Luminal and Basal Subtypes Across Carcinomas: Molecular Programs Beyond Tissue of Origin.

Carcinomas originate from polarized epithelia, displaying luminal and basal orientations with distinct biological properties. Regardless of tissue of origin, many carcinomas show luminal or basal traits that are reflected in molecular profiles and are associated with different clinical behaviors and outcomes. Traditionally, cancers have been classified by histology and anatomical site, but accumulating evidence indicates that luminal/basal subtyping reflects shared biological programs that transcend organ boundaries.

Exploring the Interplay Between Gut Microbiota and the Melatonergic Pathway in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer.

Emerging evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between gut microbiota, melatonin synthesis, and breast cancer (BC) development in hormone receptor-positive patients (HR+HER2+ and HR+HER2-). This study investigated alterations in gut microbiota composition, the serum serotonin-N-acetylserotonin (NAS)-melatonin axis, fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and beta-glucuronidase (βGD) activity, and serum zonulin in HR+ BC patients compared to healthy controls. Blood and fecal samples were analyzed using mass spectrometry for serotonin, NAS, melatonin, and SCFAs; ELISA for AANAT, ASMT, 14-3-3 protein, and zonulin; fluorometric assay for βGD activity; and 16S rRNA sequencing for gut microbiota composition.

Zanidatamab plus palbociclib and fulvestrant in previously treated patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: primary results from a two-part, multicentre, single-arm, phase 2a study.

Background: New HER2-targeted regimens, including chemotherapy-free options, are needed for metastatic breast cancer. In an ongoing, two-part, phase 2a study, we assessed the safety and antitumour activity of zanidatamab, a HER2-targeted bispecific antibody, plus palbociclib and fulvestrant, in heavily pretreated patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Methods: This multicentre, single-arm, two-part, phase 2a study is being conducted at 13 university hospitals, cancer centres, or research institutes in Spain, Canada, and the USA.

Identification of minimal residual disease using the clonesight test for ultrasensitive ctDNA detection to anticipate late relapse in early breast cancer.

Background: Early-stage breast cancer (BC) diagnosis significantly reduces mortality, yet relapse remains a concern due to undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD). Liquid biopsies offer real-time insights into tumor dynamics, aiding MRD detection and therapy response evaluation. However, MRD detection is challenging due to low tumor DNA levels in circulation.

Effect of a 12-week exercise program on phase angle in women with breast cancer.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to analyze the effects of a 12-week exercise intervention on bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived phase angle (PhA), resistance (R), and reactance (Xc) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) and analyze the relationship between changes in bioelectrical impedance variables and changes in functional capacity and muscular strength.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. Potentially eligible patients were recruited from the Medical Oncology Unit of the hospital.

Second-Line Treatment Options for Patients with Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Review of the Clinical Evidence.

Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer has a poor prognosis and poses significant therapeutic challenges. Until recently, limited therapeutic options have been available for patients with advanced disease after failure of first-line chemotherapy. The aim of this review is to assess the current evidence supporting second-line treatment options in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Named entity recognition for de-identifying Spanish electronic health records.

Background And Objectives: There is an increasing and renewed interest in Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as a substantial information source for clinical decision making. Consequently, automatic de-identification of EHRs is an indispensable task, since their dissociation from personal data is a necessary prerequisite for their dissemination. Nevertheless, the bulk of prior research in this domain has been conducted using English EHRs, given the limited availability of annotated corpora in other languages, including Spanish.

Race and clinical outcomes in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-positive breast cancer in the randomized RxPONDER trial.

Background: The phase III RxPONDER trial has affected treatment for node-positive (1-3), hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer with a 21-gene recurrence score (RS) less than 26. We investigated how these findings apply to different racial and ethnic groups within the trial.

Methods: The trial randomly assigned women to endocrine therapy (ET) or to chemotherapy plus ET.

Palbociclib and letrozole for hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer with residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

With the incorporation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in early breast cancer (BC), a better identification of biomarkers is needed. The PROMETEO II trial aimed to evaluate the antitumor activity of palbociclib plus letrozole and to identify response biomarkers in patients with operable HR+/HER2- BC and residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The primary endpoint was the rate of complete cell cycle arrest (CCCA), centrally determined by Ki67 ≤ 2.

Exploring the Relationship between MicroRNAs, Intratumoral Microbiota, and Breast Cancer Progression in Patients with and without Metastasis.

Breast cancer (BC) continues to pose a significant burden on global cancer-related morbidity and mortality, primarily driven by metastasis. However, the combined influence of microRNAs (miRNAs) and intratumoral microbiota on BC metastasis remains largely unexplored. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the interplay between intratumoral microbiota composition, miRNA expression profiles, and their collective influence on metastasis development in BC patients by employing 16S rRNA sequencing and qPCR methodologies.

Increasing Annual Cancer Incidence in Patients Age 20-49 Years: A Real-Data Study.

