KUN FENG^1,#, HAO PENG^2,#, QINGPENG LV¹, YEWEI ZHANG^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.6, pp. 1063-1078, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.047078

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignancy known for its unfavorable prognosis. The dysregulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME) can affect the sensitivity to immunotherapy or chemotherapy, leading to treatment failure. The elucidation of PHLDA2’s involvement in HCC is imperative, and the clinical value of PHLDA2 is also underestimated. Here, bioinformatics analysis was performed in multiple cohorts to explore the phenotype and mechanism through which PHLDA2 may affect the progression of HCC. Then, the expression and function of PHLDA2 were examined via the qRT-PCR, Western Blot, and MTT assays. Our findings indicate a substantial upregulation of… More >

XIAOFENG GAO^1,2,3,4, JUANJUAN GE³, XUZHENG GAO^1,3, NA MEI^1,3, YANTING SU³, SHIGANG SHAN³, WENBIN QIAN³, JIANGHENG GUAN⁵, ZHENWANG ZHANG^1,3,*, LONG WANG^2,3,4,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.4, pp. 659-678, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.046712

Abstract Background: IQGAP3 plays a crucial role in regulating cell proliferation, division, and cytoskeletal organization. Abnormal expression of IQGAP3 has been linked to various tumors, but its function in glioma is not well understood. Methods: Various methods, including genetic differential analysis, single-cell analysis, ROC curve analysis, Cox regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and enrichment analysis, were employed to analyze the expression patterns, diagnostic potential, prognostic implications, and biological processes involving IQGAP3 in normal and tumor tissues. The impact of IQGAP3 on immune infiltration and the immune microenvironment in gliomas was evaluated using immunofluorescence. Additionally, the cBioPortal database was used… More > Graphic Abstract

QIOU GU¹, CHUILIN LAI¹, XIAO GUAN¹, JING ZHU², TIAN ZHAN¹, JIANPING ZHANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.2, pp. 253-269, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028336

Abstract Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a serious threat to human health worldwide. Oxaliplatin is a platinum analog and is widely used to treat CRC. However, resistance to oxaliplatin restricts its effectiveness and application while its target recognition and mechanism of action also remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to develop an oxaliplatin-resistant prognostic model to clarify these aspects. Methods: We first obtained oxaliplatin-resistant and parental cell lines, and identified oxaliplatin-resistant genes using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and differential gene analysis. We then acquired relevant data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases.… More > Graphic Abstract

QI XIA¹, XING CHEN², QINGHUA MA³, XIANXIU WEN^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.2, pp. 217-228, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.027414

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Immune features play an important role in improving the prognosis prediction of BC. However, while previous immune signatures consisted mainly of immune genes, immune cell-based signatures have been rarely reported. Methods: In this study, we report that a novel immune cell signature is effective in improving prognostic prediction by combining M2 macrophages. We identified 17 differentially infiltrating immune cells between cancer and normal groups. Prognostic features of the four immune cells identified by LASSO COX analysis showed… More >

JIECHUAN QIU¹, TIANMIN YANG¹, YANNING SUN², KAI SUN², YINGKUN XU³, QINGHUA XIA^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.3, pp. 545-561, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030462

Abstract This research aims to identify the key fatty acid beta-oxidation (FAO) genes that are altered in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) and to analyze the role of these genes in KIRC. The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and FAO datasets were used to identify these key genes. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess the levels of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase medium chain (ACADM) between KIRC and non-cancer samples. The logistic regression and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to explore the association between ACADM and clinical features. The diagnostic performance of ACADM for KIRC was… More >

SHUANGSHUANG ZENG^1,2, XI CHEN^1,2, QIAOLI YI^1,2, ABHIMANYU THAKUR³, HUI YANG^4,*, YUANLIANG YAN^1,2, SHAO LIU^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 261-272, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.042345

Abstract Finding biomarkers for immunotherapy is an urgent issue in cancer treatment. Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2) is a controversial factor in the occurrence and development of human tumors. However, there is limited research on the relationship between CRABP2 and immunotherapy response. This study found that negative correlations of CRABP2 and immune checkpoint markers (PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4) were observed in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA), skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM), stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT). In particular, in SKCM patients who were treated with PD-1 inhibitors, high levels of CRABP2 predicted poor… More >

JUAN SHEN^1,#, WEIYU ZHANG^2,3,#, QINQIN JIN^2,3,#, FUYU GONG^4,#, HEPING ZHANG⁵, HONGLIANG XU⁵, JIEJIE LI^2,3, HUI YAO^2,3, XIYA JIANG^2,3, YINTING YANG^2,3, LIN HONG^2,3, JIE MEI^2,3, YANG SONG^6,*, SHUGUANG ZHOU^2,3,7,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 339-351, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.030887

Abstract Background: Invasive breast carcinoma (BRCA) is associated with poor prognosis and high risk of mortality. Therefore, it is critical to identify novel biomarkers for the prognostic assessment of BRCA. Methods: The expression data of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) in BRCA and the corresponding clinical information were extracted from TCGA and GEO databases. PLK1 expression was validated in diverse breast cancer cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. Single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was performed to evaluate immune infiltration in the BRCA microenvironment, and the random forest (RF) and… More >

SHIDA HOU^1,#, TIANJUN LAN^2,#, YAOCHENG YANG^3,#, PEISHENG LIANG¹, XIN LIU^4,5, JUNJIE WANG⁶, ZHIFENG CHEN⁷, RONGSHENG ZENG^1,*, ZIJING HUANG^8,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.12, pp. 2641-2660, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.043291

Abstract Background: 5-Methylcytosine (m5C) methylation contributes to the development and progression of various malignant tumors. This study aimed to explore the potential role of m5C methylation regulators (m5CMRs) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods: The transcription data of HNSCC samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Subsequently, the m5C patterns in HNSCC were evaluated based on 14 m5CMRs. Then, the m5Cscore was developed to quantify m5C patterns by using principal component analysis (PCA) algorithms. Two single-cell RNA sequencing datasets and various methods were employed to… More >

CONGCHEN BAI¹, QIHANG KONG², HAO TANG², SHUWEN ZHANG², JUNTENG ZHOU^3,*, XIAOJING LIU^2,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2517-2533, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.043864

Abstract Background: Various physiological mechanisms are linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) development, including oxidative stress, immune irregularities, inflammation, fibrosis, and genetic changes. However, precise molecular drivers of DCM, especially regarding abnormal immune responses, remain unclear. This study investigates immune-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in DCM’s diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Methods: GSE141910, GSE135055, and GSE165303 datasets were acquired from the GEO database. LASSO, SVM-RFE, and random forest algorithms identified DCM-associated immune-related lncRNAs. Diagnostic capabilities were assessed by Nomogram and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Multivariate linear regression explored lncRNA correlations with ejection fraction. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis… More > Graphic Abstract

MENGQIN ZHU^1,2,3,4,#, TIANYI XU^5,#, HAN ZHANG^3,4, XIN FAN^3,4, YULAN WANG⁶, JIAJIA ZHANG^3,4, FEI YU^1,2,3,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 1931-1945, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028968

Abstract Glutamine metabolism (GM) plays an important role in tumor growth and proliferation. Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is a glutamine-dependent cancer. However, the molecular characteristics and action mechanism of GM on SKCM remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to explore the effects of GM-related genes on survival, clinicopathological characteristics, and the tumor microenvironment in SKCM. In this study, 682 SKCM samples were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Consensus clustering was used to classify SKCM samples into distinct subtypes based on 41 GM-related genes. Differences in survival, immune infiltration, clinical… More > Graphic Abstract