Palbociclib sensitizes ER-positive breast cancer cells to fulvestrant by promoting the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of ER-α via SNHG17/Hippo-YAP axis.

PURPOSE: Endocrine therapy is the anti-tumor therapy for human breast cancer but endocrine resistance was a major burden. It has been reported that Palbociclib and fulvestrant can be used in combination for the treatment of patients who are experiencing endocrine resistance. However, the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Palbocicilib affected ER-positive breast cancer, combined with fulvestrant. METHODS: We first detected the effect of palbociclib on cell survival, growth and cycle distribution separately by MTT, colony formation and flow cytometry. Then SNHG17 was screened as palbociclib-targeted LncRNA by LncRNA-seq, and the SNHG17-targeted mRNAs were selected by mRNA-seq for further determination. Subsequently, the underlying mechanism by which palbociclib promoted the cytotoxicity of fulvestrant was confirmed by qRT-PCR, western blot, and immunoprecipitation. Eventually, the xenograft model and immunohistochemistry experiments were used to validate the sensitization effect of palbociclib on fulvestrant and its mechanism in vivo. RESULTS: Palbociclib significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of fulvestrant in fulvestrant-resistant breast cancer cell lines. Interestingly, this might be related to the lncRNA SNHG17 and the Hippo signaling pathway. And our subsequent western blotting experiments confirmed that overexpressing SNHG17 induced the down-regulation of LATS1 and up-regulated YAP expression. Furthermore, we found that the increased sensitivity of breast cancer cells was closely associated with the LATS1-mediated degradation of ER-α. The following animal experiments also indicated that overexpressing SNHG17 obviously impaired the anti-cancer effect of co-treatment of palbociclib and fulvestrant accompanied by decreased LATS1 and increased ER-α levels. CONCLUSION: Palbociclib might sensitize the cytotoxicity of fulvestrant in ER-positive breast cancer cells by down-regulating SNHG17 expression, and then resulted in the LATS1-inactivated oncogene YAP and LATS1-mediated degradation of ER-α.

PDZ-binding kinase aggravates pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm progression by activating the AKT/mTOR pathway.

The therapeutic effects of existing drug regimens against pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) remain limited, and identifying ideal therapeutic targets is warranted. PDZ binding kinase (PBK) may play an oncogenic role in most solid tumors. However, its function in pNEN remains unclear. In this study, pNEN samples and International Cancer Genome Consortium data were used to determine the clinical significance of PBK. Cell counting and CCK8 assays were used to assess cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to assess drug-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. An in vivo PBK-targeting experiment was performed in mice bearing pNENs. Western blotting, quantitative PCR, and immunohistochemistry were performed to assess the molecular mechanisms. PBK was significantly upregulated in pNEN tissues compared with paracancerous tissues. Additionally, PBK was a poor prognostic factor for pNEN patients. PBK was found to promote the proliferation of pNEN cells by activating the AKT/mTOR pathway. Furthermore, PBK inhibition combined with everolimus treatment had enhanced antitumour effects on pNEN via inhibiting AKT/mTOR pathway and inducing G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest. This study highlights that PBK plays an oncogenic role in and is a promising therapeutic target for pNEN.

Pathomic Features Reveal Immune and Molecular Evolution From Lung Preneoplasia to Invasive Adenocarcinoma.

Recent statistics on lung cancer, including the steady decline of advanced diseases and the dramatically increasing detection of early-stage diseases and indeterminate pulmonary nodules, mark the significance of a comprehensive understanding of early lung carcinogenesis. Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) is the most common histologic subtype of lung cancer, and atypical adenomatous hyperplasia is the only recognized preneoplasia to ADC, which may progress to adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) and eventually to invasive ADC. Although molecular evolution during early lung carcinogenesis has been explored in recent years, the progress has been significantly hindered, largely due to insufficient materials from ADC precursors. Here, we employed state-of-the-art deep learning and artificial intelligence techniques to robustly segment and recognize cells on routinely used hematoxylin and eosin histopathology images and extracted 9 biology-relevant pathomic features to decode lung preneoplasia evolution. We analyzed 3 distinct cohorts (Japan, China, and United States) covering 98 patients, 162 slides, and 669 regions of interest, including 143 normal, 129 atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, 94 AIS, 98 MIA, and 205 ADC. Extracted pathomic features revealed progressive increase of atypical epithelial cells and progressive decrease of lymphocytic cells from normal to AAH, AIS, MIA, and ADC, consistent with the results from tissue-consuming and expensive molecular/immune profiling. Furthermore, pathomics analysis manifested progressively increasing cellular intratumor heterogeneity along with the evolution from normal lung to invasive ADC. These findings demonstrated the feasibility and substantial potential of pathomics in studying lung cancer carcinogenesis directly from the low-cost routine hematoxylin and eosin staining.

