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Background and aims. This study explores the impact of emotional health on cancer patients, acknowledging the controversies and lack of high-quality data in the field, particularly for rare cancers and younger patients. It highlights the significant prevalence of depression and anxiety among cancer patients, the inadequacies in addressing mental health during and after treatment, and the inconsistencies in prevalence rates due to varying study methodologies. This study unravels the importance of data regarding mental health status in a clinical dataset to accompany the biological sample to be included in a biobank. Methods. The study utilized a questionnaire to evaluate the opinions of cancer patients, clinicians, and researchers regarding the inclusion of mental health data in clinical datasets accompanying biological samples in biobanks. The study involved 120 participants (40 from each group), and the data were analyzed using statistical methods. Results. The study found significant differences in the perceived importance of including mental health information among the three groups. Patients showed a higher tendency (87.9%) to consider mental health questions relevant compared to researchers (72.08%) and clinicians (62.08%). The first four questions regarding emotional well-being received the highest positive responses, particularly from patients (94.3%). The findings underline the importance of addressing the mental health of cancer patients, which is often overlooked. The study emphasizes the necessity for integrating mental health data in biobanks and increasing psychological support for cancer patients. Conclusions. There are clear differences in how patients, researchers, and clinicians value emotional and psychological aspects. The study underscores the need for better education on modern medical practices and the benefits of comprehensive patient care, including mental health considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lung cancer represents the second most diagnosed cancer worldwide (11.4% of the total cases), and the most diagnosed cancer in men (14.3%) and represents the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women (18%). Moreover, the majority of tumors are characterized by dynamic molecular and phenotypic changes that occur in tumor cells which influence therapy resistance and result in poor clinical outcomes. Methods: FFPE lung tumor tissue from two lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and two lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients were evaluated using the lOXGenomics Visium platform. The protocol included sample preparation, preparation of slides, fixing the slides on the capture areas, HE staining, deparaffinization and imagining, decrosslinking and probe hybridization, probe extension and library preparation. Sequencing was done using the Illumina platform, FastQC and SpaceRanger were used for primary analysis. Seurat and LoupeBrowser were used for the secondary analysis. Results: Unsupervised clustering revealed six and three clusters in LUAD samples, and six and seven clusters in LUSC samples, based on the transcriptomic profile of the cells in the spots of the capture area. The top 10 upregulated genes in each cluster were identified for each sample. It was noted that differentially expressed genes in clusters include genes encoding hemoglobin, cytokines, histones, and collagens. The inquiry revealed that T cells and B cells markers appear to be more present in LUAD tissue samples than in LUSC tissue samples. Moreover, LUSC tissue samples appear to have cancer associated fibroblasts markers whose expression is spatially variable. Conclusion: given the complex tumor heterogeneity in LUAD and LUSC tissue samples, we were able to observe gene expression in the context of spatial organization lung cancer tumor tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive form of cancer which lacks targeted therapy options. Thus, TNBC patients have poor outcomes and a decreased survival rate than patients with other types of breast cancers. Due to the lack of surface receptors, TNBC needs a comprehensive investigation to provide more information regarding patient’s therapy, as well as to understand the way how to counteract drug resistance mechanisms. Nowadays, chemotherapy remains an unsolved issue which rise a lot of questions in oncology field. Methods: In this article, we investigated the implication of paclitaxel in TNBC cell lines after a prolong administration, after 12, respectively 24 passages followed by evaluation of morphological alteration, mutational pattern by next generation sequencing and the altered gene expression pattern by microarray technology and validation by qRT-PCR of the resistance to therapy relevant genes. Results: Using functional assays, we showed that paclitaxel exhibits antiproliferative activity on Hs578T/Pax and MDA-MB-231/ Pax demonstrating the activation of cell death mechanisms. Confocal microscopy revealed significant modifications which occur in the morphological structure with a disruption of the actin-filaments and also mitotic catastrophe. The presence of these nuclear alterations is due to some modifications at the cellular and molecular levels. Important alterations at the transcriptomic and genomic levels were observed from this a common drug resistance signature (IL-6, CXCL8, VEGFA, EGR1, PTGS2 and TRIB1) for both cell lines at 24 passages was discovered. Also, an important mutation (TP53) linked with drug response was identified. Conclusion: These results might be used to furnish novel biomarkers in TNBC, as well as to find a strategy to counteract the resistance to therapy in order to increase survival rate and to enhance the prognosis of patients with TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises 85% of lung cancers. NSCLC has a high incidence and mortality. