Clinical Utility of Tumor-Naïve Presurgical Circulating Tumor DNA Detection in Early-Stage NSCLC.

Objectives: The use of tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in patients with early-stage disease before surgery is limited, mainly owing to restricted tissue access and extended turnaround times. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of a tumor-naïve, methylation-based cell-free DNA assay in a large cohort of patients with resected NSCLC.

Method: We analyzed presurgical plasma samples from 895 patients with EGFR and anaplastic lymphoma kinase-wild-type, clinical stage I or II NSCLC.

Deubiquitinating PABPC1 by USP10 upregulates CLK2 translation to promote tumor progression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is extremely malignant with limited treatment options. Deubiquitinases (DUBs), which cleave ubiquitin on substrates, can regulate tumor progression and are appealing therapeutic targets, but there are few related studies in PDAC. In our study, we screened the expression levels and prognostic value of USP family members based on published databases and selected USP10 as the potential interventional target in PDAC.

Tubeimoside-2 Triggers Methuosis in Hepatocarcinoma Cells through the MKK4-p38α Axis.

Liver cancer, consisting mainly of hepatocellular carcinoma, is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Despite advances in targeted therapies, these approaches remain insufficient in meeting the pressing clinical demands. Here, we present a novel alternative that calls for a non-apoptotic program to solve the current dilemma.

Identification of epithelial and mesenchymal circulating tumor cells in clonal lineage of an aggressive prostate cancer case.

Little is known about the complexity and plasticity of circulating tumor cell (CTC) biology in different compartments of the fluid microenvironment during tumor metastasis. Here we integrated phenomics, genomics, and targeted proteomics to characterize CTC phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity in paired peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow aspirate (BMA) from a metastatic prostate cancer patient following the rapid disease progression, using the High-Definition Single Cell Assay 3.0 (HDSCA3.

Platelet-Coated Circulating Tumor Cells Are a Predictive Biomarker in Patients with Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) includes a subset of patients with particularly unfavorable prognosis characterized by combined defects in at least two of three tumor suppressor genes: , , and as aggressive variant prostate cancer molecular signature (AVPC-MS). We aimed to identify circulating tumor cells (CTC) signatures that could inform treatment decisions of patients with mCRPC with cabazitaxel-carboplatin combination therapy versus cabazitaxel alone. Liquid biopsy samples were collected prospectively from 79 patients for retrospective analysis.

Correction to: KIF5B-RET fusion kinase promotes cell growth by multilevel activation of STAT3 in lung cancer.

After the publication of this work [1].

Association between PD-L1 expression and driver gene status in non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

Objective: To assess the association between PD-L1 expression and driver gene mutations in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Method: We performed a meta-analysis of 26 studies (7541 patients) which were published from 2015 to 2017. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to describe the correlation.

N-myc downstream regulated gene 1(NDRG1) promotes the stem-like properties of lung cancer cells through stabilized c-Myc.

Tumor-initiating cells (TICs) play an important role in tumorigenesis and development for many various tissue origin cancers including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the mechanism to maintain TICs in NSCLC is still largely unknown. Here, we evaluated differences of mRNA expression between parental and oncosphere cells that enriched TICs.

Aldehyde dehydrogenases and cancer stem cells.

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs), as essential regulators of aldehyde metabolism in the human body, protect organisms from damage induced by active aldehydes. Given their roles in different cancer types, ALDHs have been evaluated as potential prognostic markers of cancer. ALDHs exhibit high activity in cancer stem cells (CSCs) and may serve as markers of CSCs.

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIγ enhances stem-like traits and tumorigenicity of lung cancer cells.

Highly tumorigenic stem-like cells, considered tumor-initiating cells (TICs), are the main cause of lung cancer initiation, relapse, and drug resistance. In this study, we identified that Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIγ (CaMKIIγ) was aberrantly expressed in highly tumorigenic stem-like lung cancer cells, and was also correlated with poor prognosis in human lung cancer. Functionally, CaMKIIγ enhanced stem-like traits and the tumorigenicity of lung cancer cells in an Akt- and β-catenin-dependent manner.

KIF5B-RET fusion kinase promotes cell growth by multilevel activation of STAT3 in lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer in nonsmokers tends to be driven by a single somatic mutation or a gene fusion. KIF5B-RET fusion is an oncogene identified in non-small cell lung cancers. In this study, we verified the oncogenic activity of KIF5B-RET fusion and investigated how KIF5B-RET activates the specific signaling pathways for cellular transformation.

Enhanced local Foxp3 expression in lung tissue attenuates airway inflammation in a mouse model of asthma.

Objective: Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway mediated by a Th2 immune response. A great deal of data has demonstrated that regulatory T cells (Tregs) have the ability to suppress Th2 immune responses and the transcription factor fork-head box protein 3 (Foxp3) is indispensable for the development of CD4 + CD25 + Tregs. In this study, we hypothesized that enhanced local Foxp3 expression in lung tissue could suppress Th2-mediated allergic asthma.

RETRACTED: Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIγ, a critical mediator of the NF-κB network, is a novel therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

Breast regression protein-39 (BRP-39) promotes dendritic cell maturation in vitro and enhances Th2 inflammation in murine model of asthma.

Aim: To determine the roles of breast regression protein-39 (BRP-39) in regulating dendritic cell maturation and in pathology of acute asthma.

Methods: Mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) were prepared, and infected with adenovirus over-expressing BRP-39. Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of acute asthma was made in female BALB/c mice by sensitizing and challenging with chicken OVA and Imject Alum.