Development of a serum miRNA panel for detection of early stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Minimally invasive testing for early detection of lung cancer to improve patient survival is a major unmet clinical need. This study aimed to develop and validate a serum multi-microRNA (multimiR) panel as a minimally invasive test for early detection of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) regardless of smoking status, gender, and ethnicity. Our study included 744 NSCLC cases and 944 matched controls, including smokers and nonsmokers, male and female, with Asian and Caucasian subjects. Using RT-qPCR and a tightly controlled workflow, we quantified the absolute expression of 520 circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in a Chinese cohort of 180 early stage NSCLC cases and 216 healthy controls (male smokers). Candidate biomarkers were verified in two case-control cohorts of 432 Chinese and 218 Caucasians, respectively (including females and nonsmokers). A multimiR panel for NSCLC detection was developed using a twofold cross-validation and validated in three additional Asian cohorts comprising 642 subjects. We discovered 35 candidate miRNA biomarkers, verified 22 of them, and developed a five-miR panel that detected NSCLC with area under curve (AUC) of 0.936-0.984 in the discovery and verification cohorts. The panel was validated in three independent cohorts with AUCs of 0.973, 0.916, and 0.917. The sensitivity of five-miR test was 81.3% for all stages, 82.9% for stages I and II, and 83.0% for stage I NSCLC, when the specificity is at 90.7%. We developed a minimally invasive five-miR serum test for detecting early stage NSCLC and validated its performance in multiple patient cohorts independent of smoking status, gender, and ethnicity.

A Nomogram to Predict the Pathologic Complete Response of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Based on Simple Laboratory Indicators.

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have better prognoses. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop an intuitive nomogram based on simple laboratory indexes to predict the pCR of standard NAC in TNBC patients. METHODS: A total of 80 TNBC patients who received eight cycles of thrice-weekly standard NAC (anthracycline and cyclophosphamide followed by taxane) and subsequently underwent surgery in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital were retrospectively enrolled, and data on their pretreatment clinical features and multiple simple laboratory indexes were collected. The optimal cut-off values of the laboratory indexes were determined by the Youden index using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Forward stepwise logistic regression (likelihood ratio) analysis was applied to identify predictive factors for a pCR of NAC. A nomogram was then developed according to the logistic model, and internally validated using the bootstrap resampling method. RESULTS: pCR was achieved in 39 (48.8%) patients after NAC. Multivariate analysis identified four independent indicators: clinical tumor stage, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio, fibrinogen level, and D-dimer level. The nomogram established based on these factors showed its discriminatory ability, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.803 (95% confidence interval 0.706-0.899) and a bias-corrected AUC of 0.771. The calibration curve and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the predictive ability of the nomogram was a good fit to actual observation. CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram proposed in the present study exhibited a sufficient discriminatory ability for predicting pCR of NAC in TNBC patients.

