Reduced axin protein expression is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus

Sex differences in survival following surgery for esophageal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The impact of sex on the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer remains unclear. Evidence supports that sex- based disparities in esophageal cancer survival could be attributed to sex- specific risk exposures, such as age at diagnosis, race, socioeconomic status, smoking, drinking, and histological type. The aim of our study is to investigate the role of sex disparities in survival of patients who underwent surgery for esophageal cancer. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature in PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL from December 1966 to February 2023, was held. Studies that reported sex-related differences in survival outcomes of patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer were identified. A total of 314 studies were included in the quantitative analysis. Statistically significant results derived from 1-year and 2-year overall survival pooled analysis with Relative Risk (RR) 0.93 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.90-0.97, I2 = 52.00) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85-0.95, I2 = 0.00), respectively (RR < 1 = favorable for men). In the postoperative complications analysis, statistically significant results concerned anastomotic leak and heart complications, RR: 1.08 (95% CI: 1.01-1.16) and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.52-0.75), respectively. Subgroup analysis was performed among studies with <200 and > 200 patients, histology types, study continent and publication year. Overall, sex tends to be an independent prognostic factor for esophageal carcinoma. However, unanimous results seem rather obscure when multivariable analysis and subgroup analysis occurred. More prospective studies and gender-specific protocols should be conducted to better understand the modifying role of sex in esophageal cancer prognosis.

All-Trans Retinoic Acid Promotes a Tumor Suppressive OTUD6B-β-TrCP-SNAIL Axis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Enhances Immunotherapy

β-TrCP is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays important roles in multiple human cancers including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Analysis of ESCC patient samples reveal that only protein level but not transcript level of β-TrCP associated with patient prognosis, suggesting regulators of β-TrCP protein stability play an essential role in ESCC progression and may be novel targets to develop ESCC therapies. Although β-TrCP stability is known to be mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, it is unclear which enzymes play a major role to determine β-TrCP stability in the context of ESCC. In this study, OTUD6B is identified as a potent deubiquitinase of β-TrCP that suppress ESCC progression through the OTUD6B-β-TrCP-SNAIL axis. Low OTUD6B expression is associated with a poor prognosis of ESCC patients. Importantly, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is found to promote OTUD6B translation and thus suppress ESCC tumor growth and enhance the response of ESCC tumors to anti-PD-1 immunotherapies. These findings demonstrate that OTUD6B is a crucial deubiquitinase of β-TrCP in ESCC and suggest combination of ATRA and anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor may benefit a cohort of ESCC patients.

JNK2 Promotes Progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma via Inhibiting Axin2

INTRODUCTION

The dysregulation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway has been increasingly reported in human malignancies. Aberrant expression of the JNK pathway has also been implicated in the progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC). However, the specific role and regulatory mechanisms of JNK2 in ESCC have not been extensively investigated.

METHODS

In this study, we examined JNK2 expression in patient samples and performed experiments involving the knockdown and inhibition of the JNK2 in ESCC cell lines.

RESULTS

Higher JNK2 expression was observed in tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues. JNK2 overexpression was associated with advanced disease stages and poor prognosis. Furthermore, knockdown or inhibition of JNK2 in ESCC cell lines resulted in a decrease in cell proliferation and migration.

CONCLUSION

Additionally, a significant decrease in the expression of β-catenin and vimentin, along with an increase in the expression of Axin2, was observed upon downregulation of JNK2. Our study provides insight into the role of JNK2 in ESCC and its potential regulatory mechanism, offering a potential therapeutic strategy for ESCC patients with aberrant JNK2 expression.

Dysregulation of SOX17/NRF2 axis confers chemoradiotherapy resistance and emerges as a novel therapeutic target in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the sixth leading cause of cancer-associated death worldwide with a dismal overall 5-year survival rate of less than 20%. The standard first-line therapy for advanced ESCC is concomitant chemo-radiation therapy (CCRT); however, patients usually develop resistance, resulting in unfavorable outcomes. Therefore, it is urgent to identify the mechanisms underlying CCRT resistance and develop effective treatment strategies.

Methods

Patients’ endoscopic biopsy tumor tissues obtained before CCRT treatment were used to perform RNA-seq and GSEA analysis. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), and promoter reporter analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between SOX17 and NRF2. Xenograft mouse models were used to study the role of SOX17/NRF2 axis in tumor growth and the efficacy of carboxymethyl cellulose-coated zero-valent-iron (ZVI@CMC).

