Egfr Activating Mutations And Their Association With Response To Platinum-doublet Chemotherapy In Brazilian Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in Brazilian non-small cell lung cancer patients and to correlate these mutations with response to benefit of platinum-based chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our cohort consisted of prospective patients with NSCLCs who received chemotherapy (platinum derivates plus paclitaxel) at the [UNICAMP], Brazil. EGFR exons 18-21 were analyzed in tumor-derived DNA. Fifty patients were included in the study (25 with adenocarcinoma). EGFR mutations were identified in 6/50 (12 %) NSCLCs and in 6/25 (24 %) adenocarcinomas; representing the frequency of EGFR mutations in a mostly self-reported White (82.0 %) southeastern Brazilian population of NSCLCs. Patients with NSCLCs harboring EGFR exon 19 deletions or the exon 21 L858R mutation were found to have a higher chance of response to platinum-paclitaxel (OR 9.67 [95 % CI 1.03-90.41], p = 0.047). We report the frequency of EGFR activating mutations in a typical southeastern Brazilian population with NSCLC, which are similar to that of other countries with Western European ethnicity. EGFR mutations seem to be predictive of a response to platinum-paclitaxel, and additional studies are needed to confirm or refute this relationship.

Lung Age Is Related To Carotid Structural Alterations In Hypertensive Subjects.

Hypertensive patients exhibit higher cardiovascular risk and reduced lung function compared with the general population. Whether this association stems from the coexistence of two highly prevalent diseases or from direct or indirect links of pathophysiological mechanisms is presently unclear. This study investigated the association between lung function and carotid features in non-smoking hypertensive subjects with supposed normal lung function. Hypertensive patients (n = 67) were cross-sectionally evaluated by clinical, hemodynamic, laboratory, and carotid ultrasound analysis. Forced vital capacity, forced expired volume in 1 second and in 6 seconds, and lung age were estimated by spirometry. Subjects with ventilatory abnormalities according to current guidelines were excluded. Regression analysis adjusted for age and prior smoking history showed that lung age and the percentage of predicted spirometric parameters associated with common carotid intima-media thickness, diameter, and stiffness. Further analyses, adjusted for additional potential confounders, revealed that lung age was the spirometric parameter exhibiting the most significant regression coefficients with carotid features. Conversely, plasma C-reactive protein and matrix-metalloproteinases-2/9 levels did not influence this relationship. The present findings point toward lung age as a potential marker of vascular remodeling and indicate that lung and vascular remodeling might share common pathophysiological mechanisms in hypertensive subjects.

Exploring Iris Colour Prediction And Ancestry Inference In Admixed Populations Of South America.

New DNA-based predictive tests for physical characteristics and inference of ancestry are highly informative tools that are being increasingly used in forensic genetic analysis. Two eye colour prediction models: a Bayesian classifier - Snipper and a multinomial logistic regression (MLR) system for the Irisplex assay, have been described for the analysis of unadmixed European populations. Since multiple SNPs in combination contribute in varying degrees to eye colour predictability in Europeans, it is likely that these predictive tests will perform in different ways amongst admixed populations that have European co-ancestry, compared to unadmixed Europeans. In this study we examined 99 individuals from two admixed South American populations comparing eye colour versus ancestry in order to reveal a direct correlation of light eye colour phenotypes with European co-ancestry in admixed individuals. Additionally, eye colour prediction following six prediction models, using varying numbers of SNPs and based on Snipper and MLR, were applied to the study populations. Furthermore, patterns of eye colour prediction have been inferred for a set of publicly available admixed and globally distributed populations from the HGDP-CEPH panel and 1000 Genomes databases with a special emphasis on admixed American populations similar to those of the study samples.

Petroleomics By Electrospray Ionization Ft-icr Mass Spectrometry Coupled To Partial Least Squares With Variable Selection Methods: Prediction Of The Total Acid Number Of Crude Oils.

Negative-ion mode electrospray ionization, ESI(-), with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) was coupled to a Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression and variable selection methods to estimate the total acid number (TAN) of Brazilian crude oil samples. Generally, ESI(-)-FT-ICR mass spectra present a power of resolution of ca. 500,000 and a mass accuracy less than 1 ppm, producing a data matrix containing over 5700 variables per sample. These variables correspond to heteroatom-containing species detected as deprotonated molecules, [M - H](-) ions, which are identified primarily as naphthenic acids, phenols and carbazole analog species. The TAN values for all samples ranged from 0.06 to 3.61 mg of KOH g(-1). To facilitate the spectral interpretation, three methods of variable selection were studied: variable importance in the projection (VIP), interval partial least squares (iPLS) and elimination of uninformative variables (UVE). The UVE method seems to be more appropriate for selecting important variables, reducing the dimension of the variables to 183 and producing a root mean square error of prediction of 0.32 mg of KOH g(-1). By reducing the size of the data, it was possible to relate the selected variables with their corresponding molecular formulas, thus identifying the main chemical species responsible for the TAN values.

Neck Circumference As A New Anthropometric Indicator For Prediction Of Insulin Resistance And Components Of Metabolic Syndrome In Adolescents: Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study.

To evaluate the correlation between neck circumference and insulin resistance and components of metabolic syndrome in adolescents with different adiposity levels and pubertal stages, as well as to determine the usefulness of neck circumference to predict insulin resistance in adolescents. Cross-sectional study with 388 adolescents of both genders from ten to 19 years old. The adolescents underwent anthropometric and body composition assessment, including neck and waist circumferences, and biochemical evaluation. The pubertal stage was obtained by self-assessment, and the blood pressure, by auscultation. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance. The correlation between two variables was evaluated by partial correlation coefficient adjusted for the percentage of body fat and pubertal stage. The performance of neck circumference to identify insulin resistance was tested by Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve. After the adjustment for percentage body fat and pubertal stage, neck circumference correlated with waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides and markers of insulin resistance in both genders. The results showed that the neck circumference is a useful tool for the detection of insulin resistance and changes in the indicators of metabolic syndrome in adolescents. The easiness of application and low cost of this measure may allow its use in Public Health services.

Correlação radiológica e histológica de lesões mamárias não-palpáveis em pacientes submetidas a marcação pré-cirúrgica, utilizando-se o sistema BI-RADS

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the positive predictive value for BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) categories 3, 4 and 5, correlating mammographic and histological diagnosis in non-palpable breast lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analytical-descriptive study of 169 women submitted to stereotactic localization for surgical biopsy of non-palpable breast lesions. Mammographic and histological findings were correlated, analyzing the predictive positive value for each category. RESULTS: Forty-two (24.8%) cases were diagnosed with breast cancer - only one in category 3, 19 in category 4, and 22 in category 5. The positive predictive value for categories 3, 4A, 4B, 4C and 5 were, respectively, 3.4%, 10.3%, 11.3%, 36% and 91.7%. Microcalcifications were the most frequent finding related to malignancy, present in 61.5% of these cases. CONCLUSION: The present study has demonstrated that BI-RADS allows a safe prediction of high suspicion of malignancy in lesions category 5 and low suspicion for category 3. As regards the category 4, the positive predictive value has shown a progressive increase in subcategories A, B and C, demonstrating that this subclassification represents an invaluable contribution for a more detailed and accurate assessment of lesions suspicious for malignancy.