We would like to congratulate our colleagues for their achievements!
On Monday December 9, 2024, Alona Řehulková defended her dissertation thesis Circulating Tumor Cells in Lung Cancer, and Monika Vidlařová did as well with her thesis Effect of Opioid Analgesia and Opioid and Cannabinoid Receptors Exoression on Circulating Tumor Cells Levels and Survival in Patients with Solid Tumors.
On December 5, 2024, Miloš Petřík defended his habilitation thesis Siderophores and their use in nuclear medicine and became an associate professor.
Circulating Tumor Cells in Lung Cancer
Alona Řehulková
Abstract:
The surgical intervention for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer offers the greatest prospects for recovery. Nevertheless, the likelihood of subsequent disease advancement remains significant, as micro-metastatic disease might evade detection through conventional diagnostic methods. This study examines the occurrence and prognostic impact of circulating tumor cells within the blood and bone marrow of lung cancer patients. Utilizing quantitative polymerase chain reaction, the presence of circulating/disseminated tumor cells (CTCs) was detected in peripheral blood, tumor-draining pulmonary blood, and bone marrow samples prior to surgery in 119 patients diagnosed with stage IA-IIIA of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It was observed that patients harboring carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA-positive circulating/disseminated tumor cells exhibited an increased likelihood of cancer-specific mortality. Furthermore, individuals with epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) mRNA-positive CTCs in tumor-draining blood demonstrated notably shorter cancer-specific survival and disease-free survival rates (P<0.031 and P<0.045, respectively). Through multivariate analysis, the presence of CEA mRNA-positive CTCs emerged as an independent adverse prognostic factor for cancer recurrence (P<0.005). Among non-small cell lung cancer patients undergoing radical surgery, the detection of CEA and EpCAM mRNA-positive circulating/disseminated tumor cells correlates with diminished survival rates. These findings imply the potential to pinpoint individuals with unfavorable prognoses, thereby facilitating personalized therapeutic approaches.
Supervisor: MUDr. Josef Srovnal, Ph.D.
Opponents: prof. MUDr. Peter Ihnát, Ph.D., prof. Juan Bautista de Sanctis
Effect of Opioid Analgesia and Opioid and Cannabinoid Receptors Exoression on Circulating Tumor Cells Levels and Survival in Patients with Solid Tumors
Monika Vidlařová
Abstract:
The prognosis and survival of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is strongly dependent on early diagnosis and prompt initiation of therapy. The present study investigates the effect of perioperative analgesia and the expression of opioid and cannabinoid receptors in tumor tissue on the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), tumor recurrence and patient prognosis. Gene expression of opioid growth factor receptor (OGFR), opioid receptor (OPRD), (OPRK), ? (OPRM) was analyzed in retrospective cohorts of CRC, PDAC and NSCLC patients, nociceptin receptor (OPRL) and cannabinoid receptors 1 (CNR1) and 2 (CNR2) in tumor tissue by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) and its effect on patient survival. Protein expression of cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) in selected NSCLC patients and opioid receptors ? (MOR) and (KOR) in CRC tumors were also analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The presence of CTCs was detected by the expression of specific markers (cytokeratin 20 (CK20), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)) in systemic blood and bone marrow of CRC and PDAC patients. The effect of analgesia used in these patients on survival parameters was also studied. Gene and protein expression of opioid and cannabinoid receptors were compared with disease stage, histology, therapy used and survival parameters. Increased CNR2 gene expression in tumor tissue in patients with NSCLC and PDAC was significantly correlated with longer survival. A similar effect was also observed for tumor OPRL gene expression in NSCLC, and for OGFR in PDAC. In CRC, a positive effect of piritramide perioperative analgesia on relapse-free survival was observed compared with morphine analgesia. We found that in CRC patients with the presence of CK20-positive circulating tumor cells, perioperative administration of piritramide significantly improved the survival to relapse (TTR) compared with morphine-analgesic patients. Conversely, differential expression of opioid and cannabinoid receptors in pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissue resulted in improved CSS in PDAC patients treated with morphine analgesia compared to piritramide. The present study provides results that could lead to a change in perioperative analgesia in cancer surgery and also to the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
Supervisor: MUDr. Josef Srovnal, Ph.D.
Opponents:doc. Mgr. Jiří Šána, Ph.D., Mgr. Jana Steigerová, Ph.D.
Siderophores and their use in nuclear medicine
Miloš Petřík
Scientific committee: prof. MUDr. Rostislav Večeřa, Ph.D., prof. RNDr. Pavel Anzenbacher, DrSc., prof. PharmDr. Petr Pávek, Ph.D., doc. MUDr. Zdeněk Řehák, Ph.D., doc. RNDr. Eva Kmoníčková, CSc.
Photo: Denisa Pavelková
