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Jin Y, Liu M, Sa R, Fu H, Cheng L, Chen L. Mouse models of thyroid cancer: Bridging pathogenesis and novel therapeutics. Cancer Lett 2019; 469:35-53. [PMID: 31589905 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2019.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Due to a global increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer, numerous novel mouse models were established to reveal thyroid cancer pathogenesis and test promising therapeutic strategies, necessitating a comprehensive review of translational medicine that covers (i) the role of mouse models in the research of thyroid cancer pathogenesis, and (ii) preclinical testing of potential anti-thyroid cancer therapeutics. The present review article aims to: (i) describe the current approaches for mouse modeling of thyroid cancer, (ii) provide insight into the biology and genetics of thyroid cancers, and (iii) offer guidance on the use of mouse models for testing potential therapeutics in preclinical settings. Based on research with mouse models of thyroid cancer pathogenesis involving the RTK, RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, SRC, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways, inhibitors of VEGFR, MEK, mTOR, SRC, and STAT3 have been developed as anti-thyroid cancer drugs for "bench-to-bedside" translation. In the future, mouse models of thyroid cancer will be designed to be ''humanized" and "patient-like," offering opportunities to: (i) investigate the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer through target screening based on the CRISPR/Cas system, (ii) test drugs based on new mouse models, and (iii) explore the underlying mechanisms based on multi-omics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuchen Jin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
| | - Min Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Rd, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Ri Sa
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hao Fu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
| | - Lin Cheng
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
| | - Libo Chen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, People's Republic of China.
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Saini S, Tulla K, Maker AV, Burman KD, Prabhakar BS. Therapeutic advances in anaplastic thyroid cancer: a current perspective. Mol Cancer 2018; 17:154. [PMID: 30352606 PMCID: PMC6198524 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-018-0903-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Thyroid cancer incidence is increasing at an alarming rate, almost tripling every decade. In 2017, it was the fifth most common cancer in women. Although the majority of thyroid tumors are curable, about 2-3% of thyroid cancers are refractory to standard treatments. These undifferentiated, highly aggressive and mostly chemo-resistant tumors are phenotypically-termed anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). ATCs are resistant to standard therapies and are extremely difficult to manage. In this review, we provide the information related to current and recently emerged first-line systemic therapy (Dabrafenib and Trametinib) along with promising therapeutics which are in clinical trials and may be incorporated into clinical practice in the future. Different categories of promising therapeutics such as Aurora kinase inhibitors, multi-kinase inhibitors, epigenetic modulators, gene therapy using oncolytic viruses, apoptosis-inducing agents, and immunotherapy are reviewed. Combination treatment options that showed synergistic and antagonistic effects are also discussed. We highlight ongoing clinical trials in ATC and discuss how personalized medicine is crucial to design the second line of treatment. Besides using conventional combination therapy, embracing a personalized approach based on advanced genomics and proteomics assessment will be crucial to developing a tailored treatment plan to improve the chances of clinical success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shikha Saini
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Kiara Tulla
- Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Ajay V. Maker
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, IL USA
- Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, IL USA
| | | | - Bellur S. Prabhakar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois-College of Medicine, Chicago, IL USA
- Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL USA
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Dima M, Pecce V, Biffoni M, Di Gioia CRT, Tallini G, Biffoni M, Rosignolo F, Verrienti A, Sponziello M, Damante G, Russo D, Durante C. Molecular profiles of cancer stem-like cell populations in aggressive thyroid cancers. Endocrine 2016; 53:145-56. [PMID: 26370117 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-015-0739-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2015] [Accepted: 09/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
A substantial proportion of patients with advanced thyroid carcinoma fail to respond to or at some point become refractory to conventional therapies. This resistance and the phenomena of thyroid cancer progression and metastasis themselves are thought to be related to tumor-cell sub-populations with stem-like properties. We isolated thyrospheres from four advanced thyroid carcinomas that were resistant to radioiodine therapy and analyzed their molecular profiles. ALDH activity and proteomic profile of main stem cell markers were used to assess stem cell properties. The TaqMan Low Density Array approach was used to evaluate the expression of several genes involved in the EMT process. The phosphorylation status of tyrosine kinase receptors (RTKs) was analyzed to identify potential markers for targeted therapies. We then investigated the effects of the EMT-inhibitor crizotinib on both cell proliferation and phosphorylation status of RTK targets. The cancer stem-like properties of a subset of cells from primary cultures of each tumor were demonstrated. A wide variability among thyrospheres arising from the four thyroid cancers in terms of ALDH activity, stem cell marker expression, and phosphoproteome profiling was present. Dysregulated expression of genes involved in the EMT was observed in all four thyrosphere lines. Treatment with crizotinib was ineffective in cancer stem-like cells, suggesting the presence of a mechanism of resistance in thyrospheres. Collectively, our data indicate that thyroid cancer stem-like populations vary markedly from tumor to tumor and require detailed molecular and biological characterization if they are to be used as the basis of "personalized" treatment of aggressive disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariavittoria Dima
