No associations of a set of SNPs in the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) genes with survival of colorectal cancer patients

Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in the tumor microenvironment: Roles of transforming growth factor-β and matrix metalloproteins

Cancer is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Tumor cells grow in a complex microenvironment, comprising immune cells, stromal cells, and vascular cells, collaborating to support tumor growth and facilitate metastasis. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is a multipotent factor that can not only affect fibrosis promotion but also assume distinct roles in the early and late stages of the tumor. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) primarily function to degrade the extracellular matrix, a pivotal cellular player in tumor progression. Moreover, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), similar to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, is associated with cancer progression by promoting angiogenesis, disrupting the endothelial barrier, and leading to cancer-associated fibroblasts. Recent studies have underscored the pivotal roles of TGF-β and MMPs in EndMT. This review delves into the contributions of TGF-β and MMPs, as well as their regulatory mechanisms, within the tumor microenvironment. This collective understanding offers fresh insights into the potential for combined targeted therapies in the fight against cancer.

Efficacy of mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab regimen in advanced colorectal cancer after deep hyperthermia: a single-center retrospective study

Background

This study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy and safety of a modified FOLFOX6 (oxaliplatin + leucovorin + 5-fluorouracil) plus bevacizumab regimen after deep hyperthermia in advanced colorectal cancer.

Methods

A total of 80 colorectal cancer patients treated at our hospital were selected as research subjects. According to the random number table method, patients were divided into a control group (mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab) and a combination group (mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab after deep hyperthermia treatment), with 40 patients in each group. After six cycles of treatment, the objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), levels of serum tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), vascular epidermal growth factor (VEGF), Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores, and the occurrence of adverse events were compared between the two groups.

Results

After six cycles of treatment, the ORR in the combination group was higher than that in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The DCR in the combination group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The serum CEA levels in the control and combination groups after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment, and the serum CEA and VEGF levels in the combination group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The KPS scores in both groups after treatment were higher than those before treatment, and the KPS scores in the combination group after treatment were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The incidence of fatigue and pain in the combination group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion

mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab after deep hyperthermia is effective in advanced colorectal cancer patients, which can effectively improve their quality of life, and the adverse events are controllable and tolerable. A randomized or prospective trial will be required to further prove these data and explore its potentiality, especially if compared to conventional treatment.

Examining SNP-SNP interactions and risk of clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer using multifactor dimensionality reduction based methods

Background: SNP interactions may explain the variable outcome risk among colorectal cancer patients. Examining SNP interactions is challenging, especially with large datasets. Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR)-based programs may address this problem.

Objectives: 1) To compare two MDR-based programs for their utility; and 2) to apply these programs to sets of MMP and VEGF-family gene SNPs in order to examine their interactions in relation to colorectal cancer survival outcomes.

Methods: This study applied two data reduction methods, Cox-MDR and GMDR 0.9, to study one to three way SNP interactions. Both programs were run using a 5-fold cross validation step and the top models were verified by permutation testing. Prognostic associations of the SNP interactions were verified using multivariable regression methods. Eight datasets, including SNPs from MMP family genes (n = 201) and seven sets of VEGF-family interaction networks (n = 1,517 SNPs) were examined.

Results: ∼90 million potential interactions were examined. Analyses in the MMP and VEGF gene family datasets found several novel 1- to 3-way SNP interactions. These interactions were able to distinguish between the patients with different outcome risks (regression p-values 0.03–2.2E-09). The strongest association was detected for a 3-way interaction including CHRM3.rs665159_EPN1.rs6509955_PTGER3.rs1327460 variants.

Conclusion: Our work demonstrates the utility of data reduction methods while identifying potential prognostic markers in colorectal cancer.

Effects of laparoscopic radical surgery in the treatment of colorectal cancer and correlations of VEGF and TGF-β1 with prognosis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of laparoscopic radical surgery on the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) and explore the correlations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) with prognosis.

