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Kou Z, Liu C, Zhang W, Sun C, Liu L, Zhang Q. Heterogeneity of primary and metastatic CAFs: From differential treatment outcomes to treatment opportunities (Review). Int J Oncol 2024; 64:54. [PMID: 38577950 PMCID: PMC11015919 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2024.5642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Compared with primary tumor sites, metastatic sites appear more resistant to treatments and respond differently to the treatment regimen. It may be due to the heterogeneity in the microenvironment between metastatic sites and primary tumors. Cancer‑associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are widely present in the tumor stroma as key components of the tumor microenvironment. Primary tumor CAFs (pCAFs) and metastatic CAFs (mCAFs) are heterogeneous in terms of source, activation mode, markers and functional phenotypes. They can shape the tumor microenvironment according to organ, showing heterogeneity between primary tumors and metastases, which may affect the sensitivity of these sites to treatment. It was hypothesized that understanding the heterogeneity between pCAFs and mCAFs can provide a glimpse into the difference in treatment outcomes, providing new ideas for improving the rate of metastasis control in various cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixing Kou
- College of First Clinical Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
| | - Cun Liu
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong 261053, P.R. China
| | - Wenfeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine and Faculty of Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa Island 999078, Macau SAR, P.R. China
| | - Changgang Sun
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong 261053, P.R. China
- Department of Oncology, Weifang Traditional Chinese Hospital, Weifang, Shandong 621000, P.R. China
| | - Lijuan Liu
- Department of Oncology, Weifang Traditional Chinese Hospital, Weifang, Shandong 621000, P.R. China
| | - Qiming Zhang
- College of First Clinical Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
- Department of Experimental Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100007, P.R. China
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Li T, Zhang J, Yan Y, Tan M, Chen Y. Applications of FAPI PET/CT in the diagnosis and treatment of breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies: a literature review. Front Oncol 2024; 14:1358070. [PMID: 38505595 PMCID: PMC10949888 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1358070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The fibroblast activating protein (FAP) is expressed by some fibroblasts found in healthy tissues. However, FAP is overexpressed in more than 90% of epithelial tumors, including breast and gynecological tumors. As a result, the FAP ligand could be used as a target for diagnosis and treatment purposes. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is a hybrid imaging technique commonly used to locate and assess the tumor's molecular and metabolic functions. PET imaging involves the injection of a radiotracer that tends to accumulate more in metabolically active lesions such as cancer. Several radiotracers have been developed to target FAP in PET/CT imaging, such as the fibroblast-activation protein inhibitor (FAPI). These tracers bind to FAP with high specificity and affinity, allowing for the non-invasive detection and quantification of FAP expression in tumors. In this review, we discussed the applications of FAPI PET/CT in the diagnosis and treatment of breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies. Radiolabeled FAPI can improve the detection, staging, and assessment of treatment response in breast and the most common gynecologic malignancies, but the problem with normal hormone-responsive organs remains insurmountable. Compared to the diagnostic applications of FAPI, further research is needed for future therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tengfei Li
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Jintao Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Yuanzhuo Yan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Min Tan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
- Nuclear Medicine Institute of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China
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Evangelista L, Guglielmo P, Pietrzak A, Lazar AM, Urso L, Aghaee A, Eppard E. The Future Direction of Women in Nuclear Medicine and Nuclear Medicine in Women's Health. Semin Nucl Med 2024; 54:302-310. [PMID: 38218670 DOI: 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2023.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
This work discusses the role of Nuclear Medicine for women's health, the role of women in the development of this emerging field and the various issues which arise from both. It emphasizes the importance of young women and their competing needs due to factors like pregnancy and work-related challenges. The objectives of this overview include improving imaging techniques, preserving fertility during cancer treatment, diagnosing pelvic and uterine conditions, developing radiopharmaceuticals for women's health, protecting female employees in Nuclear Medicine, and considering the role of artificial intelligence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Evangelista
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
| | - Priscilla Guglielmo
- Nuclear Medicine Department, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV - IRCCS, Padua, Italy
| | - Agata Pietrzak
- Electroradiology Department, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland; Nuclear Medicine Department, Greater Poland Cancer Centre, Poznan, Poland
| | - Alexandra Maria Lazar
- Nuclear Medicine Department, Institute of Oncology "Prof. Dr. Alexandru Trestioreanu", Bucharest, Romania; Carcinogenesis and Molecular Biology Department, Institute of Oncology "Prof. Dr. Alexandru Trestioreanu", Bucharest, Romania
| | - Luca Urso
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; Nuclear Medicine Unit, Onco-Hematological Department, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Atena Aghaee
- Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Elisabeth Eppard
