The Canadian Breast Cancer Symposium 2023 Meeting Report.

On 15-16 June 2023, healthcare professionals and breast cancer patients and advocates from across Canada met in Toronto, Ontario, for the 2023 Canadian Breast Cancer Symposium (CBSC.). The CBSC. is a national, multidisciplinary event that occurs every 2 years with the goal of developing a personalized approach to the management of breast cancer in Canada. Experts provided state-of-the-art information to help optimally manage breast cancer patients, including etiology, prevention, diagnosis, experimental biology, and therapy of breast cancer and premalignant breast disease. The symposium also had the objectives of increasing communication and collaboration among breast cancer healthcare providers nationwide and providing a comprehensive and real-life review of the many facets of breast cancer. The sessions covered the patient voice, the top breast cancer papers from different disciplines in 2022, artificial intelligence in breast cancer, systemic therapy updates, the management of central nervous system metastases, multidisciplinary management of ductal carcinoma in situ, special populations, optimization-based individual prognostic factors, toxicity management of novel therapeutics, survivorship, and updates in surgical oncology. The key takeaways of these sessions have been summarized in this conference report.

The Key Role of Glutathione Compared to Curcumin in the Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Systematic Review.

In recent years, many documented cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been on the rise. The complicated pathophysiology of the disease makes it challenging to manage. Two databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, have a detailed screening using keywords and Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) combinations. The words are "Systemic Lupus Erythematosus OR SLE OR Lupus," "Glutathione," and "Curcumin." Articles had a detailed process of screening and quality appraisal. Using the English language as a primary filtering parameter, papers over the last 20 years, dating from 2002 to 2022, are the basis of this review. We reviewed all possible human studies documenting the use of curcumin and glutathione for treating SLE. A total of 15 articles are part of this systematic review. Curcumin and glutathione can act as potent drugs for treating lupus. Curcumin can be a more promising alternative since it operates on various pathways and is a more easily accessible source.

Cisplatin for cancer therapy and overcoming chemoresistance.

Cisplatin spearheads the anticancer chemotherapeutics in present-day use although acute toxicity is its primary impediment factor. Among a plethora of experimental medications, a drug as effective or surpassing the benefits of cisplatin has not been discovered yet. Although Oxaliplatin is considered more superior to cisplatin, the former has been better for colorectal cancer while cisplatin is widely used for treating gynaecological cancers. Carcinoma imposes a heavy toll on mortality rates worldwide despite the novel treatment strategies and detection methods that have been introduced; nanomedicine combined with precision medicine, immunotherapy, volume-regulated anion channels, and fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. Millions of deaths occur annually from metastatic cancers which escape early detection and the concomitant diseases caused by highly toxic chemotherapy that causes organ damage. It continues due to insufficient knowledge of the debilitative mechanisms induced by cancer biology. To overcome chemoresistance and to attenuate the adverse effects of cisplatin therapy, both in vitro and in vivo models of cisplatin-treated cancers and a few multi-centred, multi-phasic, randomized clinical trials in pursuant with recent novel strategies have been tested. They include plant-based phytochemical compounds, de novo drug delivery systems, biochemical/immune pathways, 2D and 3D cell culture models using small molecule inhibitors and genetic/epigenetic mechanisms, that have contributed to further the understanding of cisplatin's role in modulating the tumour microenvironment. Cisplatin was beneficial in cancer therapy for modulating the putative cellular mechanisms; apoptosis, autophagy, cell cycle arrest and gene therapy of micro RNAs. Specific importance of drug influx, efflux, systemic circulatory toxicity, half-maximal inhibition, and the augmentation of host immunometabolism have been identified. This review offers a discourse on the recent anti-neoplastic treatment strategies to enhance cisplatin efficacy and to overcome chemoresistance, given its superiority among other tolerable chemotherapies.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes: Toward Cell-Free Therapeutic Strategies in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising in global prevalence and has become a worldwide public health problem, with adverse outcomes of kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. However, current treatments are limited to slowing rather than reversing disease progression or restoring functional nephrons. Hence, innovative strategies aimed at kidney tissue recovery hold promise for CKD therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are commonly used for regenerative therapy due to their potential for proliferation, differentiation, and immunomodulation. Accumulating evidence suggests that the therapeutic effects of MSCs are largely mediated by paracrine secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs), predominantly exosomes. MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) replicate the functions of their originator MSCs via delivery of various genetic and protein cargos to target cells. More recently, MSC-Exos have also been utilized as natural carriers for targeted drug delivery. Therapeutics can be effectively incorporated into exosomes and then delivered to diseased tissue. Thus, MSC-Exos have emerged as a promising cell-free therapy in CKD. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of MSC-Exos and summarize their therapeutic efficacy in preclinical animal models of CKD. We also discuss the potential challenges and strategies in the use of MSC-Exos-based therapies for CKD in the future.

