Cancer immunotherapy: the art of targeting the tumor immune microenvironment.

For many decades, cancer treatment has been strongly directed toward the development of cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs, quite often leading to disappointing results due to the inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Lately, this intra-cellular look has given way to the understanding of the tumor microenvironment, thus enabling modification of the immunological dynamics between tumor cells and their host. An era of new drugs aiming to unlock the host immune system against tumor cells is steadily increasing.

Treatment of ovarian cancer beyond chemotherapy: are we hitting the target?

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide among women, and, in developed countries, it is the leading cause of mortality among gynecological malignancies. With an overall cure rate of <40% across all stages, it comprises a variety of tumors with different histopathological features and biological behavior. Nowadays, OC is considered a general term that designates a group of molecularly and etiologically distinct diseases that share an anatomical location.

CRM1-mediated nuclear export determines the cytoplasmic localization of the antiapoptotic protein Survivin.

Survivin is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family of negative regulators of programmed cell death that is frequently overexpressed in human tumors. Survivin is not only involved in the regulation of apoptosis, but is also known to play a role in the control of cell cycle progression at the G2/M phase. Survivin is a predominantly cytoplasmic protein expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner, but the mechanism(s) that determine its nuclear-cytoplasmic localization have not been described.