Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2019 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 7 Articles
Metastasis is the most deadly aspect of cancer and results from acquired gene regulation abnormalities in tumor cells.\nTranscriptional regulation is an essential component of controlling of gene function and its failure could contribute to tumor\nprogression and metastasis. During cancer progression, deregulation of oncogenic or tumor suppressive transcription factors, as\nwell as master cell fate regulators, collectively influences multiple steps of the metastasis cascade, including local invasion and\ndissemination of the tumor to distant organs. Transcription factor PAX3/Pax3, which contributes to diverse cell lineages during\nembryonic development, plays a major role in tumorigenesis. Mutations in this gene can cause neurodevelopmental disease and\nthe existing literature supports that there is a potential link between aberrant expression of PAX3 genes in adult tissues and a wide\nvariety of cancers. PAX3 function is tissue-specific and could contribute to tumorigenesis either directly as oncogene or as a tumor\nsuppressor by losing its function. In this review, we discuss comprehensively the differential role played by PAX3 in various tissues\nand how its aberrant expression is implicated in disease development. This review particularly highlights the oncogenic and tumor\nsuppressor role played by PAX3 in different cancers and underlines the importance of precisely identifying tissue-specific role of\nPAX3 in order to determine its exact role in development of cancer....
Background: Penile cancer is uncommon in Liberia with no record of its occurrence\nso far in the literature. Its occurrence worldwide is significantly affected\nby cultural or religious practices like childhood circumcision. Smoking,\npoor penile hygiene and inflammatory processes in the presence of smegma\nincrease the risk of its occurrence. Objective: To review the first case of penile\ncancer treated in Liberia. Materials and Method: Case report. Case\nPresentation/Report: Our index patient is a 65-year old man referred from a\nperipheral centre in acute urinary retention. He also presented with a year\nhistory of progressively expanding ulcerative penile lesion affecting the glans\nand penile shaft. Local examination of the genitalia revealed an ulcerated lesion\nextending from the glans up to the mid shaft of the penis. The peno-\nbulbar urethra was free of induration. The external urethral meatus was\ninfiltrated by the lesion. The scrotum and testes were normal and digital rectal\nexamination revealed a moderately enlarged benign prostate. Bilateral inguinal\nlymph node enlargement was elicited. A diagnosis of advanced penile\ncancer with benign prostatic hyperplasia was made. The patient had partial\npenectomy, reconstruction of new external urethral meatus and inguinal\nlymphadenectomy. The specimen was histologically confirmed to be Squamous\ncell Carcinoma of the penis; the resection margins and lymph nodes biopsied\nwere found to be adequate and tumor free respectively. Patientâ??s post\noperative recovery was uneventful and he was discharged after a week. His\nfollow up status after 6 months has remained satisfactory. Conclusion:\nThough rare, penile cancer does occur in Liberia and specialist staff with capacity\nfor diagnosing and surgical intervention remains critical to patientsâ??\noutcome. Early intervention improves the chances of better outcome; counseling\nis critical to prevent treated patient lapsing into depression....
A role of pro- and antioxidants for reducing rectal cancer (RC) incidence in operative, preoperative, and postoperative treatments is\nstill disputable and controversial.Theredox state of venous blood and tissues of blood vessels of 60 patientswith RC (T2-4N0-2M0G2)\nand 20 donors is studied by means of the conventional and spin-trapping electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The intensity\nof the signals from ceruloplasmin (CP), transferrin (TF), and labile iron pool (LIP) at temperature T = 77 K as well as superoxide\ngeneration rate and nitric oxide (NO) levels at T = 300 K is measured.The reduced CP and TF activity and decreased NO levels\nincreased LIP levels and superoxide-generating rates are detected in blood species.Correlation analysis for the five-year survival rate\nas a function of the extracted values is done.Theresults show that the intensities of the corresponding EPR signals fromthe â??nativeâ?\nand â??trappedâ? paramagnetic centers can be potentially used for the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the\nRC progression and treatment....
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is responsible for mediating\nthe transcriptional programs downstream of several cytokine, growth factor, and oncogenic stimuli.\nIts expression and activity are consistently linked to cellular transformation, as well as tumor initiation\nand progression. Due to this central role, STAT3 is widely considered a good target for anti-cancer\ntherapy; however, the success of these approaches has been, so far, very limited. Notably, on one side,\nSTAT3 is aberrantly active in many breast cancers, on the other, at the physiological level, it is the\nmain mediator of epithelial cell death during post-lactation mammary-gland involution, thus strongly\nsuggesting that its biological functions are highly context-specific. One of the most peculiar features\nof STAT3 is that it can act both in cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous manners, simultaneously\nmodulating the phenotypes of the tumor cells and their microenvironment. Here, we focus on the role\nof STAT3 in breast cancer progression, discussing the potential contrasting roles of STAT3 activation\nin the establishment of locally recurrent and distant metastatic disease. Based on the most recent\nliterature, depending on the tumor cell type, the local microenvironment status, and the stage of\nthe disease, either STAT3 activation or inactivation can support disease progression. Accordingly,\ncancer cells dynamically exploit STAT3 activity to carry out transcriptional programs somehow\ncontrasting and complementary, such as supporting survival and growth, dormancy and awakening,\nstem cell-like features, and inflammation, immune response, and immune evasion. As a consequence,\nto achieve clinical efficacy, the conception and testing of anti-STAT3 targeted therapies will need a very\ncareful evaluation of these opposing roles and of the most appropriate tumor context, disease stage\nand patient population to treat....
