The clinical significance of PD‑L1 in colorectal cancer (Review)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently encountered neoplasms and has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. Recent findings showing that tumor immune evasion is an important mechanism underlying propagation of a cancer have changed the landscape of medical oncology through identification of Programmed‑Death receptor 1 and its ligand (PD‑1 and PD‑L1) as novel targets for oncological immune therapies. PD‑1 is primarily expressed on peritumoral lymphocytes and when activated, it suppresses its immune functions. Conversely, PD‑L1 is primarily expressed on the tumor infiltrating front with the purpose of deregulating physiological cytotoxic immune responses. Numerous studies have linked PD‑L1 overexpression to specific adverse clinicopathological features, such as poor differentiation, lymphovascular invasion and worse overall survival in CRC patients. Nevertheless, there is no concrete evidence showing which patients may exhibit the maximal beneficial effects of PD‑1/PD‑L1 blockade therapy, and how these novel molecular targets may be optimally integrated into therapeutic regimens for management of CRC patients with resectable and generalized disease.

Incidence of penetration of a blood vessel during inferior alveolar nerve block

Aspiration of the syringe after the needle had been placed in position for an inferior alveolar nerve block (but before the anaesthetic solution was injected) in 250 patients showed that the tip of the needle was in a blood vessel in 49 (20%). Aspiration of blood was significantly more common in patients aged 9-19 years than in all others (P=0.04).

Haploinsufficiency of the human homeobox gene ALX4 causes skull ossification defects

Inherited defects of skull ossification often manifest as symmetric parietal foramina (PFM; MIM 168500). We previously identified mutations of MSX2 in non-syndromic PFM and demonstrated genetic heterogeneity. Deletions of 11p11-p12 (proximal 11p deletion syndrome, P11pDS; MIM 601224) are characterized by multiple exostoses, attributable to haploinsufficiency of EXT2 and PFM. Here we identify ALX4, which encodes a paired-related homeodomain transcription factor, as the PFM disease gene in P11pDS.