Circulating cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with a poor survival rate, largely due to the lack of early diagnosis. Although myeloid cells are crucial in the tumour microenvironment, whether their specific subset can be a biomarker of PDAC progression is unclear. METHODS: We analysed IL-22 receptor expression in PDAC and peripheral blood. Additionally, we analysed gene expression profiles of IL-10R2+ /IL-22R1+ myeloid cells and the presence of these cells using single-cell RNA sequencing and murine orthotropic PDAC models, respectively, followed by examining the immunosuppressive function of IL-10R2+ /IL-22R1+ myeloid cells...

Neuropilin-2 (NRP2), a transmembrane non-tyrosine kinase receptor, has been described as a potential critical player in the tumourigenesis of several solid cancers, and particularly in neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN). A soluble form of NRP2 (sNRP2) has been previously described and corresponds to a truncated splice isoform. Its prognostic value has never been studied in NEN. NRP2 expression was studied by immunochemistry on tissue microarrays (n=437) and on circulating tumour cells (CTC, n=5 patients with neuroendocrine carcinoma, NEC)...

Lung cancer is an exceedingly malignant tumor reported as having the highest morbidity and mortality of any cancer worldwide, thus posing a great threat to global health. Despite the growing demand for precision medicine, current methods for early clinical detection, treatment and prognosis monitoring in lung cancer are hampered by certain bottlenecks. Studies have found that during the formation and development of a tumor, molecular substances carrying tumor-related genetic information can be released into body fluids...

BACKGROUND: The precise origin of newly formed ACTA2+ (alpha smooth muscle actin-positive) cells appearing in nonmuscularized vessels in the context of pulmonary hypertension is still debatable although it is believed that they predominantly derive from preexisting vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). METHODS: Gli1 Cre-ERT2 ; tdTomato flox mice were used to lineage trace GLI1+ (glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1-positive) cells in the context of pulmonary hypertension using 2 independent models of vascular remodeling and reverse remodeling: hypoxia and cigarette smoke exposure...

The advancements in the field of micro-robots for drug delivery systems have garnered considerable attention. In contrast to traditional drug delivery systems, which are dependent on blood circulation to reach their target, these engineered micro/nano robots possess the unique ability to navigate autonomously, thereby enabling the delivery of drugs to otherwise inaccessible regions. Precise drug delivery systems can improve the effectiveness and safety of synthetic lethality strategies, which are used for targeted therapy of solid tumors...

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) shed from primary tumors must overcome the cytotoxicity of immune cells, particularly natural killer (NK) cells, to cause metastasis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) protects tumor cells from the cytotoxicity of immune cells, which is partially executed by cancer-associated mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). However, the mechanisms by which MSCs influence the NK resistance of CTCs remain poorly understood. This study demonstrates that MSCs enhance the NK resistance of cancer cells in a gap junction-dependent manner, thereby promoting the survival and metastatic seeding of CTCs in immunocompromised mice...

BACKGROUND: Exosomes assume a pivotal role as essential mediators of intercellular communication within tumor microenvironments. Within this context, long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been observed to be preferentially sorted into exosomes, thus exerting regulatory control over the initiation and progression of cancer through diverse mechanisms. RESULTS: Exosomes were successfully isolated from cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) CTCs organoid and healthy human serum. Notably, the LncRNA titin-antisense RNA1 (TTN-AS1) exhibited a conspicuous up-regulation within CCA CTCs organoid derived exosomes...

In prostate cancer (PCa), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) promote tumor progression, drug resistance, and metastasis. Although circulating tumor cells are studied as prognostic and diagnostic markers, little is known about other circulating cells and their association with PCa metastasis. Here, we explored the presence of circulating CAFs (cCAFs) in metastatic castration-naïve prostate cancer (mCNPC) patients. cCAFs were stained with fibroblast activation protein (FAP), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase C (CD45), then FAP+ EpCAM- cCAFs were enumerated and sorted using fluorescence-activated cell sorting...

BACKGROUND: Active cigarette smoking leads to increased CXCL5 production. CXCL5 mediates the immune response by attracting immune cells to areas of inflammation. Elevated CXCL5 levels are associated with various inflammatory diseases and tumorigenesis. In addition, smoking is linked to an increase in the level of the cytokine CEACAM6 in the bloodstream of smokers. CEACAM6 is increased in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, non⍰small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer and other cancers and promotes tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis...

