A new approach to the evaluation of the relative degree of genomic DNA methylation through the quantification of 2'-deoxynucleosides is proposed. Detection and quantification of 5-methyl 2'-deoxycytidine in genomic DNA has been performed using micellar high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) with UV-Vis detection. This approach has been demonstrated to be more sensitive and specific than other HPCE methods for the quantification of DNA methylation degree and also to be faster than other HPLC-based methods. The detection and quantification of nucleosides through enzymatic hydrolyses notably increases the specificity of the technique and allows its exploitation in the analysis of poorly purified and/or concentrated DNA samples such as those obtained from meristematic plant regions and paraffin-embedded tissues.

Treatment options for patients with high-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) are limited, especially for those with progressive disease and for those who experience treatment failure. Everolimus, an oral inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), has been approved for the treatment of patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pNET. In the randomized phase III RADIANT-3 study in patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pNET, everolimus significantly increased progression-free survival (PFS) and decreased the relative risk for disease progression by 65% over placebo. This case report describes a heavily pretreated patient with high-grade pNET and liver and peritoneal metastases who achieved prolonged PFS, clinically relevant partial radiologic tumor response, and resolution of constitutional symptoms with improvement in Karnofsky performance status while receiving a combination of everolimus and octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR). Radiologic and clinical responses were maintained for 19 months, with minimal toxicity over the course of treatment. This case supports the findings that the combination of everolimus plus octreotide LAR may be considered for use in patients with high-grade pNET and progressive disease. Although behavior and aggressiveness are different between low- or intermediate-grade and high-grade pNET, some high-grade pNET may express mTOR; hence, everolimus should be considered in a clinical trial.

Most chemotherapy treatments induce DNA damage in the exposed patients. Using the comet assay and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), we have quantified this induced DNA damage and studied its relationship with GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms, and clinical parameters. For this purpose, 29 Caucasian women, breast cancer patients under CMF or CEF adjuvant chemotherapy were included in the study. The clinical parameters considered were (i) therapies side effects, like haematological and biochemical toxicities, (ii) prognostic and predictive factors, like hormonal receptor expression, tumour differentiation degree, sickness stage, and nodal status, and (iii) the effectiveness of the chemotherapy measured as five years relapse probability. The results were also related to the confounding factor age. Comet assay results indicate that 13 patients were characterised by absence of induced DNA strand breaks, and 16 patients presented induced DNA strand breaks along the treatment. Relationships between comet variables and clinical parameters, found with principal component analysis, correlations, one-way ANOVA and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that: (1) baseline levels of DNA damage are related to GSTM1 genotype and to hormonal receptor expression; (2) GSTM1 genotype also influences comet results after chemotherapy, as it does the AST level; (3) the tail moment values of the cycle 6.1 and the sickness stage might predict cancer relapse at five years: for the Stage, OR = 13.8 (IIB versus I+IIA), 95% CI 0.80-238.97, and for 6.1 cycle TM, OR = 1.3, 95%, CI 0.97-1.79, with a potential model (10* Stage (I-IIA = 0, IIB = 1) + 6.1 cycle), that has a good predictive capacity, with an area under ROC curve of 0.872 (CI 0.62-1.00). To our knowledge, this is the first time such a predictive value is found for the comet assay. Nevertheless, before the comet assay could be used as a tool for oncologists, this relationship should be confirmed in more patients, and problems of standardisation and data interpretation should be solved.

PurposeA proportion of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are still able to continue with active therapy after their progression to fluoropyrimidines, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan regimens. Studies suggest that gemcitabine and fluoropyrimidines are synergic antimetabolites. The purpose was to evaluate gemcitabine–capecitabine (Gem–Cape) in heavily pretreated mCRC and to thus assess possible predictive factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients and methodsThis analysis was performed on 119 evaluable patients pretreated with fluoropyrimidines, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, and biological agents between June 2001 and July 2011. Patients received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 day 1 and capecitabine 1,000 mg/m2bid for 7 days every 2 weeks.ResultsThe general characteristics were ECOG 0–1, 89 %; male, 68 %, and median age 63 years. In total, 61 % had received two chemotherapy lines, while 39 % had received three or more. Objective response rates and stable disease rates at 3 months were 6.72 and 37.81 %, equalling a clinical benefit of 44.53 %. The median PFS and OS were 2.87 months [95 % confidence interval (CI) 2.53–3.17 months] and 6.53 months (95 % CI 5.33–8.77), respectively. The most frequent toxicities were grades 1–2, anemia (22 %), thrombocytopenia (10 %), and hand–foot syndrome (9 %); grade ≥3, diarrhea (2 %), with no treatment-related discontinuations. No treatment-related deaths were reported. Statistical significance was obtained by subgroups, assessing clinical benefits and objective responses for PFS and OS. Moreover, patients under 65 tended to have a better PFS.ConclusionThese data suggest that Gem–Cape is a tolerable and feasible regimen, associated with clinical benefit in non-selected, heavily pretreated, mCRC patients.

BackgroundInguinal orchiectomy is curative in 70–80% of clinical stage I testicular germ cell tumours (CS I TGCT). The identification of patients who are at low risk of relapse is critical to avoid unnecessary treatment. The aim of this study is to explore EGFR, hMLH-1/hMSH-2 and microsatellite instability (MSI) as potential prognostic factors of recurrence in CS I TGCT.MethodsFifty-six CS I TGCT patients who underwent inguinal orchiectomy were included in this study. We analysed the relationship between clinicopathological and molecular factors with survival. Analysis of hMLH1, hMSH2 and EGFR expression was carried out by immunohistochemistry. Methylation status of the hMLH1 promoter was determined by pyrosequencing analysis in selected cases. EGFR exons 19, 20, 21 were analysed by PCR labeled-fragments and MSI status was determined using standard Multiplex MSI assays.ResultsClassical pathological factors such as lymphovascular invasion, high percentage of embryonal carcinoma, rete testis invasion or tumour size ≥4 cm showed a significant relationship with a higher risk of relapse. Additionally, it was found that an epididymis invasion proved to be a significant independent poor prognostic factor of recurrence (p = 0.001). hMLH1 or hMSH2 expression showed no significant association with risk of relapse and no MSI was found. EGFR expression was observed in 30.4% of samples and its expression was associated with higher risk of relapse (HR 3.5; 95% CI 1.3–9.8; p = 0.016). None of the cases presented EGFR kinase domain mutations.ConclusionsEpididymis invasion and EGFR expression, but not hMLH-1/hMSH-2 or MSI, could be potentially useful as new prognostic factors of recurrence for CS I TGCT.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-017-1162-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.