Patients with hepatic breast cancer metastases demonstrate highly specific profiles of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 after SIRT treatment as compared to other primary and secondary liver tumours

A Predictive Model for the Early Death of Breast Cancer With Synchronous Liver Metastases: A Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer liver metastasis (BCLM) is a severe condition often resulting in early death. The identification of prognostic factors and the construction of accurate predictive models can guide clinical decision-making.

METHODS

A large sample of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was analyzed, including 3711 patients diagnosed with de novo BCLM between 2010 and 2015. Predictive models were developed using histograms, and stepwise regression addressed variable collinearity. Internal validation was performed, and results were compared to similar studies.

RESULTS

In this study of 3711 BCLM patients, 2571 didn't have early death. Out of the 1164 who died early, 1086 had cancer-specific early death. Prognostic factors for early death, including age, race, tumor size, and lymph node involvement, were identified. A nomogram based on these factors was constructed, accurately predicting early all-cause and cancer-specific death.

CONCLUSIONS

Valuable insights into the prognosis of BCLM patients were provided, and important prognostic factors for early death were identified. The developed nomogram can assist clinicians in identifying high-risk patients for early death and inform treatment decisions.

Albumin-Stabilized Manganese Oxide/Semiconducting Polymer Nanocomposites for Photothermal-Chemodynamic Therapy of Hepatic Carcinoma

Hepatic carcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide, while its treatment remains a great challenge. Traditional therapeutic methods often have disadvantages such as limited therapeutic efficacy and potential side effects. In this study, we report the construction of bovine serum albumin (BSA)–stabilized manganese oxide (MnO2)/semiconducting polymer (SP) nanocomposites to combine photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) for treatment of hepatic carcinoma in living mouse models. Such nanocomposites are composed of BSA, SP, and MnO2 as the stabilizer, PTT, and CDT agent, respectively. SP produced local heat under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation for PTT, and MnO2 nanoparticles mediated CDT in the tumor microenvironment, leading to apoptosis of cancer cells. Such nanocomposite-mediated combinational therapy showed a much higher efficacy in inhibiting growth of subcutaneous HepG2 tumors in nude mice than sole treatment. This study thus provides a multifunctional nanoplatform for safe and effective treatment of hepatic carcinoma.

lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 overexpression had antitumor effect on Hepatic cancer via miRNA-23a-3p/PTEN axis

The present study aimed to evaluate the antitumor effects of MAGI2-AS3 and its mechanism in liver cancer. Cancer tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues were collected, and lncRNAs were analyzed via chip assay. The correlation between MAGEI2-AS3 and patient pathology and prognosis was then analyzed. Bel-7402 and Huh-7 cell lines were also used in our study. For the in vitro study, MTT assay, flow cytometry, transwell assay, and wound healing assay were conducted to evaluate hepatic cancer cell (Bel-7402 and Huh-7) proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration. The relative mechanisms were evaluated by Western blot (WB) and cellular immunofluorescence. The correlation among MAGI2-AS3, miRNA-23a-3p, and PTEN was determined by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. The expression of lncRNA MAGI2-AS3 was significantly downregulated in tumor tissues. MAGI2-AS3 expression was closely correlation with HCC patient's clinicopathology and prognosis and prognosis. In the cell experiment, compared with the negative control (NC) group, MAGI2-AS3 overexpression reduced cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and increased cell apoptosis in Bel-7402 and Huh-7 cell lines. However, when Bel-7402 and Huh-7 cells were transfected with miRNA-23a-3p, their biological activities (proliferation, invasion, and migration) were significantly increased. Through WB assay, MAGI2-AS3 could increase PTEN and depress p-AKT and MMP-9 protein expressions via miRNA-23a-3p suppression. The dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that MAGI2-AS3 directly targeted miRNA-23a-3p and that miRNA-23a-3p could target PTEN. MAGI2-AS3 might be a potential therapeutic target for liver cancer owing to its regulation by the miRNA-23a-3p/PTEN axis.

Improved ADM Penetration Distance and Therapeutic Efficiency in a Rabbit VX2 Liver Cancer Model by Relaxin Infusion Combined with Transcatheter Chemoembolization Through Hepatic Artery

Purpose

To evaluate the adriamycin (ADM) pervasion distance within tumor stroma after relaxin (RLX) infusion through tumor feeding artery and further investigate the therapeutic effects of RLX infusion combined with transcatheter chemoembolization (TACE) on the rabbit VX2 liver cancer, since the chemotherapy impaired due to limited drug distribution hindered by stiffened tumor stroma.

Materials and Methods

In the first part, rabbits received normal saline (NS), RLX or combined with TACE, and the penetration distance of ADM was measured by immunofluorescence and the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were evaluated by gelatin substrate zymography in each group. In the second part, the rabbits received NS, TACE and RLX combined with TACE, respectively. The tumor growth rates, necrosis rates and intrahepatic metastasis were measured, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE), transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labelling (TUNEL) and Ki67 staining were conducted in each group.

Results

In the first part, the expression of MMP-9 was increased in groups treated by RLX compared with NS group, especially three days after RLX infusion (p=0.001). The ADM penetration distance was significantly increased in groups treated by RLX compared with NS group (p<0.05), and it was farthest three days after RLX infusion. In the second part, compared with the NS and TACE groups, the tumor growth rates, the positive staining rates of Ki67 and the tumor growth rates were significantly decreased in RLX+TACE group (p<0.05). However, the positive staining rates of TUNEL and the tumor necrosis rates were significantly increased (p<0.05), and HE staining also revealed higher necrosis rates. The intrahepatic metastasis indicates no difference between the three groups (p=0.273).

Conclusion

An increased penetration distance was obtained by RLX infusion through tumor feeding artery, and better therapeutic effects were achieved by RLX combined with TACE.

Platelet Volume Is Reduced In Metastasing Breast Cancer: Blood Profiles Reveal Significant Shifts

Background

Platelets play a crucial role in breast cancer (BC) progression and metastases. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of platelet activation. The aim of the present study was to assess whether there is a difference in MPV between patients with metastatic BC with liver metastases and those with BC without liver metastases.

Methods

Between January 2014 and December 2017, 211 metastatic BC patients with synchronous liver metastases and 215 BC patients without metastases were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ clinicopathological characteristics data were collected.

Results

MPV levels were reduced in patients with liver metastases compared with those in patients without liver metastases. There were significant differences in MPV levels according to liver metastases status both in premenopausal and in postmenopausal non-TNBC or non-HER2+ patients. Moreover, in postmenopausal HER2+ or TNBC patients, MPV levels were lower in patients with liver metastases compared with those in patients without liver metastases. In the group with non-liver metastasis, platelet distribution width was significantly associated with tumor N stage. In addition, the prevalence of BC liver metastases decreased as MPV quartiles increased. After adjusting for other risk factors, the odds ratios for liver metastases according to MPV quartiles were 1.000, 0.267 (0.134–0.530), 0.072 (0.034–0.152), and 0.137 (0.066–0.281), respectively.

Conclusion

MPV is reduced in BC patients with liver metastases compared with that in BC patients without metastases. Moreover, MPV is independently associated with the presence of liver metastases.

A Phase I/Ib trial of Ad-REIC in liver cancer: study protocol

This study will assess the safety and efficacy of the administration of adenoviral vector expressing the human-reduced expression in immortalized cells (Ad-REIC) to a liver tumor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer. A Phase I clinical study of Ad-REIC administration to a liver tumor in a patient with HCC or liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer will be conducted. The study is a single-arm, prospective, nonrandomized, noncomparative, open-label, single-center trial performed in Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan. Ad-REIC will be injected into the liver tumor under ultrasound guidance. Ad-REIC administration will be repeated a total of three-times every 2 weeks. The primary end point is the dose-limiting toxicity and incidence of adverse events. The secondary end points are the objective response rate and disease control rate. This study aims to expand the indication of Ad-REIC by assessing its safety and efficacy in patients with HCC or liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer.

Predictive Significance of Serum MMP-9 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Objective

The incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is increasing, and there are no reliable serum biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of PTC. This study aimed to assess whether serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) could serve as an auxiliary diagnostic/prognostic marker for PTC after total and partial thyroidectomy.

Material and Methods

Postoperative serum MMP-9 concentrations were measured in 182 male patients with PTC, 86 male patients with benign thyroid nodule (BTN), and 62 male healthy controls (HCs). Multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression were applied to evaluate the correlation between variables. The performance of serum MMP-9 in diagnosing PTC and predicting structural persistent/recurrent disease (SPRD) during 48 months of follow-up after initial surgery was evaluated by receiving operating characteristic curve analysis.

