Correlation Between von Hippel-Lindau Gene Expression and Tumor SUVmax and Survival Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Bioenergetic alteration in gastrointestinal cancers: The good, the bad and the ugly

Cancer cells exhibit metabolic reprogramming and bioenergetic alteration, utilizing glucose fermentation for energy production, known as the Warburg effect. However, there are a lack of comprehensive reviews summarizing the metabolic reprogramming, bioenergetic alteration, and their oncogenetic links in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Furthermore, the efficacy and treatment potential of emerging anticancer drugs targeting these alterations in GI cancers require further evaluation. This review highlights the interplay between aerobic glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in cancer cells, as well as hypotheses on the molecular mechanisms that trigger this alteration. The role of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors, tumor suppressors, and the oncogenetic link between hypoxia-related enzymes, bioenergetic changes, and GI cancer are also discussed. This review emphasizes the potential of targeting bioenergetic regulators for anti-cancer therapy, particularly for GI cancers. Emphasizing the potential of targeting bioenergetic regulators for GI cancer therapy, the review categorizes these regulators into aerobic glycolysis/ lactate biosynthesis/transportation and TCA cycle/coupled OXPHOS. We also detail various anti-cancer drugs and strategies that have produced pre-clinical and/or clinical evidence in treating GI cancers, as well as the challenges posed by these drugs. Here we highlight that understanding dysregulated cancer cell bioenergetics is critical for effective treatments, although the diverse metabolic patterns present challenges for targeted therapies. Further research is needed to comprehend the specific mechanisms of inhibiting bioenergetic enzymes, address side effects, and leverage high-throughput multi-omics and spatial omics to gain insights into cancer cell heterogeneity for targeted bioenergetic therapies.

VHL tumor suppressor as a novel potential candidate biomarker in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of endocrine cancer, with an increasing incidence worldwide. The treatment of PTC is currently the subject of clinical controversy, making it critically important to identify molecular markers that would help improve the risk stratification of PTC patients and optimize the therapeutic approach. The VHL tumor suppressor gene has been implicated in tumorigenesis of various types of carcinoma and linked with their aggressive biological behavior. The role of VHL in the origin and development of PTC has only recently begun to be revealed. In this narrative review we attempt to summarize the existing knowledge that implicates VHL in PTC pathogenesis and to outline its potential significance as a candidate molecular biomarker for the grouping of PTC patients into high and low risk groups.

Germline VHL Mutation Discovered in Association with EGFR-Positive Lung Cancer and Metachronous Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Case Report

VHL is a tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3 that is classically associated with tumors of the eye and CNS, renal cell carcinoma, and pheochromocytoma. We describe what appears to be the first report of an association between a germline VHL mutation and non-small cell lung cancer and metachronous hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our case involves a 63-year-old nonsmoking male who was initially diagnosed with EGFR mutation-positive metastatic nonsquamous, non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma, who subsequently developed HCC and squamous cell carcinoma of the femur despite first-line treatment with EGFR-blocking osimertinib. Caris molecular profiling unexpectedly identified a shared underlying VHL mutation in all 3 lesions. Genetic mapping through a machine learning-based tool called Genomic Prevalence Score (GPSai^™) helped determine that the femur tumor was a metastatic lesion as opposed to a separate primary and that the HCC was a distinct primary malignancy. We not only highlight the association between these tumors and a VHL mutation but also emphasize the value of next-generation sequencing and a molecular disease classifier in a patient with multiple primaries, how it helps guide therapy, and its value in guiding future studies.