Objectives. Cancer is a very widespread disorder known in world wide since\nlong, but its biochemical features remain unclear. Thyroid carcinomas are the\nmost common endocrine cancer and its frequency continues to escalate.\nThere is evidence that the serum concentration of TSH is an unreliant predictor\nfor the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. The formation of the plasma thiol\npool from low and large molecular weight proteins suggests that thiol/disulfide\nbalance is important in cancerous cases. The aim of this study was to investigate\nan oxidative stress marker (thiol/disulphide homeostasis) and IMA\n(Ischemia modified albumin), Albumin, CEA (Carcinoembryonic antigen),\nTSH (Thyroid stimulate hormone), thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (FT4), triiodothyronine\n(T3) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) in patients with thyroid\ncancer and compare the results with healthy controls for the first time in literature.\nMaterials-Methods: A total of 43 participants including 23 patients\nwith thyroid cancer and 20 healthy individuals were included in the study.\nSerum levels of TSH, T4, FT4, T3 and FT3 have been measured during treatment\nand follow-up of patients with thyroid carcinoma. Serum levels of TSH,\nT4, FT4, T3 and FT3, IMA, Albumin, CEA, Native thiol (-SH), disulfide (-S-S)\nand total thiol (TT) as well as disulphide/native thiol and disulphide/total\nthiol ratios were compared between the groups. Native thiol, disulfide and\ntotal thiol concentrations were measured with a novel automated method\n(Roche, cobas 501, Mannheim, Germany). Results and conclusion: This paper\ndiscusses a oxidative stress marker (thiol/disulphide homeostasis) and\ntumor markers IMA, Albumin, CEA, TSH, T4, FT4, T3 and FT3 in patients\nwith thyroid cancer and compare the results with healthy controls. Mean age\nat participant was 41.73 years for thyroid cancer patients (21 females/2\nmales). A control group of 20 participants was included the study (19 females/\n1 male, mean age 51.75)....
Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a well-studied cancer biomarker. It is commonly\nfound upregulated in the serum of cancer patients, and its levels correlate\nwith stage and grade, disease progression, and prognosis. It has recently been\nreported that TK1 localizes on the plasma cell membrane of hematological\nand solid malignancies, and not on the membrane of normal healthy cells,\nand while on the membrane, TK1 has enzymatic activity. However, the function\nof TK1 on the surface membrane is not well understood. Here, we hypothesize\nthat it may have a role in tumor invasion and migration. It has\nbeen shown that TK1 expression levels positively correlate with epithelia to\nmesenchymal transition (EMT) markers in patients with breast cancer as\nthey progress from HER2+ to triple negative breast cancer. In this study, we\nsilenced TK1 expression by siRNA and show that TK1â??s membrane expression\nis significantly downregulated at 60 hours post transfection. Using a\nMatrigel-based quantitative invasion assay, we measured cell invasion potential\nin cells either expressing or lacking TK1 on their membrane and found\nthat cells that lack TK1 on their membrane exhibit decreased invasion potential.\nThese results suggest that TK1â??s presence on the membrane may play a\nrole in invasion and cell migration in cancer....
A subset of cells within solid tumors become highly enlarged and enter a state of dormancy\n(sustained proliferation arrest) in response to anticancer treatment. Although dormant cancer\ncells might be scored as â??deadâ? in conventional preclinical assays, they remain viable, secrete\ngrowth-promoting factors, and can give rise to progeny with stem cell-like properties. Furthermore,\ncancer cells exhibiting features of apoptosis (e.g., caspase-3 activation) following genotoxic stress\ncan undergo a reversal process called anastasis and survive. Consistent with these observations,\nsingle-cell analysis of adherent cultures (solid tumor-derived cell lines with differing p53 status)\nhas demonstrated that virtually all cellsâ??irrespective of their size and morphologyâ??that remain\nadherent to the culture dish for a long time (weeks) after treatment with anticancer agents exhibit\nthe ability to metabolize 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl- tetrazolium bromide (MTT).\nThe purpose of this commentary is to briefly review these findings and discuss the significance\nof single-cell (versus population averaged) observation methods for assessment of cancer cell viability\nand metabolic activity....
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