CO₂-assisted gasification of carbon-based waste materials is one of the processes that both utilises waste carbon chemicals and produces CO, which is a highly sought after raw material. In this work, we aimed at finding and clarifying the synergistic effects of simultaneous potassium and Fe, Co, or Ni-driven catalysis. To reveal the behaviour of such systems, a series with different potassium loadings and a fixed second metal loading of 5 wt.% was prepared. The following methods were applied for this purpose: SEM, TEM, EDX, XRD, electron diffraction, and catalytic tests. The most active sample was found to be 3 wt.% K and 5 wt.% Co- or Fe-loaded hydrolysis lignin. The attained CO₂ conversion was up to 92%, while the pure lignin sample demonstrated only 62% conversion under the same conditions.

Цель. Изучить ближайшие и отдаленные результаты лечения больных первично - операбельным раком молочной железы (РМЖ) в зависимости от морфологических и биологических особенностей опухоли. Материалы и методы. В ретроспективное исследование включены 974 пациентки в возрасте от 30 до 82 лет (средний возраст 54,5 года) с первично - операбельным РМЖ (T1-2N0-1M0), наблюдавшиеся с 2005 по 2012 г. Изучены общая выживаемость (ОВ) и безрецидивная выживаемость (БРВ) в зависимости от гистологического типа, молекулярно - биологического подтипа РМЖ, статуса аксиллярных лимфатических узлов (ЛУ), лимфоваскулярной инвазии, степени злокачественности, индекса пролиферации Ki-67 и экспрессии белка HER2. Статистическая обработка данных включала сравнение частот изучаемых признаков, анализ кривых выживаемости методом Каплана-Мейера.Результаты. Показатели 5-летней ОВ и 5- и 10-летней ОВ и БРВ были ниже при смешанной гистологической форме по сравнению с инфильтративным раком неспецифического типа ( р =0,03) и инфильтративным дольковым раком ( р =0,01). При отсутствии метастазов в регионарных ЛУ показатели 5- и 10-летней ОВ были выше по сравнению с поражением макрометастазами одного ( р =0,02) либо двух и более ЛУ ( р =0,004): 96,0 и 89,3%; 95,4 и 79,0%; 88,9 и 79,3% соответственно. Аналогичная тенденция отмечена для показателей 5- и 10-летней БРВ. ОВ при отсутствии метастазов в ЛУ была больше при люминальном В HER2-позитивном подтипе и трижды негативном РМЖ. Степень злокачественности опухоли не оказывала влияния на ОВ. Вероятность рецидива заболевания была значимо выше у больных со степенью G3, чем со степенью G1 ( р =0,00001) и G2 ( р =0,002): показатели 5- и 10-летней БРВ составили: 84,8 и 55,0%; 94,1 и 86,0%; 88,9 и 72,2% соответственно. Экспрессия HER2 и индекс пролиферации Ki-67 влияли на показатели БРВ, не оказывая влияния на ОВ.Выводы. Морфологическими факторами, ухудшающими ОВ и БРВ больных первично - операбельным РМЖ, являются: наличие в регионарных ЛУ макрометастазов, поражение двух и более ЛУ, наличие лимфоваскулярной инвазии, смешанная гистологическая форма РМЖ. К подтипам с более агрессивным течением отнесены: HER2-позитивные опухоли и трижды негативный РМЖ.

