BEHROOZ JOHARI^1,2,#,*, MILAD PARVINZAD LEILAN^1,#, MAHMOUD GHARBAVI³, YOUSEF MORTAZAVI¹, ALI SHARAFI², HAMED REZAEEJAM⁴

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 309-323, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.043576

Abstract The Myc gene is the essential oncogene in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study investigates the synergistic effects of combining Myc decoy oligodeoxynucleotides-encapsulated niosomes-selenium hybrid nanocarriers with X-irradiation exposure on the MDA-MB-468 cell line. Decoy and scramble ODNs for Myc transcription factor were designed and synthesized based on promoter sequences of the Bcl2 gene. The nanocarriers were synthesized by loading Myc ODNs and selenium into chitosan (Chi-Se-DEC), which was then encapsulated in niosome-nanocarriers (NISM@Chi-Se-DEC). FT-IR, DLS, FESEM, and hemolysis tests were applied to confirm its characterization and physicochemical properties. Moreover, cellular uptake, cellular toxicity, apoptosis, cell cycle, and scratch repair… More > Graphic Abstract

MESFER AL SHAHRANI, REEM GAHTANI, MOHAMMAD ABOHASSAN, MOHAMMAD ALSHAHRANI, YASSER ALRAEY, AYED DERA, MOHAMMAD RAJEH ASIRI, PRASANNA RAJAGOPALAN^*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 251-259, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.043139

Abstract Gastric cancers are caused primarily due to the activation and amplification of the EGFR or HER2 kinases resulting in cell proliferation, adhesion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Conventional therapies are ineffective due to the intra-tumoral heterogeneity and concomitant genetic mutations. Hence, dual inhibition strategies are recommended to increase potency and reduce cytotoxicity. In this study, we have conducted computational high-throughput screening of the ChemBridge library followed by in vitro assays and identified novel selective inhibitors that have a dual impediment of EGFR/HER2 kinase activities. Diversity-based High-throughput Virtual Screening (D-HTVS) was used to screen the whole ChemBridge small molecular library against EGFR and… More > Graphic Abstract

HENG ZHANG^1,#, WENJING CHENG^2,#, HAIBO ZHAO², WEIDONG CHEN², QIUJIE ZHANG^2,*, QING-QING YU^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 297-308, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.043138

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) belongs to the class of significantly malignant tumors found in humans. Recently, dysregulated fatty acid metabolism (FAM) has been a topic of attention due to its modulation in cancer, specifically CRC. However, the regulatory FAM pathways in CRC require comprehensive elucidation. Methods: The clinical and gene expression data of 175 fatty acid metabolic genes (FAMGs) linked with colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) and normal cornerstone genes were gathered through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-COAD corroborating with the Molecular Signature Database v7.2 (MSigDB). Initially, crucial prognostic genes were selected by uni- and multi-variate Cox proportional regression analyses; then, depending… More >

ZHI ZHANG^1,#, XIAOSONG LI^1,2,#, YING ZHANG^1,2,#, HAO ZHU^1,2, ZHENGUO QIAO³, YANG LU⁴, XIUWEI MI⁴, HUIHUA CAO⁵, GENHAI SHEN^1,*, SONGBING HE^4,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 353-360, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.042986

Abstract Colorectal cancer (CRC) stands among the top prevalent cancers worldwide and holds a prominent position as a major contributor to cancer-related mortality globally. Absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), a constituent of the interferon-inducible hematopoietic interferon-inducible nuclear antigens with 200 amino acid repeats protein family, contributes to both cancer progression and inflammasome activation. Despite this understanding, the precise biological functions and molecular mechanisms governed by AIM2 in CRC remain elusive. Consequently, this study endeavors to assess AIM2’s expression levels, explore its potential antitumor effects, elucidate associated cancer-related processes, and decipher the underlying signaling pathways in CRC. Our findings showed a reduced… More > Graphic Abstract

KEGANG JIA^1,#, YAWEI WANG^2,#, QI CAO^3,*, YOUYU WANG^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 409-419, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.042863

Abstract Background: Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer diagnosis and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Therapeutic failure in lung cancer (LUAD) is heavily influenced by drug resistance. This challenge stems from the diverse cell populations within the tumor, each having unique genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic profiles. Such variations lead to varied therapeutic responses, thereby contributing to tumor relapse and disease progression. Methods: The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database was used in this investigation to obtain the mRNA expression dataset, genomic mutation profile, and drug sensitivity information of NSCLS. Machine Learning (ML) methods, including Random Forest… 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 prognosis. Additionally, CRABP2 expression was… More >

JIANFA WU^1,2,#, QIANYI LIAO^3,#, LI ZHANG^1,2,#, SUQIN WU^1,2,*, ZHOU LIU^1,2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 373-391, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.031404

Abstract The impact of different iron metabolism processes (DIMP) on ovarian cancer remains unclear. In this study, we employed various gene chips and databases to investigate the role of DIMP in the initiation and development of ovarian cancer. cBioPortal was used to determine mutations in DIMP-associated genes in ovarian cancer. Kaplan-Meier plotter was used to examine the influence of DIMP on the prognosis of ovarian cancer. By analyzing 1669 serous ovarian cancer cases, we identified a range of mutations in iron metabolism genes, notably in those coding for the transferrin receptor (19%), melanotransferrin (19%), and ceruloplasmin (10%) in the iron import… More >

HONGYUAN LIANG^1,#, YANQIU LI^2,#, YONGGANG QU³, LINGYUN ZHANG^4,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 393-407, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.031134

Abstract Advanced LUAD shows limited response to treatment including immune therapy. With the development of sequencing omics, it is urgent to combine high-throughput multi-omics data to identify new immune checkpoint therapeutic response markers. Using GSE72094 (n = 386) and GSE31210 (n = 226) gene expression profile data in the GEO database, we identified genes associated with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) death using tools such as “edgeR” and “maftools” and visualized the characteristics of these genes using the “circlize” R package. We constructed a prognostic model based on death-related genes and optimized the model using LASSO-Cox regression methods. By calculating the cell death… More >

SEUNG-HEE GWAK¹, JUHYUN LEE¹, EUNJI OH¹, DOHYUN LEE^1,2, WONSHIK HAN³, JONGMIN KIM^1,*, KYONG-TAI KIM^4,*

Oncology Research, Vol.32, No.2, pp. 421-432, 2024, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.031031

Abstract Genetic information is transcribed from genomic DNA to mRNA, which is then translated into three-dimensional proteins. mRNAs can undergo various post-transcriptional modifications, including RNA editing that alters mRNA sequences, ultimately affecting protein function. In this study, RNA editing was identified at the 499th base (c.499) of human vaccinia-related kinase 2 (VRK2). This RNA editing changes the amino acid in the catalytic domain of VRK2 from isoleucine (with adenine base) to valine (with guanine base). Isoleucine-containing VRK2 has higher kinase activity than the valine-containing VRK2, which leads to an increase in tumor cell proliferation. Earlier we reported that VRK2 directly interacts… More > Graphic Abstract

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 support vector machine (SVM) algorithms… More >