Results

In this study, a notable gene expression signature associated with NRF2 activation was observed in the poor CCRT responders. Further, IHC staining of endoscopic biopsy of 164 ESCC patients revealed an inverse correlation between NRF2 and SOX17, a tumor-suppressive transcription factor with low expression in ESCC due to promoter hypermethylation. Using ChIP and promoter reporter analyses, we demonstrated that SOX17 was a novel upstream transcriptional suppressor of NRF2. In particular, SOX17^low/NRF2^high nuclear level significantly correlated with poor CCRT response and poor survival, indicating that the dysregulation of SOX17/NRF2 axis played a pivotal role in CCRT resistance and tumor progression. Notably, the in-house developed nanoparticle ZVI@CMC functioned as an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferases to restore expression of SOX17 that downregulated NRF2, thereby overcoming the resistance in ESCC. Additionally, the combination of ZVI@CMC with radiation treatment significantly augmented anticancer efficacy to inhibit tumor growth in CCRT resistant cancer.

Conclusion

This study identifies a novel SOX17^low/NRF2^high signature in ESCC patients with poor prognosis, recognizes SOX17 as a transcriptional repressor of NRF2, and provides a promising strategy targeting SOX17/NRF2 axis to overcome resistance.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12929-022-00873-4.

The characteristics and roles of β-TrCP1/2 in carcinogenesis

β-transducin repeat-containing protein (β-TrCP), one of the well-characterized F-box proteins, acts as a substrate receptor and constitutes an active SCF^β-TrCP E3 ligase with a scaffold protein CUL1, a RING protein RBX1, and an adaptor protein SKP1. β-TrCP plays a critical role in the regulation of various physiological and pathological processes, including signal transduction, cell cycle progression, cell migration, DNA damage response, and tumorigenesis, by governing burgeoning amounts of key regulators for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Given that a variety of β-TrCP substrates are well-known oncoproteins and tumor suppressors, and dysregulation of β-TrCP is frequently identified in human cancers, β-TrCP plays a vital role in carcinogenesis. In this review, we first briefly introduce the characteristics of β-TrCP1, β-TrCP2, and SCF^β-TrCP ubiquitin ligase, and then discuss SCF^β-TrCP ubiquitin ligase regulated biological processes by targeting its substrates for degradation. Moreover, we summarize the regulation of β-TrCP1 and β-TrCP2 at multiple layers and further discuss the various roles of β-TrCP1 and β-TrCP2 in human cancer, functioning as either an oncoprotein or a tumor suppressor in a manner dependent of cellular context. Finally, we provide novel insights for future perspectives on the potential of targeting β-TrCP1 and β-TrCP2 for cancer therapy.

Immunohistochemical prognostic markers of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive malignancy, with a high incidence and poor prognosis. In the past several decades, hundreds of proteins have been reported to be associated with the prognosis of ESCC, but none has been widely accepted to guide clinical care. This study aimed to identify proteins with great potential for predicting prognosis of ESCC.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review on immunohistochemical (IHC) prognostic markers of ESCC according to the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines. Literature related to IHC prognostic markers of ESCC were searched from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until January 30th, 2017. The risk of bias of these original studies was evaluated using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool.

Results

We identified 11 emerging IHC markers with reproducible results, including eight markers [epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Cyclin D1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Survivin, Podoplanin, Fascin, phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2)] indicating unfavorable prognosis and 3 markers (P27, P16, and E-cadherin) indicating favorable prognosis of ESCC.

Conclusion

Strong evidence supports that these 11 emerging IHC markers or their combinations may be useful in predicting prognosis and aiding personalized therapy decision-making for ESCC patients.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40880-017-0232-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prognostic significance of beta-catenin expression in patients with esophageal carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Many studies have reported β-catenin involvement in the development of esophageal carcinoma (EC), but its prognostic significance for EC patients remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to explore the issue in detail. After searching PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, we included a total of ten relevant studies. We pooled the overall survival (OS) data using RevMan 5.2 software. The results showed that aberrant expression of β-catenin was associated with a significant increase of mortality risk (hazard ratio 1.71, 95%CI 1.46-2.01; p<0.00001). Subgroup analyses further suggested that aberrant expression of β-catenin resulted in poor OS of EC patients regardless of histological type of EC, study location or criteria for aberrant expression of β-catenin, and the sensitivity analyses revealed that the result was robust. The meta-analysis revealed that aberrant expression of β-catenin could be a predicative factor of poor prognosis for EC patients.

MiR-1207 overexpression promotes cancer stem cell-like traits in ovarian cancer by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is strictly controlled by multiple negative regulators. However, how tumor cells override the negative regulatory effects to maintain constitutive activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which is commonly observed in various cancers, remains puzzling. In current study, we reported that overexpression of miR-1207 in ovarian cancer activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling by directly targeting and suppressing secreted Frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1), AXIN2 and inhibitor of β-catenin and TCF-4 (ICAT), which are vital negative regulators of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. We found that the expression of miR-1207 was ubiquitously upregulated in both ovarian cancer tissues and cells, which inversely correlated with patient overall survival. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-1207 enhanced, while silencing miR-1207 reduced, stem cell-like traits of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, including tumor sphere formation capability and proportion of SP+ and CD133+ cells. Importantly, upregulating miR-1207 promoted, while silencing miR-1207 inhibited, the tumorigenicity of ovarian cancer cells. Hence, our results suggest that miR-1207 plays a vital role in promoting the cancer stem cell-like phenotype in ovarian cancer and might represent a potential target for anti-ovarian cancer therapy.

Involvement of F-box proteins in esophageal cancer (Review)

The F-box proteins (FBPs) in esophageal tumorigenesis are pivotal as they govern a broad array of basic physiological responses including cell growth, cell death and DNA damage repair. Esophageal cancer (EC) is a common and highly aggressive cancer worldwide. Aberrant stabilization of crucial proteins participates in esophageal tumorigenesis. Recently, growing evidence has shown that FBPs play a critical role in oncogenesis, invasion, metastasis and prognosis assessment of EC. In this review we summarized published data on the roles of known FBPs, their respective substrates and the key signaling pathways, in the development of EC, aiming to uncover new ways for the rational design of targeted therapies in EC.

Identification and validation of a multigene predictor of recurrence in primary laryngeal cancer

Purpose

Local recurrence is the major manifestation of treatment failure in patients with operable laryngeal carcinoma. Established clinicopathological factors cannot sufficiently predict patients that are likely to recur after treatment. Additional tools are therefore required to accurately identify patients at high risk for recurrence. This study attempts to identify and independently validate gene expression models, prognostic of disease-free survival (DFS) in operable laryngeal cancer.

Materials and Methods

Using Affymetrix U133A Genechips, we profiled fresh-frozen tumor tissues from 66 patients with laryngeal cancer treated locally with surgery. We applied Cox regression proportional hazards modeling to identify multigene predictors of recurrence. Gene models were then validated in two independent cohorts of 54 and 187 patients (fresh-frozen and formalin-fixed tissue validation sets, respectively).

Results

We focused on genes univariately associated with DFS (p<0.01) in the training set. Among several models comprising different numbers of genes, a 30-probe set model demonstrated optimal performance in both the training (log-rank, p<0.001) and 1^st validation (p = 0.010) sets. Specifically, in the 1^st validation set, median DFS as predicted by the 30-probe set model, was 34 and 80 months for high- and low-risk patients, respectively. Hazard ratio (HR) for recurrence in the high-risk group was 3.87 (95% CI 1.28–11.73, Wald's p = 0.017). Testing the expression of selected genes from the above model in the 2^nd validation set, with qPCR, revealed significant associations of single markers, such as ACE2, FLOT1 and PRKD1, with patient DFS. High PRKD1 remained an unfavorable prognostic marker upon multivariate analysis (HR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.28–3.14, p = 0.002) along with positive nodal status.

Conclusions

We have established and validated gene models that can successfully stratify patients with laryngeal cancer, based on their risk for recurrence. It seems worthy to prospectively validate PRKD1 expression as a laryngeal cancer prognostic marker, for routine clinical applications.

Advances in research of signaling pathways associated with cancer stem cells in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

The discovery of cancer stem cells has led to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying the occurrence, development and metastasis of cancer. Three signaling pathways, Wnt, PIP3, and Hedgehog, play an important role in self-renewal and differentiation of stem cells. Once abnormalities occur in these signaling pathways, cancer stem cells will present aberrant differentiation and unlimited proliferation and eventually develop into tumors. Although there is still controversy over the existence of stem cells in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), more and more evidence suggests that the above three signaling pathways are important in promoting the differentiation of esophageal epithelial cells, accelerating the progression of ESCC and causing radiotherapy and chemotherapy resistance.

Quantification of beta-catenin signaling components in colon cancer cell lines, tissue sections, and microdissected tumor cells using reaction monitoring mass spectrometry

Reaction monitoring mass spectrometry has emerged as a powerful tool for targeted detection and quantification of proteins in clinical samples. Here, we report the use of gel electrophoresis for protein fractionation and liquid chromatography coupled to multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC-MRM) screening for quantitative analysis of components from the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, which contributes to colon tumor formation and progression. In silico tools are used to design LC-MRM screens for each target protein. Following successful peptide detection, stable isotope labeled peptides are synthesized and developed as internal standards. Then, the assays are implemented in colon cancer cell lines to achieve detection in minimal amounts of cells, compatible with direct translation to clinical specimens. Selected assays are compared with qualitative results from immunoblotting (Westerns) and translated to individual frozen colon tissue sections and laser capture microdissected tumor cells. This LC-MRM platform has been translated from in vitro models to clinical specimens, forming the basis for future experiments in patient assessment.