This review summarizes the main pathophysiological basis of the relationship between metabolic syndrome, endocrine disruptor exposure and prostate cancer that is the most common cancer among men in industrialized countries. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic and hormonal factors having a central role in the initiation and recurrence of many western chronic diseases including hormonal-related cancers and it is considered as the world's leading health problem in the coming years. Many biological factors correlate metabolic syndrome to prostate cancer and this review is aimed to focus, principally, on growth factors, cytokines, adipokines, central obesity, endocrine abnormalities and exposure to specific endocrine disruptors, a cluster of chemicals, to which we are daily exposed, with a hormone-like structure influencing oncogenes, tumor suppressors and proteins with a key role in metabolism, cell survival and chemo-resistance of prostate cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNotwithstanding the peculiar sensitivity to cisplatin-based treatment, resulting in a very high percentage of cures even in advanced stages of the disease, still we do not know the biological mechanisms that make Testicular Germ Cell Tumor (TGCT) "unique" in the oncology scene. p53 and MDM2 seem to play a pivotal role, according to several in vitro observations, but no correlation has been found between their mutational or expression status in tissue samples and patients clinical outcome. Furthermore, other players seem to be on stage: DNA Damage Repair Machinery (DDR) , especially Homologous Recombination (HR) proteins, above all Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM), cooperates with p53 in response to DNA damage, activating apoptotic cascade and contributing to cell "fate".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalignant tumors of salivary glands are rare lesions, often with poor prognosis. At present, surgery represents the only therapeutic choice, whereas chemotherapy is employed as palliative treatment in advanced disease. Over the years several molecular alterations associated with the pathogenesis and progression of the salivary glands tumors have been well-characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, with approximately 540,000 new cases annually worldwide. The molecular mechanisms related to the pathogenesis of this disease are still poorly understood. The discovery of a molecular marker that allows the early detection of this cancer, which can be easily identified in biological samples, such as saliva, without intervening in advanced stages, is a challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiposarcoma (LPS) is the most common soft tissue neoplasm in adults and is characterized by neoplastic adipocyte proliferation. Some subtypes of LPSs show aberrations involving the chromosome 12. The most frequent are t(12;16) (q13;p11) present in more than 90% of myxoid LPSs and 12q13-15 amplification in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated LPSs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF