Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Cancer: The Double-Edged Sword Role in Antitumor Immunity and Potential Therapeutic Induction Strategies.

The complex tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a vital role in cancer development and dramatically determines the efficacy of immunotherapy. Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) within the TME are well recognized and consist of T cell-rich areas containing dendritic cells (DCs) and B cell-rich areas containing germinal centers (GCs). Accumulating research has indicated that there is a close association between tumor-associated TLSs and favorable clinical outcomes in most types of cancers, though a minority of studies have reported an association between TLSs and a poor prognosis. Overall, the double-edged sword role of TLSs in the TME and potential mechanisms need to be further investigated, which will provide novel therapeutic perspectives for antitumor immunoregulation. In this review, we focus on discussing the main functions of TLSs in the TME and recent advances in the therapeutic manipulation of TLSs through multiple strategies to enhance local antitumor immunity.

"Trojan Horse" Salmonella Enabling Tumor Homing of Silver Nanoparticles via Neutrophil Infiltration for Synergistic Tumor Therapy and Enhanced Biosafety.

Salmonella selectively colonizes into the hypoxic tumor region and exerts antitumor effects via multiple mechanisms, while the tumor colonized Salmonella recruits host neutrophils into the tumor, presenting a key immunological restraint to compromise the Salmonella efficacy. Here, we develop a combinatorial strategy by employing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to improve the efficacy and biosafety of Salmonella. The AgNPs were decorated with sialic acid (SA) to allow selective recognition of L-selectin on neutrophil surfaces, based on which the tumor-homing of AgNPs was achieved by neutrophil infiltration in the Salmonella colonized tumor. The tumor-targeting AgNPs exert the functions of (1) local depletion of neutrophils in tumors to boost the efficacy of Salmonella, (2) direct killing tumor cells via L-selectin-mediated intracellular delivery, and (3) clearing the residual Salmonella after complete tumor eradication to minimize the side effects. With a single tail vein injection of such combination treatment, the tumor was eliminated with high biosafety, resulting in a superior therapeutic outcome.

Alkyne- and Nitrile-Anchored Gold Nanoparticles for Multiplex SERS Imaging of Biomarkers in Cancer Cells and Tissues.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has proven a powerful tool for multiplex detection and imaging due to its narrow peak width and high sensitivity. However, conventional SERS reporters are limited to thiolated compounds, which have limitations such as chemical stability and spectral overlap. Here, we used alkyne- and nitrile-bearing molecules to directly fabricate a set of SERS tags for multiplex imaging. The alkyne and nitrile groups act as both the anchoring points to interact with gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surfaces and the reporters exhibiting strong and nonoverlapping signals in the cellular Raman-silent region. The SERS tags were subsequently modified with different antibodies for multicolor imaging of cancer cells and human breast cancer tissues. The reporters have a simple and readily accessible structure, hence providing new opportunities to prepare SERS nanoprobes.

Exploring Chinese Women's Perception of Cervical Cancer Risk as It Impacts Screening Behavior: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Chinese women rarely undergo regular cervical screening. Women's decisions about cervical screening may be influenced by their perception of the risk of cervical cancer. Therefore, understanding how women perceive the risk of cervical cancer, how personal risk factors are interpreted, and the influence of cultural issues on cervical screening behavior is important. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to understand cervical cancer risk perception and the role of personal risk factors as they influence screening behavior among Chinese women. METHOD: An exploratory qualitative research design was used. We conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews of 27 women in Changsha, a medium-size city in Hunan province, China. RESULTS: Participants identified that cervical cancer had serious consequences, but they distanced themselves psychologically from the disease because they felt that "cervical cancer is a shameful and deadly disease." Although women identified some of the risk factors for the disease, they had little specific knowledge of human papillomavirus infection, its association with cervical cancer, and the importance of cervical screening. CONCLUSION: This study contributes new knowledge to the understanding of cervical screening behavior within a specific social and cultural context. Better efforts should be made to educate Chinese women on the risk of cervical cancer and emphasize that effective cancer treatments are available and that there is a good chance of survival. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Nurses working with Chinese women should ensure that the information they provide is culturally sensitive, particularly by acknowledging the normative beliefs of this population group.

Fluorescence Dye Loaded Nano-graphene for Multimodal Imaging Guided Photothermal Therapy.

Photoacoustic imaging (PA) has emerged as a novel and noninvasive imaging modality owing to its high spatial resolution and high soft tissue contrast. Herein, we loaded a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence dye (CySCOOH) onto the surface of PEGylated graphene oxide (GO) via π-π stacking to increase the NIR absorbance of GO. The PA imaging proved that PEGylated GO-CysCOOH (GO-PEG-CysCOOH) significantly enhances the PA signal in the tumor site compared with free GO-PEG. We then utilized the strong optical absorbance of GO-PEG-CySCOOH in the NIR region for in vivo photothermal therapy, achieving efficient tumor ablation after intravenous injection of GO-PEG-CySCOOH and low-power laser irradiation on the tumor. Our results indicate that this graphene-based nanocomposite can be developed as a promising contrast agent for PA imaging and a thermal agent for imaging guided photothermal therapy.