Oncotarget published "CrkL is required for donor T cell migration to GvHD target organs" which reported that the success of cancer therapies based on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant relies on the ability to separate graft-versus-host disease from graft-versus-tumor responses. In vitro, CrkL-deficient T cells fail to polymerize actin in response to the integrin ligand ICAM-1, resulting in defective migration. In line with this, these authors found that although CrkL-deficient T cell...
Dec 02, 2021•9 min
Volume 11, Number 21 of Oncotarget reported that eligible patients with stable or responding mPDA after 6 months on chemotherapy were randomized 1:1 to metformin alone or with rapamycin, stratified by prior treatment with FOLFIRINOX. Metformin +/ rapamycin maintenance for mPDA was well-tolerated and several patients achieved stable disease associated with exceptionally long survival. Dr. Dung T. Le from The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, 21287 said, "P...
Dec 01, 2021•6 min
Oncotarget published "Innovating and expanding weight loss strategies for breast cancer survivors" which reported that overweight and obesity are prevalent in over two thirds of the general population in the United States and are associated with an increased risk of malignancies, including breast cancer. This weight gain may increase risk of recurrence by 40–50%, and breast cancer-related mortality by 53–60% . Obesity at and following a breast cancer diagnosis is associated with poor quality of ...
Nov 30, 2021•7 min
Oncotarget published "Reversing oncogenic transformation with iron chelation" which reported that cancer cells accumulate iron to supplement their aberrant growth and metabolism. Depleting cells of iron by iron chelators has been shown to be selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. A plethora of studies have shown iron chelators can reverse some of the major hallmarks and enabling characteristics of cancer. Iron chelators inhibit signalling pathways that drive proliferation, m...
Nov 26, 2021•12 min
The cover for issue 36 of Oncotarget features Figure 7, "Knockdown of APOBEC3B is associated with a lower tumor growth in an adrenocortical carcinoma xenograft mouse model," by Gara, et al. which reported that the role of APOBEC3B in adrenocortical carcinoma and the mechanisms through which its expression is regulated in cancer are not fully understood. Here, the authors report that APOBEC3B is overexpressed in ACC and it regulates cell proliferation by inducing S phase arrest. They show high AP...
Nov 25, 2021•5 min
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Researchers have observed elevated levels of the macrophage inflammatory protein CCL20 in colorectal cancer. Interactions between CCL20 and its receptor, CCR6, promote colorectal cancer through effects on neoplastic epithelial cells and modulation of the tumor microenvironment. However, the mechanism of these effects are not yet fully understood. ...
Nov 24, 2021•7 min
Listen to short summaries of the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 24. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i24/ Research Paper (Cover) - “CCL20 induces colorectal cancer neoplastic epithelial cell proliferation, migration, and further CCL20 production through autocrine HGF-c-Met and MSP-MSPR signaling pathways” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28131 Research Paper - “The potential of PIVKA-II as a treatment response biomarker in...
Nov 23, 2021•7 min
Oxybenzone (benzophenone-3; BP-3) is a toxic endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). Alarmingly, this chemical has been identified as a common ingredient in some brands of sunscreen. Oxybenzone can often be found in humans, household dust, fish and, due to its widespread human use, the water environment—causing harm to coral reefs and other murine life. Previous studies have shown that environmental toxins and estrogenic chemicals have emerged as potential culprits in the promotion of breast cancer...
Nov 18, 2021•7 min
Oncotarget Volume 11, Issue 8 reported Independent validation cohorts of 599 cases of early-stage CRC and 91 cases of late-stage CRC were examined. Multivariate and univariate survival analyses revealed that high expression of P4HA1 protein was an independent poor prognostic marker for patients with early-stage CRC, especially of the microsatellite stable subtype. Dr. Michael H. Roehrl from the Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as well as the Human Oncology and Path...
Nov 16, 2021•8 min
Here the research team tested a safe and well-established microbe-based immune adjuvant to restore immune homeostasis and counteract inflammation-associated obesity in animal models. Taken together, they concluded that oral vaccination with cholera toxin B helps stimulate health-protective immune responses that counteract age-associated obesity. Dr. Susan E. Erdman from the Division of Comparative Medicine, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, United States said, "The g...
