Biomedical subjects

Mohammed Alshalalfa

Publications and source records attributed to Mohammed Alshalalfa.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Distinct molecular profiles of indeterminate and malignant thyroid nodules in patients under 21 years of age.

Although uncommon, thyroid nodules (TN) in pediatric and young adult patients carry higher malignancy risk and often present with a high burden of metastatic disease than adults. The molecular features underlying this distinct clinical behavior remain unclear. We analyzed Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) data from 283,621 TN, comparing patients <21 and ≥21 years. Cytology (Bethesda), GSC benign (B) vs suspicious (S) calls, and Afirma Xpression Atlas (XA) variant/fusion profiles were evaluated in GSC-S and Bethesda V/VI samples. Genome-wide expression was used to derive pathway signatures and thyroid cancer-related scores: BRAF-RAS score (BRS), ERK, follicular and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (FMT, EMT) and thyroid differentiation scores (TDS). Among 2,397 patients <21 (median age 18.9; 81.4% female) and 281,224 adults ≥21 (median age 59.8; 77.1% female), <21 samples showed more Bethesda V/VI cytology (14.5% vs 5.0%; p<0.0001) and a lower GSC-B rate (43.5% vs 68.8%; p<0.0001). In GSC-S samples, total variant detection was higher in <21 (45.3% vs 37.4%), with enriched BRAF p.V600E, TSHR, and DICER1 variants, while HRAS variants were more common in adults (all p<0.01). Gene fusions involving RET, NTRK3 and ALK were enriched in <21 (14.5% vs 5.5%; p<0.0001). TERT promoter mutations were absent in <21 yrs GSC-S and Bethesda V/VI samples (vs 4.2% and 9.3% in adults). GSC-S <21 showed cell-cycle pathway enrichment. RET/NTRK/ALK-positive <21 demonstrated enrichment of angiogenesis and EMT pathways, higher ERK/EMT/FMT scores, and lower BRS/TDS scores vs genotyped-matched adults. These molecular differences provide mechanistic insight into the more invasive phenotype in pediatric and young adult TN.

BRAF↗

PubMed2026

Afirma genomic sequencing classifier performance in young patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules.

CONTEXT: The Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) is validated in patients ≥ 21 years with a 96% negative predictive value for malignancy when GSC-(B)enign. Afirma GSC has not been formally studied in patients <21 years of age with indeterminate thyroid nodules (ITNs). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Afirma GSC in young patients with ITNs. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of Afirma GSC testing. SETTING: ITNs referred for molecular testing in a real-world setting. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-nine ITNs from 49 patients < 21 years of age who had histopathology or 2 years' clinical follow-up data ascertained. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Afirma GSC test performance. RESULTS: In 49 ITNs from patients aged 9 to 20 years (median 18.5 [interquartile range, 17.3-19.8]), 30 were GSC-B and 19 GSC-(S)uspicious, among which 14 (73.7%) were malignant (ie, true positive) and 5 (26.3%) were benign (ie, false positive). All 30 Afirma GSC-B cases were either histologically (n = 9) or clinically benign (n = 21) (ie, true negative). All 14 malignancies were GSC-S (sensitivity 100% [95% CI, 77-100]); 30/35 clinically or histologically benign cases were GSC-B (specificity 86% [95% CI, 70-95]). Negative predictive value for an Afirma GSC-B result was 100% [95% CI, 88-100]. Genomic alterations were not detected in the 30 GSC-B samples. Among the 14 malignant samples, there were 9 papillary thyroid carcinomas, 1 oncocytic carcinoma, 1 noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features, and 3 follicular thyroid carcinomas. CONCLUSION: In young patients with ITNs, the Afirma GSC demonstrated an excellent negative predictive value when defining a thyroid nodule result by histology or clinical follow-up.

Thyroid Nodule↗

PubMed2026

Characterizing the Activity of Inflammasome-Related Genes and Their Association With Oncological Outcomes in Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays a critical role in cancer cell proliferation; however, the specific role of inflammasomes, multiprotein complexes that regulate inflammation-associated signaling pathways, in prostate cancer (PCa) remains insufficiently explored. This study aims to characterize the expression of inflammasome-related genes in PCa and evaluate their association with clinical outcomes. METHODS: De-identified transcriptome data from the Decipher GRID RP, a cohort of 52,266 radical prostatectomy (RP) samples tested (2016-2024) with the Decipher prostate genomic classifier (Veracyte, San Diego, CA), were retrieved from the GRID registry (NCT02609269). Expression analysis of 34 genes involved in inflammatory pathways was conducted to associate their expression with clinical and genomic variables. Outcomes analyses were conducted on a retrospective cohort of 855 patients treated with RP (META855). RESULTS: Analysis of inflammasome gene expression in the GRID RP cohort revealed that most genes exhibit low baseline expression, whereas HSP90AB1, APP, TXN, and TXNIP demonstrate strong expression signals. Additionally, higher expression of most genes was associated with Gleason Grade Group 4-5 and very high Decipher scores. On survival analysis of the META855 cohort, higher expressions of AIM2 and HSP90AB1 were significantly associated with worse metastasis-free survival. Conversely, both high and low expression levels of NLRP3 were associated with better metastasis-free survival outcomes following RP compared to average expression. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, higher expressions of AIM2 (HR 1.75) and HSP90AB1 (HR 1.60) were significantly associated with shorter time to metastasis following RP. CONCLUSIONS: There is molecular heterogeneity within pro-inflammatory genes among patients with PCa. Our findings showed there is a potential association between the expression levels of certain inflammasomes, such as AIM2, HSP90AB1, and NLRP3, and oncological outcomes following RP.

Aged↗