In 2016, PSOGI created a new classification system for PMP, which they call the “PSOGI classification”. The original classification was able to group PMPs into various groups according to their histological grade very effectively. In this new research, Dr Alvaro Arjona and colleagues from both EuroPMP and PSOGI were able to further improve on this model through the addition of the analysis of Ki67, a large nuclear protein that is often used to assess tumor cell proliferation, in high grade disease. Their research showed that there are two distinct sub-groups in the high-grade disease group, indicating that the monitoring of Ki67 could assist in tracking the disease’s progression in patients…

EuroPMP members Antonio Sommariva and Maria Luisa Calabrò and their team have published a new review of clinical evidence in the search for a cure for PMP. Dr Sommariva stated “This narrative review summarizes the new perspectives in Pseudomyxoma peritonei treatment, focusing on the issues of standardization, quality of surgery and potential molecular targets for personalized treatments.” You can read this very interesting paper here.

Researchers from Oslo, Norway have released a new paper outlining the potential for use of a peptide vaccine to help patients with PMP exhibiting mutation in GNAS. They write: “Patients with GNAS-mutated pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) have a pre-existing immunity against mutated Gsa. Inhibition of anti-tumor T-cells by upregulation of immune checkpoint molecules results in insufficient immune response. The results suggest exporint peptide vaccination with Gsa peptides in combination with immune checkpoint inhibition as a possible curative treatment for PMP and other GNAS-mutated cancers.”     You can read this new paper here.

The identifiation of patients who may require a specific treatment for PMP has long been one of the largest challenges facing doctors. Researchers from Spain’s Reina Sofia University Hospital and Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research of Cordoba (IMIBIC) have published a new paper looking at the potential for use of the tumour proliferation protein Ki-67 as a potential biomarker of disease severity. EuroPMP members Alvaro Arjona-Sanchez and Antiono Romero-Ruiz noted that patients with high grade PMP associated with a high proliferative index in Ki-67 (over 15%) were more likely to suffer from a worse prognosis overall than patients with lower levels of this key proliferation protein. The inclusion of this…

Researchers Christin Lund-Andersen, Annette Torgunrud, Karianne Giller-Fleten (shared first-authors) and P.I. Kjersti Flatmark have published an extensive review article looking at the use of high-throughput -omics analysis in the search for a cure for peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer (PM-CRC) and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). The study looked at molecular approaches including genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, and tumour enrichment strategies to determine whether there are any patterns in the data that could potentially assist in the management of patients with PM-CRC or PMP. The findings indicate that while there are many potential areas to focus on in the research environment, there is a strong indication that the best way forward…

EuroPMP member Andreas Brandl has recently, in collaboration with Yutaka Yonemura, published a new paper looking into the efficacy of neoadjuvant intraperitoneal chemotherapy in patients who were not candidates for cytoreductive surgery at the time of diagnosis. The study showed low morbidity and mortality when neoadjuvant intraperitoneal chemotherapy was given to patients, and appears to show a higher rate of complete cytoreduction compared to the traditional treatment afforded these patients. The study is still ongoing and will report on the long-term survival characteristics of these and more patients in the future. The new paper may be read here.

All human cells are covered by sugar coating, mostly consisting of glycan structures attached to proteins and lipids, and this coating frequently shows alterations in tumor cells. In their new publication, Finland’s Pirjo Nummela, Anna Lepistö and Ari Ristimäki have analyzed the profiles of a specific class of glycans, sialylated N-glycans, in PMP tissues compared to both normal appendices and the original appendix tumors (LAMNs). According to their results, PMPs present increased expression of glycans able to function as ligands of Siglecs and selectins, which may play a role in the peritoneal dissemination and progression of the disease. Further, the glycan profiles of PMPs suggest that the process of its…