BACKGROUND: Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (MEC) of the thyroid represents less than 0.5% of all thyroid neoplasms. Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma is a rare condition with only approximately 300 cases reported.
METHODS: A 34-year-old pregnant woman at 37 weeks gestation presented to an endocrinological center for primary autoimmune hypothyroidism. The thyroid ultrasound revealed a pseudonodular pattern. The patient was followed up after two years. She reported a full-term delivery without complications. A new thyroid ultrasound was performed, showing a cystic lesion in the median suprathyroid area, measuring 6 x 9 x 10 mm, not previously reported. After 4 months, the suprathyroid cystic lesion was confirmed by thyroid ultrasound, measuring 6 x 11 x 12 mm. The patient was referred for fine-needle aspiration cytology. Cytological examination showed lymphocytes, red blood cells, and some epithelial aggregates with large cytoplasm and nuclear polymetrism with oxyphilic aspects. The patient underwent the Sistrunk procedure for the suprathyroid lesion. The histological examination revealed lymphocytic thyroiditis in heterotopic thyroid tissue with solid cell nest, epidermoid epithelium, and mucus-secreting cells suggestive of low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The immunohistochemistry study was positive, exhibiting thyroid transcription factor 1 and cytokeratin-19. No positivity was observed for thyroglobulin, calcitonin, galectin-3, and Hector Battifora mesothelial antigen 1. The recent follow-up examination, 13 months after the surgery, has been found negative for disease recurrence.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first case of an MEC occurring within a thyroglossal duct. Considering the age of the patient, the histological diagnosis, and the absence of thyroid nodules and metastasis, we decided on the Sistrunk procedure without total thyroidectomy.

When neglected for a long time, salivary gland pleomorphic adenoma (PA) can attain a considerable size, increasing the patient\'s morbidity along with the risk of malignant transformation. Very few case reports are available describing PA of the parotid glands presenting as a large cervicofacial mass. We report a case of epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma -a rare subtype of carcinoma ex-PA (Ca-Ex-PA) of non-luminal differentiation, that developed over a long period in a primary PA of the parotid gland and presented as a giant cervicofacial mass.

OBJECTIVE: Oncotype DX (ODX) predicts the risk of recurrence and benefits of adding chemotherapy for patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) early-stage breast cancer. We aimed to develop a simplified scoring system using readily available clinicopathological parameters to predict a high-risk ODX recurrence score (RS) while minimizing reproducibility issues regarding Ki-67 index evaluation methods.
METHODS: We enrolled 300 patients with ER+/HER2- early breast cancer, for whom ODX RS data were available in the test set. Using the QuPath image analysis platform, we systematically evaluated the average, hotspot, and hottest spot Ki-67 scores in the test set. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to establish a predictive scoring system for high-risk ODX RS. An independent validation set comprising 117 patients over different periods was established.
RESULTS: Factors such as age ≤ 50 years, invasive ductal carcinoma tumor type, histologic grade 2 or 3, tumor necrosis, progesterone receptor negativity, and a high Roche-analyzed Ki-67 score (> 20) were associated with high-risk ODX RS. These variables were incorporated into our scoring system. The area under the curve of the scoring system was 0.8057. When applied to both the test and validation sets with a cutoff value of 3, the sensitivity of our scoring system was 92%.
CONCLUSIONS: We successfully developed a scoring system based on the systematic evaluation of Ki-67 scoring methods. We believe that our user-friendly predictive scoring system for high risk ODX RS could help clinicians in identifying patients who may or may require additional ODX testing.

Therapeutic effects of the bioactive compounds obtained from three common plants against the human combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) was explored in silico. These phytoconstituents viz. berberine, gossypol, and parthenolide were subjected for their drug likeliness, ADMET properties and molecular interactions to the cell surface receptors viz. FGFR1-4, VEGFR1-3, and PDGFR -A & -B. Interestingly, all these phytoconstituents had drug likeliness and ADMET properties similar to the anti-cancer drug, irinotecan. Gossypol exhibited binding energies -14.14 , -11.09, -13.49, -15.27, -14.51, -8.42, -14.72, and -9.39 kcal/mol on the cell receptors of human cHCC-CC viz. FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, VEGFR3, PDGFRA, and PDGFRB, respectively. Whereas, berberine had binding energies -12.71 and -8.88 kcal/mol and -9.51 kcal/mol on the receptors viz. FGFR3, VEGFR3, and PDGFRB, respectively. The order of gossypol, berberine and parthenolide was determined as effective, whereas, the order of berberine, parthenolide and gossypol was found safer for human use.

