Prognostic prospect of soluble programmed cell death ligand-1 in cancer management.

Aggressive tissue biopsy is commonly unavoidable in the management of most suspected tumor cases to conclusively verify the presence of cancerous cells through histological assessment. The extracted tissue is also immunostained for detection of antigens (tissue tumor markers) of potential prognostic or therapeutic importance to assist in treatment decision. Although liquid biopsies can be a powerful tool for monitoring treatment response, they are still excluded from standard cancer diagnostics, and their utility is still being debated in the scientific community. With a myriad of soluble tissue tumor markers now being discovered, liquid biopsies could completely change the current paradigms of cancer management. Recently, soluble programmed cell death ligand-1 (sPD-L1), which is found in the peripheral blood, i.e. serum and plasma, has shown potential as a pre-therapeutic predictive marker as well as a prognostic biomarker to monitor treatment efficacy. Thus, this review focuses on the emergence of sPD-L1 and promising technologies for its detection in order to support liquid biopsies for future cancer management.

The NF-κB Transcriptional Network Is a High-Dose Vitamin C-Targetable Vulnerability in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer type among women with a distinct clinical presentation, but the survival rate remains moderate despite advances in multimodal therapy. Consequently, a deeper understanding of the molecular etiology is required for the development of more effective treatments for BC. The relationship between inflammation and tumorigenesis is well established, and the activation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) is frequently identified in BC. Constitutive NF-κB activation is linked to cell survival, metastasis, proliferation, and hormonal, chemo-, and radiotherapy resistance. Moreover, the crosstalk between NF-κB and other transcription factors is well documented. It is reported that vitamin C plays a key role in preventing and treating a number of pathological conditions, including cancer, when administered at remarkably high doses. Indeed, vitamin C can regulate the activation of NF-κB by inhibiting specific NF-κB-dependent genes and multiple stimuli. In this review, we examine the various NF-κB impacts on BC development. We also provide some insight into how the NF-κB network may be targeted as a potential vulnerability by using natural pro-oxidant therapies such as vitamin C.

High-Dose Vitamin C for Cancer Therapy.

In recent years, the idea that Vitamin C (Vit-C) could be utilized as a form of anti-cancer therapy has generated many contradictory arguments. Recent insights into the physiological characteristics of Vit-C, its pharmacokinetics, and results from preclinical reports, however, suggest that high-dose Vit-C could be effectively utilized in the management of various tumor types. Studies have shown that the pharmacological action of Vit-C can attack various processes that cancerous cells use for their growth and development. Here, we discuss the anti-cancer functions of Vit-C, but also the potential for the use of Vit-C as an epigenetic regulator and immunotherapy enhancer. We also provide a short overview of the current state of systems for scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially in the context of their influencing high-dose Vit-C toxicity for the inhibition of cancer growth. Even though the mechanisms of Vit-C action are promising, they need to be supported with robust randomized and controlled clinical trials. Moreover, upcoming studies should focus on how to define the most suitable cancer patient populations for high-dose Vit-C treatments and develop effective strategies that combine Vit-C with various concurrent cancer treatment regimens.

Influence of nNav1.5 on MHC class I expression in breast cancer.

Cancer metastasis occurs due to the ability of the tumour to evade immune recognition and response by altering the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC class I). A comprehensive understanding of the MHC class I alteration in breast cancer metastasis is vital for the rational design and improvement of immunotherapies for advanced cancer. In this study, we associate it with the elevation of 'neonatal' Nav1.5 (nNav1.5) mRNA expression in the aggressive type of human breast cancer cells. Using real-time PCR, lower expression of TAP1 (by - 4.83-fold), which is a part of the MHC class I antigen processing machinery (APM) pathway component, in contrast to the greater expression of nNav1.5 (by 3.76-fold), along with other metastatic markers, MMP1 (by 57.48-fold) and fibronectin (by 2.88-fold) in aggressive human breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB231 were obtained. Subsequent knockdown of nNav1.5 (by 52.6%) in MDA-MB-231 via siRNA-SCN5A resulted in downregulation of another metastatic marker, fibronectin (by 52.9%) but importantly, rescued MHC class I expression (by 347% or 3.47-fold). Furthermore, the siRNA-SCN5A transfected cells failed to form a unified spheroid and incapable of efficiently invading the surrounding invasion matrix. In summary, the influence of nNav1.5 in regulating MHC class I mRNA expression to allow for breast cancer invasion is demonstrated, supporting the potential of nNav1.5 as an immunotherapy target to overcome tumour immune evasion thus preventing metastasis.