METHODS

The clinical data of 210 patients with CRC admitted to the Yantai Zhifu Hospital from February 2015 to February 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 110 patients were treated with laparoscopic radical surgery and assigned to the observation group, and the rest 100 patients were treated with routine open surgery and included in the open group. The two groups were compared in terms of operation time (OT), intraoperative blood loss (IBL), postoperative exhaust time (PET), length of hospital stays (LOS) and incidence of complications. Patients were also followed up for 3 years to count their survival rates. Serum expression levels of VEGF and TGF-β1, detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), were compared before and after treatment, and their correlations with patients' clinicopathological data and prognosis were analyzed.

RESULTS

Compared with the open group, patients in the observation group had longer OT, but lower IBL, PET, LOS, and overall incidence of complications. In the observation group, VEGF and TGF-β1 expression after treatment was remarkably lower than that before treatment and that in the open group. A 3-year survival rate of 80.0% was observed in the observation group. Univariate analysis showed that serum VEGF and TGF-β1 expression levels were closely related to Dukes staging and lymph node metastasis (LNM) (P<0.05). The Log-Rank test showed that the survival rate of patients with high VEGF and TGF-β1 expression was remarkably lower than that of those with low expression (P<0.05). According to Cox model multivariate analysis, Dukes staging, LNM, surgical methods and high VEGF and TGF-β1 expression were all independent risk factors for the prognosis of CRC patients (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic radical surgery is effective and safe in treating CRC. VEGF and TGF-β1 are highly expressed in the serum of CRC patients, and are closely related to the tumor staging, LNM and prognosis of patients, which are of great significance for evaluating the condition and prognosis of CRC patients.

Rhein Inhibits the Migration of Ovarian Cancer Cells through Down-Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases

The root of Rheum officinale BAILL as a traditional Chinese medicine, which main function is removing heat from the blood, promoting blood circulation and clearing toxins away. Rhein (4,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid) is one of the most important active components in the root of Rheum officinale BAILL, which could inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells. However, the study on the mechanism of anti-cell migration capacity of Rhein on ovarian cancer is not yet clear. Here, we demonstrated that Rhein had dose-dependent effects of ovarian tumors on drugs and could inhibit the proliferations and migration of two typical ovarian cancer cell lines, A2780 and OV2008. Furthermore, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays showed that the survival rate of ovarian cancer cells was significantly decreased when treated with Rhein. Rhein inhibited the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the wound healing assay and transwell assay indicated that the cell migratory potential and expression of matrix metalloproteinases were markedly inhibited by Rhein. Our findings suggested that Rhein could be a potential candidate to be developed as a drug for the prevention of ovarian cancer cell migration.

No associations of a set of SNPs in the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) genes with survival of colorectal cancer patients

In this study, we aimed to investigate the associations of genetic variations within select genes functioning in angiogenesis, lymph‐angiogenesis, and metastasis pathways and the risk of outcome in colorectal cancer patients. We followed a two‐stage analysis: First, 381 polymorphisms from 30 genes (eight Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and 22 Matrix Metalloproteinase [MMP] genes) were investigated in the discovery cohort (n = 505). Then, 16 polymorphisms with the lowest P‐value in this analysis were investigated in a separate replication cohort (n = 247). Genotypes were obtained using the Illumina^® HumanOmni‐1‐Quad (discovery cohort) and Sequenom MassArray^® (replication cohort) platforms. The primary outcome measure was overall survival (OS). Kaplan–Meier, univariate and multivariable Cox regression methods were used to test the associations between genotypes and OS. Four SNPs (rs12365082, rs11225389, rs11225388, and rs2846707) had the univariate analysis P < 0.05 in both the discovery and replication cohorts. These SNPs are in linkage disequilibrium with each other to varying extent and are located in the MMP8 and MMP27 genes. In the multivariable analysis adjusting for age, stage, and microsatellite instability status, three of these SNPs (rs12365082, rs11225389, rs11225388) were independent predictors of OS (P < 0.05) in the discovery cohort. However, the same analysis in the replication cohort did not yield statistically significant results. Overall, while the genetic variations in the VEGF and MMP genes are attractive candidates as prognostic markers, our study showed no evidence of associations of a large set of SNPs in these genes and overall survival of colorectal cancer patients in our study.