Results

The median serum MMP-9 concentration in the PTC group (79.45 ng/ml) was significantly higher than those in the BTN group (47.35 ng/ml) and HC group (47.71 ng/ml). The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting PTC from BTN was 0.852 at a cut-off value of 60.59 ng/ml. Serum MMP-9 was negatively correlated with disease-free survival (OR 1.026, P=0.001). Serum MMP-9 exhibited good performance in predicting SPRD at a cutoff value of 99.25 ng/ml with an AUC of 0.818. Advanced TNM stage (OR 31.371, P=0.019) and serum MMP-9 ≥99.25 ng/ml (OR 4.103, P=0.022) were independent risk factors for SPRD.

Conclusions

Serum MMP-9 potentially represents a good predictive biomarker for PTC diagnosis and prognosis after thyroidectomy in Chinese male patients for whom radio-imaging indicates suspected PTC.

Kaempferol inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer HepG2 cells by down-regulation of microRNA-21

Liver cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers in human digestive system, which kills more than half a million people every year worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effects of kaempferol, a flavonoid compound isolated from vegetables and fruits, on hepatic cancer HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis, as well as microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression. Cell viability was detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Cell proliferation was measured using 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed using Guava Nexin assay. Cell migration and invasion were determined using two-chamber migration (invasion) assay. Cell transfection was used to change the expression of miR-21. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to analyze the expressions of miR-21 and phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN). Expression of key proteins involved in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase 3/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway were evaluated using western blotting. Results showed that kaempferol significantly inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis. Kaempferol remarkably reduce the expression of miR-21 in HepG2 cells. Overexpression of miR-21 obviously reversed the effects of kaempferol on HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis. Moreover, miR-21 negatively regulated the expression of PTEN in HepG2 cells. Kaempferol enhanced the expression of PTEN and inactivated PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, kaempferol inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells by down-regulating miR-21 and up-regulating PTEN, as well as inactivating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Knockdown of Golgi phosphoprotein 73 blocks the trafficking of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells and inhibits cell invasion

Golgi phosphoprotein 73 (GP73) has been regarded as a novel serum biomarker for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in recent years. It has been reported that the upregulation of GP73 may promote the carcinogenesis and metastasis of HCC; however, the mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, GP73 correlates positively with matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) in HCC‐related cells and tissues. Further studies indicate that the knockdown of GP73 blocks MMP‐2 trafficking and secretion, resulting in cell invasion inhibition. Additionally, the knockdown of GP73 induces the accumulation of intracellular MMP‐2, which inhibits the phosphorylation of Src at Y416 and triggers the inhibition of SAPK/JNK and p53‐p21 signalling pathways through a negative feedback loop. Finally, the transactivation of MMP2 was inhibited by the reduction in E2F1. This study reveals that GP73 plays functional roles in the trafficking and equilibrium of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT)‐related secretory proteins and that GP73 serves as a new potential target for combating the metastasis of HCC.

Incidence and prognostic factors of patients with synchronous liver metastases upon initial diagnosis of breast cancer: a population-based study

Background

The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and prognostic factors of patients with breast cancer liver metastases (BCLM) at initial diagnosis.

Methods

We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to extract data on patients with primary invasive breast cancer from 2010 to 2014. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine factors associated with the presence of liver metastases upon initial diagnosis of breast cancer. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors in these patients.

Results

In total, 3,276 patients with liver metastases were identified upon initial diagnosis of breast cancer. Patients with hormone receptor-negative (HR−), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer had the highest incidence (4.6% among the entire population, 46.5% among the metastatic subgroup). Age, gender, race, pathological grade, extrahepatic metastases, tumor subtype, and marital status were identified as factors associated with the presence of liver metastases upon initial diagnosis of breast cancer. The median overall survival among the entire population with BCLM was 20.0 months. Patients with HR+/HER2+ breast cancer had the longest median survival of 36.0 months. The survival analyses indicated that older age, higher pathological grade, extrahepatic metastases, triple-negative subtype, unmarried status, and uninsured status were independent prognostic factors for a poorer prognosis.

