Publications by authors named "Tzu-Ju Chen"

Cholangiocarcinoma is the most common malignant bile duct tumor in Southeast Asia. The special location of cholangiocarcinoma leads to it being difficult to diagnose. Currently, the progress in clinical prognosis outcomes remains abysmal owing to the lack of definitive diagnostic criteria.

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Cholangiocarcinoma is a common malignancy with increasing incidence worldwide. Most patients are diagnosed at the advanced stage with poor survival rate. Laminin subunit γ2 (LAMC2) is a heparin binding-associated gene involved in tumorigenesis and has been implicated in the prognosis of various types of cancers.

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Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) interacts with various extracellular matrix proteins in tissues. Elevated COMP levels recently linked to worse overall survival in multiple cancer types. COMP's significance in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) remains uncertain.

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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx. Despite improvements in the clinical treatment strategies for NPC, NPC patients usually have poor survival rates because of late diagnosis, tumor metastasis, and recurrence. Therefore, the identification of potential diagnostic and prognostic markers for NPC is imperative.

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Background: Dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 (DPYSL3) is a cytosolic phosphoprotein expressed in the nervous system and is crucial for neurogenesis. A previous study showed that increased DPYSL3 expression promotes tumour aggressiveness in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, gastric cancer, and colon cancer. However, the role of DPYSL3 in affecting the biological behaviour of urothelial carcinoma (UC) is not yet understood.

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Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant tumor with an increasing incidence worldwide. Although radiation therapy has improved the therapeutic efficiency of CCA treatment, differential expression of genes among cholangiocarcinoma subtypes has been revealed through precise sequencing. However, no specific molecular therapeutic targets or biomarkers have been figured out for use in precision medicine, and the exact mechanism by which antitumorigenic effects occur is still unclear.

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Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is suggested before resection surgery in the control of rectal cancer. Unfortunately, treatment outcomes are widely variable and highly patient-specific. Notably, rectal cancer patients with distant metastasis generally have a much lower survival rate.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genetic analysis has revealed that ZSCAN4 is significantly downregulated in muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, suggesting its role in urothelial carcinoma aggressiveness.
  • In both upper urinary tract (UTUC) and urinary bladder urothelial carcinomas (UBUC), low levels of ZSCAN4 correlate with advanced disease stages, increased metastasis, and poor patient survival rates.
  • The study concludes that ZSCAN4 may serve as a negative prognostic marker in urothelial carcinoma and could influence cell division processes.
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To reduce the risk of locoregional recurrence, the addition of neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is recommended before surgical management for rectal cancer patients. However, despite identical tumor histology, individual patient response to neoadjuvant CCRT varies greatly. Accordingly, a comprehensive molecular characterization that is used to predict CCRT efficacy is instantly needed.

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  • * Researchers studied the metabolic process of nucleobase-containing compounds in rectal adenocarcinoma patients and identified SLC28A2 as a key gene associated with resistance to CCRT.
  • * Strong SLC28A2 expression was linked to worse clinical outcomes, including decreased chances of tumor downstaging and lower survival rates, suggesting that it could serve as an unfavorable prognostic factor in these patients.
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Purpose: For locally advanced rectal cancer, neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) allows tumor downstaging and makes curative radical proctectomy possible. However, we lack a genetic biomarker to predict cancer prognosis or treatment response. We investigated the association between ubiquitin D (UBD) expression and clinical outcomes in rectal cancer patients receiving CCRT.

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Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor originating from the nasopharynx with high morbidity and mortality in Southeast Asia and south of China. Roundabout guidance receptor 1 (ROBO1) can regulate axonogenesis (axon-like protrusion), which may play an important role in migration. However, the roles of ROBO1 in NPC have not been clarified.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the role of metallothionein 2A (MT2A) in urothelial carcinogenesis, identifying it as a significantly upregulated gene linked to cancer progression in bladder cancer.
  • - High MT2A expression was associated with aggressive cancer characteristics such as advanced tumor stage and lymph node metastasis, indicating a correlation with poor disease-specific survival (DSS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS).
  • - The findings suggest that MT2A may serve as an independent predictor of patient outcomes, highlighting its potential use in risk assessment and treatment decisions for patients with upper tract and urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma.
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Purpose: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is known as a large pentameric glycoprotein, which interacts with various extracellular matrix proteins in tissues. COMP has been reported to play a role in multiple connective tissue disorders. Recently, elevated COMP levels have been found to be associated with increased tumor size, metastases, faster recurrence of cancer, and overall poorer survival in several cancers.

