Breast cancer is a highly prevalent disease affecting women. The association of IQ motif containing GTPase-activating protein 3 (IQGAP3) and breast cancer is poorly defined. Here we reported that IQGAP3 is a key regulator of cell proliferation and metastasis during breast cancer progression. The expression of IQGAP3 was significantly increased in breast tissues compared to nontumor tissues at both protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, IQGAP3 had a high expression level in ZR-75-30 and BT474 compared to other breast cancer cell lines. Depletion of IQGAP3 through RNA interference in ZR-75-30 and BT474 significantly inhibited cell proliferation. More importantly, IQGAP3 silencing in breast cancer cells notably repressed cell migration and invasion. Further analysis suggested that inhibition of cell proliferation and metastasis was associated with some proteins, including p53, MMP9, Snail, CDC42, p-ERK1/2, KIF2C, KIF4A, PCNA, and Twist. Since expression of IQGAP3 seems to be associated with the pathogenesis of breast cancer and suppression of it can inhibit cancer cell growth and metastasis, IQGAP3 may be a potential therapeutic target in human breast cancer.

Sparc/osteonectin, cwcv, and kazal-like domains proteoglycan (testican) 1 (SPOCK1), known as testican-1, were found to be involved in the development and progression of tumors. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC), the expression pattern of SPOCK1 and its functional role remain poorly investigated. In the present study, we explored the role of SPOCK1 in CRC. Our results demonstrated that SPOCK1 is overexpressed in CRC cell lines. SPOCK1 silencing significantly inhibited the proliferation in vitro and the tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, SPOCK1 silencing significantly attenuated the migration/invasion by reversing the EMT process in CRC cells. Finally, knockdown of SPOCK1 obviously decreased the protein expression levels of p-PI3K and p-Akt in HCT116 cells. In total, our study demonstrated for the first time that knockdown of SPOCK1 inhibits the proliferation and invasion in CRC cells, possibly through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, SPOCK1 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CRC.

Ovarian cancer is a malignancy with high mortality among women. Multiple reports show that microRNAs (miRs) act as regulators in ovarian cancer inhibition, while the role of miR-1284 in ovarian cancer is still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-1284 on ovarian cancer cells. Human ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR3 was cultured and transfected with miR-1284 mimics, inhibitors, or control. Viability and apoptosis of transfected cells were then determined by MTT assay, BrdU assay, and flow cytometry. Expression changes of p27, p21, and PI3K/Akt pathway-related proteins were measured by Western blot. Results showed that miR-1284 overexpression suppressed cell viability while increasing the apoptosis in OVCAR3 cells. Moreover, the expression level of p27 was upregulated by miR-1284 overexpression. Furthermore, miR-1284 overexpression and Akt inhibitor GSK690693 downregulated the levels of p-Akt and Bcl-2 while upregulating the levels of Bax and caspase 3. However, miR-1284 suppression attenuated the regulatory effects of GSK690693 on these proteins. In conclusion, miR-1284 could inhibit cell viability via regulating the expression of p27 and induce apoptosis via regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway in OVCAR3 cells.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the adult population, and treatment of DLBCL is still unfavorable. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying DLBCL tumorigenesis. To study the potential function of microRNA-155 (miR-155) involved in the regulation of lymphoma, we monitored lymphoma cell behavior including proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis using CCK-8 and flow cytometry analysis. Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-155 in 118 lymphoma patients' tissues, and Western blot was also used to analyze the expression level of proteins correlated with cell cycle and apoptosis in lymphoma cells. miR-155 expression levels were higher in lymphoma tissues compared with adjacent tissues. Downregulation of miR-155 inhibited lymphoma cell progress by arresting cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase and promoting apoptosis. Cell cycle-correlated proteins (cyclin B1, cyclin D1, and CDK4) were inhibited by downregulation of miR-155. Apoptosis-correlated proteins level (Bax/Bcl-2 and caspase 3 activity) were increased by downregulation of miR-155. In addition, a significant inverse correlation between the level of miR-155 and transforming growth factor-β receptor 2 (TGFBR2) was observed, which has been demonstrated to be a novel tumor suppressor gene. A further in vivo tumor formation study in nude mice indicated that downregulation of miR-155 in lymphoma cells delayed the progress of tumor formation. These findings indicate that miR-155 may serve as a useful potential target for the treatment of lymphoma.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WITHDRAWN BY THE PUBLISHER IN NOVEMBER 2020

This study was designed to investigate the role of miR-183 in modulating cell growth and apoptosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma SCC25 cell line. Human squamous epithelial cell and squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCC25 was used, and miR-183 was inhibited. Cell growth, colony formation, and apoptotic rate, as well as the expression of caspase 3 and BCL-xL, were detected. Results showed that miR-183 was significantly overexpressed in the SCC25 cell line when compared with normal control. The miR-183 inhibitor reduced cell growth and colony formation, while the apoptosis percentage was significantly increased. The expression of activated caspase 3 and BCL-xL was obviously up- and downregulated in siRNA-transfected cells, respectively. In conclusion, miR-183 contributed to cell growth and proliferation, and suppressed cell apoptosis in SCC25 cells. Therefore, miR-183 might serve as a therapeutic target in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be involved in bladder cancer progression. miR-489 (also known as miR-489-3p) was recently reported to be a tumor suppressor in several cancers. However, its exact role and mechanism in the progression of bladder cancer are largely unknown. In this study, we explore the role of miR-489 in the proliferation and invasion of human bladder cancer cells. The miR-489 expression levels were detected in bladder cancer and normal adjacent tissues, as well as in human normal bladder epithelial cells and bladder cancer cell lines. The results showed that miR-489 was sharply reduced in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. Then the miR-489 mimic or oligo anta-miR-489 was transfected into T24 and UMUC3 bladder cancer cell lines. The results showed that the miR-489 mimic greatly increased the miR-489 level and significantly decreased the proliferation and invasion of T24 and UMUC3 cells. In contrast, the anta-miR-489 had a completely opposite effect on miR-489 expression, cell proliferation, and cell invasion. Moreover, bioinformatics and luciferase reporter gene assays confirmed that miR-489 targeted the mRNA 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) region of Jagged1 (JAG1), a Notch ligand. In conclusion, miR-489 suppressed proliferation and invasion of human bladder cancer cells.

Current photodynamic therapy (PDT) is suffering from limited efficacy towards hypoxia tumors and severe post-treatment photo-toxicity such as light-induced skin damages. To make PDT more effective in cancer treatment while being patient-comfortable, herein, a hexylamine conjugated chlorin e6 (hCe6) as the photosensitizer together with a lipophilic near-infrared (NIR) dye 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindotricarbocyanine iodide (DiR) are co-encapsulated into polyethylene glycol (PEG) shelled liposomes. In the obtained DiR-hCe6-liposome, the photosensitizing effect of hCe6 is quenched by DiR via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Interestingly, upon irradiation with a 785-nm NIR laser to photobleach DiR, both fluorescence and photodynamic effect of hCe6 in DiR-hCe6-liposome would be activated. Meanwhile, such NIR irradiation applied on tumors of mice with intravenous injection of DiR-hCe6-liposome could result in mild photothermal heating, which in turn would promote intra-tumor blood flow and relieve tumor hypoxia, contributing to the enhanced photodynamic tumor treatment. Importantly, compared to hCe6-loaded liposomes, DiR-hCe6-liposome without being activated by the 785-nm laser shows much lower skin photo-toxicity, demonstrating its great skin protection effect. This work demonstrates a promising yet simple strategy to prepare NIR-light-activatable photodynamic theranostics for synergistic cancer phototherapy, which is featured high specificity/efficacy in tumor treatment with minimal photo-toxicity towards the skin.

