +/- 6.2 kJ mol(-1). The corresponding theoretical value amounts to 103.4 kJ mol(-1). The change of monomer properties due to the dimerization reaction is also discussed.