The Role of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Cholangiocarcinoma: A Systematic Review

The Search for Risk, Diagnostic, and Prognostic Biomarkers of Cholangiocarcinoma and Their Biological and Clinicopathologic Significance

Cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) are a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors that originate from the biliary tract. They are usually diagnosed in advanced stages, leading to a dismal prognosis for affected patients. As CCA often arises as a sporadic cancer in individuals lacking specific risk factors or with heterogeneous backgrounds, and there are no defined high-risk groups, the implementation of effective surveillance programs for CCA is problematic. The identification and validation of new biomarkers useful for risk stratification, diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment response remains an unmet need for patients with CCA, even though numerous studies have been conducted lately to try to discover and validate CCA biomarkers. In this review, we overview the available information about the different types of biomarkers that have been investigated in recent years using minimally invasive biospecimens (blood, serum/plasma, bile, and urine) and their potential usefulness in diagnosis, prognosis, and risk stratification. It is widely accepted that early detection of CCA will impact patients' outcomes, by improving survival rates, quality of life, and the possibility of less invasive and/or curative treatments; however, challenges to its translation and clinical application for patients with CCA need to be resolved.

An E3 ubiquitin-proteasome gene signature for predicting prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the seventh leading cause of cancer death worldwide, which is demonstrated with remarkable resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The identification of prognosis signature and novel prognostic markers will facilitate patient stratification and an individualized precision therapy strategy. In this study, TCGA-PAAD was used to screen prognostic E3 ubiquitin ligases and establish prognostic signatures, and GEO database was used to verify the accuracy of prognostic signatures. Functional analysis, in vitro experiments and clinical cohort studies were used to analyze the function and prognostic efficacy of the target gene. An E3 ligase-based signature of 9 genes and the nomogram were developed, and the signature was proved to accurately predict the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. WDR37 might be the most prognostic E3 ubiquitin ligase in pancreatic cancer, and the clinical cohort analyses suggested a tumor-suppressive role. The results of functional analysis and in vitro experiments indicated that WDR37 may promote the degradation of TCP1 complex to inhibit tumor and improve immune cell infiltration. The E3 ligase-based signature accurately predicted the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, so it can be used as a decision-making tool to guide the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer. At the same time, WDR37, the main gene in E3PMP signature, can be used as the most prognostic E3 ubiquitin ligase in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Regulation and clinical potential of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT/hTERT) in breast cancer

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT/hTERT) serves as the pivotal catalytic subunit of telomerase, a crucial enzyme responsible for telomere maintenance and human genome stability. The high activation of hTERT, observed in over 90% of tumors, plays a significant role in tumor initiation and progression. An in-depth exploration of hTERT activation mechanisms in cancer holds promise for advancing our understanding of the disease and developing more effective treatment strategies. In breast cancer, the expression of hTERT is regulated by epigenetic, transcriptional, post-translational modification mechanisms and DNA variation. Besides its canonical function in telomere maintenance, hTERT exerts non-canonical roles that contribute to disease progression through telomerase-independent mechanisms. This comprehensive review summarizes the regulatory mechanisms governing hTERT in breast cancer and elucidates the functional implications of its activation. Given the overexpression of hTERT in most breast cancer cells, the detection of hTERT and its associated molecules are potential for enhancing early screening and prognostic evaluation of breast cancer. Although still in its early stages, therapeutic approaches targeting hTERT and its regulatory molecules show promise as viable strategies for breast cancer treatment. These methods are also discussed in this paper. Video Abstract.

The Role of GAB1 in Cancer

GRB2-associated binder 1 (GAB1) is the inaugural member of the GAB/DOS family of pleckstrin homology (PH) domain-containing proteins. Upon receiving various stimuli, GAB1 transitions from the cytoplasm to the membrane where it is phosphorylated by a range of kinases. This event recruits SH2 domain-containing proteins like SHP2, PI3K's p85 subunit, CRK, and others, thereby activating distinct signaling pathways, including MAPK, PI3K/AKT, and JNK. GAB1-deficient embryos succumb in utero, presenting with developmental abnormalities in the heart, placenta, liver, skin, limb, and diaphragm myocytes. Oncogenic mutations have been identified in the context of cancer. GAB1 expression levels are disrupted in various tumors, and elevated levels in patients often portend a worse prognosis in multiple cancer types. This review focuses on GAB1's influence on cellular transformation particularly in proliferation, evasion of apoptosis, metastasis, and angiogenesis-each of these processes being a cancer hallmark. GAB1 also modulates the resistance/sensitivity to antitumor therapies, making it a promising target for future anticancer strategies.

Infectious Agents Induce Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway Deregulation in Primary Liver Cancers

Interaction between infectious agents and liver tissue, as well as repeated and extreme biological events beyond adaptive capacities, may result in pathological conditions predisposing people to development of primary liver cancers (PLCs). In adults, PLCs mainly comprise hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Various infectious agents in the hepatic microenvironment can destabilize normal liver cell functions by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway components. Among them, hepatotropic viruses B, C, and D are involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling dysregulation. Other microbial agents, including oncogenic viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human papilloma virus (HPV), bacteria, e.g., Mycoplasma hyorhinis and Salmonella Typhi, the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the fungus Aspergillus flavus, and liver flukes such as Clonorchissinensis or Opisthorchis viverrini, may induce malignant transformation in hepatocytes or in target cells of the biliary tract through aberrant Wnt signaling activation. This review focuses on new insights into infectious agents implicated in the deregulation of Wnt signaling and PLC development. Since the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a driver of cancer following viral and bacterial infections, molecules inhibiting the complex axis of Wnt signaling could represent novel therapeutic approaches in PLC treatment.