GAP43, a novel metastasis promoter in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Brain metastasis is an extremely serious sequela with a dismal prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to identify novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for brain metastases of NSCLC. METHODS: We performed high-throughput Luminex assays to profile the transcriptional levels of 36 genes in 70 operable NSCLC patients, among whom 37 developed brain metastases as the first relapse within 3 years after surgery. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to evaluate the association between genes and brain metastases. Wound healing assay and transwell assay was carried out to estimate the function of target gene in vitro. And left ventricular injection on nude mice was used to evaluate the effect of target gene in vivo. RESULTS: Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43) was found to be related to brain metastasis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that NSCLC patients with elevated GAP43 had a 3.29-fold increase in the risk for brain metastasis compared with those with low levels (95% confidence interval: 1.55-7.00; P = 0.002). Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that GAP43 was also associated with overall survival. Analysis of a cohort of 1926 NSCLC patients showed similar results: patients with high levels of GAP43 had worse progression-free and overall survival rates. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that GAP43 facilitated cell migration. Animal studies demonstrated that GAP43-silenced NSCLC cells were less likely to metastasize to the brain and bone than control cells. Immunofluorescence and F-actin/G-actin in vivo assays indicated that GAP43 knockdown triggered depolymerization of the F-actin cytoskeleton. Rho GTPase activation assays showed that Rac1 was deactivated after GAP43 was silenced. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that GAP43 is an independent predictor of NSCLC brain metastasis and that it may facilitate metastasis by regulating the Rac1/F-actin pathway.

Low Serum Levels of Pre-Surgical Total Cholesterol are Associated with Unfavorable Overall Survival in Patients with Operable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cholesterol is an essential building block of the cell membrane and an important molecule for cell signaling and function. The dysregulation of cholesterol metabolism has been linked to several diseases, including cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate whether serum cholesterol is associated with the survival outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: The concentration of total cholesterol (TC) was measured in pre-operative serum samples of 637 NSCLC patients. The associations of TC with recurrence and overall survival were analyzed using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated for overall survival analysis. RESULTS: Our analyses showed that low serum levels of TC were associated with an increased risk of death. The association between TC and overall survival remained significant after patient age at diagnosis, gender, disease stage, histotype, tumor grade, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status were adjusted in the analysis. The patients with low serum TC had a 61% (95% confidence interval: 1.18 - 2.19) higher risk of death compared to those with normal TC. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed similar results. No association was found between TC and recurrence in NSCLC. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the pre-surgical serum level of TC may be an independent prognostic indicator for NSCLC overall survival.

Regenerating Family Member 4 (Reg4) Enhances 5-Fluorouracil Resistance of Gastric Cancer Through Activating MAPK/Erk/Bim Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND Reg4, a member of the Reg multigene family, is highly upregulated in many gastrointestinal cancers including gastric cancer (GC). The enhanced expression of Reg4 is associated with the resistance of GC to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), while the underlying mechanism is not clear. The aim of the present study was to explore the resistant mechanism underlying 5-FU resistance. MATERIAL AND METHODS Reg4 expression was assessed by Western blot analysis for SGC-7901, BGC-823, AGS, MKN28, and MKN45. Synthetic short single strand RNA oligonucleotides and Flag-Reg4 plasmid were used to investigate the biological function of Reg4 in vitro. The cell viability assay was performed by MTT. Flow cytometry was carried out to measure the apoptosis caused by 5-FU. Reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to examine the expression of 5-FU metabolism related enzymes. The effect of Reg4 on intracellular signaling was evaluated by Western blot. RESULTS Western blot analysis of 5 GC cells showed that Reg4 was low or null in SGC-7901 and BGC-823, while high in AGS, MKN28, and MKN45. Over-expression of flag-Reg4 in SGC-7901 led to an increase in cell viability and lower apoptosis with 5-FU treatment. In contrast, siRNA knockdown of Reg4 enhanced 5-FU induced apoptosis. However, over-expression or knockdown of Reg4 had no significant influence on the expression of 5-FU metabolic enzymes. Further investigation revealed that Reg4 could activate Erk1/2-Bim-caspase3 cascade. CONCLUSIONS Reg4 inhibited apoptosis through regulating MAPK/Erk/Bim signaling pathway and thereby enhanced the resistance of GC to 5-FU.

