Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy as single treatment for early stage non-small cell lung cancer: A single institution analysis

Detection of Circulating Tumor DNA After Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy in Patients With Unbiopsied Lung Tumors (SABR-DETECT)

For patients with stage I/IIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), surgical resection is the standard treatment. However, some of these patients are not candidates for surgery or refuse a surgical option. Definitive stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a standard approach in these patients. Approximately 15% of patients undergoing SABR for localized NSCLC will experience a recurrence within 2 years. Furthermore, many of these patients are deemed appropriate for SABR without a tissue diagnosis, based on the likelihood of malignancy which can be calculated by validated models. A liquid biopsy, detecting ctDNA, would be useful in early detection of recurrences, and documenting a cancer diagnosis in patients without a biopsy. This is a multi-institutional study enrolling patients with suspected stage I/IIA NSCLC and a pretreatment likelihood of malignancy of ≥60% using the validated models for patients without a tissue diagnosis, in cohort 1 (n = 45). The second cohort will consist of biopsied patients (n = 30-60). SABR will be delivered as per risk-adapted protocol. Plasma will be collected for ctDNA analysis prior to the first fraction of SABR, 24 to 72 hours after first fraction, and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24-months. The patients will be followed up with imaging at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24-months. The primary objective is to assess whether a cancer detection liquid biopsy platform can predict recurrence of NSCLC. The secondary objectives are to assess the impact of SABR on detection rates of ctDNA in patients undergoing SABR and to correlate ctDNA positivity and pretreatment probability of malignancy (NCT05921474).

MicroRNA-196a-5p facilitates the onset and progression via targeting ITM2B in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a prevalent malignancy affecting the digestive tract, with an increasing incidence rate worldwide. Recently, numerous studies revealed that microRNAs were associated with gene expression regulation, particularly their involvement in the regulation of tumor cells, garnering widespread attention. Here, we discovered that miR-196a-5p was significantly upregulated in both ESCC tissues and cells, which was correlated with an unfavorable prognosis. Series functional in vitro investigations have confirmed that silencing miR-196a-5p obviously restrained the ESCC cells malignant phenotypes and promoted apoptosis. Bioinformatics analysis and rescue experiments revealed that miR-196a-5p directly targeted ITM2B, exerting influence on the development of ESCC cells through negative regulation of ITM2B expression. Xenograft mouse models were established for conducting in vivo experiments, providing further confirmation of the regulatory mechanism and biological significance of the miR-196a-5p/ITM2B axis in ESCC. Our research demonstrated miR-196a-5p promoted ESCC malignant progression by interacting with ITM2B, thereby providing novel clues and potential targets for the new diagnosis and thereby of ESCC.