Decoding Metastasis: From Cell Death to Fusion in Cancer Progression.

Metastasis is one of the key concepts in modern oncology, which connects the movement of cancer cells in the body with changes in their characteristics and functions. The review examines the main aspects of metastasis, including theories, facts and discoveries that help to better understand this phenomenon and develop new approaches to its treatment. In this article, we also proposed the theory of cell fusion with the formation of hybrid cells as one of the factors of metastasis.

Hybrid/Atypical Forms of Circulating Tumor Cells: Current State of the Art.

Cancer is one of the most common diseases worldwide, and its treatment is associated with many challenges such as drug and radioresistance and formation of metastases. These difficulties are due to tumor heterogeneity, which has many causes. One may be the cell fusion, a process that is relevant to both physiological (e.

Heterogeneity of Stemlike Circulating Tumor Cells in Invasive Breast Cancer.

The presence of stem and epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) features in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) determines their invasiveness, adaptability to the microenvironment, and resistance to proapoptotic signals and chemotherapy. It also allows them to fulfil the role of metastatic "seeds". We evaluated the heterogeneity of stem CTCs by their CD44, ALDH1, and CD133 expression depending on N-cadherin expression in breast-cancer patients.

Single Tumor Cells With Epithelial-Like Morphology Are Associated With Breast Cancer Metastasis.

The identification of tumor cells that can be potential metastatic seeds would reach two key aims-prognosis of metastasis risk and appointment of the optimal adjuvant therapy to prevent metastatic disease. Single tumor cells (STCs) located out of multicellular structures can most likely demonstrate features that are needed to initiate metastasis. One-hundred-and-thirty-five patients with invasive breast carcinoma of no special type have been enrolled.

Mechanisms behind prometastatic changes induced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the breast cancer microenvironment.

Chemotherapy, along with surgery and radiotherapy, is a key treatment option for malignant tumors. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) reduces the tumor size and enables total tumor resection. In addition, NACT is believed to be more effective in destroying micrometastases than the same chemotherapy performed after surgery.

Heterogeneity of Circulating Tumor Cells in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy of Breast Cancer.

The biological properties of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and their dynamics during neoadjuvant chemotherapy are important, both for disease progression prediction and therapeutic target determination, with the aim of preventing disease progression. The aim of our study was to estimate of different CTC subsets in breast cancer during the NACT (neoadjuvant chemotherapy). The prospective study includes 27 patients with invasive breast cancer, T2-4N0-3M0, aged 32 to 60 years.

Development of Novel Monoclonal Antibodies for Evaluation of Transmembrane Prostate Androgen-Induced Protein 1 (TMEPAI) Expression Patterns in Gastric Cancer.

Transmembrane prostate androgen-induced protein 1 (TMEPAI) is a single-span membrane protein, functionally involved in transforming growth factor beta signaling pathway. The particular protein presented in cells in three isoforms, which differs in the length of the soluble N-terminal extracellular domain, making it challenging for the immunochemical recognition. By using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we identified significant upregulation of PMEPA1 gene expression in malignant tissues of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.

Functional state of the Hsp27 chaperone as a molecular marker of an unfavorable course of larynx cancer.

Background: The small heat shock protein 27 kDA (Hsp27) acts as an ATP-independent chaperone in protein folding, but is also implicated in architecture of the cytoskeleton, cell migration, metabolism, cell survival, growth/differentiation, mRNA stabilization, and tumor progression.

Objective: To study the intracellular localization of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of Hsp27 in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx (SCCL) and to evaluate their relationship with regional lymphatic metastasis and overall five-year survival.

Methods: Tumor biopsies of larynx tissue were collected from 50 patients who were between the ages of 30 to 80 years and had a confirmed diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.

Relationship between the expression of phosphorylated heat shock protein beta-1 with lymph node metastases of breast cancer.

Background: Heat shock protein beta-1 (HspB1) is a chaperone of the sHsp (small heat shock protein). The common functions of sHsps are chaperone activity, inhibition of apoptosis, regulation of cell development, and cell differentiation, take part in signal transduction.

Objective: To study the intracellular localization of phosphorylated features and non-phosphorylated forms of HspB1 in primary breast cancer cells and to evaluate their relationship with regional lymphatic metastasis.

Heat shock proteins as prognostic markers of cancer.

This review systematically examines the literature and data on the prognostic significance of heat shock proteins (heat shock protein - Hsp) Hsp27, Hsp60, Hsp70, Hsp90 in various cancers. Our analysis of the literature showed that the existing data are contradictory with regard to the prognostic significance of Hsp. This result may be due to biological differences of the carcinomas studied and methodological differences in the assessment of heat shock proteins.