Jagged 2 silencing inhibits motility and invasiveness of colorectal cancer cell lines.

Although the Notch pathway has been reported to be activated in colorectal cancer (CRC), limited information is available regarding the expression and role of its ligand, Jagged 2 (JAG2), in CRC. Using immunohistochemistry, the present study demonstrated that JAG2 protein expression may be detected in up to 95% of CRC cases and is 3-fold upregulated in tumor cells compared to surrounding normal tissues. This finding suggests that JAG2 may have a role in the tumorigenicity of CRC.

Current and future molecular diagnostics in non-small-cell lung cancer.

The molecular investigation of lung cancer has opened up an advanced area for the diagnosis and therapeutic management of lung cancer patients. Gene alterations in cancer initiation and progression provide not only information on molecular changes in lung cancer but also opportunities in advanced therapeutic regime by personalized targeted therapy. EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangement are important predictive biomarkers for the efficiency of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in lung cancer patients.

-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator promotes proliferation and invasiveness of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

The -induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator (TIGAR) is the protein product of the p53 target gene, . TIGAR blocks glycolysis and promotes cellular metabolism via the pentose phosphate pathway; it promotes the production of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which leads to enhanced scavenging of intracellular reactive oxygen species, and inhibition of oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in normal cells. Our previous study identified a novel nucleoside analog that inhibited cellular growth and induced apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines via downregulation of TIGAR expression.

Current and future molecular diagnostics in colorectal cancer and colorectal adenoma.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in developed countries. On the other hand, CRC is also one of the most curable cancers if it is detected in early stages through regular colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Since CRC develops slowly from precancerous lesions, early detection can reduce both the incidence and mortality of the disease.

Clinical significance of frizzled homolog 3 protein in colorectal cancer patients.

Frizzled homolog 3 receptor was up-regulated in several gastrointestinal cancers such as esophageal and gastric cancers. Moreover, frizzled homolog 3 has recently reported to be expressed in colorectal adenoma specimens. In the present study, we investigated the clinical significance of frizzled homolog 3 protein in colorectal cancer patients.

Advanced technologies for studying circulating tumor cells at the protein level.

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer death. As the tumor progresses, cells from the primary tumor site are shed into the bloodstream as circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Eventually, these cells colonize other organs and form distant metastases.

Human papillomavirus DNA detection in menstrual blood from patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and condyloma acuminatum.

The Papanicolaou test generates pain and embarrassment, and cytology screening has limited sensitivity for detection of cervical neoplasia. These factors urge the use of another screening test that can overcome these limitations. We explore a completely noninvasive method using detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in women's menstrual blood (MB).

Advanced proteomic technologies for cancer biomarker discovery.

Proteomic technologies have experienced major improvements in recent years. Such advances have facilitated the discovery of potential tumor markers with improved sensitivities and specificities for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring of cancer patients. This review will focus on four state-of-the-art proteomic technologies, namely 2D difference gel electrophoresis, MALDI imaging mass spectrometry, electron transfer dissociation mass spectrometry and reverse-phase protein array.

Clinical significance of cytokeratin 20-positive circulating tumor cells detected by a refined immunomagnetic enrichment assay in colorectal cancer patients.

Purpose: Current immunomagnetic enrichment method can only detect general epithelial antigens of circulating tumor cells (CTC). Further characterization of the CTCs to provide specific information on the tumor type is not possible. We attempted to overcome this drawback by developing the methodology for using a gastrointestinal-specific anti-cytokeratin (CK) 20 antibody to detect CTCs in colorectal cancer patients' blood.

Identification of 5-fluorouracil response proteins in colorectal carcinoma cell line SW480 by two-dimensional electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most prevalent cause of cancer-related deaths in the Western world. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a standard chemotherapeutic drug to treat CRC. However, the response rate is less than 20% and patients who have responded to 5-FU may become resistant.

Isolated tumor cells and circulating CK20 mRNA in pN0 colorectal cancer patients.

Micrometastases in lymph nodes and blood may provide important prognostic information. In this study, cytokeratin 20 (CK20) positive cells in lymph nodes and circulating CK20 mRNA were studied using 57 paraffin-embedded lymph node specimens and blood from 24 patients with pN0 colorectal cancer (CRC), respectively. Results showed that 29 out of 56 (52%) lymph node specimens had CK20-positive cells (range: 1-35).