Enhanced cytokine signaling and ferroptosis defense interplay initiates obesity-associated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Obesity is a significant risk factor for various cancers, including pancreatic cancer (PC), but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In our study, pancreatic ductal epithelial cells were cultured using serum from human subjects with diverse metabolic statuses, revealing that serum from patients with obesity alters inflammatory cytokine signaling and ferroptosis, where a mutual enhancement between interleukin 34 (IL-34) expression and ferroptosis defense was observed in these cells. Notably, oncogenic KRAS amplified their interaction and this leads to the initiation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in diet-induced obese mice via macrophage-mediated immunosuppression.

Immune-related signature identifies IL1R2 as an immunological and prognostic biomarker in pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive malignancies, a robust prognostic signature and novel biomarkers are urgently needed for accurate stratification of the patients and optimization of clinical decision-making.

Methods: A list of bioinformatic analysis were applied in public dataset to construct an immune-related signature. Furthermore, the most pivotal gene in the signature was identified.

SQLE promotes pancreatic cancer growth by attenuating ER stress and activating lipid rafts-regulated Src/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Pancreatic cancer (PC), a highly lethal malignancy, commonly exhibits metabolic reprogramming that results in therapeutic vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the impacts of aberrant cholesterol metabolism on PC development and progression remain elusive. In this study, we found that squalene epoxidase (SQLE) is a crucial mediator of cholesterol metabolism in PC growth.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus: connections in epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatments.

The prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM) has been consistently increasing worldwide. Sharing powerful genetic and environmental features in their pathogenesis, obesity amplifies the impact of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors on DM. The ectopic expansion of adipose tissue and excessive accumulation of certain nutrients and metabolites sabotage the metabolic balance via insulin resistance, dysfunctional autophagy, and microbiome-gut-brain axis, further exacerbating the dysregulation of immunometabolism through low-grade systemic inflammation, leading to an accelerated loss of functional β-cells and gradual elevation of blood glucose.

Mechanisms of obesity- and diabetes mellitus-related pancreatic carcinogenesis: a comprehensive and systematic review.

Research on obesity- and diabetes mellitus (DM)-related carcinogenesis has expanded exponentially since these two diseases were recognized as important risk factors for cancers. The growing interest in this area is prominently actuated by the increasing obesity and DM prevalence, which is partially responsible for the slight but constant increase in pancreatic cancer (PC) occurrence. PC is a highly lethal malignancy characterized by its insidious symptoms, delayed diagnosis, and devastating prognosis.

Prognostic value of glycolysis markers in pancreatic cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Previous studies have investigated the prognostic significance of glycolysis markers in pancreatic cancer; however, conclusions from these studies are still controversial.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were systematically searched to investigate the prognostic role of glycolysis markers in pancreatic cancer up to May 2022. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) related to overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated using the STATA 12.

The evolving view of thermogenic fat and its implications in cancer and metabolic diseases.

The incidence of metabolism-related diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus has reached pandemic levels worldwide and increased gradually. Most of them are listed on the table of high-risk factors for malignancy, and metabolic disorders systematically or locally contribute to cancer progression and poor prognosis of patients. Importantly, adipose tissue is fundamental to the occurrence and development of these metabolic disorders.

Lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer: emerging roles and potential targets.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious health issues in developed and developing countries, with a 5-year overall survival rate currently <9%. Patients typically present with advanced disease due to vague symptoms or lack of screening for early cancer detection. Surgical resection represents the only chance for cure, but treatment options are limited for advanced diseases, such as distant metastatic or locally progressive tumors.

Construction of a novel model based on cell-in-cell-related genes and validation of KRT7 as a biomarker for predicting survival and immune microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly malignant tumor featured with high intra-tumoral heterogeneity and poor prognosis. Cell-in-cell (CIC) structures have been reported in multiple cancers, and their presence is associated with disease progression. Nonetheless, the prognostic values and biological functions of CIC-related genes in PC remain poorly understood.

