Prognostic and predictive value of systemic inflammatory markers in patients with metastatic gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma with PD-L1 CPS score ≥ 5: Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) study.

Our understanding of prognostic and predictive factors in the context of nivolumab combined with chemotherapy remains limited. In our multicenter study conducted across 16 centers, data from 153 patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma and a PD-L1 CPS score ≥ 5, who received nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatment, were retrospectively analyzed for the period between 2021 and 2024. The study aimed to investigate the prognostic and predictive significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index (SII), as well as various clinical parameters.

Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer and hepatitis B: multicentre experience in a low-middle-income country.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used in clinical practice. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ICIs in patients diagnosed with cancer who also have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of patients who received an ICI between 2016 and 2023 at three tertiary cancer centers.

Prognostic value of serum albumin-creatinine ratio as a biomarker in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Albumin and creatinine are considered important for understanding patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, numerous confounding factors complicate the interpretation of albumin and creatinine alone in clinical practice. This study aims to assess the correlation between survival outcomes and serum-albumin creatinine ratio (sACR) in patients treated with ICIs.

Clinical Characteristics and Management of Patients Admitted to the Supportive Care Clinic and Predisposing Factors of Unplanned Hospital Readmission: Single-Center Experience.

It is well known that supportive care clinics are vital in medical oncology practice. This study aims to present a portrait of the supportive care clinic of a tertiary cancer center in a low-middle-income country. This study included patients admitted to our supportive care clinic between January 2019 and December 2023.

Prognostic significance of the cachexia index (CXI) in patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The Cachexia Index (CXI) was a useful indicator of malnutrition and inflammatory pressure in patients with cancer and was associated with a poor prognosis. However, the available studies differ in terms of study population, design, and the used cut-offs. Therefore, we aimed to systematically analyze the association between CXI and survival in cancer patients.

Serum Albumin-Creatinine Ratio and Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity in Patients with Cancer.

Several studies have suggested that the serum albumin-creatinine ratio (sACR) is a useful marker for the early risk stratification of patients with cardiomyocyte injury. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between sACR and anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity. This study included patients who had received anthracycline-based chemotherapy between 2014 and 2023 and had undergone baseline and follow-up echocardiography after the treatment.

Modified cachexia index and survival in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with CDK 4-6 inhibitors.

Background: The objective of this study is to evaluate the correlation between survival outcomes and the modified cachexia index (mCXI) in patients with metastatic breast cancer who have been treated with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors.

Methods: This study was conducted on patients with metastatic breast cancer who received CDK 4/6 inhibitors (either Palbociclib or Ribociclib) between January 2020 and November 2024.

Results: 240 patients were included.

Prognostic factors and outcomes of adjuvant and first-line metastatic treatments in melanoma a Turkish oncology group study.

Management of melanoma has changed significantly with the discovery of targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). Our aim in the study is to determine which treatment alternatives, specifically dabrafenib plus trametinib and ICIs, are effective in adjuvant therapy and which treatment is effective as first-line metastatic therapy. This retrospective, multicenter study included 120 patients diagnosed with stage IIIB-IIID melanoma receiving both adjuvant and first-line metastatic treatment between 2007 and 2023.

The association between HALP score and survival in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: The hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score could be a prognostic biomarker in patients with cancer as a reflector of nutritional and inflammatory status, although the data is limited in patients treated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Therefore, we sought to investigate the relationship between HALP score and survival in ICI-treated patients.

Methods: We included adult patients with advanced cancer treated with ICIs between June 2016 and January 2024.

Real-World Efficacy and Safety of First-Line Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Gastric, Gastroesophageal Junction, and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Nationwide Observational Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Study.

Based on the CheckMate 649 trial, nivolumab plus chemotherapy is the recommended first-line treatment for HER2-negative unresectable advanced or metastatic gastric, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), or esophageal adenocarcinoma. This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective study evaluated the real-world effectiveness of this regimen in Turkish patients and identified subgroups that may experience superior outcomes. Conducted across 16 oncology centers in Turkey, this study retrospectively reviewed the clinical charts of adult patients diagnosed with HER2-negative unresectable advanced or metastatic gastric, GEJ, or esophageal adenocarcinoma from 2016 to 2023.

Efficacy of Systemic Treatments in Patients With Metastatic Lung Invasive Mucinous Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma (IMA) is a rare histological subtype of lung invasive adenocarcinoma with unique clinical, radiological, histopathological, and genomic characteristics. There have been limited studies on the effectiveness of systemic therapy for lung IMA, with conflicting results reported.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated the medical records of patients diagnosed with lung IMA.

3D-Printed Medical-Grade Polycaprolactone (mPCL) Scaffold for the Surgical Treatment of Vaginal Prolapse and Abdominal Hernias.

The expected outcome after a scaffold augmented hernia repair is the regeneration of a tissue composition strong enough to sustain biomechanical function over long periods. It is hypothesised that melt electrowriting (MEW) medical-grade polycaprolactone (mPCL) scaffolds loaded with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) will enhance soft tissue regeneration in fascial defects in abdominal and vaginal sheep models. A pre-clinical evaluation of vaginal and abdominal hernia reconstruction using mPCL mesh scaffolds and polypropylene (PP) meshes was undertaken using an ovine model.

Microporous/Macroporous Polycaprolactone Scaffolds for Dental Applications.

This study leverages the advantages of two fabrication techniques, namely, melt-extrusion-based 3D printing and porogen leaching, to develop multiphasic scaffolds with controllable properties essential for scaffold-guided dental tissue regeneration. Polycaprolactone-salt composites are 3D-printed and salt microparticles within the scaffold struts are leached out, revealing a network of microporosity. Extensive characterization confirms that multiscale scaffolds are highly tuneable in terms of their mechanical properties, degradation kinetics, and surface morphology.

Infectious complications of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors in patients with hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The combination of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK 4/6) inhibitors plus endocrine therapy (ET) improved the survival outcomes and became the standard of care in the treatment of metastatic hormone-positive breast cancer. However, these combinations increased the risk of neutropenia compared with ET alone. While the infection-related mortalities did not seem to be increased, the exact risk of infections with CDK 4/6 inhibitor and ET combinations is relatively understudied.

Adjuvant treatment with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab for node-negative breast cancer: real-life experience.

In node-negative -overexpressed breast cancers, adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab treatment is a successful de-escalation approach with excellent survival outcomes. All patients with HER2+ breast cancer treated in our centers were retrospectively reviewed. We analyzed 173 patients who were treated with adjuvant paclitaxel plus trastuzumab.

Sarcopenia and anthracycline cardiotoxicity in patients with cancer.

Background: Several studies have suggested that sarcopenia is associated with an increased treatment toxicity in patients with cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sarcopenia and anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity.

Methods: Patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy between 2014 and 2018 and had baseline abdominal CT and baseline and follow-up echocardiography after anthracycline treatment were included.

Engineering a 3D bone marrow adipose composite tissue loading model suitable for studying mechanobiological questions.

Tissue engineering strategies are widely used to model and study the bone marrow microenvironment in healthy and pathological conditions. Yet, while bone function highly depends on mechanical stimulation, the effects of biomechanical stimuli on the bone marrow niche, specifically on bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) is poorly understood due to a lack of representative in vitro loading models. Here, we engineered a BMAT analog made of a GelMA (gelatin methacryloyl) hydrogel/medical-grade polycaprolactone (mPCL) scaffold composite to structurally and biologically mimic key aspects of the bone marrow microenvironment, and exploited an innovative bioreactor to study the effects of mechanical loading.

A humanised rat model of osteosarcoma reveals ultrastructural differences between bone and mineralised tumour tissue.

Current xenograft animal models fail to accurately replicate the complexity of human bone disease. To gain translatable and clinically valuable data from animal models, new in vivo models need to be developed that mimic pivotal aspects of human bone physiology as well as its diseased state. Above all, an advanced bone disease model should promote the development of new treatment strategies and facilitate the conduction of common clinical interventional procedures.

Personalized, Mechanically Strong, and Biodegradable Coronary Artery Stents via Melt Electrowriting.

Biodegradable coronary artery stents are sought-after alternatives to permanent stents. These devices are designed to degrade after the blood vessel heals, leaving behind a regenerated artery. The original generation of clinically available biodegradable stents required significantly thicker struts (∼150 μm) than nondegradable ones to ensure sufficient mechanical strength.

Chemoimmunotherapy for the salvage treatment of Ewing sarcoma: A case report.

Introduction: Although, immune check-point inhibitors changed the course of many cancers, the outcomes in sarcomas were rather disappointing with less than 10% response rates. Ewing sarcoma is a poorly differentiated and aggressive tumor mostly seen in the children and adolescents. It's a distinct type of sarcoma with prominent chemosensitivity in the early stages.

A 3D-printed biomaterials-based platform to advance established therapy avenues against primary bone cancers.

In this study we developed and validated a 3D-printed drug delivery system (3DPDDS) to 1) improve local treatment efficacy of commonly applied chemotherapeutic agents in bone cancers to ultimately decrease their systemic side effects and 2) explore its concomitant diagnostic potential. Thus, we locally applied 3D-printed medical-grade polycaprolactone (mPCL) scaffolds loaded with Doxorubicin (DOX) and measured its effect in a humanized primary bone cancer model. A bioengineered species-sensitive orthotopic humanized bone niche was established at the femur of NOD-SCID IL2Rγ (NSG) mice.

Melt Electrowriting of Complex 3D Anatomically Relevant Scaffolds.

The manufacture of fibrous scaffolds with tailored micrometric features and anatomically relevant three-dimensional (3D) geometries for soft tissue engineering applications remains a great challenge. Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an advanced additive manufacturing technique capable of depositing predefined micrometric fibers. However, it has been so far inherently limited to simple planar and tubular scaffold geometries because of the need to avoid polymer jet instabilities.

The Patenting and Technological Trends in Hernia Mesh Implants.

Described as a projection (prolapse) of tissue through a fascial defect in the abdominal wall, hernias are associated with significant rates of complications, recurrence, and reoperations. This literature review is aimed at providing an overview of the prosthetic surgical meshes used for the repairing of hernia defects. The review was carried out using two specialized online databases: Espacenet, from the European Patent Office (EPO), and WIPO from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Effect of gelatin source and photoinitiator type on chondrocyte redifferentiation in gelatin methacryloyl-based tissue-engineered cartilage constructs.

Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels are a mechanically and biochemically tuneable biomaterial, facilitating chondrocyte culture for tissue engineering applications. However, a lack of characterisation and standardisation of fabrication methodologies for GelMA restricts its utilisation in surgical interventions for articular cartilage repair. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of gelatin source and photoinitiator type on the redifferentiation capacity of monolayer-expanded human articular chondrocytes encapsulated in GelMA/hyaluronic acid methacrylate (HAMA) hydrogels.

The Current Versatility of Polyurethane Three-Dimensional Printing for Biomedical Applications.

Reconstructive surgery aims to restore tissue defects by replacing them with similar autologous tissue to achieve good clinical outcomes. However, often the defect is too large or the tissue available is limited, requiring synthetic materials to restore the anatomical shape and partial function. The utilization of three-dimensional (3D) printing allows for the manufacture of implants with complex geometries and internal architecture that more closely matches the required clinical needs.