Cancer

PURPOSE:

To elucidate molecular pathways contributing to metastatic cancer progression and poor clinical outcome in serous ovarian cancer.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:

Resistance to adverse environmental conditions, such as hypoxia, contributes to the reduced efficacy of anticancer therapies and tumor progression. Although deregulated expression of many long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) occurs in human cancers, the contribution of such RNA to tumor responses to hypoxia are unknown. RNA expression profiling identified several hypoxia-responsive lncRNAs, including the long intergenic noncoding RNA, regulator of reprogramming (linc-RoR), which is also increased in expression in malignant liver cancer cells.

NADPH oxidase-derived reactive oxygen species, such as H2O2, are part of the intestinal innate immune system but may drive carcinogenesis through DNA damage. We sought to identify the predominant enzyme system capable of producing H2O2 in active ulcerative colitis and assess whether it is affected by 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA).
METHODS:

High risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is firmly established as an important cause of oropharyngeal carcinoma. Recent studies have also implicated HPV as a cause of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC)—a tumor of salivary gland origin that frequently harbors MAML2 translocations. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of transcriptionally active HPV in a large group of MECs and to determine whether HPV infection and the MAML2 translocation are mutually exclusive events.

Cervical lesion grading is critical for effective patient management. A three-tier classification (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] grade 1, 2 or 3) based on H&E slide review is widely used. However, for reasons of considerable inter-observer variation in CIN grade assignment and for want of a biomarker validating a three-fold stratification, CAP-ASCCP LAST consensus guidelines recommend a two-tier system: low- or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL or HSIL).

Purpose: FGFR1 gene copy number (GCN) is being evaluated as a biomarker for FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) response in squamous-cell lung cancers (SCC). The exclusive use of FGFR1 GCN for predicting FGFR TKI sensitivity assumes increased GCN is the only mechanism for biologically-relevant increases in FGFR1 signaling. Herein, we tested whether FGFR1 mRNA and protein expression may serve as better biomarkers of FGFR TKI sensitivity in lung cancer. Experimental Design: Histologically diverse lung cancer cell lines were submitted to assays for ponatinib sensitivity, a potent FGFR TKI.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:

Resembling a potential therapeutic drug target, fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) amplification and expression was assessed in 515 human colorectal cancer (CRC) tissue samples, lymph node metastases and CRC cell lines.

METHODS:

FGFR1 amplification status was determined using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Additionally, we assessed protein levels employing Western blots and immunohistochemistry. The FGFR1 mRNA localization was analyzed using mRNA in situ hybridization. Functional studies employed the FGFR inhibitor NVP-BGJ398.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) analogs have been associated with an increased incidence of thyroid C-cell hyperplasia and tumors in rodents. This effect may be due to a GLP1 receptor (GLP1R)-dependent mechanism. As the expression of GLP1R is much lower in primates than in rodents, the described C-cell proliferative lesions may not be relevant to man. Here, we aimed to establish primary thyroid cell cultures of rat and human to evaluate the expression and function of GLP1R in C-cells.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are becoming promising biomarkers in several cancers, such as colon, prostate, and
breast carcinomas. Independent research groups have reported a correlation between CTC numbers and patient
prognosis. Even more, the development of personalized medicine gives physicians impetus to utilize the advancement
of molecular characterization of CTCs. This review introduces a new technique, CTCscope, and compares it with the
current methods of CTCs detection, with particular emphasis on cancer research, and discusses the future application

Recent strategies targeting the interaction of the programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1, B7-H1, CD274) with its receptor, PD-1, resulted in promising activity in early phase clinical trials. In this study, we used various antibodies and in situ mRNA hybridization to measure PD-L1 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using a quantitative fluorescence (QIF) approach to determine the frequency of expression and prognostic value in two independent populations.