Construction of immune-related signature and identification of S100A14 determining immune-suppressive microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal and aggressive disease with its incidence and mortality quite discouraging. A robust prognostic signature and novel biomarkers are urgently needed for accurate stratification of the patients and optimization of clinical decision-making. Since the critical role of immune microenvironment in the progression of PC, a prognostic signature based on seven immune-related genes was established, which was validated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) training set, TCGA testing set, TCGA entire set and GSE71729 set.

S100A2 Is a Prognostic Biomarker Involved in Immune Infiltration and Predict Immunotherapy Response in Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly fatal and aggressive disease with its incidence and mortality quite discouraging. It is of great significance to construct an effective prognostic signature of PC and find the novel biomarker for the optimization of the clinical decision-making. Due to the crucial role of immunity in tumor development, a prognostic model based on nine immune-related genes was constructed, which was proved to be effective in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) training set, TCGA testing set, TCGA entire set, GSE78229 set, and GSE62452 set.

Construction of a prognostic model with histone modification-related genes and identification of potential drugs in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly fatal and aggressive disease with its incidence and mortality quite discouraging. An effective prediction model is urgently needed for the accurate assessment of patients' prognosis to assist clinical decision-making.

Methods: Gene expression data and clinicopathological data of the samples were acquired from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases.

Bilateral multifocality, a marker for aggressive disease, is not an independent prognostic factor for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: A propensity score matching analysis.

Context: Multifocality and bilaterality are common in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). However, their clinical behaviours and prognostic implications remain controversial.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between multifocality and classically aggressive characteristics and outcomes in patients with PTMC.

ARHGAP36 regulates proliferation and migration in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells.

The diagnosis and treatment of recurrence and metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) are still clinical challenges. One of the key factors is the lack of specific diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for recurrence and metastasis. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a powerful approach to find specific biomarkers by dissecting expression profiling in human cancers at the resolution of individual cells.

Clinical Analysis of Risk Factors for Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis in Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma: A Retrospective Study of 3686 Patients.

Purpose: To investigate the risk factors for cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM) in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC).

Patients And Methods: In total, 3686 patients with PTMC who underwent initial surgery in Shanghai Jiao Tong University affiliated Sixth People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify risk factors associated with cervical LNM.

A somatic mutation of RasGRP3 decreases Na/I symporter expression in metastases of radioactive iodine-refractory thyroid cancer by stimulating the Akt signaling pathway.

Mutation profiles of advanced radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer have revealed the pathogenic roles of the established oncogenic mutations of BRAF and PI3KCA, but the involvement of other genes is presently unknown. In the present study, we performed whole-exome sequencing on 10 tissue samples of metastases of RAI-refractory differentiated thyroid cancers and identified a recurrent hot-spot mutation (c.1924G>T) in the gene, which codes for Ras guanine nucleotide-releasing protein 3.

Cell adhesion-related gene somatic mutations are enriched in aggressive papillary thyroid microcarcinomas.

Background: Approximately half of the documented increases in differentiated thyroid carcinoma is due to identification of papillary thyroid microcarcinomas (PTMCs). Knowing whether PTMC is aggressive is required for proper treatment, but until now, there has been no method for assessing these traits and understanding the underlying mechanisms for aggressiveness.

Methods: We performed whole-exome sequencing of 16 PTMCs and matched normal thyroid tissues and GO/KEGG analysis to study genetic alterations and biological consequences associated with aggressive PTMCs, and then sequenced these genes using a next-generation gene-panel approach in an additional 70 PTMC samples including aggressive (n = 50) and non-aggressive (n = 20) groups.

Case report: Whole exome sequencing of circulating cell-free tumor DNA in a follicular thyroid carcinoma patient with lung and bone metastases.

Metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC), unresectable or resistance to radioactive iodine, is associated with poor survival. It is believed that this kind of FTC is driven by mutated genes. However, what kind of changes of genome and underlying mechanisms are elusive.