- Faculty of Medicine, University Clinic for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Otto von Guericke University (OvGU), Magdeburg, Germany
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Alaluf E, Shalamov MM, Sonnenblick A. Update on current and new potential immunotherapies in breast cancer, from bench to bedside. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1287824. [PMID: 38433837 PMCID: PMC10905744 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1287824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Impressive advances have been seen in cancer immunotherapy during the last years. Although breast cancer (BC) has been long considered as non-immunogenic, immunotherapy for the treatment of BC is now emerging as a new promising therapeutic approach with considerable potential. This is supported by a plethora of completed and ongoing preclinical and clinical studies in various types of immunotherapies. However, a significant gap between clinical oncology and basic cancer research impairs the understanding of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, hampering cancer therapy research and development. To exploit the accumulating available data in an optimal way, both fundamental mechanisms at play in BC immunotherapy and its clinical pitfalls must be integrated. Then, clinical trials must be critically designed with appropriate combinations of conventional and immunotherapeutic strategies. While there is room for major improvement, this updated review details the immunotherapeutic tools available to date, from bench to bedside, in the hope that this will lead to rethinking and optimizing standards of care for BC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle Alaluf
- Medical Oncology Clinic, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Amir Sonnenblick
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Oncology Division, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Behnam-Manesh H, Doroudinia A, Bayat M, Bakhshayesh Karam M, Salimi B, Nejabat M, Mehrian P. FAPI Uptake in Gallbladder Is It Normal Biodistribution? Clin Nucl Med 2024; 49:e40-e41. [PMID: 37976528 DOI: 10.1097/rlu.0000000000004955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Radiolabeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitors (FAPIs) have been extensively used in different types of cancers, although not yet FDA approved. Normal patterns of FAPI biodistribution have been investigated, and it is known that FAPI is expressed in nonmalignant pathophysiological lesions, characterized by tissue remodeling such as atherosclerosis, arthritis, and scar/fibrotic tissues. In this interesting image, we are presenting the accumulation of 68 Ga-FAPI in the gallbladder. This finding could be related to a normal distribution of the radiotracer as a physiologic finding. This is a potentially important finding as FAPI may be used as theragnostic agent in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Behnam-Manesh
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Mohadeseh Bayat
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehrdad Bakhshayesh Karam
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Babak Salimi
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Marzieh Nejabat
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Payam Mehrian
- From the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Rossetti M, Stanca S, Del Frate R, Bartoli F, Marciano A, Esposito E, Fantoni A, Erba AP, Lippolis PV, Faviana P. Tumor Progression from a Fibroblast Activation Protein Perspective: Novel Diagnostic and Therapeutic Scenarios for Colorectal Cancer. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:3199. [PMID: 37892020 PMCID: PMC10606275 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13203199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2020, the Global Cancer Observatory estimated the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) at around 10.7% coupled with a mortality rate of 9.5%. The explanation for these values lies in the tumor microenvironment consisting of the extracellular matrix and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) offers a promising target for cancer therapy since its functions contribute to tumor progression. Immunohistochemistry examination of FAP, fibronectin ED-B, and CXCR4 in primary tumors and their respective synchronous and/or metachronous metastases along with semiquantitative analysis have been carried out on histological samples of 50 patients diagnosed with metastatic CRC. The intensity of FAP, articulated by both "Intensity %" and "Intensity score", is lower in the first metastasis compared to the primary tumor with a statistically significant correlation. No significant correlations have been observed regarding fibronectin ED-B and CXCR4. Tumors that produce FAP have an ambivalent relationship with this protein. At first, they exploit FAP, but later they reduce its expressiveness. Although our study has not directly included FAP-Inhibitor (FAPI) PET/CT, the considerable expression of FAP reveals its potential as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool worthy of further investigation. This dynamic relationship between cancer and FAP has substantial diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Rossetti
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.R.); (S.S.); (R.D.F.); (A.F.)
| | - Stefano Stanca
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.R.); (S.S.); (R.D.F.); (A.F.)
| | - Rossella Del Frate
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.R.); (S.S.); (R.D.F.); (A.F.)
| | - Francesco Bartoli
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (A.M.); (E.E.)
| | - Andrea Marciano
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (A.M.); (E.E.)
| | - Enrica Esposito
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (A.M.); (E.E.)
| | - Alessandra Fantoni
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.R.); (S.S.); (R.D.F.); (A.F.)
| | - Anna Paola Erba
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan Bicocca and Nuclear Medicine Unit ASST Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII Bergamo, 24127 Bergamo, Italy;
| | | | - Pinuccia Faviana
- Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.R.); (S.S.); (R.D.F.); (A.F.)
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