Oncology Reviews

Ultrasounds (US) are a non-ionizing mechanical wave, with less adverse effects than conventional pharmacological or surgical treatments. Different biological effects are induced in tissues and cells by ultrasound actuation depending on acoustic parameters, such as the wave intensity, frequency and treatment dose. This non-ionizing radiation has considerable applications in biomedicine including surgery, medical imaging, physical therapy and cancer therapy. Depending on the wave intensity, US are applied as high-intensity ultrasounds (HIUS) and low-intensity pulsed ultrasounds (LIPUS), with different effects on cells and tissues...

A great deal of progress has been made on understanding nasopharyngeal cancer in recent decades. Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic studies have enabled us to gain a deeper understanding on the biology of nasopharyngeal cancer, and though this new information is elaborate and detailed, an overall picture of the driver of nasopharyngeal cancer that includes all this information is lacking. This review will focus on providing a broad overview, with plausible and simple language, on nasopharyngeal carcinogenesis based on current updated information...

Due to their electrostatic nature, radon decay products can attach to solid particles and aerosols in the air. Inhalation and ingestion are therefore the two main routes through which people are exposed to radon and its decay products. During the inhalation of these radioactive aerosols, deposition takes place in different regions of the human respiratory tract. The deposited aerosols carrying radon and its progeny undergo a continuous radioactive transformation and expose the lung to ionizing alpha radiation, which can destroy the sensitive cells in the lung, causing a mutation that turns cancerous...

Objective: To investigate whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) confers superior outcomes compared to primary debulking surgery (PDS) in patients with stage III and IV epithelial ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer as well as in patients with high tumour load. Methods: We searched the electronic databases PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials, and Scopus from inception to March 2021. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing NACT with PDS for women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) stages III and IV...

Immune disorders and cancer share a common pathway involving NF-κb signaling. Through involvement with GM-CSF, NF-κB can contribute to proliferation and activation of T- and B- cells as well as immune cell migration to sites of inflammation. In breast cancer, this signaling pathway has been linked to resistance with endocrine and chemotherapies. Similarly, in ovarian cancer, NF-κB influences angiogenesis and inflammation pathways. Further, BRCA1 signaling common to both breast and ovarian cancer also has the capability to induce NF-κB activity...

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and is one of the leading causes of death from cancer in women worldwide. Despite the significant benefits of using conventional chemotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer, one of its subtypes, the triple-negative breast cancer, is still a challenge in clinical practice. Recent studies have been investigating the role of the immune system in breast cancer and the development of immunotherapy. Although recently the use of atezolizumab, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, combined with chemotherapy was approved, an important step in the treatment of patients with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, the use of immunotherapy to treat breast tumors remains a major challenge...

Imatinib and nilotinib are first-line treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, which act specifically against target cells. However, these drugs may cause side effects, such as electrolyte disturbances. This literature review aimed to provide a comparison of the effects of imatinib and nilotinib on blood potassium and calcium levels. It also summarized their hypothetical mechanism. A comprehensive electronic search of the different databases was conducted using 'chronic myeloid leukemia', 'tyrosine kinase inhibitors', 'imatinib', 'nilotinib', 'potassium', 'calcium', 'electrolytes' as keywords...

The study aims to summarize the literature and explore the strength of evidence for PD-L1 expression difference in basal like TNBC and non-basal like TNBC, and association of PD-L1 expression with disease free survival and overall survival in each group. A systematic search of the original research literature through November 29th , 2020, reported according to PRISMA guideline. Eligible studies investigated must have a primary outcome and at least one secondary outcome. Two reviewers independently searched, selected, and assessed quality of studies and risk of bias...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Cell-to-cell communication is a pivotal aspect of cancer biology. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs)have been shown to play essential roles in intercellular communications between cancer cells and the surrounding microenvironment owing to cancer development. EVs are small membrane-bound vesicles secreted by various cells containing proteins, lipids, mRNAs, and non-coding RNAs (microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs), which contribute to cancer cell development and progression. Here, we provide an overview of current research direction on EVs, especially biomolecules in EVs, and also point out the novel diagnostics, monitoring, predicting, and therapeutic aspects using EVs against cancer...

