Tumor organoids are tridimensional cell culture systems that are generated in vitro from surgically resected patients’ tumors. They can be propagated in culture maintaining several features of the tumor of origin, including cellular and genetic heterogeneity, thus representing a promising tool for precision cancer medicine. Here, we established patient-derived tumor organoids (PDOs) from different breast cancer subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-enriched, and triple negative). The established model systems showed histological and genomic concordance with parental tumors. However, in PDOs, the ratio of diverse cell populations was frequently different from that originally observed in parental tumors. We showed that tumor organoids represent a valuable system to test the efficacy of standard therapeutic treatments and to identify drug resistant populations within tumors. We also report that inhibitors of mechanosignaling and of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) activation can restore chemosensitivity in drug resistant tumor organoids.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy and second only to lung cancer in terms of mortality in women. Despite the incredible progress made in this field, metastatic breast cancer has a poor prognosis. In an era of personalized medicine, there is an urgent need for better knowledge of the biology leading to the disease, which can lead to the design of increasingly accurate drugs against patients’ specific molecular aberrations. Among one of the actionable targets is the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) pathway, triggered by specific ligands. The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors/Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFRs/FGFs) axis offers interesting molecular targets to be pursued in clinical development. This mini-review will focus on the current knowledge of FGFR mutations, which lead to tumor formation and summarizes the state-of-the-art therapeutic strategies for targeted treatments against the FGFRs/FGFs axis in the context of BC.

The poor survival of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is due to its aggressive behavior, large heterogeneity, and high risk of recurrence. A comprehensive molecular investigation of this type of breast cancer using high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods may help to elucidate its potential progression and discover biomarkers related to patient survival. In this review, the NGS applications in TNBC research are described. Many NGS studies point to TP53 mutations, immunocheckpoint response genes, and aberrations in the PIK3CA and DNA repair pathways as recurrent pathogenic alterations in TNBC. Beyond their diagnostic and predictive/prognostic value, these findings suggest potential personalized treatments in PD -L1-positive TNBC or in TNBC with a homologous recombination deficit. Moreover, the comprehensive sequencing of large genomes with NGS has enabled the identification of novel markers with clinical value in TNBC, such as AURKA, MYC, and JARID2 mutations. In addition, NGS investigations to explore ethnicity-specific alterations have pointed to EZH2 overexpression, BRCA1 alterations, and a BRCA2-delaAAGA mutation as possible molecular signatures of African and African American TNBC. Finally, the development of long-read sequencing methods and their combination with optimized short-read techniques promise to improve the efficiency of NGS approaches for future massive clinical use.

All European countries need to increase the number of health professionals in the near future. Most efforts have not brought the expected results so far. The current notion is that this is mainly related to the fact that female physicians will clearly outnumber their male colleagues within a few years in nearly all European countries. Still, women are underrepresented in leadership and research positions throughout Europe. The MedGoFem project addresses multiple perspectives with the participation of multiple stakeholders. The goal is to facilitate the implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEP) in university hospitals; thereby, transforming the working conditions for women working as researchers and highly qualified physicians simultaneously. Our proposed innovation, a crosscutting topic in all research and clinical activities, must become an essential part of university hospital strategic concepts. We capture the current status with gender-sensitive demographic data concerning medical staff and conduct Web-based surveys to identify cultural, country-specific, and interdisciplinary factors conducive to women's academic success. Individual expectations of employees regarding job satisfaction and working conditions will be visualized based on "personal construct theory" through repertory grids. An expert board working out scenarios and a gender topic agenda will identify culture-, nation-, and discipline-specific aspects of gender equality. University hospitals in 7 countries will establish consensus groups, which work on related topics. Hospital management supports the consensus groups, valuates group results, and shares discussion results and suggested measures across groups. Central findings of the consensus groups will be prepared as exemplary case studies for academic teaching on research and work organization, leadership, and management. A discussion group on gender equality in academic medicine will be established on an internationally renowned open-research platform. Project results will be published in peer-reviewed journals with high-impact factors. In addition, workshops on gender dimension in research using the principles of Gendered Innovation will be held. Support and consulting services for hospitals will be introduced in order to develop a European consulting service. The main impact of the project will be the implementation of innovative GEP tailored to the needs of university hospitals, which will lead to measurable institutional change in gender equality. This will impact the research at university hospitals in general, and will improve career prospects of female researchers in particular. Simultaneously, the gender dimension in medical research as an innovation factor and mandatory topic will be strengthened and integrated in each individual university hospital research activity. Research funding organizations can use the built knowledge to include mandatory topics for funding applications to enforce the use and implementation of GEP in university hospitals.

The authors report a case of a large Morgagni hernia treated by laparoscopy. The patient complained of dyspnea, cough, and a sensation of tightness in the chest 1 month prior to admission. Preoperative diagnosis was made by chest x-ray, CT scan, and MRI, which showed a large right paracardiac mass consisting of an omentum and transverse colon. By reducing the hernial content, a 6 × 10-cm defect was revealed; the repair was performed with a Marlex mesh sutured by a hernia stapler. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and 3 months after surgery the patient is well. Laparoscopic treatment of a Morgagni hernia provides an excellent view of the surgical field and ease of execution, joined with a minimal surgical trauma with rapid recovery for the patient.