New Advances in the Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Despite the increasing incidence of acute pancreatitis, the overall mortality of AP has decreased. RECENT FINDINGS: The findings of recent studies on fluid therapy, analgesics, antibiotics, and enteral nutrition as well as the management of AP complications have led to improvements in clinical care. However, there are still no pharmacologic treatment(s) for AP. Experimental studies have revealed many potential therapeutic targets, but these will need to be further developed and tested before they can be assessed in randomized controlled trials with important clinical endpoints.

Advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC): new challenges and new expectations.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies and a major health riddle. The therapeutic options are limited. The combination of etoposide or irinotecan with platinum chemotherapy is the standard of care at any stage. The last decade systemic efforts have been done to reveal specific therapeutic targets for small cell lung carcinomas. In this review, we focus on the new therapeutic strategies of SCLC, including immune-related treatment that may change the prognosis of the disease. The main genetic mutations observed in SCLC are TP53 and RB1 mutations; however, it is well known that these molecules are not yet targetable. In recent years, research has revealed other frequent genetic alterations and activated signaling pathways that might be an effective treatment target. Loss of PTEN, activating PI3K mutations, inhibition of NOTCH pathway and aurora kinase activation are among them. Moreover, FDGFR1 amplification, activation of the Hedgehog pathway and repair-protein PARP1 seem to participate in SCLC tumorigenesis. These new findings have identified some interesting targets. Moreover, immunotherapy tries to find its place in the treatment of SCLC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are under investigation in phase I to III clinical trials. We hope that in next years the treatment of SCLC patients will be improved with the administration of targeting therapy and the introduction of immunotherapy.

New Advances of Heparanase and Heparanase-2 in Human Diseases.

As we all know, heparanase plays an important role in human diseases. As a kind of endo-ß-glucuronidase, heparanase is the known only enzyme in mammals which could degrade heparan sulfate(HS) specifically. HS is a vital component of extracellular matrix(ECM). Heparanase takes effect by cleaving theß(1,4)-glycosidic between glucosamine residue and glucuronic acid of HS. This cleavage will cause ECM remodelling and HS-linked biological molecules release, including cytokines, growth factors and a lot of biological molecules regulating various pathological activities. Experiments already proved that heparanase gene over-expresses in cancers of gastrointestinal tract, esophagus, breast and so on. Various studies have demonstrated the heparanase's pro-metastatic function and the reduced survival rate of patients could be indicated by high heparanase levels. Besides, pathological processes including procoagulant activities, preeclamptic placentas and inflammation are all verified to be associated with heparanase activity. In recent years, many functions other than pro-tumor effect was found in heparanase and worldwide researchers conducted varieties of experiments to identify the new function of this significant enzyme. Also, these newly-found functions are closely connected to certain cellular activities, for example epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). It has already been demonstrated that EMT is related to some clinical disorders, like renal diseases. Given that heparanase is the only enzyme capable of this function, it could be concluded that heparanase would be a potential and valuable therapy target. This mini-review aims to retrospect literatures about heparanase published in 2017 and 2018 and provide a direction for therapy methods targeting heparanase.

New advances in the diagnosis of typhoid and detection of typhoid carriers.

For effective management of typhoid, diagnosis of the disease must be done with speed and accuracy. Development of such a test would require antigens that are specific for typhoid diagnosis. Attempts at finding the specific antigen have been carried out throughout the years. The finding of such an antigen can lead to carrier detection as well. Candidate antigens have been used in the development of antigen or antibody detection tests with variation in sensitivity and specificity. Further characterization and understanding of the candidate antigens combined with use of innovative technologies will allow for the ideal test for typhoid and typhoid carriers to be within reach.