Tumor-educated platelet SNORA58, SNORA68 and SNORD93 as novel diagnostic biomarkers for esophageal cancer

The pharmacogenomic and immune landscape of snoRNAs in human cancers

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs primarily known for their role in the chemical modification of other RNAs. Recent studies suggested that snoRNAs may play a broader role in anti-cancer treatments such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Despite these insights, the comprehensive landscape of snoRNA associations with drug response and immunotherapy outcomes remains unexplored. In this study, we identified 79,448 and 75,185 associations between snoRNAs and drug response using data from VAEN and CancerRxTissue, respectively. Additionally, we discovered 29,199 associations between snoRNAs and immune checkpoint genes and 47,194 associations between snoRNAs and immune cell infiltrations. Sixteen snoRNAs were significantly correlated with immunotherapy objective response rate (ORR), and 92 snoRNAs showed significantly differential expression between cancers with high and low ORR. Furthermore, we identified 17 snoRNAs with significantly differential expression between cancer types with high and low immune-related adverse event (irAE) reporting odds ratio (ROR). Several snoRNAs, such as SNORD92, and SNORD83B, may represent promising biomarkers or therapeutic targets that needs further investigation. To facilitate further research, we developed a user-friendly portal, Pharmacogenomic and Immune Landscape of SnoRNA (PISNO, https://hanlaboratory.com/PISNO/), enabling researchers to visualize, browse, and download multi-dimensional data. This study highlights the potential of snoRNAs as biomarkers or therapeutic targets, paving the way for more effective and personalized anti-cancer treatments.

Unlocking the intricacies: Exploring the complex interplay between platelets and ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer, an aggressive malignancy of the female reproductive tract, is frequently linked to an elevated risk of thrombotic events. This association is manifested by a pronounced rise in platelet counts and activation levels. Current research firmly supports the pivotal role of platelets in the oncogenic processes of ovarian cancer, influencing tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. Platelets influence these processes through direct interactions with tumor cells or by secreting cytokines and growth factors that enhance tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. This review aims to thoroughly dissect the interactions between platelets and ovarian cancer cells, emphasizing their combined role in tumor progression and associated thrombotic events. Additionally, it summarizes therapeutic strategies targeting platelet-cancer interface which show significant promise. Such approaches could not only be effective in managing the primary ovarian tumor but also play a pivotal role in preventing metastasis and attenuating thrombotic complications associated with ovarian cancer.

The use of platelets as a clinical tool in oncology: opportunities and challenges

Platelets are small circulating anucleated cells mainly involved in thrombosis and hemostasis processes. Moreover, platelets play an active role in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, stimulating angiogenesis and vascular remodelling, and protecting circulating cancer cells from shear forces and immune surveillance. Several reports indicate that platelet number in the blood circulation of cancer patients is associated with prognosis and response to treatment. However, the mechanisms of platelets "education" by cancer cells and the crosstalk between platelets and tumor are still unclear, and the role of "tumor educated platelets" (TEPs) is achieving growing interest in cancer research. TEPs are a biological source of cancer-derived biomarkers, especially RNAs that are protected by platelets membrane from circulating RNases, and could serve as a non-invasive tool for tumor detection, molecular profiling and evolution during therapy in clinical practice. Moreover, short platelet lifespan offers the possibility to get a snapshot assessment of cancer molecular profile, providing a real-time tool. We review and discuss the potential and the clinical utility, in terms of cancer diagnosis and monitoring, of platelet count together with other morphological parameters and of the more recent and innovative TEP profiling.

TEP RNA: a new frontier for early diagnosis of NSCLC

BACKGROUND

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer (LC), which is the leading cause of tumor mortality. In recent years, compared with tissue biopsy, which is the diagnostic gold standard for tumor diagnosis, Liquid biopsy (LB) is considered to be a more minimally invasive, sensitive, and safer alternative or auxiliary diagnostic method. However, the current value of LB in early diagnosis of LC is not ideal, so it is particularly important to study the changes in blood composition during the process of tumorigenesis and find more sensitive biomarkers.

PURPOSE

Platelets are a type of abundant blood cells that carry a large amount of RNA. In the LC regulatory network, activated platelets play an important role in the process of tumorigenesis, development, and metastasis. In order to identify predictive liquid biopsy biomarkers for the diagnosis of NSCLC, we summarized the development and function of platelets, the interaction between platelets and tumors, the value of TEP RNA in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of NSCLC, and the method for detecting TEP RNA of NSCLC in this article.

CONCLUSION

The application of platelets in the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC remains at a nascent stage. In addition to the drawbacks of low platelet count and complex experimental processes, the diagnostic accuracy of TEP RNA-seq for cancer in different populations still needs to be improved and validated. At present, a large number of studies have confirmed significant differences in the expression of TEP RNA in platelets between NSCLC patients and healthy individuals. Continuous exploration of the diagnostic value of TEP RNA in NSCLC is of utmost importance. The integration of NSCLC platelet-related markers with other NSCLC markers can improve current tumor diagnosis and prognostic evaluation systems, providing broad prospects in tumor screening, disease monitoring, and prognosis assessment.