Topic Review
Melatonin in the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process taking place during carcinogenesis. The phenotypic changes include the acquisition of new properties such as increased motility and polarity, leading to invasiveness and the formation of metastasis and chemo- and radioresistance. During the process, epithelial markers are lost whilst mesenchymal markers are overexpressed. EMT-related transcription factors are induced and multiple signaling pathways are activated. Several microRNAs are altered during the transition. Many of these molecules are regulated by melatonin, the pineal hormone, thus behaving as an inhibitor of the EMT in cancer progression. 
  • 180
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Use of Immune Regulation in HNSCC
Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising new treatment modality for head and neck cancer, offering the potential for targeted and effective cancer management. Squamous cell carcinomas pose significant challenges due to their aggressive nature and limited treatment options. Conventional therapies such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy often have limited success rates and can have significant side effects. Immunotherapy harnesses the power of the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, and thus represents a novel approach with the potential to improve patient outcomes. In the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), important contributions are made by immunotherapies, including adaptive cell therapy (ACT) and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
  • 96
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Potential Immunohistochemical Biomarkers for Grading Oral Dysplasia
Oral cancer is becoming more and more frequent worldwide. Despite the widely available prevention, it is one of the most common cancers in the world, with 476,125 new cases and 225,900 deaths in 2020. Among the causes of carcinogenesis in the oral cavity, tobacco smoking or chewing, alcohol consumption, occupational exposure, risky sexual behaviour, genetic factors, and environmental pollution are widely mentioned. Smoking is the most prominent risk factor for oral cancer due to the carcinogenic chemicals in cigarette smoke, including nitrosamines, benzopyrenes, and aromatic amines. The risk of oral cancer is three times higher in smokers compared to non-smokers. In addition, the combination of cigarette smoking and frequent heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cancer by several times.
  • 52
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Neoantigen mRNA Vaccine in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment
A neoantigen mRNA vaccine is a personalized cancer vaccine that aims to target neoantigens. Neoantigens are unique antigens found on the surface of cancer cells due to somatic mutations. These genetic alterations are unique to each patient’s cancer, and the neoantigen mRNA vaccine is formulated by analyzing the patient’s tumor genome to pinpoint the mutations responsible for generating the neoantigens. The vaccine is then designed to encode these neoantigens, which are produced by the mutations, and delivered to the patient’s immune system via mRNA.
  • 68
  • 12 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Analogs
The extraordinary growth in the global pharmaceutical industry has extended to include peptides, which are amino acids linked together with an amide bond. Due to their well-tolerable safety profile and specificity, therapeutic peptides offer a means to address unmet medical challenges. A well-known example of a commonly administered peptide is insulin. Peptides are considered excellent complements and, in some cases, preferable alternatives to both small molecules such as paracetamol and very large antibodies. Around 100 peptide drugs are available on the global market, with ongoing research yielding over 150 peptides in clinical development and an additional 400–600 peptides undergoing preclinical studies. Peptides play a crucial role in cancer research and treatment, and they can be involved in various aspects of cancer development, detection, and treatment. These medicines demonstrate exceptional efficacy in combating cancer, contributing to improved survival rates for cancer patients.
  • 91
  • 11 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Cutting-Edge Therapies for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer remains a formidable global health challenge that necessitates inventive strategies to improve its therapeutic outcomes. The conventional treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, have demonstrated limitations in achieving sustained responses. Therefore, exploring novel approaches encompasses a range of interventions that show promise in enhancing the outcomes for patients with advanced or refractory cases of lung cancer. These groundbreaking interventions can potentially overcome cancer resistance and offer personalized solutions.
  • 57
  • 11 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Involvement of SUV4-20H2 in Cancer
Histone lysine methyltransferase SUV4-20H2, a member of the suppressor of variegation 4–20 homolog (SUV4-20) family, has a critical impact on the regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression. This methyltransferase establishes the trimethylation of histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me3), a repressive histone mark that affects several cellular processes. Deregulated SUV4-20H2 activity has been associated with altered chromatin dynamics, leading to the misregulation of key genes involved in cell cycle control, apoptosis and DNA repair. Emerging research evidence indicates that SUV4-20H2 acts as a potential epigenetic modifier, contributing to the development and progression of several malignancies, including breast, colon and lung cancer, as well as renal, hepatocellular and pancreatic cancer.
  • 58
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
ATR Pathway as a Therapeutic Target for Cancer
The DNA damage response (DDR) system is a complicated network of signaling pathways that detects and repairs DNA damage or induces apoptosis. Critical regulators of the DDR network include the DNA damage kinases ataxia telangiectasia mutated Rad3-related kinase (ATR) and ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM). The ATR pathway coordinates processes such as replication stress response, stabilization of replication forks, cell cycle arrest, and DNA repair. ATR inhibition disrupts these functions, causing a reduction of DNA repair, accumulation of DNA damage, replication fork collapse, inappropriate mitotic entry, and mitotic catastrophe. Data have shown that the inhibition of ATR can lead to synthetic lethality in ATM-deficient malignancies. In addition, ATR inhibition plays a significant role in the activation of the immune system by increasing the tumor mutational burden and neoantigen load as well as by triggering the accumulation of cytosolic DNA and subsequently inducing the cGAS-STING pathway and the type I IFN response. 
  • 71
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Autocrine IGF-II-Associated Cancers
The paraneoplastic syndrome referred in the literature as non-islet-cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH) and extra-pancreatic tumor hypoglycemia (EPTH) was first reported almost a century ago, and the role of cancer-secreted IGF-II in causing this blood glucose-lowering condition has been widely established. The landscape emerging, based on molecular and cellular findings, supports a broader role for IGF-II in cancer biology beyond its involvement in the paraneoplastic syndrome. In particular, a few key findings are constantly observed during tumorigenesis, (a) a relative and absolute increase in fetal insulin receptor isoform (IRA) content, with (b) an increase in IGF-II high-molecular weight cancer-variants (big-IGF-II), and (c) a stage-progressive increase in the IGF-II autocrine signal in the cancer cell, mostly during the transition from benign to malignant growth. An increasing and still under-exploited combinatorial pattern of the IGF-II signal in cancer is shaping up in the literature with respect to its transducing receptorial system and effector intracellular network. Interestingly, while surgical and clinical reports have traditionally restricted IGF-II secretion to a small number of solid malignancies displaying paraneoplastic hypoglycemia, a retrospective literature analysis, along with publicly available expression data from patient-derived cancer cell lines conveyed in the present perspective, clearly suggests that IGF-II expression in cancer is a much more common event, especially in overt malignancy.
  • 69
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Theranostic Uses of the Heme Pathway in Neuro-Oncology
ALA PDT, first approved as a topical therapy to treat precancerous skin lesions in 1999, targets the heme pathway selectively in cancers. When provided with excess ALA, the fluorescent photosensitizer PpIX accumulates primarily in cancer tissue, and ALA PDD is used to identify bladder and brain cancers as a visual aid for surgical resection. ALA PDT has shown promising anecdotal clinical results in recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. ALA SDT represents a noninvasive way to activate ALA PDT and has the potential to achieve clinical success in the treatment of both intracranial and extracranial cancers. 
  • 56
  • 05 Mar 2024
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