Latest Research
All publications from the Cancer3.AI database, newest first.
Sustained Remission following Lung Resection of Isolated Pulmonary Stage III Epithelioid Trophoblastic Tumor: A Case Report.
Slattery ME, et al
Researchers report a rare case of epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT), an exceptionally uncommon form of gestational trophoblastic disease, presenting as an isolated metastasis to the left lung in a 34-year-old woman who had experienced persistently elevated pregnancy hormone (β-HCG) levels for over three years without a clear explanation. Despite initial negative imaging and a failed course of methotrexate chemotherapy, a follow-up PET-CT scan eventually identified a single hypermetabolic lung nodule, which was surgically removed using minimally invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of ETT, and within two weeks of surgery the patient's β-HCG levels dropped to undetectable, remaining so for 18 months, indicating sustained remission without any chemotherapy. This case underscores that ETT should be considered in premenopausal women with unexplained persistent β-HCG elevation, and that surgical resection alone may achieve durable remission when disease is confined to a single site, preserving fertility in women who wish to conceive in the future.
Case reports in oncology
Source →Relevance of next-generation sequencing in the differential diagnosis of meningeal mesenchymal tumors: primary meningeal dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma of the cavernous sinus.
Caldonazzi N, et al
Researchers report a rare case of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma — a tumor containing both a cartilage-forming component and a highly aggressive non-cartilaginous component — arising in the cavernous sinus, a complex anatomical region at the base of the skull. The case was diagnostically challenging because the biopsy specimen contained only the aggressive dedifferentiated portion of the tumor, with no visible cartilaginous tissue to suggest chondrosarcoma. Through next-generation sequencing (NGS), clinicians identified an IDH1 gene mutation, which was critical in establishing the correct diagnosis and distinguishing this tumor from other rare meningeal tumors with similar microscopic appearances. This finding highlights how genetic testing has become an essential tool in the diagnosis of rare and morphologically ambiguous brain and skull-base tumors. Importantly, the presence of an IDH1 mutation may also open the door to targeted therapy with IDH inhibitor drugs, a class of medications showing promising results in chondrosarcoma treatment, potentially offering new hope to patients with this otherwise difficult-to-treat malignancy.
Pathologica
Source →Immunohistochemical and molecular profiling of uveal melanoma: clinicopathological correlations from an Italian cohort.
Fortarezza F, et al
Researchers from Italy conducted a comprehensive analysis of 84 uveal melanoma (UM) cases — the most common primary eye cancer in adults — combining traditional tissue examination, immunohistochemistry, and next-generation sequencing of 63 cancer-related genes. The study found that mutations in GNAQ or GNA11 were present in 83% of cases, confirming their central role in this cancer type, while loss of BAP1 protein expression was linked to a more aggressive tumor cell shape and increased immune cell infiltration but without PD-L1 expression, which has implications for immunotherapy eligibility. Unexpectedly, mutations typically seen in skin melanoma — including BRAF and KIT — were also detected, mainly in one iris melanoma case, suggesting that different anatomical sites may share some molecular features. Additional mutations in genes affecting the mTOR and VEGF signaling pathways (NOTCH1, PTEN, PIK3CA, KDR) were identified, along with markers such as H3F3A, IDH2, JAK3, and ESR1 that were more common in patients with worse outcomes. These findings highlight the molecular complexity of uveal melanoma and open new avenues for personalized treatment strategies targeting specific genetic alterations.
Pathologica
Source →Distinction of thymic carcinoma and type B3 thymoma using ancillary biomarkers.
Poma AM, et al
Researchers investigated whether a panel of biomarkers could reliably distinguish thymic carcinoma from type B3 thymoma, two rare tumors of the thymus gland that can be difficult to tell apart under the microscope. A study of 48 patients showed that the proteins CD5 and CD117, detected by immunohistochemistry, were expressed exclusively in thymic carcinoma cases and together achieved a sensitivity of 81% and perfect specificity. Adding three additional markers — loss of BAP1 expression, loss of MTAP expression, and deletion of the CDKN2A gene detected by FISH — improved sensitivity to 85%, though one type B3 thymoma unexpectedly carried both CDKN2A deletion and MTAP loss, slightly reducing specificity to 95%. These findings confirm that CD5 and CD117 should remain the primary diagnostic markers, while the supplementary markers can help clarify difficult cases where CD5 and CD117 are negative. Accurate differentiation between these tumor types is clinically important because thymic carcinoma carries a worse prognosis and requires different treatment strategies than type B3 thymoma.
Pathologica
Source →The clinical impact of precise assessment of predictive biomarkers in gastroesophageal cancer: focus on the PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) and tumor area positivity (TAP) systems.
Gambella A, et al
A new review published in Pathologica examines how to accurately measure a protein called PD-L1 in cancers of the esophagus, esophago-gastric junction, and stomach, which is critical for deciding which patients should receive immunotherapy drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. The authors compared three scoring systems used to quantify PD-L1 expression: the Combined Positive Score (CPS), the Tumor Proportion Score, and a newer method called Tumor Area Positivity (TAP), analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, and roles in clinical trials. The TAP system, which uses visual estimation of the proportion of tumor area staining positive, was found to offer improved reproducibility among pathologists and faster scoring times compared to older methods, although large-scale validation studies are still underway and some interpretive challenges persist. The review also highlights the many technical and pre-analytical factors—such as tissue processing and antibody choice—that can affect PD-L1 test results and therefore treatment decisions. To help standardize practice, the authors propose a reporting template for pathologists and outline future directions for improving PD-L1 assessment in these cancers. This work is particularly relevant as immunotherapy becomes increasingly central to first-line treatment for gastroesophageal cancers, making precise biomarker testing essential for patient outcomes.
Pathologica
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