Tumor-Infiltrating CD4+ Lymphocytes Predict a Favorable Survival in Patients with Operable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The immune status within the tumor microenvironment has not been well determined in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the distributions of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs), and analyze their associations with clinical characteristics and prognosis; as well as investigate the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) which has been identified as a favorable indicator of prognosis in our previous study on ESCC. MATERIAL AND METHODS Five hundred and thirty-six patients who underwent radical surgery for ESCC between January 2008 and April 2012 in Department of Thoracic Surgery at Zhejiang Cancer Hospital were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the infiltration of various TILs (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocytes) in ESCC tissues. Chi-square test and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to explore the correlations between TILs abundance and clinicopathological variables and survival. RESULTS The infiltration of intraepithelial CD4+ (iCD4+) lymphocytes was markedly higher than it in the stromal region (44.2% for intraepithelial versus 28.9% for stromal, p<0.001). Moreover, increased iCD4+ lymphocytes were significantly associated with longer overall survival (OS, p=0.001) in univariate analysis and were identified as an independent predictor for improved OS in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR]=0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51-0.88, p=0.040). Neither the infiltration of CD3+ nor CD8+ lymphocytes showed the prognostic value in ESCC (p>0.05). Unexpectedly, combined with our previous study results, the TILs infiltration in ESCC showed an inverse association with the expression of PD-L1 (p=0.027). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggested that iCD4+ lymphocytes infiltration could be a favorable indicator for prognosis in ESCC.

Study on expression of CDH4 in lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The human CDH4 gene, which encodes the R-cadherin protein, has an important role in cell migration and cell adhesion, sorting, tissue morphogenesis, and tumor genesis. This study analyzed the relationship of CDH4 mRNA expression with lung cancer. METHODS: Real time PCR was applied to detect CDH4 mRNA transcription in 142 paired cases of lung cancer and noncancerous regions. RESULTS: No correlation was identified between CDH4 mRNA expression and gender, age, lymphnode metastasis, TNM stage, family history, smoking state, drinking state (P > 0.05), but grade and histotype (P < 0.05). The relative CDH4 mRNA value was remarkably decreased in lung cancer tissues compared with noncancerous tissues (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found that CDH4 mRNA expression was associated with grade and histotype. What is more, the relative CDH4 mRNA value was decreased in the lung cancer tissues. Our results suggested that CDH4 might be a putative tumor suppressor gene (TSG) in lung cancer.

A Nomogram to Predict Brain Metastases of Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

PURPOSE: Brain metastasis is a major cause leading to the failure of treatment management for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The goal of this study was to establish an effective nomogram for prediction of brain metastases of resected NSCLC patients. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated 637 operable NSCLC patients who received treatment at Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, China. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to identify significant risk factors, and a nomogram was developed for predicting 3- and 5-year brain metastases rates. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis identified four independent risk factors: neuron-specific enolase, histological type, number of metastatic lymph nodes, and tumor grade, and a nomogram was developed based on these factors. The effectiveness of the nomogram was validated using an internal bootstrap resampling approach, showing that the nomogram exhibited a sufficient level of discrimination according to the C-index (0.74, 95 % confidence interval 0.67-0.82). CONCLUSIONS: The nomogram developed in this study demonstrated its discrimination capability for predicting 3- and 5-year occurrence of brain metastases, and can be used to identify high-risk patients.

Down Expression of FBP1 Is a Negative Prognostic Factor for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Downregulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatse-1 (FBP1) was observed in several cancers but its role in the lung cancer still remains unknown. We examined the cancer tissues from 140 patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer patients and found that the relative gene expression of FBP1 was significantly lower in lung cancer tissues as compared to incisal marginal tissues and normal tissues. The patients with higher level of FBP1 RNA expression have significantly longer disease free survival and overall survival as compared to the lower expression groups. There was a negative correlation with the level of FBP1 and recurrence of the lung cancer.

[Research Progress of Granulocytic Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells 
in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer].

Granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs) are one of the main subgroups of MDSCs, which are widely enriched in most cancers. It can inhibit the killing function of T-lymphocyte through the expression of arginase-1 (Arg-1) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), reshape the tumor immune microenvironment, and promote the occurrence and development of tumors. In recent years, more and more studies have found that G-MDSCs are significantly correlated with the prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy of patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and the use of drugs specifically targeting the recruitment, differentiation and function of G-MDSCs can effectively inhibit tumor progression. This article reviews the immunosuppressive effect of G-MDSCs in non-small cell lung cancer and the progress of related pathway targeting drugs.
.

Enhancing Specific Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization with Quantum Dots for Single-Molecule RNA Imaging in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tumor Tissues.

