Melatonin and neuroblastoma: a novel therapeutic approach.

Neuroblastoma is a deadly and serious malignancy among children. Although many developments have been occurred for the treatment of this disease, the rate of mortality is still high. Therefore, it is necessary to search for novel complementary and alternative therapies. Melatonin, a hormone secreted from pineal gland, is a multifunctional agent having anticancer potentials. Recently, several investigations have been conducted indicating melatonin effects against neuroblastoma. In this paper, we summarize current evidence on anti-neuroblastoma effects of melatonin based on cellular pathways.

Magnetic Hyperthermia as an adjuvant cancer therapy in combination with radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for recurrent/progressive glioblastoma: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperthermia therapy (HT) is a recognized treatment modality, that can sensitize tumors to the effects of radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy by heating up tumor cells to 40-45 °C. The advantages of noninvasive inductive magnetic hyperthermia (MH) over RT or chemotherapy in the treatment of recurrent/progressive glioma have been confirmed by several clinical trials. Thus, here we have conducted a systematic review to provide a concise, albeit brief, account of the currently available literature regarding this topic. METHODS: Five databases, PubMed/Medline, Embace, Ovid, WOS, and Scopus, were investigated to identify clinical studies comparing overall survival (OS) following RT/chemotherapy versus RT/chemotherapy + MH. RESULTS: Eleven articles were selected for this systematic review, including reports on 227 glioma patients who met the study inclusion criteria. The papers included in this review comprised nine pilot clinical trials, one non-randomized clinical trial, and one retrospective investigation. As the clinical trials suggested, MH improved OS in primary glioblastoma (GBM), however, in the case of recurrent glioblastoma, no significant change in OS was reported. All 11 studies ascertained that no major side effects were observed during MH therapy. CONCLUSION: Our systematic review indicates that MH therapy as an adjuvant for RT could result in improved survival, compared to the therapeutic outcomes achieved with RT alone in GBM, especially by intratumoral injection of magnetic nanoparticles. However, heterogeneity in the methodology of the most well-known studies, and differences in the study design may significantly limit the extent to which conclusions can be drawn. Thus, further investigations are required to shed more light on the efficacy of MH therapy as an adjuvant treatment modality in GBM.

Melatonin and gastrointestinal cancers: Current evidence based on underlying signaling pathways.

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, leading causes of cancer-related deaths, have been serious challenging human diseases up to now. Because of high rates of mortality, late-stage diagnosis, metastasis to distant locations, and low effectiveness and adverse events of routine standard therapies, the quality of life and survival time are low in patients with GI cancers. Hence, many efforts need to be done to explore and find novel efficient treatments. Beneficial effects of melatonin have been reported in a wide variety of human diseases. Melatonin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. Various studies have showed the regulatory effects of melatonin on apoptotsis, autophagy and angiogenesis; these properties result in the inhibition of invasion, migration, and proliferation of GI cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. Together, this review suggests that melatonin in combination with anticancer agents may improve the efficacy of routine medicine and survival rate of patients with cancer.

Melatonin As a Modulator of Degenerative and Regenerative Signaling Pathways in Injured Retinal Ganglion Cells.

Optic neuropathies refer to the dysfunction or degeneration of optic nerve fibers caused by any reasons including ischemia, inflammation, trauma, tumor, mitochondrial dysfunction, toxins, nutritional deficiency, inheritance, etc. Post-mitotic CNS neurons, including retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) intrinsically have a limited capacity for axon growth after either trauma or disease, leading to irreversible vision loss. In recent years, an increasing number of laboratory evidence has evaluated optic nerve injuries, focusing on molecular signaling pathways involved in RGC death. Trophic factor deprivation (TFD), inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, glutamate-induced excitotoxicity, ischemia, hypoxia, etc. have been recognized as important molecular mechanisms leading to RGC apoptosis. Understanding these obstacles provides a better view to find out new strategies against retinal cell damage. Melatonin, as a wide-spectrum antioxidant and powerful freeradical scavenger, has the ability to protect RGCs or other cells against a variety of deleterious conditions such as oxidative/nitrosative stress, hypoxia/ischemia, inflammatory processes, and apoptosis. In this review, we primarily highlight the molecular regenerative and degenerative mechanisms involved in RGC survival/death and then summarize the possible protective effects of melatonin in the process of RGC death in some ocular diseases including optic neuropathies. Based on the information provided in this review, melatonin may act as a promising agent to reduce RGC death in various retinal pathologic conditions.