BRUCE Protein, New Marker for Targeted Therapy of Gastric Carcinoma

Exploring the Role of the Inhibitor of Apoptosis BIRC6 in Breast Cancer: A Database Analysis

PURPOSE

The aim of the present work was to investigate the role of apoptosis inhibitor BIRC6 (baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 6) in breast cancer (BC), focusing particularly on its involvement in the metastatic cascade.

METHODS

We analyzed BIRC6 mRNA expression levels and copy number variations in three BC databases from The Cancer Genome Atlas comparing clinical and molecular attributes. Genomic analysis was performed using the cBioPortal platform, whereas transcriptomic studies (mRNA expression levels, correlation heatmaps, survival plots, and gene ontology) were performed using USC Xena and R. Statistical significance was set at P < .05.

RESULTS

Our bioinformatic analyses showed that there was a differential expression of BIRC6 in cancer samples when compared with normal samples. Copy number variations that involve amplification and gain of BIRC6 gene were correlated with negative hormone receptor tumors, higher prognostic indexes, younger age at diagnosis, and both chemotherapy and radiotherapy administration. Transcriptomic and gene ontology analyses showed that, under conditions of high BIRC6 mRNA levels, there are differential expression patterns in apoptotic, proliferation, and metastatic pathways.

CONCLUSION

In summary, our in silico data suggest that BIRC6 plays an antiapoptotic, pro-proliferative, and apparent prometastatic role and could be a relevant molecular target for treatment of BC tumors.

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: The Role of BIRC6 Serum Level

Background

Different factors are involved in the incidence, etiology, metastasis, diagnosis, and treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma, including apoptosis inhibitor proteins. Baculoviral IAP repeat containing protein 6 (BIRC6) is one of the apoptosis inhibitor proteins contributing to cancer cells' survival in many cancer types with diagnostic and treatment importance. This study is aimed at assessing the serum level of BIRC6 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Materials and Methods

In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 60 serum samples were collected from 45 male and 15 female patients with a mean age of 61 years as the case group and 28 serum samples of healthy people as a control group. The serum samples were analyzed using a commercial sandwich ELISA kit.

Results

There were no significant differences between BIRC6 serum levels in patients and healthy subjects. Moreover, we did not observe any significant relationships between BIRC6 serum levels and the patients' demographic or clinical characteristics.

Conclusions

There was no significant difference in serum BIRC6 levels in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and healthy individuals. Its use in determining the prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma or considering it a determinant marker in this type of cancer may not have a place. More in-depth studies for evaluating BIRC6 serum levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients are recommended for better insight into this protein's role in diagnosing, progression, and prognosis of the disease.

Identification of an autophagy-related 12-lncRNA signature and evaluation of NFYC-AS1 as a pro-cancer factor in lung adenocarcinoma

Objective: To develop an autophagy-related lncRNA-based risk signature and corresponding nomogram to predict overall survival (OS) for LUAD patients and investigate the possible meaning of screened factors.

Methods: Differentially expressed lncRNAs and autophagy genes were screened between normal and LUAD tumor samples from the TCGA LUAD dataset. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to construct the lncRNA-based risk signature and nomogram incorporating clinical information. Then, the accuracy and sensitivity were confirmed by the AUC of ROC curves in both training and validation cohorts. qPCR, immunoblot, shRNA, and ectopic expression were used to verify the positive regulation of NFYC-AS1 on BIRC6. CCK-8, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry were used to confirm the influence of NFYC-AS1 on cell proliferation, autophagy, and apoptosis via BIRC6.

Results: A 12-lncRNA risk signature and a nomogram combining related clinical information were constructed. Furthermore, the abnormal increase of NFYC-AS1 may promote LUAD progression through the autophagy-related gene BIRC6.

Conclusion: 12-lncRNA signature may function as a predictive marker for LUAD patients, and NFYC-AS1 along with BIRC6 may function as carcinogenic factors in a combinatorial manner.

Efficacy of the Low Dose Apatinib plus Chemotherapy on Advanced Gastric Carcinoma

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of low dose apatinib plus chemotherapy on advanced gastric carcinoma.

Methods

Eligible 50 patients with advanced gastric carcinoma admitted to the hospital from January 2019 to March 2020 were enrolled, and they were assigned into the control group (n = 25, chemotherapy) and observation group (apatinib plus chemotherapy). Changes of CEA, CA72-4, and VEGF levels were measured, and the efficacy of the two groups was evaluated by referring to KPS and RECIST.

Results

Significant reduction was observed in CEA, CA72-4, and VEGF in both groups, and the treatment in the observation group resulted in a greater reduction (all P < 0.05). The observation group obtained significantly higher KPS scores of compared with the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, the treatment in the observation group led to a better control rate in relative to the control group according to RECIST the score (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The combination of low dose apatinib and chemotherapy might be a promising option for advanced gastric cancer and it merits clinical application.

Sex-Biased Molecular Signature for Overall Survival of Liver Cancer Patients

Sex/gender disparity has been shown in the incidence and prognosis of many types of diseases, probably due to differences in genes, physiological conditions such as hormones, and lifestyle between the sexes. The mortality and survival rates of many cancers, especially liver cancer, differ between men and women. Due to the pronounced sex/gender disparity, considering sex/gender may be necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. By analyzing research articles through a PubMed literature search, the present review identified 12 genes which showed practical relevance to cancer and sex disparities. Among the 12 sex-specific genes, 7 genes (BAP1, CTNNB1, FOXA1, GSTO1, GSTP1, IL6, and SRPK1) showed sex-biased function in liver cancer. Here we summarized previous findings of cancer molecular signature including our own analysis, and showed that sex-biased molecular signature CTNNB1^High, IL6^High, RHOA^High and GLIPR1^Low may serve as a female-specific index for prediction and evaluation of OS in liver cancer patients. This review suggests a potential implication of sex-biased molecular signature in liver cancer, providing a useful information on diagnosis and prediction of disease progression based on gender.