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Pecce
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Mauro Biffoni
- Dipartimento di Ematologia, Oncologia e Medicina Molecolare, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Giovanni Tallini
- Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marco Biffoni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Rosignolo
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Antonella Verrienti
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Marialuisa Sponziello
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Damante
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Biologiche, Università di Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Diego Russo
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università di Catanzaro "Magna Graecia", Viale Europa, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
| | - Cosimo Durante
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
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Rajhbeharrysingh U, Taylor M, Milas M. Medical therapy for advanced forms of thyroid cancer. Surg Clin North Am 2014; 94:541-71. [PMID: 24857576 DOI: 10.1016/j.suc.2014.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
More options than ever before are currently available for medical therapy in patients who present with advanced thyroid cancer or develop surgically unresectable recurrences or symptomatic or progressive disease. The newer medical therapies have addressed the need to find effective therapies beyond the conventional treatment with radioactive iodine, thyroid stimulating hormone suppression, and palliative cytotoxic chemotherapy for patients with advanced thyroid cancer. Although tumor responses to these medical therapies vary by type of thyroid cancer and type of therapy selected, they remain encouraging and provide therapeutic options for selected patients while new drugs are in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uma Rajhbeharrysingh
- Department of Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Matthew Taylor
- Division of Hematology & Medical Oncology, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Mira Milas
- Department of Surgery, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, L619, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
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Wells SA, Santoro M. Update: the status of clinical trials with kinase inhibitors in thyroid cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2014; 99:1543-55. [PMID: 24423326 PMCID: PMC5393476 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2013-2622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Thyroid cancer is usually cured by timely thyroidectomy; however, the treatment of patients with advanced disease is challenging because their tumors are mostly unresponsive to conventional therapies. Recently, the malignancy has attracted much interest for two reasons: the dramatic increase in its incidence over the last three decades, and the discovery of the genetic mutations or chromosomal rearrangements causing most histological types of thyroid cancer. OBJECTIVE This update reviews the molecular genetics of thyroid cancer and the clinical trials evaluating kinase inhibitors (KIs) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease. The update also reviews studies in other malignancies, which have identified mechanisms of efficacy, and also resistance, to specific KIs. This information has been critical both to the development of effective second-generation drugs and to the design of combinatorial therapeutic regimens. Finally, the update addresses the major challenges facing clinicians who seek to develop more effective therapy for patients with thyroid cancer. RESULTS PubMed was searched from January 2000 to November 2013 using the following terms: thyroid cancer, treatment of thyroid cancer, clinical trials in thyroid cancer, small molecule therapeutics, kinase inhibitors, and next generation sequencing. CONCLUSIONS A new era in cancer therapy has emerged based on the introduction of KIs for the treatment of patients with liquid and solid organ malignancies. Patients with thyroid cancer have benefited from this advance and will continue to do so with the development of drugs having greater specificity and with the implementation of clinical trials of combined therapeutics to overcome drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Wells
- Cancer Genetics Branch (S.A.W.), National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; and Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche (M.S.), Universita' di Napoli "Federico II," 80131 Napoli, Italy
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Baldini E, D'Armiento M, Ulisse S. A new aurora in anaplastic thyroid cancer therapy. Int J Endocrinol 2014; 2014:816430. [PMID: 25097550 PMCID: PMC4106108 DOI: 10.1155/2014/816430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Anaplastic thyroid cancers (ATC) are among the most aggressive human neoplasms with a dire prognosis and a median survival time of few months from the diagnosis. The complete absence of effective therapies for ATC renders the identification of novel therapeutic approaches sorely needed. Chromosomal instability, a feature of all human cancers, is thought to represent a major driving force in thyroid cancer progression and a number of mitotic kinases showing a deregulated expression in malignant thyroid tissues are now held responsible for thyroid tumor aneuploidy. These include the three members of the Aurora family (Aurora-A, Aurora-B, and Aurora-C), serine/threonine kinases that regulate multiple aspects of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Over the last few years, several small molecule inhibitors targeting Aurora kinases were developed, which showed promising antitumor effects against a variety of human cancers, including ATC, in preclinical studies. Several of these molecules are now being evaluated in phase I/II clinical trials against advanced solid and hematological malignancies. In the present review we will describe the structure, expression, and mitotic functions of the Aurora kinases, their implications in human cancer progression, with particular regard to ATC, and the effects of their functional inhibition on malignant cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enke Baldini
