Chemical Profiling and Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anticancer Potential of Tuber Crop Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis.

Cancer and cancer-related diseases are a global health concern in the present scenario. Functional food and nutraceuticals are considered as a boon towards cancer management. Amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis (ACW) is an herbaceous plant used by the local communities of Wayanad, India, for food and primary healthcare. Various radical scavenging and reducing power assays were undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of ACW (MEAC). In vitro anticancer activity was evaluated against HT-29 cell line by MTT assay, morphological analysis, DNA fragmentation assay and cell cycle analysis. Caspase and COX-2 enzyme assays were conducted to examine the underlying mechanism. Studies on Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) transplanted mice models was carried out to evaluate the in-vivo antioxidant and anticancer potential of MEAC. The major bioactive nutraceutical compound present in MEAC was isolated by bioactivity-guided fractionation. MEAC showed significant in vitro antioxidant activity. Further, MEAC promoted cytotoxicity against HT-29 cells by activating caspase-3 dependent apoptotic pathway with a cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase and subsequent down regulation of COX-2 pathway. The potential antitumor activity of MEAC was further confirmed in EAC tumor bearing mice models in which treatment with MEAC increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes, improved the hematological profile towards normal and also augmented the life span of tumor bearing mice. ß-sitosterol isolated from ACW induces anticancer activity via caspase-dependent pathway. Our study confirmed the antioxidant and anticancer activities of ACW, which proposes the medicinal importance of this plant as a preventive and supportive therapy for arising tumors.

Preventive Effect of Combined Zingiber officinale and Terminalia chebula against DMBA-Induced Breast Cancer Rats via mTOR Inhibition.

Zingiber officinale (ZO) and Terminalia chebula (TC) are plants used for the treatment of diverse illnesses in traditional medicine. The present study investigates the preventive effect of Zingiber officinale-Terminalia chebula extract (ZOTC) against DMBA-induced breast cancer in a rat model. Bioactive compounds from ZO (6-gingerol, 6-shogaol) and TC (gallic acid, ellagic acid, corilagin, chebulinic acid, and chebulagic acid) were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography. Mammary carcinogenesis was induced in rats with a single subcutaneous injection of 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). Oral administration of ZOTC ameliorated the antioxidant status in mammary tissues, serum lipid levels, and serum cytokines. Histological analysis of the mammary tissue (normal and tumor) was carried out to obtain pathological alterations due to ZOTC treatment. The effect of ZOTC on the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) gene and accumulation of corresponding gene product was also investigated. mTOR plays a central role in cell metabolism and proliferation in normal and cancer cells. Transcriptional and immunohistochemical analysis showed the downregulation of mTOR expression in the mammary tissues of ZOTC-treated rats. In conclusion, the results obtained suggest that ZOTC can suppress tumor progression in DMBA-induced breast cancer rats via inhibition of the mTOR pathway.

Incidence, prevalence, and mortality associated with head and neck cancer in India: Protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a heterogeneous tumor at various anatomic sites and one of the most common cancers in India. Published and existing reports and studies highlight an alarming increase in the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of HNC. Despite its high incidence, there is a dearth of more precise estimates of reliable epidemiological data pertaining to HNC in India. AIM: This protocol aims to conduct a full-scale systematic review and meta-analysis on the HNC epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, and mortality) in 29 states and 7 union territories of India. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search for eligible published studies through PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Review. Cancer registries such as (but not limited to) World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research-National Cancer Registry Program, which is maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research, will be used for extracting relevant data using a standardized data collection form. The random-effects model of meta-analysis will be employed to aggregate the pooled estimates of relative ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Publication bias will be assessed using a funnel plot, and Egger's regression will be applied to test the symmetry of the funnel plot. DISCUSSION: This review will provide updated evidence of the current burden of HNC in India. This will guide future studies and cancer registry reports to provide holistically representative epidemiological data. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: In accordance with the guidelines, our systematic review protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews and was assigned the registration number, CRD42017077482.

Current Evidence on miRNAs as Potential Theranostic Markers for Detecting Chemoresistance in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical and Clinical Studies.

BACKGROUND: Findings from observational clinical studies examining the relationship between biomarker expression and theranosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) have been conflicting. OBJECTIVE: We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to summarise the existing evidence to demonstrate the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in chemoresistance and sensitivity in CRC through drug genetic pathways. METHODS: Using PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed and Science Direct for relevant studies that took place between 2012 and 2017. A random-effects model of meta-analysis was applied to evaluate the pooled effect size of hazard ratios (HRs) across the included studies. Cochran's Q test and the I2 statistic were used to detect heterogeneity. A funnel plot was used to assess potential publication bias. RESULTS: Of the 4700 studies found, 39 studies comprising 2822 patients with CRC met the inclusion criteria. The included studies used one or a combination of 14 chemotherapy drugs, including 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Of the 60 miRNAs, 28 were associated with chemosensitivity, 20 with chemoresistance, and one with differential expression and radiosensitivity; ten miRNAs were not associated with any impact on chemotherapy. The results outline the importance of 34 drug-regulatory pathways of chemoresistance and sensitivity in CRC. The mean effect size was 0.689 (95% confidence interval 0.428-1.110), indicating that the expression of miRNAs decreased the likelihood of death by about 32%. CONCLUSION: Studies have consistently shown that multiple miRNAs could act as clinical predictors of chemoresistance and sensitivity. An inclusion of supplementary miRNA estimation in CRC routine practice needs to be considered to evaluate the efficacy of chemotherapy after confirming our findings with large-scale prospective cohort studies. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017082196.