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prominent malignancies that originate in the epithelial cells of the gastric mucosa and is one of the main causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. New circulating biomarkers of exosomal RNA might have great potential for non-invasive early prognosis of GC. Sijunzi Decoction (SJZD) is a typical representative formula of the method of benefiting Qi and strengthening the spleen in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). However, the effects and mechanism of SJZD in treating GC remain unclear...

BACKGROUND: Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) often suffer from cachexia, a wasting syndrome that significantly reduces both quality of life and survival. Although advanced cachexia is associated with inflammatory signalling and elevated muscle catabolism, the early events driving wasting are poorly defined. During periods of nutritional scarcity, the body relies on hepatic ketogenesis to generate ketone bodies, and lipid metabolism via ketogenesis is thought to protect muscle from catabolizing during nutritional scarcity...

US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines recommend single-cancer screening for select cancers (e.g., breast, cervical, colorectal, lung). Advances in genome sequencing and machine learning have facilitated the development of blood-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests intended to complement single-cancer screening. MCED tests can interrogate circulating cell-free DNA to detect a shared cancer signal across multiple tumor types. We report real-world experience with an MCED test that detected cancer signals in three individuals subsequently diagnosed with cancers of the ovary, kidney, and head/neck that lack USPSTF-recommended screening...

Cancers of Unknown Primary (CUP) remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to biological heterogeneity and poor responses to standard chemotherapy. Predicting tissue-of-origin (TOO) molecularly could help refine this diagnosis, with tissue acquisition barriers mitigated via liquid biopsies. However, TOO liquid biopsies are unexplored in CUP cohorts. Here we describe CUPiD, a machine learning classifier for accurate TOO predictions across 29 tumour classes using circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation patterns...

CONTEXT.—: Most patients with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) are diagnosed at advanced stages. The 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced lung cancer is less than 20%, which makes lung cancer the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. OBJECTIVE.—: To identify indicators that can predict the prognosis of lung cancer patients. DESIGN.—: To determine the correlation between circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor-derived endothelial cells (CTECs), and their subtypes and the prognosis of patients with NSCLC, 80 patients with lung cancer were recruited and 48 patients who met the enrollment criteria were selected in this study...

The study by Chen et al. has advanced research by developing predictive models based on circulating microbial DNA, offering potential for early cancer detection and personalized treatment. However, further validation and simplification of techniques are needed for widespread clinical application.

PURPOSE: Cancer patients frequently undergo radiotherapy in their clinical management with unintended irradiation of blood vessels and copiously irrigated organs in which polymorphonuclear leukocytes circulate. Following the observation that such low doses of ionizing radiation are able to induce neutrophils to extrude neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), we have investigated the mechanisms, consequences and the occurrence of such phenomena in patients undergoing radiotherapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: NETosis was analyzed in cultures of neutrophils isolated from healthy donors, cancer patients and cancer-bearing mice under confocal microscopy...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the utility of tumor content in circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) for monitoring hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) throughout its natural history. METHODS: We included 67 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC patients, of whom 17 had paired pre- and post-treatment samples, and 90 controls. Additionally, in a prospective cohort with HBV surface antigen-positive participants recruited in 2012 and followed up biannually with blood sample collections until 2019, we included 270 repeated samples before diagnosis from 63 participants who later developed HCC (pre-HCC samples)...

The risk of cancer is higher in patients with asthma compared to those with allergic rhinitis for many types of cancer, except for certain cancers where a contrasting pattern is observed. This study offers a potential explanation for these observations, proposing that the premalignant levels of circulating transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), IL-1β, and IL-6 as well as the reactivity of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway at the specific cancer site, are crucial factors contributing to the observed disparities...

INTRODUCTION: Neck mass is the most common presentation of human papillomavirus-related (HPV-related) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Recently, circulating tumor HPV-DNA (ctHPVDNA) assays have been developed to detect active OPSCC. This pilot study investigates the diagnostic accuracy of ctHPVDNA in establishing HPV status for known vs. unknown OPSCC presenting as a neck mass. METHODS: A single-institution pilot study was conducted on all patients with OPSCC presenting as a neck mass between 2021 and 2022...

Cells of the mammalian innate immune system have evolved to protect the host from various environmental or internal insults and injuries which perturb the homeostatic state of the organism. Among the lymphocytes of the innate immune system are natural killer (NK) cells, which circulate and survey host tissues for signs of stress, including infection or transformation. NK cells rapidly eliminate damaged cells in the blood or within tissues through secretion of cytolytic machinery and production of proinflammatory cytokines...