Conclusion

The study provides insight into the incidence and prognostic factors for patients with BCLM at initial diagnosis, which is important clinical information for risk evaluation and prognostic assessment.

Liquid biopsy and multiparametric analysis in management of liver malignancies: new concepts of the patient stratification and prognostic approach

Background

The annually recorded incidence of primary hepatic carcinomas has significantly increased over the past two decades accounting for over 800 thousand of annual deaths caused by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) alone globally. Further, secondary liver malignancies are much more widespread compared to primary hepatic carcinomas: almost all solid malignancies are able to metastasise into the liver. The primary tumours most frequently metastasising to the liver are breast followed by colorectal carcinomas. Given the increased incidence of both primary and metastatic liver cancers, a new, revised approach is needed to advance medical care based on predictive diagnostics, innovative screening programmes, targeted preventive measures, and patient stratification for treatment algorithms tailored to individualised patient profile.

Advantages of the approach taken

The current pilot study took advantage of systemic alterations characteristic for liver malignancies, utilising liquid biopsy (blood samples) and specific biomarker patterns detected. Key molecular pathways relevant for pathomechanisms of liver cancers have been considered opening a perspective for both-individualised diagnostics and targeted treatment. Systemic alterations have been analysed prior to the therapy application avoiding molecular biological effects potentially diminishing predictive power of the biomarker-panel proposed. Multi-omics at DNA and protein (both expression and activity) levels has been applied. An established biomarker panel is considered as a powerful tool for individualised patient profiling and improved multi-level diagnostics-both predictive and prognostic ones.

Results and conclusions

Biomarker panels have been created for the patient stratification, prediction of a more optimal therapy and prognosis of survival based on the individualised patient profiling. Although there are some limitations of the pilot study performed, the results are encouraging, as it may be possible, through further research along these lines, to find a clinically and cost-effective means of stratifying liver cancer patients for personalised care and therapy. The benefits to the patient and society of accurate treatment stratification cannot be overemphasised.

Multi-omic approach decodes paradoxes of the triple-negative breast cancer: lessons for predictive, preventive and personalised medicine

Breast cancer epidemic in the early twenty-first century results in around two million new cases and half-a-million of the disease-related deaths registered annually worldwide. A particularly dramatic situation is attributed to some specific patient subgroups such as the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC is a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer lacking clear diagnostic approach and targeted therapies. Consequently, more than 50% of the TNBC patients die of the metastatic BC within the first 6 months of the diagnosis. In the current study we have hypothesised that multi-omic approach utilising blood samples may lead to discovery of a unique molecular signature of the TNBC subtype. The results achieved demonstrate, indeed, multi-omics as highly promising approach that could be of great clinical utility for development of predictive diagnosis, targeted prevention and treatments tailored to the person-overall advancing the management of the TNBC.

Epigenetic silencing of PRSS3 provides growth and metastasis advantage for human hepatocellular carcinoma

Protease, serine, 3 (PRSS3), a member of the trypsin family of serine proteases, has been shown to be aberrantly expressed in several cancer types and to play important roles in tumor progression and metastasis. However, the expression and function of PRSS3 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Here we found that PRSS3 expression was decreased in human HCC cell lines and HCC surgical specimens. This was associated with intragenic methylation of PRSS3 gene. Treatment with DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and/or histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A restored PRSS3 expression in HCC cell lines. Ectopic overexpression of PRSS3 gene in HCC cell lines significantly suppressed cell proliferation and colony formation and arrested cell cycle at G1/S phase, accompanied with downregulation of cyclin D1 (CCND1)/CDK4 and cyclin E1 (CCNE1)/CDK2 complexes. Moreover, PRSS3 overexpression in HCC cells inhibited HCC cell migration and invasion with downregulation of matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP2). Further study showed that PRSS3 overexpression diminished the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular-signal-regulated kinase signaling protein, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1)/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 2 (MEK2) and extracellular-signal related kinase 1 (ERK1)/extracellular-signal related kinase 2 (ERK2), in HCC cells. In contrast, knockdown of PRSS3 by small interfering RNA resulted in opposite effects on an HCC cell line SNU-387 which constitutively expresses PRSS3. These results demonstrate that downregulation of PRSS3 by intragenic hypermethylation provides growth and metastasis advantage to HCC cells. The clinical relevance of PRSS3 to human HCC was shown by the intragenic methylation of PRSS3 in HCC specimens and its association with poor tumor differentiation in patients with HCC. Thus, PRSS3 is a potential prognostic biomarker and an epigenetic target for intervention of human HCC.

