Medical Oncology

Myeloid neoplasms are a group of bone marrow diseases distinguished by disruptions in the molecular pathways that regulate the balance between hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and the generation of specialized cells. Cytokines and chemokines, two important components of the inflammatory process, also influence hematological differentiation. In this scenario, immunological dysregulation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of bone marrow neoplasms. The STING pathway recognizes DNA fragments in the cell cytoplasm and triggers an immune response by type I interferons...

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) based therapies are becoming increasingly important in treating patients. CAR-T cells have been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, harmful therapeutic barriers have been identified, such as the potential for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), neurotoxicity, and cytokine release syndrome (CRS). As a result, CAR NK-cell therapy is expected to be a new therapeutic option. NK cells act as cytotoxic lymphocytes, supporting the innate immune response against autoimmune diseases and cancer cells by precisely detecting and eliminating malignant cells...

Ferroptosis is a form of intracellular iron-dependent cell death that differs from necrosis, autophagy and apoptosis. Intracellular iron mediates Fenton reaction resulting in lipid peroxidation production, which in turn promotes cell death. Although cancer cell exhibit's ability to escape ferroptosis by multiple pathways such as SLC7A11, GPX4, induction of ferroptosis could inhibit cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In tumor microenvironment, ferroptosis could affect immune cell (T cells, macrophages etc...

Colon cancer is on the rise in both men and women. In addition to traditional treatment methods, herbal treatments from complementary and alternative medicine are actively followed. Naturally derived from plants, thymoquinone (TQ) has drawn a lot of attention in the field of cancer treatment. MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, is used to improve memory and plasticity, but it has also lately been explored as a potential cancer treatment. This study aimed to determine the roles of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate agonists and Thymoquinone on mitochondria and apoptosis...

Drug repositioning or repurposing has gained worldwide attention as a plausible way to search for novel molecules for the treatment of particular diseases or disorders. Drug repurposing essentially refers to uncovering approved or failed compounds for use in various diseases. Cancer is a deadly disease and leading cause of mortality. The search for approved non-oncologic drugs for cancer treatment involved in silico modeling, databases, and literature searches. In this review, we provide a concise account of the existing non-oncologic drug molecules and their therapeutic potential in chemotherapy...

Plant-derived immunomodulators and antitumor factors have appealed lots of attention from natural product scientists for their efficiency and safety and their important contribution to well-designed targeted drug action and delivery mechanisms. Zerumbone (ZER), the chief component of Zingiber zerumbet rhizomes, has been examined for its wide-spectrum in the treatment of multi-targeted diseases. The rhizomes have been used as food flavoring agents in numerous cuisines and in flora medication. Numerous in vivo and in vitro experiments have prepared confirmation of ZER as a potent immunomodulator as well as a potential anti-tumor agent...

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but its application to solid tumors is limited. CAR-T cells have poor incapability of entering, surviving, proliferating, and finally exerting function in the tumor microenvironment. This review summarizes the main strategies related to enhancing the infiltration, efficacy, antigen recognition, and production of CAR-T in solid tumors. Additional applications of CAR-γδ T and macrophages are also discussed. We believe CAR-T will be a milestone in treating solid tumors once these problems are solved...

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Gastric cancer (GC) is a serious malignant tumour with a high mortality rate and a poor prognosis. Recently, emerging evidence has suggested that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays a crucial regulatory role in cancer progression. However, the exact role of m6A regulatory factors FTO in GC is unclear. First, the expression of m6A methylation-related regulatory factors in clinical samples and the clinical data of the corresponding patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-STAD) dataset, and correlation analysis between FTO expression and patient clinicopathological parameters was subsequently performed...

Among the most prevalent forms of cancer are breast, lung, colon-rectum, and prostate cancers, and breast cancer is a major global health challenge, contributing to 2.26 million cases with approximately 685,000 deaths worldwide in 2020 alone, typically beginning in the milk ducts or lobules that produce and transport milk during lactation and it is becoming challenging to treat as the tissues are developing resistance, which makes urgent calls for new multitargeted drugs. The multitargeted drug design provides a better solution, simultaneously targeting multiple pathways, even when the drug resists one, it remains effective for others...

The reciprocal suppression of an RNA-binding protein LIN28 (human abnormal cell lineage 28) and miRNA Let-7 (Lethal 7) is considered to have a prime role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Though targeting this inhibition interaction is effective for therapeutics, it causes other unfavorable effects on glucose metabolism and increased insulin resistance. Hence, this study aims to identify small molecules targeting Lin28/let-7 interaction along with additional potency to improve insulin sensitivity. Of 22,14,996 small molecules screened by high throughput virtual screening, 6 molecules, namely 41354, 1558, 12437, 23837, 15710, and 8319 were able to block the LIN28 interaction with let-7 and increase the insulin sensitivity via interacting with PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ)...

