YAN LU^1,2,#, KANG WANG^3,#, YUANHONG PENG^3,4, MENG CHEN⁵, LIN ZHONG^3,4, LUJI HUANG^3,4, FU CHENG^3,4, XINDAN SHENG^4,6, XIN YANG^4,6, MANZHAO OUYANG^3,4, GEORGE A. CALIN^5,*, ZHIWEI HE^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 103-121, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.057472 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors play an important role in the treatment of solid tumors, but the currently used immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) show limited clinical efficacy in many breast cancers. B7H3 has been widely reported as an immunosuppressive molecule, but its immunological function in breast cancer patients remains unclear. Methods: We analyzed the expression of B7H3 in breast cancer samples using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. MicroRNAs were selected using the… More >

MERYEM A. ABDESSALEM, SIRIN A. ADHAM^*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 27-44, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.056955 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Nanotechnology in cancer therapy has significantly advanced treatment precision, effectiveness, and safety, improving patient outcomes and personalized care. Engineered smart nanoparticles and cell-based therapies are designed to target tumor cells, precisely sensing the tumor microenvironment (TME) and sparing normal cells. These nanoparticles enhance drug accumulation in tumors by solubilizing insoluble compounds or preventing their degradation, and they can also overcome therapy resistance and deliver multiple drugs simultaneously. Despite these benefits, challenges remain in patient-specific responses and regulatory approvals for cell-based or nanoparticle therapies. Cell-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) that primarily utilize the immune-recognition principle between… More > Graphic Abstract

XIANG LI^1,#, WENKE JIN^2,#, LIFENG WU², HUAN WANG¹, XIN XIE¹, WEI HUANG^1,*, BO LIU^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 67-81, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.055921 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by its lack of traditional hormone receptors and HER2, presents a significant challenge in oncology due to its poor response to conventional therapies. Autophagy is an important process for maintaining cellular homeostasis, and there are currently autophagy biomarkers that play an effective role in the clinical treatment of tumors. In contrast to targeting protein activity, intervention with protein-protein interaction (PPI) can avoid unrelated crosstalk and regulate the autophagy process with minimal interference pathways. Methods: Here, we employed Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and k-Nearest Neighbors to elucidate the complex PPI… More >

YUEZHOU ZHANG^1,#, ZHAO ZHANG^2,#, JINXIN DONG¹, CHANGAN LIU^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 83-102, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.055866 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Aberrant expression of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) has been linked to a variety of diseases, including hematological disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and multiple types of cancer. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC), a member belonging to the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) family, plays a pivotal role in nucleic acid metabolism. Previous studies have underscored the significance of HNRNPC in tumorigenesis; however, its specific role in malignant tumor progression remains inadequately characterized. Methods: We leveraged publicly available databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), to explore the potential involvement of HNRNPC across various cancers. Additionally, we performed experimental… More > Graphic Abstract

HASSAN M. OTIFI^*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 235-243, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.055677 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer (GC) remains a global health burden and is often characterized by heterogeneous molecular profiles and resistance to conventional therapies. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase and PI3K and Janus kinase (JAK) signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathways play pivotal roles in GC progression, making them attractive targets for therapeutic interventions. Methods: This study applied a computational and molecular dynamics simulation approach to identify and characterize SBL-JP-0004 as a potential dual inhibitor of JAK2 and PI3KCD kinases. KATOIII and SNU-5 GC cells were used for in vitro evaluation. Results: SBL-JP-0004 exhibited a robust binding affinity for… More >

TAO SUN^1,2, QINGHUA SONG³, HUA LIU^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 133-148, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.054141 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Lung cancer is a life-threatening disease that occurs worldwide, but is especially common in China. The crucial role of the tumour microenvironment (TME) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has attracted recent attention. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the main factors that contribute to the TME function, and CAF exosomes are closely linked to NSCLC. Methods: The expression levels of miR-3124-5p and Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP) were analysed by bioinformatics prediction combined with RT-qPCR/Western Blot detection. Fibroblasts were isolated and identified from clinical NSCLC tissues. Transmission electron microscopy and Western Blot were used to identify exosomes… More >

SAYUMI TAHARA¹, SYDNEY RENTSCH¹, FERNANDA COSTAS CASAL DE FARIA¹, PATRICIA SARCHET¹, ROMA KARNA¹, FEDERICA CALORE^2,*, RAPHAEL E. POLLOCK¹

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 1-13, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.053635 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas, however, its occurrence rate is still rare compared to other cancers. Due to its rarity, in vitro experiments are an essential approach to elucidate liposarcoma pathobiology. Conventional cell culture-based research (2D cell culture) is still playing a pivotal role, while several shortcomings have been recently under discussion. In vivo, mouse models are usually adopted for pre-clinical analyses with expectations to overcome the issues of 2D cell culture. However, they do not fully recapitulate human dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) characteristics. Therefore, three-dimensional (3D) culture systems have been the recent… More >

SOROUSH SOLEYMANI¹, MOHAMMAD DOROUDIAN^2,*, MAHDIEH SOEZI^3,4, ALI BELADI⁵, KIARASH ASGARI², ASO MOBARAKSHAHI², ARYANA AGHAEIPOUR², RONAN MACLOUGHLIN^6,7,8,*

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 15-26, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.053069 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Brain metastasis and primary glioblastoma multiforme represent the most common and lethal malignant brain tumors. Its median survival time is typically less than a year after diagnosis. One of the major challenges in treating these cancers is the efficiency of the transport of drugs to the central nervous system. The blood-brain barrier is cooperating with advanced stages of malignancy. The blood-brain barrier poses a significant challenge to delivering systemic medications to brain tumors. Nanodrug delivery systems have emerged as promising tools for effectively crossing this barrier. Additionally, the development of smart nanoparticles brings new hope More >

NASSER MULLA^1,*, YOUSEF KATIB², ASIM M. ALMUGHAMSI³, DUAA S. ALKHAYAT¹, MOHAMED MOSAAD^1,4, SAMIR T. ALFOTIH⁵, RAWAN ALAOFI⁶

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 149-160, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.050903 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cause of cancer-related death in Saudi Arabia. Our study aimed to investigate the patterns of HCC and the effect of TNM staging, Alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), and Child-Turcotte Pugh (CTP) on patients’ overall survival (OS). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 43 HCC patients at a single oncology center in Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2020. All patients had to fulfill one of the following criteria: (a) a liver lesion reported as definitive HCC on dynamic imaging and/or (b) a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis. Results: The mean patient age of all… More >

ENRICO CALIMAN^1,2, SARA FANCELLI^1,2, FEDERICO SCOLARI³, ADRIANO PASQUI⁴, CLARA MANNESCHI⁴, DANIELE LAVACCHI¹, FRANCESCA MAZZONI⁴, FRANCESCA GENSINI⁵, VALERIA PASINI⁶, CAMILLA EVA COMIN^2,7, LUCA VOLTOLINI^2,8, SERENA PILLOZZI^1,2,*, LORENZO ANTONUZZO^1,2,4

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 45-55, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.050161 - 20 December 2024

Abstract Background: Platinum chemotherapy (CT) remains the backbone of systemic therapy for patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway plays a central role in the repair of the DNA damage exerted by platinum agents. Alteration in this repair mechanism may affect patients’ survival. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from 38 patients with extensive disease (ED)-SCLC who underwent platinum-CT at the Clinical Oncology Unit, Careggi University Hospital, Florence (Italy), from 2015 to 2020. mRNA expression analysis and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) characterization of three NER pathway genes—namely ERCC1, ERCC2,… More >