Aim. To increase the accuracy of risk stratification of breast cancer Stage I–III patients based on circulating tumour cell (CTC) determination.Methods. Forty-seven breast cancer patients aged 28–77 years (median, 51 years) who were examined and treated at N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology between 2015 and 2017 were enrolled in the study. The presence of CTCs was evaluated for all patients before treatment.Results. CTCs were detected in 85.1% (40 out of 47) of the patients. The CTC detection rate in patients with early and locally-advanced breast cancer was approximately the same, 88.5% (23 of 26) and 81% (17 of 21), respectively (p = 0.7). Another important prognostic factor, which tended to be reliably linked to the frequency of CTC detection, was the grade of malignancy. Grade 2 tumours were more often observed in CTC-positive patients (77.5%) than in CTC-negative patients (22.5%, p = 0.06). None of the remaining clinical and morphological parameters were statistically associated with CTC positivity.Conclusion. This study demonstrated that regardless of the clinical stage, CTCs were detected with approximately equal frequency in patients with early and locally-advanced breast cancer (88.5% and 81%, respectively). However, owing to the small number of patients studied, none of the differences were found to be statistically significant. Nevertheless, investigations on the relationship between the presence of CTCs, molecular-biological subtypes and grade of malignancy are important to evaluate their use as independent prognostic factors. Further studies are needed to assess the use of CTCs as an additional criterion or prognostic factor in breast cancer management.Received 17 September 2020. Accepted 25 September 2020.Funding: The study did not have sponsorship.Conflict of interest: Authors declare no conflict of interest.Author contributionsConception and design: S.B. Polikarpova, N.N. Tupitsyn, O.A. Chernyshova, V.E. Ponomarev, E.A. Bogush, I.V. Vysotskaya, V.Yu. KirsanovData collection: V.E. Ponomarev, O.A. ChernyshovaData analysis: V.E. Ponomarev, O.A. ChernyshovaDrafting the article: V.E. Ponomarev, O.A. ChernyshovaCritical revision of the article: S.B. Polikarpova, N.N. Tupitsyn, E.A. Bogush, I.V. Vysotskaya, V.Yu. KirsanovFinal approval of the version to be published: V.E. Ponomarev, O.A. Chernysheva, S.B. Polikarpova, E.A. Bogush, I.V. Vysotskaya, V.Yu. Kirsanov, N.N. Tupitsyn

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality of malignant neoplasms in women worldwide. In spite of a large number of studies devoted to the etiopathogenesis of this group of malignant tumors, many questions concerning specific mechanisms of their origin and development are still unresearched. Based on numerous studies in recent years, in addition to traditional risk factors (such as hereditary factors, hormonal disorders, environmental factors, etc.), foreign and Russian authors have identified a new risk factor for BC development - the sphere of molecular disorders affecting circadian rhythms and circadian genes, as well as metabolic and regulatory intracellular pathways regulated by them. It has been shown that the balance between oncogenes and suppressor genes and processes such as neoangiogenesis, metastasis and antitumor immune response depend on the functioning of the circadian rhythm system. One of the key metabolites in the circadian rhythm regulation system is melatonin, which physiological effects extend not only to the central nervous system, but also to peripheral tissue cells. The study of the relationship between circadian rhythm disturbances, melatonin secretion and malignant tumors is one of the important tasks of modern oncology. In the present review the following aspects of this problem are considered in detail: relationships between circadian rhythms, melatonin and BC; molecular mechanisms of melatonin antitumor action in BC; therapeutic potential of melatonin in prevention and treatment of malignant breast tumors as a direct antitumor agent, a component of accompanying treatment, and as a radiosensitizer and radioprotector for radiotherapy. The purpose of this review is to investigate the problem of the relationship between the circadian rhythm system, melatonin and molecular mechanisms of development and progression of breast malignancies, as well as the therapeutic potential of melatonin in their prevention and treatment. The review is based on the study of relevant and reliable scientific articles, reviews, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical trials published in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and in peer-reviewed Russian journals mainly during the last 5 years.

The article deals with a peculiar group of breast diseases, which belongs to the B3 category according to the BI-RADS classification, the so-called lesions with undefined malignant potential. The basic information concerning their biological behavior and modern tactical approaches to the management of patients with similar changes in the mammary gland are presented. The possibility of conservative management, as well as the minimization of surgical aid, in cases of indications for it, up to vacuum aspiration biopsy is being considered. In addition, the significance of these diseases for the subsequent development of pre-invasive and infiltrative cancer is discussed.

The article presents updated data concerning the molecular mechanisms of influence of the well-known in clinical practice drug Mastodynon. The paper provides evidence of a significant effect of the compounds containing in its composition on the cell lines of a number of malignant neoplasms: breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, leukemia and others. The data obtained are extremely attractive in the perspective of using the drug as a preventive agent.