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Massimino D'Armiento
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Ulisse
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
- *Salvatore Ulisse:
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Durante C, Paciaroni A, Plasmati K, Trulli F, Filetti S. Vandetanib: opening a new treatment practice in advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma. Endocrine 2013; 44:334-42. [PMID: 23584948 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-013-9943-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2013] [Accepted: 03/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is frequently diagnosed in a locally advanced or metastatic stage, and 10-year survival rates in these cases are below 20 %. Cytotoxic chemotherapy has no significant impact on overall or progression-free survival. Vandetanib (Caprelsa(®), AstraZeneca) is a once-daily oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits signalling mediated by growth-factor receptor tyrosine kinase RET (constitutively activated in roughly 60 % of all MTCs), vascular endothelial growth-factor receptors 2 and 3, and epidermal growth-factor receptors. It is the first systemic drug with demonstrated anti-tumor benefits in advanced MTC, and it has recently been approved for locally advanced or metastatic MTC by the United States Food and Drug Administration (April 2011) and the European Medicines Agency (February 2012). This review, starting from the phases II and III efficacy and safety data that led to these approvals, explores important issues related to dosing, patient selection, and strategies for managing the substantial risk of toxicity associated with the drug (including life-threatening cardiac events that are the subject of a black-box warning in the United States). All these issues still remain to be defined. Vandetanib is becoming a standard of care for symptomatic, progressive, metastatic MTCs, to be used selectively in those patients who are likely to benefit from it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosimo Durante
- Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Sapienza Università di Roma, V.le del Policlinico, 155, 00161, Rome, Italy
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Denaro N, Nigro CL, Russi EG, Merlano MC. The role of chemotherapy and latest emerging target therapies in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Onco Targets Ther 2013; 9:1231-41. [PMID: 24092989 PMCID: PMC3787923 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s46545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Anaplastic thyroid cancer represents 1%–2% of thyroid cancers. For its aggressiveness, it
is considered a systemic disease at the time of diagnosis. Surgery remains the cornerstone of
therapy in resectable tumor. Traditional chemotherapy has little effect on metastatic disease. A
multimodality approach, incorporating cytoreductive surgical resection, chemoradiation, either
concurrently or sequentially, and new promising target therapies is advisable. Doxorubicin is the
most commonly used agent, with a response rate of 22%. Recently, other chemotherapy agents have been
used, such as paclitaxel and gemcitabine, with superimposable activity and response rates of
10%–20%. However, survival of patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer has changed little in
the past 50 years, despite more aggressive systemic and radiotherapies. Several new agents are
currently under investigation. Some of them, such as sorafenib, imatinib, and axitinib have been
tested in small clinical trials, showing promising disease control rates ranging from
35%–75%. Referral of patients for participation in clinical trials is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nerina Denaro
- Oncology Department, AO S Croce e Carle, Messina, Italy ; Human Pathology Department, Messina University, Messina, Italy
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Cha HY, Lee BS, Kang S, Shin YS, Chang JW, Sung ES, Kim YS, Choi JW, Kim JH, Kim CH. Valproic Acid Sensitizes TRAIL-Resistant Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Cells to Apoptotic Cell Death. Ann Surg Oncol 2013; 20 Suppl 3:S716-24. [DOI: 10.1245/s10434-013-3232-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Therapeutic strategies in the management of patients with metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer: review of the current literature. Curr Opin Oncol 2013; 25:224-8. [PMID: 23493194 DOI: 10.1097/cco.0b013e32835ff44b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare and deadly malignancy. There is a need to speed up and support clinical research. This review article focuses on the new molecules that have been developed for the treatment of this aggressive tumor. RECENT FINDINGS Improvement in the knowledge of pathogenesis and genetics of ATC led to the development of a variety of new molecules that may be used to treat this disease. In summary, these molecules are proteasome inhibitors, Aurora kinase inhibitors, vascular targeting agents, and gene therapies. All these molecules demonstrated a potentially therapeutic activity in metastatic ATC. To date, the largest prospective randomized multicenter, open-label, trial was conducted with combretastatin-A4. SUMMARY More efficient drugs need to be developed through multinational efforts.
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