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miR-28-5p and miR-708-5p and to analyze the relationship between target coding genes and their signaling pathways. The two miRs were overexpressed in a patient cohort of 32 matched paired tumor and adjacent nontumoral tissue. All biological samples were collected from stage III and IV NSCLC patients. Due to the paralog structure of the two miRNAs, we conducted the study specifically on miR-708-5p, which showed a statistical significance between tumor tissue and adjacent nontumoral tissue. MiR-28-5p also revealed a significant difference, but at a lower level. We showed the critical roles of miR-28-5p and miR-708-5p in regulating ECM-receptor interaction, adherent’s junctions and Hippo signaling in the progression of NSCLC. Additional confirmation of the overexpression of miR-708-5p was done in the male TCGA patient cohort. The analysis using the Trans-Mir program revealed that the following transcriptional factors (TFs) may control miR-708: AR, ESR1, CREBBP, EOMES, EZH2, SOX2, TCF3/4, USF2; EZH2, JMJD1c, KDM2D, CXXC1, CXXC2, SFPQ, and MED1. These processes can be interrelated, particularly during the execution of the cell cycle. To analyze these connections, we performed a bioinformatics analysis of the correlation between TFs, based on genetic interactions, co-localization, physical interactions, co-expression and common pathways. We excluded predicted correlations and common protein domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Lung cancer represents the second most diagnosed cancer worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer death. Considering the involvement of noncoding RNAs in various cancer-related processes, the idea of an interaction between these molecules arose. This study focused on identifying a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network with connection to biological processes altered in lung cancer. Using this approach, we aimed to identify potential targetable molecules to improve lung cancer patients’ response to therapy and, thus, their survival rate. Materials and method. In silico analysis for identification of differentially expressed miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs and subsequent survival analysis of LUAD and LUSC TCGA datasets were performed. The interconnection among these transcripts was emphasized. Correlation analysis of mRNA/miRNA/lncRNA pairs in lung cancer was performed. Validation of mRNA/miRNA/lncRNA expression using two independent cohorts of LUAD and LUSC patients in a qRT-PCR experiment was performed. Results. We identified top dysregulated mRNA/miRNA/lncRNA transcripts in LUAD and LUSC TCGA datasets. Survival analysis on TCGA datasets based on the expression of the selected dysregulated transcripts allowed the identification of potential mRNA/ miRNA/lncRNA pairs with prognostic biomarker potential. The expression pattern of the mRNA/miRNA/lncRNA in the TCGA datasets was confirmed in qRT-PCR experiments performed on LUAD and LUSC patient cohort. Conclusions. RNA networks in cancer have clinical value in various aspects of patient care, including diagnosis, prognosis, treatment stratification and monitoring. The study revealed differences in terms of molecular imbalance in the two subtypes of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant melanoma continues to remain one of the most aggressive malignancies worldwide and, despite significant advances in immunotherapy and targeted strategies, the mortality rate is increasing. The aim of our study was to understand the mechanisms involved in the development of malignant melanoma in patients with primary tumors locally advanced with pathological status pIIIb and pIVb, using expression profiling of miRNAs through microarray analysis, mutational status and frequency among patients. NGS cancer panels and the usual IHC staining performed in the clinic were used. MiR-205, miR-122, miR-192, miR125b, miR-21-5p, miR-210, miR-29c, miR-221, miR-143-3p, let-7c and let-7b are a few relevant miRNAs identified in our study to be involved in targeting major genes in malignant melanoma. Moreover, our data demonstrated that S-100 remains the most suitable marker for melanocytic lesions among IHC markers, and that HMB-45, Melan-A and MITF exhibited a sensitive specificity, together with S100. Our results revealed a specific profile between males and females in both molecular analyses. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the actual biomarkers used for immunohistochemistry staining are not specific enough to offer a complete overview of the tumor status. Therefore, we propose the evaluation of several miRNAs’ candidates in larger patient cohorts and in correlation with the mutational status of melanomas in males and females, separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm worldwide, with more than 2.2 million cases and 680,000 deaths each year. Despite all clinical advances, the prognosis of patients with metastatic disease remains poor, with a five-year survival rate of 25%. Breast tumors profiling has led to the association of microRNAs with various biological processes such as the immune response, a reaction specific to early stages, highlighting their potential as prognostic biomarkers. In this regard, based on a molecular interaction network and on an in silico