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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common malignant tumor in southern China and Southeast Asia. Although substantial research on NPC has been conducted, the resulting improvement in clinical outcomes remains very disappointing. NPC treatment typically involves radiation therapy and chemotherapy, but the high incidence of metastasis and recurrence in NPC patients result in poor survival.

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Aims: Intracranial myxoid mesenchymal tumors (IMMTs) with fusions between EWSR1/FUS and CREB transcription factors have morphologic overlap with myxoid angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (mAFH) and myoepithelial tumor/carcinoma (MET/MEC). We aimed to study the clinicopathologic and genetic spectrum of extracranial IMMT-like tumors and their relationships with mAFH and MET/MEC.

Methods: Twelve extracranial tumors harboring EWSR1/FUS-CREB fusions across different histologic groups were characterized using RNA sequencing, FISH and/or RT-PCR.

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Background: The mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) link glycolysis to the tricarboxylic acid cycle by decarboxylating pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A irreversibly. Cancer cells are characterized by a shift in cellular metabolism from mitochondrial respiration to glycolysis. PDC activity inhibition mediated by phosphorylation pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) has been linked to cancer.

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Article Synopsis
  • Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a lymphocyte-rich cancer from the nasopharynx that is sensitive to treatments but often recurs and spreads.
  • A study identified high expression levels of the SPIN4 gene as a key marker related to advanced disease status in NPC patients, suggesting poorer outcomes.
  • Analysis showed that increased SPIN4 expression correlates with worse survival rates and highlights its potential as a useful prognostic tool for NPC.
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  • Bioinformatic analysis indicates that OXR1 is significantly downregulated in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
  • A study of 635 urothelial carcinoma cases revealed that low OXR1 expression correlates with negative pathological features like high tumor stage and grade.
  • Low OXR1 levels also predict poorer survival outcomes, including metastasis-free and disease-specific survival in patients with urothelial carcinoma.
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We investigated the association of receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) expression with clinicopathological features and oncologic outcomes in large urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the upper tract (UTUC) and urinary bladder (UBUC) cohorts. Through transcriptomic profiling of a published dataset (GSE31684), ROR2 was discovered to be the most upregulated gene during UC progression, focusing on the JNK cascade (GO:0007254). Initially, the evaluation of mRNA expression in 50 frozen UBUCs showed significantly upregulated levels in high-stage UC.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Data mining revealed eight potential transcripts linked to advanced Urothelial Bladder Urothelial Carcinomas (UBUCs), indicating their role in cancer development or progression.
  • - Analysis of GNB4 protein levels in tumor tissues showed a significant correlation between high GNB4 expression and adverse clinicopathological features, such as tumor grade and metastasis.
  • - Elevated GNB4 levels independently predicted poorer disease outcomes in both Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinomas (UTUCs) and UBUCs, suggesting its critical role in cancer progression and prognosis.
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  • The study focuses on evaluating the expression levels of glycosyltransferase 8 domain containing protein 2 (G7DC2) in patients with urothelial carcinoma to understand its clinical significance.
  • Researchers utilized methods like data mining and immunohistochemistry to assess G7DC2 levels in tissue samples and examine correlations with clinicopathological factors and patient survival.
  • Results indicated that high expression of G7DC2 was associated with poor survival outcomes and was linked to various clinicopathological features, suggesting that it could be a potential prognostic marker for urothelial carcinoma patients.
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The introduction of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) increases the rate of anal preservation and allows tumor downstaging for clinical stage T3/T4 or node-positive rectal cancer patients. However, there is no precise predictive tool to verify the presence of residual tumor apart from surgical resection. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract not only digests nutrients but also coordinates immune responses.

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For locally advanced rectal cancer patients, introducing neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) before radical resection allows tumor downstaging and increases the rate of anus retention. Since accurate staging before surgery and sensitivity prediction to CCRT remain challenging, a more precise genetic biomarker is urgently needed to enhance the management of such situations. The epithelial mucous barrier can protect the gut lumen, but aberrant mucin synthesis may defend against drug penetration.

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Urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the upper tract (UTUC) and urinary bladder (UBUC) is a heterogeneous malignancy. Through transcriptomic profiling of the Gene Expression Omnibus UBUC dataset (GSE31684), we discovered that epidermal growth factor-containing fibulin-like extracellularmatrix protein 1 () was the most upregulated gene during metastatic development. EFEMP1 is an important component of basement membranes and acts as an enzyme regulator in extracellular matrix biology.

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