Global longitudinal assessment of treatment outcomes in recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: GLANCE-NPC study

PICK1 inhibits the malignancy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and serves as a novel prognostic marker

Although many important advances have been made in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in recent years, local recurrence and distant metastasis remain the main factors affecting NPC prognosis. Biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of NPC need to be urgently identified. Here, we used whole-exon sequencing (WES) to determine whether PICK1 mutations are associated with the prognosis of NPC. Functionally, PICK1 inhibits the proliferation and metastasis of NPC cells both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, PICK1 inhibited the expression of proteins related to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. PICK1 restrained the nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and accelerated the degradation of β-catenin through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The reduced PICK1 levels were significantly associated with poor patient prognosis. Hence, our study findings reveal the mechanism by which PICK1 inactivates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting the progression of NPC. They support PICK1 as a potential tumor suppressor and prognostic marker for NPC.

Photodynamic Therapy Can Modulate the Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Microenvironment Infected with the Epstein-Barr Virus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignancy from epithelial cells predominantly associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, and it is responsible for 140,000 deaths annually. There is a current need to develop new strategies to increase the efficacy of antineoplastic treatment and reduce side effects. Thus, the present study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the ability of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to modulate the tumor microenvironment and PDT efficacy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment. The reviewers conducted all steps in the systematic review. PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Scielo, Lilacs, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library databases were searched. The OHAT was used to assess the risk of bias. Meta-analysis was performed with a random-effects model (α = 0.05). Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells treated with PDT showed that IL-8, IL-1α, IL-1β, LC3BI, LC3BII, MMP2, and MMP9 levels were significantly higher than in groups that did not receive PDT. NF-ĸB, miR BART 1-5p, BART 16, and BART 17-5p levels were significantly lower in the PDT group than in the control group. Apoptosis levels and the viability of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (>70%) infected with EBV were effective after PDT. This treatment also increased LMP1 levels (0.28-0.50/p < 0.05) compared to the control group. PDT showed promising results for efficacy in killing nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells infected with EBV and modulating the tumor microenvironment. Further preclinical studies should be performed to validate these results.

Exosomal HMGA2 protein from EBV-positive NPC cells destroys vascular endothelial barriers and induces endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition to promote metastasis

Increased vascular permeability facilitates metastasis. Cancer-secreted exosomes are emerging mediators of cancer-host crosstalk. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), identified as the first human tumor-associated virus, plays a crucial role in metastatic tumors, especially in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). To date, whether and how exosomes from EBV-infected NPC cells affect vascular permeability remains unclear. Here, we show that exosomes from EBV-positive NPC cells, but not exosomes from EBV-negative NPC cells, destroy endothelial cell tight junction (TJ) proteins, which are natural barriers against metastasis, and promote endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in endothelial cells. Proteomic analysis revealed that the level of HMGA2 protein was higher in exosomes derived from EBV-positive NPC cells compared with that in exosomes derived from EBV-negative NPC cells. Depletion of HMGA2 in exosomes derived from EBV-positive NPC cells attenuates endothelial cell dysfunction and tumor cell metastasis. In contrast, exosomes from HMGA2 overexpressing EBV-negative NPC cells promoted these processes. Furthermore, we showed that HMGA2 upregulates the expression of Snail, which contributes to TJ proteins reduction and EndMT in endothelial cells. Moreover, the level of HMGA2 in circulating exosomes is significantly higher in NPC patients with metastasis than in those without metastasis and healthy negative controls, and the level of HMGA2 in tumor cells is associated with TJ and EndMT protein expression in endothelial cells. Collectively, our findings suggest exosomal HMGA2 from EBV-positive NPC cells promotes tumor metastasis by targeting multiple endothelial TJ and promoting EndMT, which highlights secreted HMGA2 as a potential therapeutic target and a predictive marker for NPC metastasis.

Prognostic factors for bone metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A case series of 97 patients

Although bone is the second-most frequent site of distant metastases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), variable prognostic factors in patients with bone metastases from HNSCC have not been fully investigated. The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic factors affecting overall survival (OS) in these patients. The medical records of 97 patients at two institutions who developed bone metastases from HNSCC between January 2010 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. A multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model was performed to identify potential clinical predictive factors for longer OS. The median OS was 7 months, and the 1- and 2-year OS rates for all patients were 35.4 and 19.2%, respectively. The independent predictive factors for longer OS were single bone metastasis, good performance status and administration of systemic chemotherapy. The median OS with each predictor was 10, 10 and 10.5 months, respectively. In a selected group of patients with these three factors, the OS was 14.5 months. In conclusion, single bone metastasis, a good performance status and systemic chemotherapy were independent predictors of longer OS in patients with HNSCC, but their contributions were limited.