BRAF mutations in papillary thyroid carcinoma and emerging targeted therapies (review).

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common histotype among the thyroid cancer types. Although PTC is a curable malignancy, many patients relapse after treatment. Thus, there is a need to identify novel factors involved in the pathogenesis of PTC that may be used as targets for new therapies.

Active home-based cancer treatment.

Background: Active home-based treatment represents a new model of health care. Chronic treatment requires continuous access to facilities that provide cancer care, with considerable effort, particularly economic, on the part of patients and caregivers. Oral chemotherapy could be limited as a consequence of poor compliance and adherence, especially by elderly patients.

The tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma (review).

The tumor microenvironment has been largely studied as a dynamic system orchestrated by inflammatory cells, including cancer cells, stroma as well as the extracellular matrix. It is useful to describe and predict the phenotypic characteristics of cancer. Furthermore, a better understanding of its interplay with the various aspects of the tumor cells may be utilized for the discovery of novel molecular targets.

Involvement of corticotropin-releasing hormone and endogenous opioid peptides in prolactin-suppressed gonadotropin-releasing hormone release in vitro.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been shown capable of inhibiting hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release through activation of an endogenous opioid peptide (EOP)-dependent mechanism. Recently, we have shown that prolactin (PRL) stimulates CRH release and inhibits GnRH release by hypothalami explanted from male rats. Thus, the present study was undertaken to investigate whether the inhibitory effect of PRL on GnRH release in vitro is mediated by CRH and/or EOP.

Effects of endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 on rat hypothalamic corticotrophin-releasing hormone and pituitary ACTH release in vitro.

Endothelins (ETs) are potent vasoconstrictor peptides that also participate in the regulation of endocrine function. Indeed, immunoreactive ET, ET mRNA and ET receptors have been found in the brain and the pituitary gland and ETs stimulate arginine vasopressin, LH, FSH, TSH and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone and inhibit prolactin release in vitro. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of ET-1 and ET-3, two members of this family, on corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) release by explanted male rat hypothalami in vitro and on ACTH release by primary pituitary cell culture.