Nov 12, 2021•16 min
The identification of an actionable gene mutation or translocation in patients with cancer can give researchers a target for new drug therapies. One such mutation, found in some patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement. However, the exact population of patients that present with ALK rearrangement has not been fully characterized. Identifying the subpopulation of patients who present with ALK rearrangement may lead to better overall ...
Nov 11, 2021•6 min
Listen to the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 23. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i23/ Research Paper (Cover) - “Anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement prevalence in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the United States – retrospective real world data” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28114 News - “Excitement for our future” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28116 (PDF Download) Editorial - “Interferon...
Nov 11, 2021•3 min
Over the past few decades, numerous studies have emerged using the promising strategy of bacteria as vehicles to deliver drugs or genes in tumor‐targeted therapies. Researchers say that bacterial cancer therapy may be able to overcome some of the limitations that conventional cancer therapy is stunted by, including the development of drug resistance. In a 2020 study, researchers—from Yale University, the University of Missouri, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital, Cancer Research Center i...
Nov 03, 2021•10 min
Oncotarget published "Benzophenone-3 promotion of mammary tumorigenesis is diet-dependent" which reported that Benzophenone-3 is a putative endocrine disrupting chemical and common ingredient in sunscreens. Although benzophenone-3 seemed protective on low-fat diet, spindle cell tumors arising in these mice showed increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis. This points to a need for further studies of benzophenone-3 in both animal models and humans as a potential breast cancer risk factor, a...
Nov 02, 2021•9 min
The most common type of breast cancer in the United States is HR+/HER2− breast cancer. Patients with HR+/HER2− breast cancer often face the threat of distant recurrence—long after the completion of their treatment. Previous studies have found that high levels of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were associated with improved outcomes and recurrence-free survival in patients with HR+/HER2− breast cancer. These studies, and many others, have prompted researchers to further develop and test can...
Oct 28, 2021•6 min
Listen to the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 22. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i22/ Research Paper (Cover) - “P10s-PADRE vaccine combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer patients induces humoral and cellular immune responses” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28083 Research Paper - “Dishevelled-1 DIX and PDZ domain lysine residues regulate oncogenic Wnt signaling” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncot...
Oct 28, 2021•6 min
Cancer cells have been known to use sagacious methods of evading apoptosis and mysteriously overcoming powerful anti-cancer therapies. One such method of evasion has recently been identified as the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its reverse process, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). These transitions enable epithelial cells (structural/fixed) to gain mesenchymal cell (differentiating/mobile) functions, and vice versa. Researchers believe that epithelial-mesenchymal...
Oct 22, 2021•8 min
Temozolomide (TMZ) is a powerful chemotherapeutic drug that is currently approved to treat brain cancer (glioblastoma, GBM) and advanced melanoma. TMZ has a remarkably precise molecular target—the O-6 position of guanine—and is capable of inducing DNA damage. This prodrug can elicit many responses in a variety of cancer cells, including cell death, autophagy and senescence. At present, there are over 300 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of TMZ in combination with other agents in solid tum...
Oct 14, 2021•8 min
Listen to the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 21. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i21/ Priority Research Paper (Cover) - “ATR inhibition reverses the resistance of homologous recombination deficient MGMTlow/MMRproficient cancer cells to temozolomide” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28090 Research Paper - “Hyperprogression of a mismatch repair-deficient colon cancer in a humanized mouse model following administration of im...
Oct 13, 2021•8 min
Revelations in gene editing have made it possible to tinker in the vast human epigenome and to potentially alter the projection of diseases, including cancer. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that marks the regulation of gene expression. P53 is a highly-mutated gene in many patients with various cancerous tumors. The insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) is an oncogene directly regulated through p53-mediated transcription. In tumorigenesis, this protein has both tumor-p...
