Long Non-Coding RNA PANTR1 is Associated with Poor Prognosis and Influences Angiogenesis and Apoptosis in Clear-Cell Renal Cell Cancer.

POU3F3 adjacent non-coding transcript 1 (PANTR1) is an oncogenic long non-coding RNA with significant influence on numerous cellular features in different types of cancer. No characterization of its role in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is yet available. In this study, PANTR1 expression was confined to human brain and kidney tissue and was found significantly up-regulated in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma tissue (ccRCC) compared to non-cancerous kidney tissue in two independent cohorts ( < 0.

MiR-371a-3p Serum Levels Are Increased in Recurrence of Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Patients.

Metastatic testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are a potentially curable disease by administration of risk-adapted cytotoxic chemotherapy. Nevertheless, a disease-relapse after curative chemotherapy needs more intensive salvage chemotherapy and significantly worsens the prognosis of TGCT patients. Circulating tumor markers (β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG), alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP), and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH)) are frequently used for monitoring disease recurrence in TGCT patients, though they lack diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

miR-196b-5p Regulates Colorectal Cancer Cell Migration and Metastases through Interaction with HOXB7 and GALNT5.

miR-196b-5p has been previously implicated in malignant transformation; however, its role in colorectal cancer has not been fully explored. In this study, we examine the clinical and biological relevance of miR-196b-5p, and the molecular pathways regulated by miR-196b-5p in colorectal cancer. miR-196b-5p expression was quantitated by qRT-PCR in 2 independent cohorts composed of 292 patients with colorectal cancer in total, to explore its biomarker potential.

Comprehensive Analysis of miRNome Alterations in Response to Sorafenib Treatment in Colorectal Cancer Cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are master regulators of drug resistance and have been previously proposed as potential biomarkers for the prediction of therapeutic response in colorectal cancer (CRC). Sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor which has been approved for the treatment of liver, renal and thyroid cancer, is currently being studied as a monotherapy in selected molecular subtypes or in combination with other drugs in metastatic CRC. In this study, we explored sorafenib-induced cellular effects in Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog olog (KRAS) wild-type and KRAS-mutated CRC cell lines (Caco-2 and HRT-18), and finally profiled expression changes of specific miRNAs within the miRNome (>1000 human miRNAs) after exposure to sorafenib.

Low spinophilin expression enhances aggressive biological behavior of breast cancer.

Spinophilin, a putative tumor suppressor gene, has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of certain types of cancer, but its role has never been systematically explored in breast cancer. In this study, we determined for the first time the expression pattern of spinophilin in human breast cancer molecular subtypes (n = 489) and correlated it with survival (n = 921). We stably reduced spinophilin expression in breast cancer cells and measured effects on cellular growth, apoptosis, anchorage-independent growth, migration, invasion and self-renewal capacity in vitro and metastases formation in vivo.

The role of activation-induced cell death in the higher onset of spontaneous apoptosis of NK cell subsets in patients with metastatic epithelial cancer.

To address the question whether the higher onset of apoptosis of circulating NK cell subsets might be activation induced in cancer patients, surface expression of NKG2D and serum (s) levels of MHC class I chain-related (MIC) proteins in relation to apoptosis marker and CD95 expression on NK cells were evaluated. Patients showed a significantly higher onset of spontaneous apoptosis of CD56dim NK cells. No difference in the CD95 expression could be detected between patients and normal controls (NCs).

Optimization of diagnostic ELISA-based tests for the detection of auto-antibodies against tumor antigens in human serum.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancer types worldwide and it continues to be a serious public health problem. Early detection and diagnosis are of great importance in cancer management. At present, diagnostic blood tests are based on the detection of tumor-associated markers such as carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), the cancer antigen CA19-9 for gastrointestinal cancer, CA15-3 for breast cancer or CA125 for ovarian cancer.

Resistance to apoptosis and expansion of regulatory T cells in relation to the detection of circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic epithelial cancer.

Regulatory T cells may be crucial in the development of T cell tolerance to malignancies and contribute to immune dysfunctions. We investigated the percentage, activity, and onset of apoptosis of T cell subpopulations by multicolor flow cytometry in metastatic epithelial cancer patients compared to normal controls. Furthermore, a possible relationship between the presence of circulating tumor cells detected by immunocytochemistry and immune cell abnormalities was evaluated.

Critical evaluation of real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for the quantitative detection of cytokeratin 20 mRNA in colorectal cancer patients.

We evaluated the usefulness of cytokeratin 20 (CK20) mRNA expression in the quantitative detection of circulating tumor cells in the blood of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Blood samples from healthy volunteers (HVs; n = 37), patients with localized (n = 42) and metastatic colorectal cancer (n = 40), and patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CID; n = 15) were examined. After immunomagnetic enrichment using microbeads against human epithelial antigen, total RNA was extracted, reverse transcribed, and analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction using the LightCycler instrument.

Association of disease progression and poor overall survival with detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

The aim of this study was to define the frequency and clinical relevance of cytokeratin positive metastatic tumor cells in the peripheral circulation of patients with stage IV breast cancer. Peripheral blood was collected from 32 consecutive patients with metastatic breast cancer and 23 healthy donors. Tumor cells were enriched using positive selection with anti-HEA125-microbeads and cytospins were prepared of the positive selection eluate.