Melanoma is a highly aggressive tumor of the skin. The clinical outcome is determined by the presence or absence of metastases, and the liver is a common site of distant metastases. Hepatic metastasis is causing activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC), which form the stroma of hepatic metastases and are increasingly recognized as a crucial component of the pro- metastatic liver microenvironment. Most studies have focused on the effects of HSC on (metastasizing) tumor cells. Here, we aimed to analyze functional in vitro effects of conditioned medium (CM) of twelve different human melanoma cell lines on LX2 cells and HSChtert cells, two well established human activated HSC cell lines. CM from melanoma cells significantly induced HSC proliferation and acted as chemoattractant for HSC in Boyden chamber assays. The CM effects significantly varied between different HSC as well as melanoma cells. Interestingly, CM from melanoma cell lines derived from melanoma metastases (WM239A, WM9, WM1158, WM1232, 451Lu and 1205Lu) had a stronger effect on proliferation of HSChtert cells than CM derived from primary melanoma tumors (SbCl2, WM3211, WM35, WM278, WM1366 and WM793). Moreover, we observed a significant correlation between the chemoattractive effects of CM from the different melanoma cells on HSChtert and LX2 cells. In contrast, the melanoma CM effects on the proliferation of the two HSC lines did not show a significant correlation. In summary, our data indicate that melanoma cells metastasizing to the liver have the potential to attract HSC and to induce HSC proliferation, respectively. Still, it appears that melanoma effects on HSC migration and proliferation are mediated via different soluble factors indicating the complexity of melanoma-HSC interaction. Furthermore, the intensity of at least some functional effects varies between different human tumor cells and HSC which may point to mechanisms explaining diverse hepatic metastasis in melanoma patients.

The aim of this study was to compare dosimetric characteristics, monitor unit, and delivery efficiency of 4 different stereotactic body radiotherapy techniques for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The aim of this study is to determine whether stereotactic body radiotherapy for multiple vertebral metastases treated with a single isocenter results in greater intrafraction errors than stereotactic body radiotherapy for single vertebral metastases and to determine whether the currently used spinal cord planning organ at risk volume and planning target volume margins are appropriate. Intrafraction errors were assessed for 65 stereotactic body radiotherapy treatments for vertebral metastases. Cone beam computed tomography images were acquired before, during, and after treatment for each fraction. Residual translational and rotational errors in patient positioning were recorded and planning organ at risk volume and planning target volume margins were calculated in each direction using this information. The mean translational residual errors were smaller for single (0.4 (0.4) mm) than for multiple vertebral metastases (0.5 (0.7) mm; P = .0019). The mean rotational residual errors were similar for single (0.3° (0.3°) and multiple vertebral metastases (0.3° (0.3°); P = .862). The maximum calculated planning organ at risk volume margin in any direction was 0.83 mm for single and 1.22 for multiple vertebral metastases. The maximum calculated planning target volume margin in any direction was 1.4 mm for single and 1.9 mm for multiple vertebral metastases. Intrafraction errors were small for both single and multiple vertebral metastases, indicating that our strategy for patient immobilization and repositioning is robust. Calculated planning organ at risk volume and planning target volume margins were smaller than our clinically employed margins, indicating that our clinical margins are appropriate.

Epithelial ovarian tumors are heterogeneous neoplasms primarily classified according to cell type. They are further subdivided into benign, borderline, and malignant (carcinomas), and this subdivision is very important as it correlates with behavior. Borderline ovarian tumors show epithelial proliferation higher than that seen in their benign counterparts and variable nuclear atypia; however, in contrast to carcinomas, there is no destructive stromal invasion, and their prognosis is much better. Ovarian carcinomas are the most common ovarian cancers and the most lethal gynecological malignancies. On the basis of histopathology and molecular genetics, they are divided into five types (high-grade serous (70%), endometrioid (10%), clear cell (10%), mucinous (3%), and low-grade serous carcinomas (<5%)), which are morphologically diverse and account for over 95% of cases. These tumors are essentially distinct diseases, as indicated by differences in epidemiological and genetic risk factors, precursor lesions, patterns of spread, molecular alterations, response to chemotherapy, and prognosis. For a successful specific treatment, reproducible histopathological diagnosis of the tumor cell type is critical.

The CONCERT study (observational cohort study of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer initiating chemotherapy in combination with bevacizumab) aimed to describe patient characteristics, bevacizumab use, its efficacy in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and its safety in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treated in daily medical practice.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are associated with a poor prognosis owing to an aggressive phenotype. We aimed to carry out a prospective study comparing management strategies and response to therapy in TNBC and non-TNBC patients.

Blockade of inhibitory receptors (IRs) overexpressed by T cells can activate antitumor immune responses, resulting in the most promising therapeutic approaches, particularly in bladder cancer, currently able to extend patient survival. Thanks to their ability to cross-present antigens to T cells, dendritic cells (DCs) are an immune cell population that plays a central role in the generation of effective antitumor T-cell responses. While IR function and expression have been investigated in T cells, very few data are available for DCs. Therefore, we analyzed whether DCs express IRs that can decrease their functions. To this end, we investigated several IRs (PD-1, CTLA-4, BTLA, TIM-3, and CD160) in circulating CD1c+ DCs, CD141+ DCs, and plasmacytoid DCs from healthy donors and patients with urothelial cancer (UCa). Different DC subsets expressed BTLA and TIM-3 but not other IRs. More importantly, BTLA and TIM-3 were significantly upregulated in DCs from blood of UCa patients. Locally, bladder tumor-infiltrating DCs also overexpressed BTLA and TIM-3 compared to DCs from paired nontumoral tissue. Finally, in vitro functional experiments showed that ligand-mediated engagement of BTLA and TIM-3 receptors significantly reduced the secretion of effector cytokines by DC subpopulations. Our findings demonstrate that UCa induces local and systemic overexpression of BTLA and TIM-3 by DCs that may result in their functional inhibition, highlighting these receptors as potential targets for UCa treatment.

Malignant eccrine spiradenoma is a rare and aggressive tumor, developed on the epithelium of eccrine sweat glands. Typically, it occurs after malignant transformation of benign eccrine spiradenoma, but sometimes it happens de novo.

The CD20 marker continues to be exploited as a therapeutic target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Obinutuzumab is part of a new generation of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, which are synthesized using molecular engineering technology, resulting in novel target epitopes and unprecedented optimization of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis. Rituximab is the current gold standard for anti-CD20 therapy, yet despite outstanding results published over the past decade, many patients continue to relapse after anti-CD20 regimens. Obinutuzumab is slowly positioning itself in the treatment of CD20+ B-cell neoplasms. On the basis of favorable results from the phase III GADOLIN trial, obinutuzumab was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in combination with bendamustine followed by obinutuzumab maintenance, for the treatment of follicular lymphoma (FL) patients who relapsed or are refractory to a rituximab-containing regimen. Additional phase III trials are underway to test obinutuzumab as a first-line anti-CD20 agent in FL with good preliminary results (GALLIUM trial); thus, it is likely that obinutuzumab will soon achieve a first-line indication. It is plausible that obinutuzumab will replace rituximab as the gold standard for chemoimmunotherapy in FL, although some safety concerns still need to be resolved. This review will address the preclinical pharmacology and the main aspects of the clinical development of obinutuzumab for the treatment of FL.

We describe a 55-year-old man who received stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for the treatment of brain metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma. Fourteen months after SRT, right-sided hemiparesis developed, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed progression of perifocal edema and an enhanced lesion. Cerebral radiation necrosis was diagnosed, and treatment with bevacizumab was initiated. The lesion clearly responded to bevacizumab therapy, but reenlarged 8 months later and was surgically resected. Histopathological analysis of the resected specimen revealed large areas of necrosis; however, viable tumor cells were detected in the necrotic areas. Reenlargement of the necrotic lesion was attributed to the recurrence of lung cancer.