👤 Paweł Antosik

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for approximately 85% of cases. Accurate differentiation between adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is critical for informing personalized therapies. Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and p40 are traditionally regarded as mutually exclusive markers of ADC and SCC, respectively. However, a subset of tumors exhibits co-expression of TTF-1 and p40, presenting diagnostic challenges and suggesting underlying biological distinctiveness. This study aimed to characterize the clinicopathological, molecular, and immunohistochemical features of NSCLCs co-expressing TTF-1 and p40, in order to clarify their biological and clinical significance. A retrospective analysis was performed on NSCLC cases diagnosed at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Medical University of Łódź between May 2021 and November 2022. Clinicopathological and survival data were collected. Tumors co-expressing TTF-1 and p40 underwent immunohistochemical evaluation and RNA/DNA-based next-generation sequencing (NGS). Of 94 NSCLC cases analyzed, 18 (19.1%) demonstrated co-expression of TTF-1 and p40. These tumors were significantly more likely to exhibit solid growth patterns compared to control cases (P=0.03), but no significant difference in overall survival (OS) was observed (P=0.46). Among 17 samples subjected to NGS, genetic alterations were identified in 15 (88.2%) cases, with NSCLCs co-expressing TTF-1 and p40 appear to represent a biologically distinct and poorly differentiated subgroup, frequently associated with Show less

The number of prognostic and predictive factors for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is limited. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are emerging as potential therapeutic targets, especially in cases with FGFR2 gene fusions. However, the prognostic relevance of FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR4 protein expression in PDAC remains unclear. Immunohistochemical analysis of FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR4 was performed on 99 PDAC and 60 adjacent normal pancreatic tissue samples. Protein expression was quantified using the H-score method and correlated with clinicopathological variables and survival. Publicly available datasets from the GEO repository and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) were used for pathway enrichment analysis and validation of findings at the mRNA level. FGFR2 and FGFR4 showed differential expression between tumor and normal tissues, while FGFR1 did not. High FGFR4 protein expression was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival (DFS) in both univariable and multivariable analyses. FGFR2 high expression cases showed a trend towards poor DFS, while FGFR1 had no prognostic impact. In silico analysis confirmed that high FGFR4 mRNA levels are associated with worse DFS. Co-expression and enrichment analysis linked FGFR4 overexpression with developmental, metabolic, and stemness-related processes. FGFR4 showed the strongest prognostic association among the FGFR family members studied, with high protein expression correlating with shorter disease-free survival in PDAC patients. These findings underscore the potential of FGFR4 as a biomarker for recurrence risk, while also highlighting the complexity of FGFR-related signaling and its context-dependent clinical relevance. Show less

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of SNAIL, SLUG, TWIST1, TWIST2, ZEB1, and ZEB 2 in primary tumor and the correlation with morphological and clinical characteristics of EC. The study included 158 patients with EC after surgical treatments: total hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. The percentages of EC specimens testing positively for the EMT transcription factors were 84.5% for SNAIL, 92.2% for SLUG, 10.9% for TWIST1, 100% for TWIST2, 89% for ZEB1, and 98% for ZEB2. The expression of SLUG in patients with FIGO stage III or IV, type II EC, myometrial invasion ≥ 50% of the uterine wall thickness, and adnexal involvement and in patients with distant metastases was significantly higher. SLUG and ZEB2 expressions were identified as significant predictors of higher FIGO stages (III or IV) on univariate analysis. The overexpression of SLUG was a significant predictor of more aggressive type II EC, myometrial invasion ≥ 50% of the uterine wall thickness, and distant metastases on both univariate and multivariate analysis. Moreover, the overexpression of SLUG and ZEB2 was shown to be significant predictors of adnexal involvement on univariate analysis. ZEB 2 overexpression was identified in multivariate analysis as another independent predictor associated with a lesser likelihood of type II EC. Both univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that SLUG expression was the only predictor of 5-year survival in the study group. The overexpression of SLUG was associated with a significant increase in mortality hazard on univariate analysis and was shown to be a highly significant predictor of death on multivariate analysis. Show less

The growth and development of oocyte affect the functional activities of the surrounding somatic cells. These cells are regulated by various types of hormones, proteins, metabolites, and regulatory molecules through gap communication, ultimately leading to the development and maturation of oocytes. The close association between somatic cells and oocytes, which together form the cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs), and their bi-directional communication are crucial for the acquisition of developmental competences by the oocyte. In this study, oocytes were extracted from the ovaries obtained from crossbred landrace gilts and subjected to in vitro maturation. RNA isolated from those oocytes was used for the subsequent microarray analysis. The data obtained shows, for the first time, variable levels of gene expression (fold changes higher than |2| and adjusted Show less