Single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) represents a promising approach for the quantitative analysis of nucleic acid biomarkers in clinical tissue samples. However, low signal intensity and high background noise are complications that arise from diagnostic pathology when performed with smFISH-based RNA imaging in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens. Moreover, the associated complex procedures can produce uncertain results and poor image quality. Herein, by combining the high specificity of split DNA probes with the high signal readout of ZnCdSe/ZnS quantum dot (QD) labeling, we introduce QD split-FISH, a high-brightness smFISH technology, to quantify the expression of mRNA in both cell lines and clinical FFPE tissue samples of breast cancer and lung squamous carcinoma. Owing to its high signal-to-noise ratio, QD split-FISH is a fast, inexpensive, and sensitive method for quantifying mRNA expression in FFPE tumor tissues, making it suitable for biomarker imaging and diagnostic pathology.

Serum Protein Fishing for Machine Learning-Boosted Diagnostic Classification of Small Nodules of Lung.

Diagnosis of benign and malignant small nodules of the lung remains an unmet clinical problem which is leading to serious false positive diagnosis and overtreatment. Here, we developed a serum protein fishing-based spectral library (ProteoFish) for data independent acquisition analysis and a machine learning-boosted protein panel for diagnosis of early Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and classification of benign and malignant small nodules. We established an extensive NSCLC protein bank consisting of 297 clinical subjects. After testing 5 feature extraction algorithms and six machine learning models, the Lasso algorithm for a 15-key protein panel selection and Random Forest was chosen for diagnostic classification. Our random forest classifier achieved 91.38% accuracy in benign and malignant small nodule diagnosis, which is superior to the existing clinical assays. By integrating with machine learning, the 15-key protein panel may provide insights to multiplexed protein biomarker fishing from serum for facile cancer screening and tackling the current clinical challenge in prospective diagnostic classification of small nodules of the lung.

Enhanced RegIV expression predicts the intrinsic 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in advanced gastric cancer.

AIM: RegIV, a member of the Regenerating (REG) gene family, may be a marker for the prediction of resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy. However, the relationship between the intrinsic drug resistance of gastric cancer (GC) cells to 5-FU used alone (single FU) or in multidrug therapeutic regimens (5-FU combinations) and RegIV expression has not been investigated. METHODS: The patient cohort comprised 45 patients with primary GC. The chemoresistance of GC cells to therapeutic regimens consisting of single 5-FU or FU combinations was investigated using the ATP-tumor chemosensitivity assay. The level of RegIV mRNA transcripts was determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR. RegIV expression was evaluated as a novel predictive biomarker for the intrinsic drug resistance of primary GC cells to single 5-FU or 5-FU combinations. RESULTS: Upregulation of RegIV mRNA transcripts was observed in 36 of the 45 tumor specimens and was positively correlated with the invasive depth of the tumor cells (p = 0.000), the clinical stages (p = 0.000) and the in vitro intrinsic drug resistance of primary GC cells to 5-FU (p = 0.000) or 5-FU combinations. CONCLUSION: RegIV mRNA transcript level was strongly associated with the intrinsic resistance of GC cells to single 5-FU or 5-FU combinations, suggesting that RegIV may play an important role in the intrinsic resistance of GC cells to 5-FU and that targeted therapy against the RegIV gene could be applied to overcome 5-FU resistance in the treatment of GC.

[Research Progress on the Combination Therapy of EGFR-TKIs and Metformin 
in Acquired Resistance to EGFR-TKIs in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer].

Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) targeting EGFR are effective in EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, but drug resistance is inevitable. With the application and expansion of individualized and combined therapy, more and more studies have shown that combined administration of Metformin effectively solves the problem of acquired drug resistance to EGFR-TKIs in clinical treatment and prolongs the survival of patients with NSCLC. EGFR-TKIs combined with Metformin is expected to be the treatment method of choice for NSCLC patients with EGFR-TKIs resistance. This paper intends to summarize the research progress of EGFR-TKIs combined with Metformin in the treatment of EGFR-TKIs acquired resistance in NSCLC, in order to provide a new idea for the treatment of NSCLC patients with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs.
.