UNASSIGNED: This study determined the impact of pre-operative abdominal MRI on all-cause mortality for patients with resected PDAC.
UNASSIGNED: All adult (≥18 years) PDAC patients who underwent pancreatectomy between January 2011 and December 2022 in Ontario, Canada, were identified for this population-based cohort study (ICD-O-3 codes: C250, C251, C252, C253, C257, C258). Patient demographics, comorbidities, PDAC stage, medical and surgical management, and survival data were sourced from multiple linked provincial administrative databases at ICES. All-cause mortality was compared between patients with and without a pre-operative abdominal MRI after controlling for multiple covariates.
UNASSIGNED: A cohort of 4579 patients consisted of 2432 men (53.1%) and 2147 women (46.9%) with a mean age of 65.2 years (standard deviation: 11.2 years); 2998 (65.5%) died while 1581 (34.5%) survived. Median follow-up duration post-resection was 22.4 months (interquartile range: 10.8-48.8 months), and median survival post-pancreatectomy was 25.9 months (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 24.8, 27.5). Patients who underwent a pre-operative abdominal MRI had a median survival of 33.1 months (95% CI: 30.7, 37.2) compared to 21.1 months (95% CI: 19.8, 22.6) for all others. A total of 2354/4579 (51.4%) patients underwent a pre-operative abdominal MRI, which was associated with a 17.2% (95% CI: 11.0, 23.1) decrease in the rate of all-cause mortality, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 0.828 (95% CI: 0.769, 0.890).
UNASSIGNED: Pre-operative abdominal MRI was associated with improved overall survival for PDAC patients who underwent pancreatectomy, possibly due to better detection of liver metastases than CT.
UNASSIGNED: Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association (NOAMA) Clinical Innovation Fund.

Gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. The occurrence of bone metastases (BM) in gastric cancer without prior gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms is a rare phenomenon that has been sporadically documented in the existing literature. We report a case of a 27-year-old male presenting with chief complaints of severe backache for one month. After an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy, the primary source of cancer was identified as a solitary gastric adenocarcinoma, supporting the diagnosis of bony metastases on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine. The patient was planned to start on palliative chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel {FLOT} regimen) with palliative radiotherapy of 20 Gy in five fractions to bony metastasis. The patient denied treatment and was discharged against medical advice.

Several recent studies have investigated the use of hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) for various cancers. However, HFRT for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with or without concurrent chemotherapy is not yet widely used because of concerns about serious side effects and the lack of evidence for improved treatment results. Investigations of HFRT with concurrent chemotherapy in NSCLC have usually been performed in single-arm studies and with a small number of patients, so there are not yet sufficient data. Therefore, the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology Practice Guidelines Committee planned this review article to summarize the evidence on HFRT so far and provide it to radiation oncology clinicians. In summary, HFRT has demonstrated promising results, and the reviewed data support its feasibility and comparable efficacy for the treatment of locally advanced NSCLC. The incidence and severity of esophageal toxicity have been identified as major concerns, particularly when treating large fraction sizes. Strategies, such as esophagus-sparing techniques, image guidance, and dose constraints, may help mitigate this problem and improve treatment tolerability. Continued research and clinical trials are essential to refine treatment strategies, identify optimal patient selection criteria, and enhance therapeutic outcomes.

An increase of cholesterol concentration within the artery obstructs arterial blood flow once it deposits alongside the arterial wall. This results in atherosclerosis. Carcinogenesis causes a quicker clearance of vascular cholesterol to meet the demands of tumour cell development. Both illnesses have an increased concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood. To search the comparative characteristics of cholesterol and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and carcinogenesis, a comprehensive online survey using MEDLINE, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar was conducted for relevant journals with key search term cholesterol and cytokines in atherosclerotic and cancerous patients. According to reports, hypercholesterolaemia related dyslipidemia causes atherosclerosis in blood arteries and hypercholesterolaemia in cell nucleus is a reason for developing carcinogenesis. It is also noted that pro-inflammatory cytokines are involved in both of the aforementioned pathogenesis. Changes in anti-inflammatory cytokines are only the characteristic features of each kind. Thus, Cholesterol and pro-inflammatory cytokines are intensely interlinked in the genesis of atherosclerotic and carcinogenic consequences.

Background and Objectives: Secretory carcinoma of the breast is an uncommon histological subtype of breast cancer. There is little research on this entity and only a few larger studies, which lack consensus. We aim to report a particular apocrine differentiation in this subtype and ponder upon the clinical outcome of this case. Case presentation: We report the case of a 72-year-old female patient who presented to our hospital with a suspicious breast tumor. Core biopsy and mastectomy showed a low-grade breast carcinoma, a secretory subtype with apocrine differentiation. Immunohistochemistry confirmed both the secretory nature and the apocrine nature of the tumor cells. Surgical excision was considered curative and the patient is under long-term surveillance for any recurrences. Conclusions: There is very little research on the clinical behavior of secretory carcinomas with apocrine differentiation. The clinical outcome is unknown and, unfortunately, besides surgery, no other adjuvant treatments have shown efficacy. Further studies on long-term clinical progression are required for this rare entity.

Mutations affecting codon 172 of the isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) gene define a subgroup of sinonasal undifferentiated carcinomas (SNUCs) with a relatively favorable prognosis and a globally hypermethylated phenotype. They are also recurrent (along with IDH1 mutations) in gliomas, acute myeloid leukemia, and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Commonly reported mutations, all associated with aberrant IDH2 enzymatic activity, include R172K, R172S, R172T, R172G, and R172M. We present a case of SNUC with a never-before-described IDH2 mutation, R172A. Our report compares the methylation pattern of our sample to other cases from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Hierarchical clustering suggests a strong association between our sample and other IDH-mutant SNUCs and a clear distinction between sinonasal normal tissues and tumors. Principal component analysis (PCA), using 100 principal components explaining 94.5% of the variance, showed the position of our sample to be within 1.02 standard deviation of the other IDH-mutant SNUCs. A molecular modeling analysis of the IDH2 R172A versus other R172 variants provides a structural explanation to how they affect the protein active site. Our findings thus suggest that the R172A mutation in IDH2 confers a gain of function similar to other R172 mutations in IDH2, resulting in a similar hypermethylated profile.