Poor Dental Health as a Risk Factor for Alveolar Ridge Malignancies.

Objective: To determine the association between poor dental health and risk of oral cavity squamous cell cancer (OCSCC) at individual tumor subsites.

Study Design: Case-control and cross-sectional METHODS: A case-control study was performed using a population-based cohort in North Carolina (Carolina Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Study [CHANCE]). A secondary cross-sectional analysis was performed with an institutional cohort (WashU/Siteman).

Race and socioeconomic status interact with HPV to influence survival disparities in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is associated with a favorable prognosis, yet patients of color and low socioeconomic status (SES) continue to experience inferior outcomes. We aim to understand how the emergence of HPV has impacted race and SES survival disparities in OPSCC.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of 18,362 OPSCC cases from 2010 to 2017 was assembled using the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database.

No survival benefit in never-smoker never-drinker patients with oral cavity cancer.

Background: Although strongly associated with tobacco and alcohol use, many oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) cases occur in patients without exposure to either, known as "never-smoker, never-drinkers" (NSND). We aimed to compare clinical outcomes between NSND and tobacco/alcohol-exposed populations and to define demographic characteristics of NSND.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, single-institution cohort study of 672 OCSCC patients.

Self-assembled cGAMP-STINGΔTM signaling complex as a bioinspired platform for cGAMP delivery.

The stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) pathway constitutes a highly important part of immune responses against various cancers and infections. Consequently, administration of STING agonists such as cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) has been identified as a promising approach to target these diseases. In cancer cells, STING signaling is frequently impaired by epigenetic silencing of STING; hence, conventional delivery of only its agonist cGAMP may be insufficient to trigger STING signaling.

Structurally Programmed Assembly of Translation Initiation Nanoplex for Superior mRNA Delivery.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) represents a promising class of nucleic-acid-based therapeutics. While numerous nanocarriers have been developed for mRNA delivery, the inherent labile nature of mRNA results in a very low transfection efficiency and poor expression of desired protein. Here we preassemble the mRNA translation initiation structure through an inherent molecular recognition between 7-methylguanosine (mG)-capped mRNA and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) protein to form ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), thereby mimicking the first step of protein synthesis inside cells.

The Differential Effects of Anti-Diabetic Thiazolidinedione on Prostate Cancer Progression Are Linked to the TR4 Nuclear Receptor Expression Status.

The insulin sensitizers, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), have been used as anti-diabetic drugs since the discovery of their ability to alter insulin resistance through transactivation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). However, their side effects in hepatitis, cardiovascular diseases, and bladder cancer resulted in some selling restrictions in the USA and Europe. Here, we found that the potential impact of TZDs on the prostate cancer (PCa) progression might be linked to the TR4 nuclear receptor expression.