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Wang P, Laster K, Jia X, Dong Z, Liu K. Targeting CRAF kinase in anti-cancer therapy: progress and opportunities. Mol Cancer 2023; 22:208. [PMID: 38111008 PMCID: PMC10726672 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-023-01903-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade is commonly dysregulated in human malignancies by processes driven by RAS or RAF oncogenes. Among the members of the RAF kinase family, CRAF plays an important role in the RAS-MAPK signaling pathway, as well as in the progression of cancer. Recent research has provided evidence implicating the role of CRAF in the physiological regulation and the resistance to BRAF inhibitors through MAPK-dependent and MAPK-independent mechanisms. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of solely targeting CRAF kinase activity remains controversial. Moreover, the kinase-independent function of CRAF may be essential for lung cancers with KRAS mutations. It is imperative to develop strategies to enhance efficacy and minimize toxicity in tumors driven by RAS or RAF oncogenes. The review investigates CRAF alterations observed in cancers and unravels the distinct roles of CRAF in cancers propelled by diverse oncogenes. This review also seeks to summarize CRAF-interacting proteins and delineate CRAF's regulation across various cancer hallmarks. Additionally, we discuss recent advances in pan-RAF inhibitors and their combination with other therapeutic approaches to improve treatment outcomes and minimize adverse effects in patients with RAF/RAS-mutant tumors. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted role of CRAF in cancers and highlighting the latest developments in RAF inhibitor therapies, we endeavor to identify synergistic targets and elucidate resistance pathways, setting the stage for more robust and safer combination strategies for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penglei Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Kyle Laster
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Xuechao Jia
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Zigang Dong
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, AMS, College of Medicine, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
| | - Kangdong Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, AMS, College of Medicine, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
- Basic Medicine Sciences Research Center, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China.
- Provincial Cooperative Innovation Center for Cancer Chemoprevention, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China.
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Bai JW, Qiu SQ, Zhang GJ. Molecular and functional imaging in cancer-targeted therapy: current applications and future directions. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2023; 8:89. [PMID: 36849435 PMCID: PMC9971190 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-023-01366-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeted anticancer drugs block cancer cell growth by interfering with specific signaling pathways vital to carcinogenesis and tumor growth rather than harming all rapidly dividing cells as in cytotoxic chemotherapy. The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST) system has been used to assess tumor response to therapy via changes in the size of target lesions as measured by calipers, conventional anatomically based imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other imaging methods. However, RECIST is sometimes inaccurate in assessing the efficacy of targeted therapy drugs because of the poor correlation between tumor size and treatment-induced tumor necrosis or shrinkage. This approach might also result in delayed identification of response when the therapy does confer a reduction in tumor size. Innovative molecular imaging techniques have rapidly gained importance in the dawning era of targeted therapy as they can visualize, characterize, and quantify biological processes at the cellular, subcellular, or even molecular level rather than at the anatomical level. This review summarizes different targeted cell signaling pathways, various molecular imaging techniques, and developed probes. Moreover, the application of molecular imaging for evaluating treatment response and related clinical outcome is also systematically outlined. In the future, more attention should be paid to promoting the clinical translation of molecular imaging in evaluating the sensitivity to targeted therapy with biocompatible probes. In particular, multimodal imaging technologies incorporating advanced artificial intelligence should be developed to comprehensively and accurately assess cancer-targeted therapy, in addition to RECIST-based methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Wen Bai
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment in Breast Cancer, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
- Xiamen Key Laboratory of Endocrine-Related Cancer Precision Medicine, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
- Xiamen Research Center of Clinical Medicine in Breast and Thyroid Cancers, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
- Department of Breast-Thyroid-Surgery and Cancer Center, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
- Department of Medical Oncology, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
- Cancer Research Center of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China
| | - Si-Qi Qiu
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Breast Diseases, Clinical Research Center, Shantou Central Hospital, 515041, Shantou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, Shantou University Medical College, 515041, Shantou, China
| | - Guo-Jun Zhang
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment in Breast Cancer, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China.
- Xiamen Key Laboratory of Endocrine-Related Cancer Precision Medicine, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China.
- Xiamen Research Center of Clinical Medicine in Breast and Thyroid Cancers, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China.
- Department of Breast-Thyroid-Surgery and Cancer Center, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China.
- Cancer Research Center of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, 361100, Xiamen, China.
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Minamiguchi K, Nishiofuku H, Saito N, Sato T, Taiji R, Matsumoto T, Maeda S, Chanoki Y, Tachiiri T, Kunichika H, Inoue T, Marugami N, Tanaka T. Quantitative Analysis of Signal Heterogeneity in the Hepatobiliary Phase of Pretreatment Gadoxetic Acid-Enhanced MRI as a Prognostic Imaging Biomarker in Transarterial Chemoembolization for Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041238. [PMID: 36831582 PMCID: PMC9954181 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the era of local and systemic therapies for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), personalized therapy has become available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the usefulness of quantitative analysis of pretreatment gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) to predict prognosis following transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS This retrospective study included patients with treatment-naïve intermediate-stage HCC who underwent EOB-MRI before the initial TACE and were treated by initial TACE between February 2007 and January 2016. Signal heterogeneity in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) of EOB-MRI was quantitatively evaluated by the coefficient of variation (CV). The cutoff CV value was determined using the Classification and Regression Tree algorithm. RESULTS A total of 64 patients were enrolled. In multivariate analysis, High CV (≥0.16) was significantly associated with poor prognosis (p = 0.038). In a subgroup analysis of patients within up-to-7 criteria, MST was significantly shorter in the High CV group than in the Low CV group (37.7 vs. 82.9 months, p = 0.024). In patients beyond up-to-7 criteria, MST was 18.0 and 38.3 months in the High CV and Low CV groups, respectively (p = 0.182). In both groups scanned at 1.5 T or 3.0 T, High CV was significantly associated with poor prognosis (p = 0.001 and 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION CV of the tumor in the HBP of EOB-MRI is a valuable prognostic factor of TACE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyoyuki Minamiguchi
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.:+81-744-22-3051
| | - Hideyuki Nishiofuku
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Natsuhiko Saito
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Takeshi Sato
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Taiji
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Takeshi Matsumoto
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Shinsaku Maeda
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Yuto Chanoki
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Tachiiri
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Hideki Kunichika
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Takashi Inoue
- Department of Evidence-Based Medicine, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Nagaaki Marugami
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
| | - Toshihiro Tanaka
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Nara Medical University, Shijyocho 840, Kashihara City 634-8522, Japan
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