Immune-active tumor-adjacent tissues are associated with favorable prognosis in stage I lung squamous cell carcinoma.

The immunogenomic features of tumor-adjacent lungs (TALs) in stage I lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) are not clear. Multiomics analyses of tumor tissues and paired TALs from 59 stage I LUSC patients were performed. Compared to tumors, TALs exhibited a better-preserved immune contexture indicated by upregulation of immune pathways, increased immune infiltration, and higher expression of immune effector molecules. Notably, TALs had no mutations in PTEN and KEAP1, a lower incidence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loss and higher expression of HLA class I genes, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I chaperones, and interferon (IFN)-γ-associated genes. Digital spatial profiling validated the generally higher immune infiltration in TALs and revealed a higher level of immune heterogeneity in LUSC tumors. Importantly, patients with higher immune infiltration in TALs had significantly longer survival, while high immune heterogeneity was associated with inferior patient survival. Our work can be considered in the selection of patients for adjuvant therapy, especially immunotherapy.

Stepwise cumulation of RUNX3 methylation mediated by Helicobacter pylori infection contributes to gastric carcinoma progression.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori has been recognized as a definite carcinogen for gastric cancer (GC); however, the pathogenesis of H. pylori infection remains unclear. Runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) is a candidate tumor suppressor gene whose deficiency is causally related to GC. However, in H. pylori infection-associated GC, the role of RUNX3 has not been studied. METHODS: The authors used real-time methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction analysis to determine methylation status of the RUNX3 promoter in a spectrum of gastric lesions, including 220 samples of chronic atrophic gastritis, 196 samples of intestinal metaplasia, 134 samples of gastric adenoma, 102 samples of dysplasia, and 202 samples of GC with paired noncancerous mucosa tissues and corresponding blood specimens. The association of abnormal methylation with precancerous gastric lesions was evaluated along with the association between RUNX3 methylation and H. pylori infection, and the concordance of methylation levels was investigated between serum and tissues. RESULTS: The results indicated that increasing RUNX3 promoter methylation was correlated with distinct stages of GC progression. GC tissues had the highest methylation proportion (75.2%) compared with precancerous gastric lesions, including chronic atrophic gastritis (15.9%), intestinal metaplasia (36.7%), gastric adenoma (41.8%), and dysplasia (54.9%). H. pylori infection, a major risk factor for GC, contributed to the inactivation of RUNX3 in gastric epithelial cells through promoter hypermethylation. The levels of RUNX3 methylation in serum were in significant concordance with the methylation levels observed in GC tissues (P = .887). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings supported RUNX3 methylation as a risk factors for the carcinogenesis of chronic atrophic gastritis with H. pylori infection and indicated that circulating RUNX3 methylation is a valuable biomarker for the detection of early GC.

PDCD6 is an independent predictor of progression free survival in epithelial ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Programmed cell death 6 (PDCD6) beside its known proapoptotic functions may be a player in survival pathways in cancer. The purpose of this study is to further explore the roles of PDCD6 in epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS: Lentiviral vector with shRNA for PDCD6 was used to investigate the effects of PDCD6 knockdown on cell growth, cell cycle, apoptosis and motility in ovarian cancer cells. Two hundred twelve epithelial ovarian cancer tissues were analyzed for mRNA expression of PDCD6 using RT-PCR. Associations of its expression with clinical pathological factors, progression free and overall survival were evaluated. RESULTS: PDCD6 is highly expressed in metastatic ovarian cancer cells and positively regulates cell migration and invasion. Significantly, the level of PDCD6 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer correlates with clinical progression. Patients with medium or high levels of PDCD6 mRNA were at higher risk for disease progression, compared to those with low levels (HR, 1.29; P = 0.024 for medium levels; and HR, 1.57; P = 0.045 for high levels) after adjusting for age, disease stage, tumor grade, histologic type and residual tumor size. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated similar results. However, no association was found between PDCD6 expression and overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: PDCD6 seems to play an important role in ovarian cancer progression and it may be an independent predictor of progression free survival in epithelial ovarian cancer. Further studies are needed to more completely elucidate the molecular mechanisms of PDCD6 involve in ovarian cancer progression.