Protein expression could guide NSCLC chemotherapy choice

Protein expression analysis is technically possible as a means of guiding chemotherapy decisions in patients with a new diagnosis of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, US investigators say.

via Med Wire News

NSCLC immunization ‘proof of concept’ achieved

Immunization against MAGE-A3 is a feasible adjuvant treatment in patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer expressing the tumor-specific antigen, research suggests.

via Med Wire News

Young Black men least likely to undergo prostate cancer screening follow-up

Black men under the age of 65 years are significantly less likely to receive follow-up after an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test than White men, research shows.

via Med Wire News

Prostatectomy patients ‘should be spared bowel preparation’

Japanese research shows that patients with T1 or T2 prostate cancer who do not undergo mechanical bowel preparation prior to laparoscopic prostatectomy fair no worse than patients who do.

via Med Wire News

Signaling pathway switch in breast cancer

Next generation sequencing studies have drawn the general landscape of breast cancers and identified hundreds of new, actual therapeutic targets. Two major signaling pathways seem to be altered in a vast proportion of breast cancers. The PI3 kinase/AKT pathway is activated and the JUN/MAPK pathway is repressed. Via the regulation of the cell cycle this metabolic switch impacts on the balance between self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation of the tumor-initiating cells

via Cancer Cell International

L1cam promotes tumor progression and metastasis and is an independent unfavorable prognostic factor in gastric cancer

Background: Previous reports have demonstrated that L1cam is aberrantly expressed in various tumors. The potential role of L1cam in the progression and metastasis of gastric cancer is still not clear and needs exploring. Methods: Expression of L1cam was evaluated in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The relationship between L1cam expression and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. The effects of L1cam on cell proliferation, migration and invasion were investigated in gastric cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. The impact of L1cam on PI3K/Akt pathway was also evaluated. Results: L1cam was overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. L1cam expression was correlated with aggressive tumor phenotype and poor overall survival in gastric cancer patients. Ectopic expression of L1cam in gastric cell lines significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion whereas knockdown of L1cam inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro as well as tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. The low level of phosphorylated Akt in HGC27 cells was up-regulated after ectopic expression of L1cam, whereas the high level of phosphorylated Akt in SGC7901 cells was suppressed by knockdown of L1cam. Moreover, the migration and invasion promoted by L1cam overexpression in gastric cancer cells could be abolished by either application of LY294002 (a phosphoinositide-3-kinase inhibitor) or knockdown of endogenous Akt by small interfering RNA. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that L1cam, overexpressed in gastric cancer and associated with poor prognosis, plays an important role in the progression and metastasis of gastric cancer.

via Journal of Hematology & Oncology

Target delivery of MYCN siRNA by folate-nanoliposomes delivery system in a metastatic neuroblastoma model

Background: Folate-nanoliposomes delivery system has emerged recently as a specific and safety delivery method and gradually used as the carrier of a variety kinds of drugs including compounds, plasmids and siRNAs. Methods: In this study, we established a bone marrow and bone metastasis xenograft mouse model by injecting the LA-N-5 cell into the bone marrow cavity. Fluorescence microscopy, TUNEL Assay, Quantitative RT-PCR and western blot were conducted to analysis the distribution of folate-nanoliposomes entrapped MYCN (V-myc myelocytomatosis viral related oncogene) siRNA in mice and the relevant suppression effect. Results: The folate-nanoliposomes entrapped MYCN siRNA can be specifically distributed in tumor tissues. Further study shows that folate-nanoliposomes entrapped MYCN siRNA lead to MYCN mRNA expression significantly down-regulated (>50%, and p<0.05) compared with negative control siRNA treatment. MYCN protein expression was inhibited about 60% in vivo, thus induced tumor cell apoptosis markedly. Conclusion: This study point to a new way for treatment of metastatic neuroblastoma and could widen the application of folate-nanoliposomes delivery system in tumor therapy.

via Cancer Cell International