Using period analysis to timely assess and predict 5-year relative survival for colorectal cancer patients in Taizhou, eastern China

Pharmacodynamic components and mechanisms of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ginger is a "medicine-food homology" natural herb and has a longstanding medicinal background in treating intestinal diseases. Its remarkable bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunoregulatory, flora regulatory, intestinal protective, and anticancer properties, make it a promising natural medicine for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention and treatment.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The purpose is to review the relevant literature on ginger and pharmacodynamic components for CRC prevention and treatment, summarize the possible mechanisms of ginger from clinical studies and animal and in vitro experiments, to provide theoretical support for the use of ginger preparations in the daily prevention and clinical treatment of CRC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literatures about ginger and CRC were searched from electronic databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI).

RESULTS

This article summarizes the molecular mechanisms of ginger and its pharmacodynamic components in the prevention and treatment of CRC, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunoregulatory, flora regulatory, intestinal protective, inhibit CRC cell proliferation, induce CRC cell cycle blockage, promote CRC cell apoptosis, suppress CRC cell invasion and migration, enhance the anticancer effect of chemotherapeutic drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

Ginger has potential for daily prevention and clinical treatment of CRC.

Solanine induces ferroptosis in colorectal cancer cells through ALOX12B/ADCY4 molecular axis

OBJECTIVES

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Solanine is a phytochemical extracted from traditional Chinese medicine with widely reported anticancer effects. Here, we investigated the potential role of solanine in regulating ferroptosis in CRC cells and scrutinized the molecular mechanism.

METHODS

Cell growth and cytotoxicity were examined using CCK-8 proliferation assay and lactate dehydrogenase assay. Oxidative stress was determined by measuring glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Subcellular changes in mitochondria were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Gene and protein expression levels were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Protein-protein interaction was determined by co-immunoprecipitation.

KEY FINDINGS

Solanine arrested cell proliferation in CRC cells and induced typical ferroptotic changes. Solanine treatment promoted ROS production, lipid peroxidation, and cell membrane disruption, while the cellular level of antioxidant GSH was reduced upon solanine treatment. ALOX12B was identified as a molecular mediator of solanine to promote ferroptosis. Solanine treatment upregulated ALOX12B levels and silencing ALOX12B could suppress solanine-induced ferroptosis. Further, ADCY4 was found to physically associate with ALOX12B and maintain ALOX12B protein stability. Silencing ADCY4 destabilized ALOX12B and attenuated solanine-induced ferroptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrated the ferroptosis-inducing effect of solanine in CRC cells, and revealed ALOX12B/ADCY4 molecular axis as the ferroptosis mediator of solanine. Solanine may synergize with existing ferroptosis inducer as an anticancer strategy in CRC, which warrants further validation in animal experiments.

Use of period analysis to provide a timely assessment of 5-year relative survival for pancreatic cancer patients from Taizhou, eastern China

Assessing long-term tumor survival rates is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of tumor treatment and burden. However, timely assessment of long-term survival in patients with pancreatic cancer is lagging in China. In this study, we applied period analysis to estimate the long-term survival of pancreatic cancer patients using data from four population-based cancer registries in Taizhou city, eastern China. A total of 1121 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2004 and 2018 were included. We assessed the 5-year relative survival (RS) using period analysis and further stratified by sex, age at diagnosis, and region. The 5-year RS during 2014-2018 overall reached 18.9% (14.7% for men and 23.3% for women, respectively). A decrease of the 5-year RS from 30.3% to 11.2% was observed in four diagnostic age gradients (< 55, 55-64, 65-74, and > 74 years age groups). The 5-year RS was higher in urban (24.2%) than in rural (17.4%) areas. Moreover, the 5-year RS of pancreatic cancer patients showed an overall increasing trend for the three periods (2004-2008, 2009-2013, and 2014-2018). Our study, using period analysis for the first time in China, provides the latest estimates of the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer, which provides essential evidence for the prevention and intervention of pancreatic cancer. The results also indicate the importance of further applications of the period analysis for more up-to-date and accurate survival estimates.