Chromatin remodeling is a critical step in the DNA damage response, and the ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers are a group of epigenetic regulators that alter nucleosome assembly and regulate transcription factor accessibility to DNA, preventing genomic instability and tumorigenesis caused by DNA damage. The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex is one of them, and mutations in the gene encoding the SWI/SNF subunit are frequently found in digestive tumors. We review the most recent literature on the role of SWI/SNF complexes in digestive tumorigenesis, with different SWI/SNF subunits playing different roles...

Liver cancer currently represents the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The majority of liver cancer arises in the context of chronic inflammation and cirrhosis. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy have been the guideline-recommended treatment options for decades. Despite enormous advances in the field of liver cancer therapy, an effective cure is yet to be found. Plant-derived polyphenols constitute a large family of phytochemicals, with pleiotropic effects and little toxicity. They can drive cellular events and modify multiple signaling pathways which involves initiation, progression and metastasis of liver cancer and play an important role in contributing to anti-liver cancer drug development...

Bacopa monnieri (L) Wettst, commonly known as Brahmi, stands as a medicinal plant integral to India's traditional medical system, Ayurveda, where it is recognized as a "medhya rasayana"-a botanical entity believed to enhance intellect and mental clarity. Its significant role in numerous Ayurvedic formulations designed to address conditions such as anxiety, memory loss, impaired cognition, and diminished concentration underscores its prominence. Beyond its application in cognitive health, Brahmi has historically been employed in Ayurvedic practices for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including arthritis...

As one of the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) members, PPARγ is a ligand binding and activated nuclear hormone receptor, which is an important regulator in metabolism, proliferation, tumor progression, and immune response. Increased evidence suggests that activation of PPARγ in response to ligands inhibits multiple types of cancer proliferation, metastasis, and tumor growth and induces cell apoptosis including breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, and bladder cancer. Conversely, some reports suggest that activation of PPARγ is associated with tumor growth...

Leukemia is a malignant disease of the hematopoietic system, in which clonal leukemia cells accumulate and inhibit normal hematopoiesis in the bone marrow and other hematopoietic tissues as a result of uncontrolled proliferation and impaired apoptosis, among other mechanisms. In this study, the anti-leukemic effect of a compound (SGP-17-S) extracted from Chloranthus multistachys, a plant with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-tumor effects, was evaluated. The effect of SGP-17-S on the viability of leukemic cell was demonstrated by MTT assay, cell cycle, and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry using PI staining and Annexin V/PI double staining...

Suppression of the cGAS-STING pathway is an immune escape mechanism in cancer cells. The critical role of this pathway in gastric cancer (GC) is not fully understood. Herein, we evaluated the effect of the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), STING agonist, PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade, and their combination on the cGAS-STING pathway in GC. Expression of cGAS and STING in tumor tissue samples and adjacent normal tissue (ANT) biopsies of fifty new GC patients was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)...

Wnt-signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). sFRP1 is involved in the suppression of the Wnt-signaling pathway and has been shown to be epigenetically silenced by promoter hypermethylation during CML progression. DNMT3A plays a crucial role in promoter hypermethylation and is responsible for establishing methylation patterns. We aimed to analyze the relationship between sFRP1 expression and DNMT3A, TET1, TET2 and TET3 proteins that are responsible for maintaining cellular methylation patterns; along with miRNAs miR144-3p and miR-767-5p that are known to be associated with these proteins...

Despite recent advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (BC), patient outcomes in terms of survival, recurrence, and disease progression remain suboptimal. A significant factor contributing to these challenges is the cellular heterogeneity within BC, particularly the presence of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). These cells are thought to serve as the clonogenic nexus for new tumor growth, owing to their hierarchical organization within the tumor. This descriptive review focuses on the evolving strategies to target BCSCs, which have become a pivotal aspect of therapeutic development...

The use of doxorubicin (Dox) in the treatment of breast cancer negatively affects the intestines and other tissues. Many studies have proven that probiotics and vitamin D3 have antitumor and intestinal tissue-protecting properties. To achieve effectiveness and minimize side effects, the current study aims to administer Dox together with probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei) and vitamin D3. Forty-two female BALB/c inbred mice were divided into six groups: Group 1 (Control), Group 2 (Dox), Group 3 (Dox and probiotics), Group 4 (Dox and vitamin D3), Group 5 (Dox, probiotics, and vitamin D3), and Group 6 (probiotics and vitamin D3)...