Cancer is a systemic disease, encompassing multiple components of both tumor cells themselves and host stromal cells. It is now clear that stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment play an important role in cancer development. Molecular events through which reactive stromal cells affect cancer cells can be defined so that biomarkers and therapeutic targets can be identified. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) make up the bulk of cancer stroma and affect the tumor microenvironment such that they promote cancer initiation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. In breast cancer, CAFs not only promote tumor progression, but also induce therapeutic resistances. Accordingly, targeting CAFs provides a novel way to control tumors with therapeutic resistances. This review summarizes the current understanding of tumor stroma in breast cancer with a particular emphasis on the role of CAFs and the therapeutic implications of CAFs. The effects of other stromal components such as endothelial cells, macrophages and adipocytes in breast cancer are also discussed. Finally, we describe the biologic markers to sort patients into a specific and confirmed subtype for personalized treatment.

RET fusion occurs in 1.4% of NSCLCs and 1.7% of lung adenocarcinomas and has identifiable clinicopathologic characteristics, warranting further clinical consideration and targeted therapy investigation.

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The programmed death-1 (PD-1) molecule is mainly expressed on functionally "exhausted" CD8(+) T cells, dampening the host antitumor immune response. We evaluated the ratio between effective and regulatory T cells (Tregs) and PD-1 expression as a prognostic factor for operable breast cancer patients. A series of 218 newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer patients who had undergone primary surgery at Ruijin Hospital were identified. The influence of CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes, FOXP3(+) (Treg cell marker), and PD-1(+) immune cell counts on prognosis was analyzed utilizing immunohistochemistry. Both PD-1(+) immune cells and FOXP3(+) Tregs counts were significantly associated with unfavorable prognostic factors. In bivariate, but not multivariate analysis, high tumor infiltrating PD-1(+) cell counts correlated with significantly shorter patient survival. Our results suggest a prognostic value of the PD-1(+) immune cell population in such breast cancer patients. Targeting the PD-1 pathway may be a feasible approach to treating patients with breast cancer.

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Background. Clinical studies have shown that interventional lowering of serum free thyroxine (FT4) may be associated with extended survival in patients with some terminal cancers. The report of success with this approach in glioblastoma multiforme caused involvement of the author (A.H.) in the prospective consultative management of 23 end‐stage solid tumor patients in whom hypothyroxinemia was induced to prolong life. Patients and Methods. Patients were self‐referred or recommended by attending physicians to the author (A.H.) and had advanced cancers of the brain, ovary, lung, pancreas, salivary gland, and breast or had mesothelioma or soft‐tissue sarcoma. Hypothyroxinemia was achieved in euthyroid patients by using methimazole, with the addition of 3,3′,5‐triiodo‐l‐thyronine (l‐T3) to prevent hypothyroidism and suppress endogenous thyrotropin (TSH). In patients with pre‐existent primary hypothyroidism, T3 administration was substituted for T4 replacement. Serum FT4 and TSH concentrations were serially monitored to enable adjustments to drug therapy and prevent clinical hypothyroidism. Survival was measured from the date of hypothyroxinemia induction with T3 or methimazole plus T3. Outcomes were compared with the odds of death based on the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results and American Joint Committee on Cancer databases and literature reports. Results. The survival time of 83% (19 of 23) of patients exceeded the 20% expected 1‐year survival for this hypothyroxinemic, end‐stage cancer group. The difference between actual and expected survival was significant. Conclusion. Although this is an uncontrolled observational experience with frank limitations, compassionate medical induction of hypothyroxinemia should be considered for patients with advanced cancers to whom other avenues of treatment are closed.

Purpose: Approximately 3% to 7% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) harbor an ALK fusion gene, thus defining a tumor group that may be responsive to targeted therapy. The breakpoint in ALK consistently occurs at exon 20 and EML4 or other fusion partners, thus driving a strong expression of ALK kinase domain and resulting in an unbalanced expression in 5 0 and 3 0 portions of ALK transcripts. We have developed a rapid and accurate method by simultaneously detecting the expression in 5 0 and 3 0 portions of ALK mRNA.Experimental Design: Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to examine expression levels of the 5 0 and 3 0 portions of ALK transcripts in177 NSCLCs, in which EGFR, KRAS, HER2, and BRAF mutations were absent. If unbalanced ALK mRNA expression was seen, ALK rearrangement was assumed to exist. ALK FISH was used to confirm the accuracy of qRT-PCR. RT-PCR and 5 0 RACE coupling sequencing identified the fusion variants.Results: Real-time RT-PCR showed excellent sensitivity and specificity (100% and 100%, respectively) for detection of ALK rearrangements in resected specimens. In addition, six novel ALK fusion variants were identified, including one KIF5B-ALK (E17;A20) and five EML4-ALK variants (E6a;A19, E6a/b ins 18;A20, E17b ins 39;A20, E10a/b, E13;A20, and E17 ins 65;A20).Conclusions: Real-time RT-PCR is a rapid and accurate method for diagnosing ALK-rearranged lung cancers. Coupling of 5 0 RACE to this method should further facilitate rapid identification of novel ALK fusion genes.

Endoscopic treatment can be attempted when the tumor is limited to the lamina propria mucosa. However, 2-field radical lymphadenectomy with careful upper mediastinal lymph node resection should be conducted for submucosal squamous cell carcinoma.