The progress and prospect of sentinel lymph node mapping in endometrial carcinoma.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) refers to the initial site of the lymphatic drainage from a primary tumor area. Identifying the SLN and analyzing tumor involvement can predict the status of the remaining lymph nodes. Accordingly, sentinel lymph node mapping (SLN mapping) has been brought up and widely applied to cancer therapy for its illuminating role in clinical lymph node resection. Sufficient information to guide surgical pathological staging and adjuvant treatment in endometrial cancer can be rendered by SLN mapping, hence minimizing surgery injury and reducing the incidence of complications. Evidence suggests that using SLN mapping does not affect progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of endometrial cancer patients. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that using SLN mapping has a high detection rate (DR), sensitivity, and negative predictive value (NPV) for patients with early-stage lower-risk endometrial cancer. This review aims to systematically summarize the advances and application prospects of SLN mapping in endometrial cancer, with an expectation of furnishing reference for the clinical application.

The multifaceted roles of natural products in mitochondrial dysfunction.

Mitochondria are the primary source of energy production in cells, supporting the metabolic demand of tissue. The dysfunctional mitochondria are implicated in various diseases ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. Therefore, regulating dysfunctional mitochondria offers a new therapeutic opportunity for diseases with mitochondrial dysfunction. Natural products are pleiotropic and readily obtainable sources of therapeutic agents, which have broad prospects in new drug discovery. Recently, many mitochondria-targeting natural products have been extensively studied and have shown promising pharmacological activity in regulating mitochondrial dysfunction. Hence, we summarize recent advances in natural products in targeting mitochondria and regulating mitochondrial dysfunction in this review. We discuss natural products in terms of their mechanisms on mitochondrial dysfunction, including modulating mitochondrial quality control system and regulating mitochondrial functions. In addition, we describe the future perspective and challenges in the development of mitochondria-targeting natural products, emphasizing the potential value of natural products in mitochondrial dysfunction.

The diagnostic and therapeutic prospects of exosomes in ovarian cancer.

Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles derived from the endosomal system and are involved in many biological and pathological processes. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that exosomes with cell-specific constituents are associated with the tumorigenesis and progression of ovarian cancer. Therefore, exosomes derived from ovarian cancers can be potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this review, we briefly present the biological characteristics of exosomes and the recent advances in isolating and detecting exosomes. Furthermore, we summarise the many functions of exosomes in ovarian cancer, hoping to provide a theoretical basis for clinical applications of exosomes in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.