KEY MESSAGES

• PRSS3 is downregulated by intragenic hypermethylation in HCC. • Epigenetic silencing of PRSS3 facilitates growth, migration, and invasion of HCC. • PRSS3 intragenic methylation has implication in diagnosis of HCC.

Mini-encyclopaedia of the wound healing - Opportunities for integrating multi-omic approaches into medical practice

Wound healing is a highly complex life-important repair process triggered by plenty of local and/or systemic organ and tissue damaging events, such as an acute surgical invasion, accidental organ and tissue damages, acute and chronic diseases, aggressive local and systemic therapeutic approaches (e.g. irradiation and systemic chemotherapy). Individual health condition determines over the quality of wound healing. Impaired wound healing, in turn, may lead, for example, to post-surgical complications frequently observed in elderly, chronic ulcers in diabetic patients, hindered and ineffective pain management, etc. However, these well-acknowledged examples are just the tip of the iceberg. The entire spectrum of potential consequences is much broader. Therefore, all the aspects of wound healing need to receive a dedicated attention of many specialised medical fields and healthcare as a whole. In contrast, there is still strongly limited knowledge collected regarding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the physiological versus impaired wound healing. The contents of this article might be of great importance for multi-professional considerations as well as for the experts working in specific fields such as clinical proteomics, general practice, laboratory medicine, surgery including plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine, gerontology, psychology, diabetology, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular disease, radiology, and healthcare economy.

SIGNIFICANCE

The contents of this article are strongly motivated by the particular value of wound healing quality for medical care and might be of great importance for multi-professional considerations and experts working in specialised fields: predictive and preventive medicine, general practitioners, laboratory medicine, surgery including plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine, gerontology, psychology, diabetology, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular disease, radiology, and healthcare economy. The article is aiming at both educational and scientific purposes: on one side it summarises comprehensive information available regarding wound healing mechanisms and molecular pathways involved. On the other side the article provides highly innovative hypotheses for multi-professional considerations relevant for several research fields which may potentially advance medical services in the close future such as clinical proteomics and multi-omics.

"Pre-metastatic niches" in breast cancer: are they created by or prior to the tumour onset? "Flammer Syndrome" relevance to address the question

Breast cancer (BC) epidemic in the twenty-first century is characterised by around half a million deaths and 1.7 million new cases registered annually worldwide. Metastatic disease is the major cause of death in BC patient cohorts. Current statistics are much alarming from the viewpoint of the early mortality amongst BC patients with de novo metastatic disease. A new paradigm of so-called "pre-metastatic niches" may sufficiently promote our knowledge regarding potential pathomechanisms, individual predisposition and prognosis in development and progression of the metastatic disease. However, the crucial question remains unaddressed, whether hypoxic pre-metastatic niches in BC are created by or prior to the tumour onset. So far, the current interpretation of the "Seed and Soil" theory of metastasis proposing that the pre-metastatic niches are formed by primary tumours which "induce and guide" the process is incomplete, since it does not provide satisfactory explanations towards several facts overviewed in the article. The overall results of this study clearly support the working hypothesis presented by the authors proposing that the epi/genetic predisposition of individuals at risk to form the systemic hypoxic pre-metastatic niches can be established a long time before breast malignancy is clinically manifested. "Flammer Syndrome" (FS) phenotype may strongly contribute to particularly poor outcomes of metastatic breast cancer. Significance and relevance of individual FS symptoms for breast cancer metastatic disease are discussed in extenso.

