A Network Pharmacology Study on the Molecular Mechanisms of FDY003 for Breast Cancer Treatment.

Herbal medicines have drawn considerable attention with regard to their potential applications in breast cancer (BC) treatment, a frequently diagnosed malignant disease, considering their anticancer efficacy with relatively less adverse effects. However, their mechanisms of systemic action have not been understood comprehensively. Based on network pharmacology approaches, we attempted to unveil the mechanisms of FDY003, an herbal drug comprised of Lonicera japonica Thunberg, Artemisia capillaris Thunberg, and Cordyceps militaris, against BC at a systemic level. We found that FDY003 exhibited pharmacological effects on human BC cells. Subsequently, detailed data regarding the biochemical components contained in FDY003 were obtained from comprehensive herbal medicine-related databases, including TCMSP and CancerHSP. By evaluating their pharmacokinetic properties, 18 chemical compounds in FDY003 were shown to be potentially active constituents interacting with 140 BC-associated therapeutic targets to produce the pharmacological activity. Gene ontology enrichment analysis using g:Profiler indicated that the FDY003 targets were involved in the modulation of cellular processes, involving the cell proliferation, cell cycle process, and cell apoptosis. Based on a KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, we further revealed that a variety of oncogenic pathways that play key roles in the pathology of BC were significantly enriched with the therapeutic targets of FDY003; these included PI3K-Akt, MAPK, focal adhesion, FoxO, TNF, and estrogen signaling pathways. Here, we present a network-perspective of the molecular mechanisms via which herbal drugs treat BC.

Two cases of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome with olfactory neuroblastoma and literature review.

Olfactory neuroblastomas are rare, slow-growing malignant tumors, usually diagnosed at advanced stages. Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome caused by an olfactory neuroblastoma is extremely rare. We reported two Korean women who suffered from ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS) caused by olfactory neuroblastomas. The first patient was a 66-year-old woman who had been diagnosed as olfactory neuroblastoma and refused the management two years before and the second patient was a 37-year-old woman on chemotherapy for olfactory neuroblastoma. In the first case, she presented the Cushingoid appearance with systemic edema and her tumor was removed surgically. ACTH secretion by the tissue was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. By contrast, the second patient presented as severe pneumonia caused by cytomegalovirus and was treated with anti-viral agent followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and her residual mass remained. However, after treatment, both patients' plasma ACTH and cortisol levels returned to normal without any adrenolytic therapy. Considering the causative tumors of EAS can be rarely cured and EAS increases the susceptibility to infections, it is prudent to suppress any hypercortisolemia initially, apart from treating the causal malignancy.

Neoadjuvant etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin for the treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma.

BACKGROUND: The optimal chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma has not been clearly defined. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with the combination of etoposide, ifosfamide, and cisplatin (VIP) for patients with olfactory neuroblastoma. METHODS: Eleven consecutive patients with newly diagnosed olfactory neuroblastoma were treated with etoposide (75 mg/m2), ifosfamide (1000 mg/m2), and cisplatin (20 mg/m2) all administered intravenously on Days 1-5. Cycles were repeated every 21 days. Patients were excluded from analysis if they had previously received surgery or radiotherapy. RESULTS: Nine patients achieved objective responses (objective response rate, 82%; 95% confidence interval, 52-95%), which included 2 complete responses and 7 partial responses. The major side effect was hematologic toxicity, with Grade 3/4 neutropenia observed after the receipt of 37% of all cycles and febrile neutropenia observed after the receipt of 2 cycles. All toxic events were reversible, and no chemotherapy-related deaths were documented. The median survival period was 18 months (range, 3-45 months). CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant VIP chemotherapy was active in the treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma.