Targeted Protein Degradation: Principles and Applications of the Proteasome.

The proteasome is a multi-catalytic protease complex that is involved in protein quality control via three proteolytic activities (i.e., caspase-, trypsin-, and chymotrypsin-like activities).

Hepatoid thymic carcinoma: a case report of a rare subtype of thymic carcinoma.

Hepatoid thymic carcinoma is an extremely rare subtype of primary thymus tumor resembling "pure" hepatoid adenocarcinomas with hepatocyte paraffin 1 (Hep-Par-1) expression. A 53-year-old man presented with voice change and a neck mass. Multiple masses involving the thyroid, cervical and mediastinal lymph nodes, and lung were detected on computed tomography.

SILAC-Based Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Oxaliplatin-Resistant Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Oxaliplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Understanding the cellular mechanisms of oxaliplatin resistance is important for developing new strategies to overcome drug resistance in pancreatic cancer. In this study, we performed a stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based quantitative proteomics analysis of oxaliplatin-resistant and sensitive pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells.

Clinicopathologic Analysis of Cathepsin B as a Prognostic Marker of Thyroid Cancer.

Thyroid cancer incidence has increased worldwide; however, investigations of thyroid cancer-related factors as potential prognosis markers remain insufficient. Secreted proteins from the cancer secretome are regulators of several molecular mechanisms and are, thereby, ideal candidates for potential markers. We aimed to identify a specific factor for thyroid cancer by analyzing the secretome from normal thyroid cells, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells, and anaplastic thyroid cancer cells using mass spectrometry (MS).

Aggressive Paraganglioma of the Urinary Bladder with Local Recurrence and Pelvic Metastasis.

Many pheochromocytoma and extra-adrenal paraganglioma are benign, but some are malignant. Pheochromocytoma of the Adrenal gland Scaled Score analyzed the histological characteristics of the tumor. Tumors with a Pheochromocytoma of the Adrenal gland Scaled Score of 4 or higher have a higher risk of recurrence.

Hippo pathway and tumoral FOXP3 expression correlate with tumor growth in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

Background: Expression of FOXP3 in tumors is associated with proliferation, migration, and invasion, has been implicated in cancer prognosis, and may be related to metastatic potential. The Hippo signaling pathway is known to regulate tissue homeostasis and organ size through cell proliferation and apoptosis. We investigated tumoral FOXP3, Lats2, and YAP expression related to the Hippo pathway in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung.

Clear cell chondrosarcoma of the talus in Von Hippel-Lindau disease: a rare tumor in an unusual location and uncommon co-presentation.

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant inherited tumor syndrome. Clear cell chondrosarcoma (CCCS) is a rare variant of chondrosarcoma. Here, we report a case of CCCS in the talus occurring in a patient with VHL disease.

Expression of Beclin-1, an autophagy-related protein, is associated with tumoral FOXP3 expression and Tregs in gastric adenocarcinoma: The function of Beclin-1 expression as a favorable prognostic factor in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background: Autophagy, which is stimulated by cellular or environmental stresses, is involved in several distinct biological processes, and the regulation mechanism is complex. Autophagy has been reported to modulate immune system components. In the present study, the expression of Beclin-1 and LC3, an autophagy-related proteins, and its relationship with FOXP3 expression were investigated in gastric adenocarcinoma cells and FOXP3+T cells (regulatory T cells).

Proteomic Analysis of Primary Colon Cancer and Synchronous Solitary Liver Metastasis.

Background/aim: Colon cancer is prone to distant metastases to other sites and the risk of recurrence is relatively high. Therefore, the identification of liver metastasis-related factors is important for the diagnosis or treatment of colon cancer. The aim of this study was to identify the metastasis-related factors that are differentially expressed in synchronous solitary liver metastasis compared to primary colon cancer.

Redox-Mediated Mechanism of Chemoresistance in Cancer Cells.

Cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) status is stabilized by a balance of ROS generation and elimination called redox homeostasis. ROS is increased by activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase family members and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis of mitochondria. Increased ROS is detoxified by superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxiredoxins.