BACH1 encodes for a protein that belongs to RecQ DEAH helicase family and interacts with the BRCT repeats of BRCA1 . The N-terminus of BACH1 functions in DNA metabolism as DNA-dependent ATPase and helicase. The C-terminus consists of BRCT domain, which interacts with BRCA1 and this interaction is one of the major regulator of BACH1 function. BACH1 plays important roles both in phosphorylated as well as dephosphorylated state and functions in coordination with multiple signaling molecules. The active helicase property of BACH1 is maintained by its dephosphorylated state...

Since the identification of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes 3 decades ago, genetic testing and genetic counseling have become an integral part of routine clinical practice. The risk of breast cancer among carriers of germline pathogenic variants, like BRCA1 and BRCA2 , is well established. Risk-reducing interventions, including bilateral mastectomies and salpingo-oophorectomies are both effective and have become more acceptable. Many researchers and professional societies view current guidelines as restrictive and may miss many at-risk women, and are calling to expand testing to include all patients with breast cancer, regardless of their personal or family history of cancer, while others are calling for wider adoption to even include all healthy women at age 30 or older...

Inactivating mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli ( APC ) gene and consequential upregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway are critical initiators in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer in the United States for both men and women. Emerging evidence suggests APC mutations are also found in gastric, breast and other cancers. The APC gene, located on chromosome 5q, is responsible for negatively regulating the b-catenin/Wnt pathway by creating a destruction complex with Axin/Axin2, GSK-3b, and CK1...

With solid tumor cancer survivorship increasing, the number of patients requiring post-treatment surveillance also continues to increase. This highlights the need for evidence-based cancer surveillance guidelines. Ideally, these guidelines would be based on combined high-quality data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We present a systematic review of published cancer surveillance RCTs in which we sought to determine the feasibility of data pooling for guideline development. We carried out a systematic search of medical databases for RCTs in which adult patients with solid tumors that had undergone surgical resection with curative intent and had no metastatic disease at presentation, were randomized to different surveillance regimens that assessed effectiveness on overall survival (OS)...

Pre-operative chemoradiotherapy reduces local recurrence rates in locally advanced rectal cancer. 10-20% of patients undergo complete response to chemoradiotherapy, however, many patients show no response. The mechanisms underlying this are poorly understood; identifying molecular and immunological factors underpinning heterogeneous responses to chemoradiotherapy, will promote development of treatment strategies to improve responses and overcome resistance mechanisms. This review describes the advances made in pre-clinical modelling of colorectal cancer, including genetically engineered mouse models, transplantation models, patient derived organoids and radiotherapy platforms to study responses to chemoradiotherapy...

Regulator of chromosome condensation 2 (RCC2) is an essential protein in order for mitosis to proceed properly. It localizes in the centrosome of chromosomes where is involved in chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Furthermore, RCC2 associates with integrin networks at the plasma membrane where participates in the control of cell movement. Because of its known role in cell cycle, RCC2 has been linked with cancer progression. Several reports show that RCC2 induces cancer hallmarks, but the mechanisms explaining how RCC2 exerts these roles are widely unknown...

Myxopapillary ependymoma are rare tumors and optimal therapeutic strategy is remained controversial. The main treatments for myxopapillary ependymoma tumors include surgery and radiotherapy. Hence, the present study aimed to review adjuvant treatment of myxopapillary ependymoma, focusing on spinal myxopapillary ependymoma. The information sources of all articles were the English authoritative databases including PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, Science direct and Google scholar. In this review study, the keywords including adjuvant, treatment, myxopapillary and ependymoma were selected from MeSH medical library...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Renal cell carcinoma represents the most common malignancy of the kidney and the majority of cases are categorized as clear cell carcinomas. The elucidation of the specific alterations in key molecular and metabolic pathways responsible for cancer development and progression have prompted the rationalization of our classification of this disease and have provided specific targetable molecules implicated in carcinogenesis. Although immunotherapy has been an established option in the treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer for many years, its role has been renewed and upgraded with the implementation of anti-angiogenic agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors in our treatment armamentarium...

The main anti-diabetic effect of metformin mediated through stimulation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is the inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis and triggering glucose uptake in skeletal muscles. Additionally, some new pathways, besides the AMPK activation, were discovered, that can explain wide-range properties of metformin. All these properties are now attracting the attention of researchers in the fields other than diabetes and the drug has been reported to have anti-cancer, immunoregulatory and anti-aging effects...