Translational Insights and New Therapeutic Perspectives in Head and Neck Tumors.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by a high mortality rate owing to very few available oncological treatments. For many years, a combination of platinum-based chemotherapy and anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab has represented the only available option for first-line therapy. Recently, immunotherapy has been presented an alternative for positive PD-L1 HNSCC.

Synergistic antitumor interaction of valproic acid and simvastatin sensitizes prostate cancer to docetaxel by targeting CSCs compartment via YAP inhibition.

Background: Despite the introduction of several novel therapeutic approaches that improved survival, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains an incurable disease. Herein we report the synergistic antitumor interaction between two well-known drugs used for years in clinical practice, the antiepileptic agent with histone deacetylase inhibitory activity valproic acid and the cholesterol lowering agent simvastatin, in mCRPC models.

Methods: Synergistic anti-tumor effect was assessed on PC3, 22Rv1, DU145, DU145R80, LNCaP prostate cancer cell lines and EPN normal prostate epithelial cells, by calculating combination index (CI), caspase 3/7 activation and colony formation assays as well as on tumor spheroids and microtissues scored with luminescence 3D-cell viability assay.

The International Collaboration for Cancer Classification and Research.

Gaps in the translation of research findings to clinical management have been recognized for decades. They exist for the diagnosis as well as the management of cancer. The international standards for cancer diagnosis are contained within the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours, published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and known worldwide as the WHO Blue Books.

Targeting the Formyl Peptide Receptor type 1 to prevent the adhesion of ovarian cancer cells onto mesothelium and subsequent invasion.

Background: The biological behavior of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is unique since EOC cells metastasize early to the peritoneum. Thereby, new anti-target agents designed to block trans-coelomic dissemination of EOC cells may be useful as anti-metastatic drugs. The Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (uPAR) is overexpressed in EOC tissues, and its truncated forms released in sera and/or ascitic fluid are associated with poor prognosis and unfavorable clinical outcome.

Second line therapy with axitinib after only prior sunitinib in metastatic renal cell cancer: Italian multicenter real world SAX study final results.

Background: This multi-institutional retrospective real life study was conducted in 22 Italian Oncology Centers and evaluated the role of Axitinib in second line treatment in not selected mRCC patients.

Methods: 148 mRCC patients were evaluated. According to Heng score 15.

Oral lichen planus and other confounding factors in narrow band imaging (NBI) during routine inspection of oral cavity for early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective pilot study.

Background: Narrow Band Imaging is a noninvasive optical diagnostic tool. It allows the visualization of sub-mucosal vasculature; four patterns of shapes of submucosal capillaries can be recognized, increasingly associated with neoplastic transformation. With such characteristics, it has showed high effectiveness for detection of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BAG3 down-modulation reduces anaplastic thyroid tumor growth by enhancing proteasome-mediated degradation of BRAF protein.

Context: Anaplastic thyroid tumors (ATC) express high levels of BAG3, a member of the BAG family of cochaperone proteins that is involved in regulating cell apoptosis through multiple mechanisms.

Objective: The objective of the study was the investigation of the influence of B-cell lymphoma-2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) on ATC growth.

Design And Subjects: We investigated the effects of BAG3 down-modulation, obtained by using a specific small interfering RNA, on in vitro and in vivo growth of the human ATC cell line 8505C.

Locoregional spread of cutaneous melanoma: sonography findings.

Objective: This article reviews various aspects of locoregional spread of malignant cutaneous melanoma, as imaged with gray-scale sonography and Doppler techniques. The scenarios illustrated include disease staging (primary melanoma, satellite metastasis, in-transit metastasis, and lymphadenopathies), sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure, patient follow-up, recurrence detection, cutaneous metastasis, and sonographically guided intervention.

Conclusion: High-resolution sonography allows recognition of small, clinically-occult melanomatous foci.

An EORTC phase I study of Bortezomib in combination with oxaliplatin, leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

The combination of oxaliplatin, leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil (FOLFOX-4) is still a reference regimen in advanced colorectal cancer; however, the addition of new biologic compounds represents a significant way forward. Bortezomib is an inhibitor of proteasome, a multicatalytic enzyme complex that degrades several intracellular proteins. In this study, escalating doses of Bortezomib were administered along with the standard FOLFOX-4 doses, in order to evaluate the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), toxicity profile and activity of the combination.

A phase I/II trial of gefitinib and radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced inoperable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Two different doses of gefitinib, administered along with standard radiation therapy, were tested in locally advanced inoperable head and neck cancer with the aim of finding the maximum tolerated dose and assessing the toxicity and activity of the combination. The standard '3+3' design was used for the phase I study. Radiation therapy was given according to conventional dose and schedule.

Phase II study of rubitecan in recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.

Purpose: Rubitecan is an oral camptothecin analogue that has shown activity against a broad spectrum of human tumor xenografts and has been tested in several diseases.

Patients And Methods: In the present study, 19 patients with incurable, recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer were treated with rubitecan at the initial dose of 1.5 mg/m(2) x 5 days per week.

The proteasome: a worthwhile target for the treatment of solid tumours?

Proteasomes have a fundamental function since they degrade numerous different proteins, including those involved in the regulation of the cell cycle. Proteasome inhibition is a novel approach to the treatment of solid tumours. PS-341 (bortezomib) is a small, cell-permeable molecule that selectively inhibits the proteasome binding it in a reversible manner.

New molecular targeted therapies in thyroid cancer.

Carcinoma of the thyroid gland is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system. Differentiated tumors are often curable with surgical resection and radioactive iodine. A small percentage of such patients, however, do not undergo remission and need new therapeutic approaches.

Farnesyl transferase inhibitors: a major breakthrough in anticancer therapy? Naples, 12 April 2002.

An international meeting focused on farnesyl transferase inhibitors (FTIs) was held in Naples on 12 April 2002 and represented an excellent occasion to gather most of the clinicians who are involved in clinical trials with this class of new compounds. Oncogene mutations of the gene occur in approximately 30% of all human cancers and may have prognostic significance. Ras protein is normally synthesized as pro-Ras, which undergoes a number of post-translational modifications, among which farnesylation.