Common skin tumors like basal- and squamous-cell carcinoma present a serious problem in modern medicine. Exposure to ultraviolet solar radiation is the main cause of these lesions. Since application of Aldara® and PDT separately is well documented, we decided to use both methods together. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of local photodynamic therapy supplemented with topical application of Aldara® in basal-cell carcinoma. Thirty-four patients ages 50 to 68 years were enrolled to the trial and underwent PDT treatment. Each case of BCC was histopathologically confirmed. Ten patients were subjected to local Levulan®-PDT and placebo (Eucerin as vehicle cream), and 24 patients were subjected to Levulan®-PDT and imiquimod. Photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) was used to detect and visualize suspicious foci (including cancer lesions). In the group of patients who were treated using Levulan®-PDT and placebo, 6 patients (60%) were totally cured and 4 lesions (40%) significantly decreased in size. In the group of patients treated with Levulan®-PDT and imiquimod, 18 lesions totally disappeared (75%), 6 lesions significantly diminished, and in 1 patient small foci of previously excised BCC developed again in scar tissue 10 month after the first control examination. Cure was achieved without any scarring and with very good cosmetic effects. Although this is the preliminary report, the presented modification of PDT seems to be reasonable and promising in treating basal-cell carcinoma.

Nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin‐dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS) is 27 kDa chromosomal protein of unknown function. Its amino acid composition as well as structure of its DNA binding domain resembles that of high‐mobility group A, HMGA proteins. HMGA proteins are associated with various malignancies. Since changes in expression of HMGA are considered as marker of tumor progression, it is possible that similar changes in expression of NUCKS could be useful tool in diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. For identification and analysis of NUCKS we used proteomic and histochemical methods. Analysis of patient‐matched samples of normal and breast cancer by mass spectrometry revealed elevated levels of NUCKS in protein extracts from ductal breast cancers. We elicited specific antibodies against NUCKS and used them for immunohistochemistry in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. We found high expression of NUCKS in 84.3% of cancer cells. We suggest that such overexpression of NUCKS can play significant role in breast cancer biology.

Premalignant breast lesions pose variable risks for transformation, raising the question who should receive treatment to counteract the potential progression to breast cancer. Because the secreted metastasis mediator Osteopontin (OPN) is a marker for breast cancer aggressiveness, its presence in these lesions may reflect progression risk. By immunohistochemistry, we analyse the association of Osteopontin variant expression in healthy breasts, hyperplasias, papillomas, and carcinomas in situ from 434 women to assess a) staining for OPN exon 4 (present in OPN-a and OPN-b) or OPN-c in low-risk to high-risk lesions b) correlations between staining and progression (DCIS with invasion, invasive cancer) or survival. The markers correlate with risk, and they are prognostic for ensuing invasive disease and survival. About 10% of OPN-c pathology score 0–1 (intensity), vs. 40% of score 3 experience cancer over 5 years. More than 90% of women, who progress, had pathology scores of 2–3 for OPN-c intensity at the time of initial diagnosis. When combining OPN-c and OPN exon 4 staining, all of the low intensity patients are alive after 5 years, whereas women in the high category have a close to 30% chance to die within 5 years. Of patients who succumb, close to 80% had a high combined score at the time of initial diagnosis. The combined information of OPN splice variant immunohistochemistry can provide a foundation for very reliable prognostication and has the potential to aid decision making in the treatment of early breast lesions.

Adhesion is critical for the maintenance of cellular structures as well as intercellular communication, and its dysfunction occurs prevalently during cancer progression. Recently, a growing number of studies indicated the ability of oxygen to regulate adhesion molecules expression, however, the influence of physiological hypoxia (physioxia) on cell adhesion remains elusive. Thus, here we aimed: (i) to develop an optical tweezers based assay to precisely evaluate single diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell adhesion to neighbor cells (mesenchymal stromal cells) and extracellular matrix (Matrigel) under normoxia and physioxia; and, (ii) to explore the role of integrins in adhesion of single lymphoma cell. We identified the pronouncedly reduced adhesive properties of lymphoma cell lines and primary lymphocytes B under physioxia to both stromal cells and Matrigel. Corresponding effects were shown in bulk adhesion assays. Then we emphasized that impaired β1, β2 integrins, and cadherin-2 expression, studied by confocal microscopy, account for reduction in lymphocyte adhesion in physioxia. Additionally, the blockade studies conducted with anti-integrin antibodies have revealed the critical role of integrins in lymphoma adhesion. To summarize, the presented approach allows for precise confirmation of the changes in single cell adhesion properties provoked by physiological hypoxia. Thus, our findings reveal an unprecedented role of using physiologically relevant oxygen conditioning and single cell adhesion approaches when investigating tumor adhesion in vitro.

Osteopontin is a marker for breast cancer progression, which in previous studies has also been associated with resistance to certain anti-cancer therapies. It is not known which splice variants may mediate treatment resistance. Here we analyze the association of osteopontin variant expression before treatment, differentiated according to immunohistochemistry with antibodies to exon 4 and to the osteopontin-c splice junction respectively, with the ensuing therapy responses in 119 Polish breast cancer patients who presented between 1995 and 2008. We found from Cox hazard models, logrank test and Wilcoxon test that osteopontin exon 4 was associated with a favorable response to tamoxifen, but a poor response to chemotherapy with CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil). Osteopontin-c is prognostic, but falls short of being a significant predictor for sensitivity to treatment. The addition of osteopontin splice variant immunohistochemistry to standard pathology work-ups has the potential to aid decision making in breast cancer treatment.