The expression of C-MYC in gastric adenocarcinoma is associated with PD-L1 and FOXP3 expression: C-MYC overexpression is a good prognostic factor.

Background: C-MYC appears to initiate and maintain tumorigenesis through modulation of immune regulatory molecules such as PD-L1. The aim of our research was to evaluate the clinical implication of C-MYC expression in gastric adenocarcinoma in relation to the expression of the immune regulatory molecules PD-L1 and FOXP3.

Methods: Tissue samples were acquired from 182 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma that were surgically resected at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong from 2006 to 2012.

Efficacy and safety of everolimus and sunitinib in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.

Purpose: Efficacy of targeted agents, such as everolimus and sunitinib, has been demonstrated in prospective trials on patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Considering the heterogeneous clinicopathological characteristics of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), evaluation of treatment outcomes in a real-world setting is necessary.

Methods: Clinical records of 44 patients with GEP-NET who were treated with everolimus or sunitinib between March 2007 and October 2014 were retrospectively reviewed.

Superior Cervical Sympathetic Ganglion: Normal Imaging Appearance on 3T-MRI.

Objective: To identify superior cervical sympathetic ganglion (SCSG) and describe their characteristic MR appearance using 3T-MRI.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, we recruited 53 consecutive patients without history of head and neck irradiation. Using anatomic location based on literature review, both sides of the neck were evaluated to identify SCSGs in consensus.

Prognosis of Pregnancy-Associated Gastric Cancer: An Age-, Sex-, and Stage-Matched Case-Control Study.

Background/aims: Pregnancy-associated gastric cancer is a rare condition. This case-control study was performed to identify the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of pregnancy-associated gastric cancer.

Methods: All consecutive patients who presented to our tertiary referral hospital with pregnancy-associated gastric cancer from 1991 to 2012 were identified.

Application of MDM2 Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Immunohistochemistry in Distinguishing Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma From Other High-grade Sarcomas.

Distinguishing dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) from other high-grade spindle and pleomorphic sarcomas is important because of better prognosis in case of DDLPS. MDM2 amplification, a genetic abnormality of well-differentiated liposarcoma, is known to be present not only in DDLPS, but also in some other sarcomas. To differentiate DDLPS, we investigated MDM2 amplification and expression in high-grade spindle sarcomas.

Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Stomach: A Case Report.

Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/PNET) is a highly aggressive small round cell tumor that mainly occurs in the bone or soft tissue of children or young adults but is extremely rare in the stomach. A 55-year-old man presented with melena and anemia. On endoscopy, an ulcerofungating mass was observed in the high body and total gastrectomy was performed.

Molecular and Cellular Characteristics of the Colonic Pseudo-obstruction in Patients With Intractable Constipation.

Background/aims: Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a disorder characterized by recurrent symptoms suggestive of obstruction such as abdominal pain, proximal distension with extremely suppressed motility in the absence of lumen-occluding lesion, whose etiology/ pathophysiology is poorly understood. In this study we investigated a functionally obstructive lesion that could underlie symptoms of CIPO.

Methods: We studied colons surgically removed from 13 patients exhibiting clinical/pathological features of pseudo-obstruction but were unresponsive to standard medical treatments.

Mdm2 and p53 Expression in Radiation-Induced Sarcomas of the Head and Neck: Comparison with De Novo Sarcomas.

Background: The pathogenesis of radiation-induced sarcomas (RISs) is not well known. In RIS, TP53 mutations are frequent, but little is known about Mdm2-p53 interaction, which is a recent therapeutic target of sarcomas.

Methods: We studied the immunohistochemical expression of Mdm2 and p53 of 8 RISs.

NQO1 prevents radiation-induced aneuploidy by interacting with Aurora-A.

Aneuploidy is the most common characteristic of human cancer cells. It also causes genomic instability, which is involved in the initiation of cancer development. Various lines of evidence indicate that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) plays an important role in cancer prevention, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect have not yet been fully elucidated.