expression analysis, our study evaluated the abundance level of miR-21-5p, miR-155-5p and miR-181a-5p, looking for its correlation with the immune profile rendered by CCL20, EGR1, TGF-β and TNF-α genes in 30 cases of stage T1/2 breast cancer. According to our results, both the panel of microRNAs and genes associated with proinflammatory reactions were found to be overexpressed in tumor tissues compared to non-tumoral ones. Moreover, according to literature, CCL20, EGR1, TGF-β and TNF-α genes are involved in the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer. Therefore, the overexpression of miR-21-5p, miR-155-5p and miR-181a-5p could have a negative prognostic value in early stages and could help stratify patients. However, our observations require further validations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cancer continues to put pressure on the global health system due to its increase in incidence and mortality, lung cancer contributes to this threat with the highest number of new patients diagnosed each year, especially in late stages, causing a high rate of patients dying from this disease, still with limited therapeutic options, despite some progress made for targeted therapies and actionable genes. The high toxicity capacity of systemic drugs remains dramatic for the patient’s quality of life. Considering this context, our growing interest in the last decade is focused on investigating noncoding RNAs and their target/targeted genes in many cancers and cancer subtypes. We investigated a cohort of lung cancer patients suffering from NSCLC, using tumor tissue and adjacent nontumoral tissue for the expression level of three miRNAs. These short sequences 19-24 are conserved during tissue evolution and can be used as good-quality specimens for showing the relation with their target genes. We evaluated the expression level of miR-96-5p, miR-144-3p and miR-210-5p for lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma patients. Two miRNAs showed statistical significance in both histological subtypes, making them optimal candidates to accompany the pathological diagnosis, improving the active pathways involved in tumor evolution. Our data have shown a p-value of 0.0001 for miR-96-5p and 0.0007 for miR-210-5p in LUSC. In LUAD, values were 0.0018 for miR-96-5p, and 0.0007 for miR-210-5p. MiR-144-3p was not statistically significant, potentially due to the number of patients investigated. We propose these miRs for molecular support in NSCLC diagnosis, opening the way for targeted and targeting genes for these miRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a group of malignancies with serious impact on patient quality of life due to a reduced rate of response to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. MiR-21 has been identified as one of the most common proto-oncogenes. It is hypothesized that upregulated miR-21 could serve as a potential biomarker for human cancer diagnosis. Considering the target genes identified for miR-21 in HNSCC, this transcript is an important player in several cellular processes that control carcinogenesis. The abnormal expression of miR-21 in this group of pathologies has been assessed in several publications, but given the heterogeneity of the published results, a meta-analysis and proper bioinformatics analysis of expression databases are needed to correctly establish the prognostic potential of this molecule. The present meta-analysis comprises the published survival data on HNSCC patients, reported as HR and 95% CI, in association with the expression levels of miR-21. Our investigation revealed that miR-21 could be used successfully as a prognostic biomarker in HNSCC patients, confirming its oncogenic potential. Specifically, the upregulation of miR-21 in these patients predicts a worse outcome in terms of survival rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The world healthcare systems are currently challenged by the accumulating burden of colorectal cancer (CRC), and cancer registries represent an important segment for prevention and developing management plans, being useful in providing data regarding incidence, mortality, survival, exposure to carcinogens, lifestyle. Retrospective data from CRC patients in Romania was used to assess survival impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness considering three crucial aspects: pharmacology, chemo-/radio-therapy, and hospitalization for care and management of these patients., Methods: 423 CRC patients from the Institutional Cancer Registry of the Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta Institute of Oncology in Cluj-Napoca, Romania were included in the cost analysis. For the assessment of cost efficiency of the primary treatment strategy, we collected data regarding direct medical costs associated with surgery, radiotherapy and medication, as well as the afferent day or continuous hospitalization, for each patient. For the cost-effectiveness analysis we used the method of estimation of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio., Results: No compelling differences regarding survival time were observed in different therapeutic options per CRC stage. Substantial differences in cost effectiveness among therapeutic options in the same stage of several thousand Euros in stages I-III, while for stage IV, the ICER was more than 100,000 Euros per life saved., Conclusions: Systematic evaluation of costs, cost-effectiveness, and survival impact, helps healthcare systems can make informed decisions to improve the management of colorectal cancer patients, optimizing outcomes while minimizing financial burden.