A concise review towards defining the exposome of oesophageal cancer in sub-Saharan Africa

Latin America and the Caribbean Code Against cancer 1st edition: Environment, occupation, and cancer

Within the framework of the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC) Code Against Cancer 1st edition, the current work presents recommendations to reduce exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogenic agents relevant for LAC. Using the methodology established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the World Code Against Cancer Framework and experience from developing the European Code Against Cancer 4th edition, a working group of LAC cancer-prevention experts reviewed the list of Group I IARC carcinogenic agents, identified prevalent environmental and occupational exposures in the region, and proposed evidence-based cancer prevention recommendations suited to the epidemiological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions of LAC countries. Two sets of recommendations were drafted: those targeting the general public and a second set for policymakers. Outdoor and indoor air pollution, ultra-violet radiation and occupational exposures to silica dust, asbestos, benzene, diesel, and welding fumes were identified as prevalent carcinogens in LAC and as agents that could be reduced or eliminated to prevent cancers. Recommendations for additional risk factors were not included due to insufficient data of their attributable burden in LAC (sunbeds, radon, aflatoxin), or lack of a clear preventive action to be taken by the individual (arsenic in drinking water, medical radiation), or lack of evidence of carcinogenicity effect (bisphenol A, phthalates, and pesticides). A broad consensus was reached on environmental and occupational carcinogenic exposures present throughout the LAC region and on individual-level and public policy-level recommendations to reduce or eliminate these exposures. Key educational content for the dissemination of these recommendations was also developed as part of LAC Code Against Cancer 1st Edition.

Comparative analysis of immune checkpoint inhibitors in first-line treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a network meta-analysis

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line immunochemotherapy in the treatment of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (CRD42021287033). Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched to obtain randomized controlled trials, and the outcome indicators of the reports were compared and analyzed. Results: A total of 3163 patients from five reported randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed the comprehensive benefits of toripalimab combined with chemotherapy, in terms of overall survival (hazard ratio: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.43-0.81) and progression-free survival (hazard ratio: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.46-0.73). Conclusion: Toripalimab combined with chemotherapy may be a better choice for first-line immunochemotherapy, although this needs to be verified by clinical studies.

Evolution of the scientific literature on esophageal cancer from 1945 to 2020: a bibliometric analysis

The aim of this study was to use bibliometric techniques to provide a longitudinal view of the evolution over more than 50 years of the literature on esophageal cancer without focusing on a specific area. The Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for published articles on esophageal neoplasm. Different aspects of the articles were analyzed - country, journal, authors, keywords, and topics. The search returned 24,215 articles - the journal Diseases of the Esophagus present the most number of manuscripts (n = 858), followed by Annals of Surgical Oncology (n = 475).The most cited article was one by van Hagen et al. (2012) (2,807 citations). The most prevalent topic was oncology (n = 10,448), followed by surgery (n = 4,944). Most articles were original research (n = 22,697), mainly with the basic science study design and published by institutions in China. The analysis of the variables chosen, identified China as the country with the highest number of articles and showed that authors and institutions in Asia stand out when it comes to production of scientific information on esophageal cancer.

HMGB1 induces radioresistance through PI3K/AKT/ATM pathway in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

To explore the effect of HMGB1 on the radio-sensitivity of esophageal cancer cells through regulating the PI3K/Akt/ATM pathway.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We observed the expression of HMGB1 and p-ATM in biopsies of esophageal cancer patients with immunohistochemical staining. Western blot and RT-qPCR were applied to detect the protein and RNA related to PI3K/Akt/ATM pathway, respectively. In addition, we inhibited the PI3K/Akt pathway with ly294002 and activated it with IGF1, then we explored the invasion, proliferation ability, and apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells in vitro by transwell, CCK8 assay, and flow cytometry respectively. In vivo, xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice to study the effect of HMGB1 on radioresistance via PI3K/AKT/ATM Signaling Pathway. The survival rate in patients with single positive/double negative expression of HMGB1 and p-ATM was significantly higher than in those with both positive expression of HMGB1 and p-ATM, the depletion of HMGB1 combined with ly294002 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and invasion ability, meanwhile, the addition of IGF1 reversed it. Meanwhile, depletion of HMGB1 and ly294002 promoted apoptosis and arrested the cancer cells in G0/G1 cell cycle with the decreased expression of Cyclin D1 and CDK4 and improved P16. We further validated these results in vivo, the application of HMGB1 silencing promoted apoptosis of xenograft tumors after radiation, especially combined with pathway inhibitor ly294002.

CONCLUSIONS

Esophageal cancer patients with high expression of HMGB1 and p-ATM have a poor prognosis after chemo-radiotherapy. Down-regulation of HMGB1 may promote the radio-sensitivity of esophageal cancer cells through regulating PI3K/Akt/ATM pathway.