Salivary DNA methylation derived estimates of biological aging, cellular frequency and protein expression as predictors of oral mucositis severity and survival in head and neck cancer patients.

Background: Oral mucositis is a painful and debilitating condition that occurs in the majority of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiation and/or chemotherapy. While some patient and treatment related factors are known to contribute to the incidence and severity of disease, reliable biomarkers remain elusive. In the following study, we investigated the association of salivary DNA methylation derived biological aging, cellular frequency and protein concentration measures with the severity of oral mucositis and overall survival in a cohort of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients (n = 103).

Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Antifungal Resistance in Pathogenic Species.

Candidiasis is a highly pervasive infection posing major health risks, especially for immunocompromised populations. Pathogenic species have evolved intrinsic and acquired resistance to a variety of antifungal medications. The primary goal of this literature review is to summarize the molecular mechanisms associated with antifungal resistance in species.

Rates of Smoking Cessation at 6 and 12 Months after a Clinical Tobacco Smoking Cessation Intervention in Head and Neck Cancer Patients in Northern Ontario, Canada.

Smoking during cancer treatment is associated with reduced treatment response and cancer recurrence in patients with tobacco-related cancers. The purpose of this study was to examine smoking characteristics in head and neck cancer patients ( = 503) with a history of smoking and examine the impact of an intensive clinical tobacco intervention to patients who were currently smoking. All participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire at study enrollment which examined smoking behaviours, motivations to quit, and strategies used to cessate smoking.

Impact of comprehensive hospice palliative care on end-of-life care: a propensity-score-matched retrospective observational study.

Background: Access to hospice palliative care may improve quality of life, reduce the use of potentially aggressive end-of-life care and allow for death to occur outside of an acute care hospital. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of an ambulatory hospice palliative care program on end-of-life care compared to care received by a matched control group of deceased patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who received hospice palliative care through the Symptom Management Program in Sudbury, Ontario, during 2012-2015.

Access to Palliative Care for Cancer Patients Living in a Northern and Rural Environment in Ontario, Canada: The Effects of Geographic Region and Rurality on End-of-Life Care in a Population-Based Decedent Cancer Cohort.

Background: Access to palliative care has been associated with improving quality of life and reducing the use of potentially aggressive end-of-life care. However, many challenges and barriers exist in providing palliative care to residents in northern and rural settings in Ontario, Canada.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine access to palliative care and associations with the use of end-of-life care in a decedent cohort of northern and southern, rural and urban, residents.

Role of autophagy and lysosomal drug sequestration in acquired resistance to doxorubicin in MCF-7 cells.

Background: The roles and mechanisms involved in starvation-induced autophagy in mammalian cells have been extensively studied. However, less is known about the potential role for autophagy as a survival pathway in acquired drug resistance in cancer cells under nutrient-rich conditions.

Methods: We selected MCF-7 breast tumor cells for survival in increasing concentrations of doxorubicin and assessed whether the acquisition of doxorubicin resistance was accompanied by changes in doxorubicin and lysosome localization and the activation of autophagy, as assessed by laser scanning confocal microscopy with or without immunohistochemical approaches.

A case-control study of breast cancer risk in nurses from Northeastern Ontario, Canada.

Purpose: Previously published findings have documented increased breast cancer risks associated with the nursing profession. The aim of the present study was to assess whether an increased risk of breast cancer was associated with nursing in a population-based case-control breast cancer study of women in Northeastern Ontario, Canada.

Methods: A total of 1519 women (1380 never-nurses: 716 controls and 664 cases; 139 ever-nurses: 59 controls and 80 cases) were included in the present study.

Ablation of Akt2 induces autophagy through cell cycle arrest, the downregulation of p70S6K, and the deregulation of mitochondria in MDA-MB231 cells.

Background: Akt/PKB is a promising anticancer therapeutic target, since abnormally elevated Akt activity is directly correlated to tumor development, progression, poor prognosis and resistance to cancer therapies. Currently, the unique role of each Akt isoform and their relevance to human breast cancer are poorly understood.

Methodology/principal Findings: We previously found that Akt1, 2 and 3 are localized at specific subcellular compartments (the cytoplasm, mitochondria and nucleus, respectively), raising the possibility that each isoform may have unique functions and employ different regulation mechanisms.

The Akt isoforms, their unique functions and potential as anticancer therapeutic targets.

Akt (also known as protein kinase B or PKB) is the major downstream nodal point of the PI3K signaling pathway. This pathway is a promising anticancer therapeutic target, because constitutive activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway is correlated with tumor development, progression, poor prognosis, and resistance to cancer therapies. The Akt serine/threonine kinase regulates diverse cellular functions including cell growth, proliferation, glucose metabolism, and survival.

The Akt isoforms are present at distinct subcellular locations.

Akt is involved in the regulation of diverse cellular functions such as cell proliferation, energy metabolism, and apoptosis. Although three Akt isoforms are known, the function of each isoform is poorly understood. To gain a better understanding of each Akt isoform, we examined the subcellular localization and expression of each isoform in transformed and nontransformed cells.