Purpose: Data from population-based studies have shown an increased incidence of certain types of neoplasms in patients younger than 50 years (early-onset cancer [EOC]); however, little information is derived from other real-world data sources. In a nonpopulation registry, we analyzed changes in the incidence of several neoplasms in successive generations.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included all patients with a cancer diagnosis registered in one university hospital in Málaga, Spain, between 1998 and 2021, and 18 neoplasms were analyzed.

NK cell-triggered CCL5/IFNγ-CXCL9/10 axis underlies the clinical efficacy of neoadjuvant anti-HER2 antibodies in breast cancer.

Background: The variability in responses to neoadjuvant treatment with anti-HER2 antibodies prompts to personalized clinical management and the development of innovative treatment strategies. Tumor-infiltrating Natural Killer (TI-NK) cells can predict the efficacy of HER2-targeted antibodies independently from clinicopathological factors in primary HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Understanding the mechanism/s underlying this association would contribute to optimizing patient stratification and provide the rationale for combinatorial approaches with immunotherapy.

Comparative study of droplet-digital PCR and absolute Q digital PCR for ctDNA detection in early-stage breast cancer patients.

Background: Analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is increasingly used for clinical decision-making in oncology. However, ctDNA could represent ≤ 0.1 % of cell-free DNA in early-stage tumors and its detection requires high-sensitive techniques such as digital PCR (dPCR).

Explainable clinical coding with in-domain adapted transformers.

Background And Objective: Automatic clinical coding is a crucial task in the process of extracting relevant information from unstructured medical documents contained in Electronic Health Records (EHR). However, most of the existing computer-based methods for clinical coding act as "black boxes", without giving a detailed description of the reasons for the clinical-coding assignments, which greatly limits their applicability to real-world medical scenarios. The objective of this study is to use transformer-based models to effectively tackle explainable clinical-coding.

Development of a Novel NGS Methodology for Ultrasensitive Circulating Tumor DNA Detection as a Tool for Early-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent cancer in women. While usually detected when localized, invasive procedures are still required for diagnosis. Herein, we developed a novel ultrasensitive pipeline to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in a series of 75 plasma samples from localized BC patients prior to any medical intervention.

Development of in vitro and in vivo tools to evaluate the antiangiogenic potential of melatonin to neutralize the angiogenic effects of VEGF and breast cancer cells: CAM assay and 3D endothelial cell spheroids.

Melatonin is a molecule with different antitumor actions in breast cancer and has been described as an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Despite the recognition of the key role exerted by VEGF in tumor angiogenesis, limitations arise when developing models to test new antiangiogenic molecules. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop rapid, economic, high capacity and easy handling angiogenesis assays to test the antiangiogenic effects of melatonin and demonstrate its most effective dose to neutralize and interfere with the angiogenic sprouting effect induced by VEGF and MCF-7.

Dual neoadjuvant blockade plus chemotherapy versus monotherapy for the treatment of women with non-metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: We aimed to determine the effect of dual anti-HER2 blockade compared to monotherapy on clinically important outcomes.

Methods: We carried out a systematic review updated until July 2022. The outcomes included pathological complete response (pCR), clinical response, event-free survival, and overall survival.

Association of Circular RNA and Long Non-Coding RNA Dysregulation with the Clinical Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Cutaneous Metastatic Melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most lethal form of skin cancer if it becomes metastatic, where treatment options and survival chances decrease dramatically. Immunotherapy treatments based on the immunologic checkpoint inhibitors programmed death cell protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) constituted a main breakthrough in the treatment of metastatic CM, particularly for the achievement of long-term benefits. Even though it is a very promising therapy, resistance to primary immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) arises in about 70% of CM patients treated with a CTLA-4 inhibitor, and 40-65% of CM patients administered with a PD-1-targeting treatment.

Implementation of a Standard Care Program of Therapeutic Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients.

Background: There is little information on the feasibility and benefit of therapeutic exercise (TE) in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The aim of this article is to describe the implementation of a TE intervention in MBC patients, and to determine the recruitment, compliance and improvement in outcomes after its completion.

Methods: The "Therapeutic Exercise program in MBC" (TEP-MBC) consists of 1 h of individualized TE supervised by a physiotherapist in a group format, consisting of four groups of seven to eight participants.

Validation of pain catastrophizing scale on breast cancer survivor.

Introduction: Pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) is the most used scale to measure pain catastrophizing. In breast cancer survivors (BCS), pain catastrophizing is related to upper-limbs dysfunction and disability. This study aimed to assess the internal consistency, internal structure, and convergent validity of the Spanish version of the PCS in Spanish BCS.

Responsiveness of the new index muscular echotexture in women with metastatic breast cancer: an exercise intervention study.

Ultrasound imaging texture analyses may provide information on tissue homogeneity changes in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) through second-order analyzes based on the gray-level co-occurrence matrix. This study aimed to analyze the responsiveness and correlations of biomarkers of muscular and fat echotexture after an exercise intervention in women with MBC. A 12-week exercise intervention was conducted in 2019, including aerobic and strength training.