Oct 06, 2021•6 min
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) operates within two distinct protein complexes—mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and complex 2 (mTORC2). These protein complexes are not yet fully understood, as they were only recently identified in humans in 1994. What researchers do know is that mTORC1 is involved in the regulation of many cellular processes and is a key mediator of cell growth and proliferation. mTORC1 is activated by growth factor receptor signals through the PI3K–AKT and RAS–ERK mitogen-activ...
Oct 01, 2021•8 min
A small regulatory protein can be found not only in all humans, animals, plants and fungi, but in each and every eukaryotic cell. Following the discovery of these ubiquitous proteins in 1974, researchers aptly named them ubiquitin. Enzymes and/or ligases (enzymes that catalyze the formation of chemical bonds), allow ubiquitins to bind to substrate proteins. This process, known as ubiquitination, can initiate or prevent protein interactions, denote them for degradation and alter their activity an...
Sep 30, 2021•7 min
Listen to summaries of the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 20. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i20/ Priority Research Paper (Cover) - “Identification of Smurf2 as a HIF-1α degrading E3 ubiquitin ligase” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28081 Research Paper - “A high-throughput customized cytokinome screen of colon cancer cell responses to small-molecule oncology drugs” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28079 Research Pap...
Sep 29, 2021•11 min
Nutrigenomics is the scientific study of the relationship between nutrition, health and the human genome. Nutritional benefits from dark, leafy greens are not merely limited to eliminating free radicals and reducing inflammation—they may also protect our DNA and slow tumor growth. Research reveals that sulforaphane (SFN), a chemical compound found in cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage), is capable of activating the expression of several cellular protective gen...
Sep 22, 2021•8 min
Oncotarget Volume 11, Issue 27 published "Epigenetic feedback and stochastic partitioning during cell division can drive resistance to EMT" by Jia et al. which reported that Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its reverse process mesenchymal-epithelial transition are central to metastatic aggressiveness and therapy resistance in solid tumors. While molecular determinants of both processes have been extensively characterized, the heterogeneity in the response of tumor cells to EMT and MET...
Sep 20, 2021•19 min
Picture the human body’s immune response as analogous to the action of an army of military soldiers. For the most part, a healthy immune system can “hold down the fort” and protect the body from many perils of the outside world. We often rely on our immune system’s discretion to determine when and which invaders our soldiers (T cells, for example) should attack. However, when it comes to fighting the most dangerous and formidable opponents, including cancer, researchers have invested in developi...
Sep 16, 2021•6 min
Listen to summaries of the latest oncology-focused research published in this week’s issue of Oncotarget, Volume 12, Issue 19. https://www.oncotarget.com/archive/v12/i19/ Cover Paper - “Nanoparticle T cell engagers for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28054 News - “Old drug, new trick: proton pump inhibitors find new purpose in cancer care” https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28053 (PDF Download) Research Paper - “Novel insights into the molecular mech...
Sep 15, 2021•11 min
Oncotarget recently published "Evaluations of CRC2631 toxicity, tumor colonization, and genetic stability in the TRAMP prostate cancer model" which reported that the toxicological, tumor-targeting, and efficacy profiles of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium CRC2631 in a syngeneic and autochthonous TRAMP model of aggressive prostate cancer. CRC2631 preferentially colonize primary and metastatic tumors in the TRAMP animals. In addition, longitudinal whole genome sequencing studies of CRC2631 ...
Sep 14, 2021•19 min
When it comes to the mechanisms of tumor growth, the differences between epithelial and mesenchymal cell types are important to note. Normal epithelial cells are uniform, stationary and structured to bind together—forming a type of lining on/in organs (such as the outer layer of the skin), some cavities and blood vessels throughout the body. Normal mesenchymal cells are differentiated into a variety of mature cell types, including connective tissue, cartilage, lymphatic tissue, bone tissues, and...
Sep 10, 2021•8 min
Most people are aware by now that exercise has positive effects in “healthy” individuals and in patients with cancer. In cancer patients, exercise has been shown to reduce adverse events, improve quality-of-life and respiratory fitness, and even decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence. These results, and many others, have prompted major national and international cancer organizations to make exercise recommendations. “There also is a growing body of evidence that exercise may directly alte...
Sep 02, 2021•5 min
