Commensal bacteria and their genes associated with host are known as microbiome. In recent years, microbial influence on host endocrine system has been under detailed investigation. The role of microbiome in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and obesity, the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and secretion of hormones regulating appetite is well described in world literature. In this article we discuss poorly reviewed issues: the microbiome role in modulation of non-peptide (sex and thyroid) and peptide (growth hormone and parathyroid hormone) functions. Understanding complex bidirectional relations between host endocrine system and bacteria is of fundamental importance to understanding microbial impact on host reproduction, risk of endocrine-related cancers, pathogenesis of non-thyroidal illness syndrome, growth failure in children and hormonal changes during chronic kidney disease. This article also highlights effects of dietary compounds on microbiome composition and bacterial enzymes activity, and thus host hormonal status.

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a raremalignant neoplasm of sinonasal tract, derived from olfactory epithelium. Unilateral nasal obstruction, epistaxis, sinusitis, and headaches are common symptoms. Olfactory neuroblastoma shows neuroendocrine differentiation and similarly to other...

Purpose Selected cell-cycle regulators and extracellular matrix proteins were found to play roles in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) biology. We aimed to analyze whether initial tumor tissue expressions of survivin, p53, cyclin D1, osteopontin (OPN) and fibronectin (FN) correlate with the response to neo-adjuvant CHT (naCHT) in children with advanced inoperable MPNST. Methods The study included 26 children with MPNST (M/F 14/12, median age 130 months) treated in Polish centers of pediatric oncology between 1992 and 2013. Tissue expression of markers was studied immunohistochemically in the manually performed tissue microarrays and assessed semi-quantitatively as low and high, based on the rate of positive cells and staining intensity. Results Good response to naCHT was noted in 47.6%, while poor—in 52.4% of patients. The response to naCHT was influenced negatively by the presence of neurofibromatosis NF1 and high initial tumor tissue expression of OPN, survivin, p53 and cyclin D1. Patients with high tumor expression of either OPN, survivin or p53 and those with simultaneous high expression of ≥ 3 of the markers, responded significantly worse to naCHT, than patients, in whom expression of ≤ 2 markers were detected at diagnosis. Nearly, 85% of patients expressing ≥ 3 markers, responded poor to CHT; while 87.5% of children, expressing ≤ 2 markers, were good responders. Conclusion The initial tumor tissue expression of OPN, survivin, p53 and cyclin D1 may serve as markers to predict response to naCHT in pediatric advanced MPNST. Future studies in more numerous group of patients are needed to confirm these preliminary results.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) in children is a rare mesenchymal malignancy developing predominantly in the setting of neurofibromatosis type 1. The prognosis in advanced MPNST is poor therefore new prognostic markers are highly needed for optimal therapeutic decisions. In many solid tumors, the bidirectional interactions between hypoxia and inflammation in the tumor microenvironment via functions of tumor-associated cells, like neutrophils, lymphocytes and macrophages, have been investigated recently. There is no data whether in MPNST hypoxic microenvironment may translate into systemic inflammation, which is a well-established factor for worse prognosis in cancer patients. Therefore, we investigated the prognostic significance of markers of tumor hypoxia and systemic inflammation in 26 pediatric malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST). Tumor tissue microarrays were stained for hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1A), solute carrier family 2 member 1 (SLC2A1, also known as glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1)), carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and classified into low- or high-expression groups. Baseline complete blood counts and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were collected for all cases. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) were calculated from age-adjusted complete blood count parameters. Both 10-year RFS and OS were significantly lower in patients with high NLR values (17% vs. 75%, p = 0.009, q = 0.018; and 31% vs. 100%, p = 0.0077, q = 0.014; respectively). Ten-year-OS was significantly lower in patients with high expression of SLC2A1 (20.00% vs. 94%, p < 0.001, log-rank), high expression of HIF1A (23% vs. 79%, p = 0.016, log-rank), and CRP higher than 31 mg/L (11% vs. 82%, p = 0.003, q = 0.009). Cox’s proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that high expression of SLC2A1 (HR = 3.31, 95% CI = 1.08–10.09, p = 0.036) and VEGFA (HR = 4.40, 95% CI = 0.95–20.34, p = 0.058) were the independent factors predicting relapse, whereas high SLC2A1 was identified as the independent risk factor for death (HR = 12.20, 95% CI = 2.55–58.33, p = 0.002). Patients with high expression of hypoxic markers and low or high NLR/CRP values had the highest events rate, patients with low hypoxic markers and high NLR/CRP had intermediate events rate, while patients with low hypoxic markers and low NLR/CRP had the lowest events rate. SLC2A1 and VEGFA are promising novel prognostic factors in pediatric MPNST. Correlations between hypoxic and systemic inflammatory markers suggest the interplay between local tumor hypoxia and systemic inflammation.

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), especially when complicated with pre-eclampsia (PE), could be a life-threatening complication of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality in women. Pre-eclampsia is mainly characterized by hypertension and kidney damage with proteinuria. Abnormal placentation and altered structure of the placental barrier are believed to participate in the pathogenesis of pregnancy-induced hypertension, leading to PE. In the current study, we aimed to analyze the immunohistochemical expression pattern of E-cadherin and p120, two markers of epithelial–mesenchymal transition, in placental samples derived from a group of 55 patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension, including pre-eclampsia and 37 healthy pregnant controls. The results were correlated with the presence of an obtained early uterine artery flow notching during diastole on Doppler ultrasound. We observed a higher frequency of discontinuous E-cadherin staining in the basement membrane of syncytiotrophoblast in patients with PIH/PE compared to controls (p < 0.001, Fisher’s exact test). Moreover, the loss of continuity of E-cadherin expression correlated with the presence of a bilateral early diastolic notch on Doppler ultrasound (p < 0.001, Fisher’s exact test) and the presence of proteinuria (p = 0.013, Fisher’s exact test). These findings suggest that E-cadherin contributes to the integrity of the placental barrier, and its loss could be an immunohistochemical marker of PE.

Introduction: Markers of inflammation such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) have been found to be associated with survival in cancer patients. The aim of the current study was to establish the prognostic significance of simple laboratory markers of systemic inflammation in paediatric patients diagnosed with Wilms tumour (WT). Additionally, we aimed to compare the complete blood count (CBC) parameters of WT patients and the non-oncological control group.Material and methods: The study group included 88 children diagnosed with WT. Clinicopathological data, as well as CBC, C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels at diagnosis, were obtained. Additionally, the laboratory results of 62 healthy control paediatric patients were collected. Uni- and multivariate proportional Cox’s hazard analyses were computed to create a model predicting relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in the study group.Results: High CRP, LDH, and NLR were associated with a higher stage of WT and shorter RFS, whereas all parameters correlated with OS. In multivariate analysis, only LDH levels had adverse significance in predicting RFS. C-reactive protein and LMR retained their prognostic value in the multivariate model predicting OS. Comparing the WT group with controls, high LDH, high CRP, high NLR, and high PLR were associated with WT presence.Conclusions: Preoperative LDH, CRP, NLR, PLR, and LMR have significant prognostic value in patients with WT independently of age and stage. Combined low CRP and high LMR identified the group of patients with excellent OS. Patients with high LDH were characterized by the highest risk of relapse.