Impaired wound healing: facts and hypotheses for multi-professional considerations in predictive, preventive and personalised medicine

Whereas the physiologic wound healing (WH) successfully proceeds through the clearly defined sequence of the individual phases of wound healing, chronic non-healing wounds/ulcers fail to complete the individual stages and the entire healing process. There are many risk factors both modifiable (such as stress, smoking, inappropriate alcohol consumption, malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, etc.) and non-modifiable (such as genetic diseases and ageing) strongly contributing to the impaired WH. Current statistics demonstrate that both categories are increasingly presented in the populations, which causes dramatic socio-economic burden to the healthcare sector and society at large. Consequently, innovative concepts by predictive, preventive and personalised medicine are crucial to be implemented in the area. Individual risk factors, causality, functional interrelationships, molecular signature, predictive diagnosis, and primary and secondary prevention are thoroughly analysed followed by the expert recommendations in this paper.

miRNA-301a induces apoptosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells by directly targeting TIMP2/ERK1/2 and AKT pathways

We investigated the biological functions and mechanism of miRNA‑301a on apoptosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The expression of miRNA‑301a in patient with CML cells was higher than the expression of normal patients. Overall survival (OS) of chronic granulocytic leukemia cell patient with low miRNA‑301 expression was superior to that of CML patient with high miRNA‑301 expression. Moreover, the upregulation of miRNA‑301a increased cell proliferation, inhibited apoptosis and caspase-3 and -9 activity of K562 cells. Next, the upregulation of miRNA‑301a suppressed Bax/Bcl-2 rate and TIMP2 protein expression, increased phosphorylation-ERK1/2 and decreased phosphorylation-AKT protein expression of K562 cells. Furthermore, si‑TIMP2 expression enhanced the upregulation of miRNA‑301a on the promotion of cell proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis and caspase-3 and -9 activity, suppression of Bax/Bcl-2 rate, increasing phosphorylation-ERK1/2 and decreasing phosphorylation-AKT protein expression of K562 cells. Taken together, our results clearly suggested that miRNA‑301a induces apoptosis of CML cells by directly targeting the TIMP2/ERK1/2 and AKT pathways.

Breast cancer risk assessment: a non-invasive multiparametric approach to stratify patients by MMP-9 serum activity and RhoA expression patterns in circulating leucocytes

Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease classified by several sub-types which differ from each other by risk factors, specific molecular promoters and severity of outcomes. Tumour aggressiveness and metastatic disease are the key determinants of breast cancer outcomes. Tumour cell ability to degrade the extracellular matrix and to be motile is the hallmark of invasion and essential step in a development of breast cancer metastatic disease. Therefore, a coordinated action between cell motility and ability to degrade the extracellular matrix is currently under extensive investigation focused on molecular targets for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Contextually, our current study was dedicated to patient stratification utilising MMP-9 serum activity levels and RhoA expression patterns measured in circulating leucocytes. Biomarker patterns were "masked" in non-stratified patient groups. In contrast, the multiparametric stratification approach led to highly improved clinical utility of biomarker patterns. Presented stratification system is recommended for population screening as a cost-effective non-invasive approach to facilitate predictive diagnostics of breast cancer predisposition, pre-lesions and early stages, when the pathology can be effectively prevented or cured. Proposed approach might be particularly useful for early and predictive breast cancer diagnostics applied to certain phenotypes such as premenopausal rather than postmenopausal women, women with dense breast tissue, where highly increased RhoA/MMPs activities are utilised for effective proteolysis of the matrix and cancer cell migration into dense matrices, as well as for breast cancer of unclear origin such as particularly aggressive triple-negative sub-type.

Liver metastatic disease: new concepts and biomarker panels to improve individual outcomes

Liver cancer, one of the leading causes of all cancer related deaths, belongs to the most malignant cancer types. In fact, the secondary hepatic malignancies (liver metastases) are more common than the primary ones. Almost all solid malignancies can metastasise to the liver. It is well justified that the "treat and wait" approach in the overall management of the liver cancer is not up-to-date and so creation of complex individual patient profiles is needed. This review is specifically focused on the liver metastases originating from the colorectum, breast and prostate cancer. Innovative multilevel diagnostics may procure specific panels of validated biomarkers for predisposition, development and progression of metastatic disease. Creation of the patient specific "molecular portrait" is an essential part of the diagnostic strategy. Contextually, analysis of molecular and cellular patterns in blood samples as the minimally invasive diagnostic tool and construction of diagnostic windows based on individual patient profiling is highly recommended for patient cohorts predisposed to and affected by the liver metastatic disease. Summarised information on risk assessment, predictive and prognostic panels for diagnosis and treatments of the liver metastatic disease in colorectal, breast and prostate cancer is provided.