Application of novel targeting nanoparticles contrast agent combined with contrast-enhanced computed tomography during screening for early-phase gastric carcinoma

Nanotechnology-based strategies for gastric cancer imaging and treatment

Gastric cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite the improvement in deciphering molecular mechanisms, advances of detection and imaging, implementation of prevention programs, and personalized treatment, the overall curative rate remains low. In particular, with the emergence of nanomaterials, different imaging modalities can be integrated into one single platform, and combined therapies with synergetic effects against gastric cancer were established. Moreover, the development of theranostic strategies with simultaneous diagnostic and therapeutic ability was boosted by multifunctional nanoparticles. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of major nanotechnology-based breakthroughs for gastric cancer imaging and treatment. We will describe the superiority of nanomaterials used in gastric cancer and summarize nanotechnology applications for the improvement of cancer imaging and therapeutic efficacy.

The Combination of Liposomes and Metallic Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Nanostructures in the Therapy and Medical Imaging-A Review

Nanotechnology has introduced a new quality and has definitely developed the possibilities of treating and diagnosing various diseases. One of the scientists' interests is liposomes and metallic nanoparticles (LipoMNPs)-the combination of which has introduced new properties and applications. However, the field of creating hybrid nanostructures consisting of liposomes and metallic nanoparticles is relatively little understood. The purpose of this review was to compile the latest reports in the field of treatment and medical imaging using of LipoMNPs. The authors focused on presenting this issue in the direction of improving the used conventional treatment and imaging methods. Most of all, the nature of bio-interactions between nanostructures and cells is not sufficiently taken into account. As a result, overcoming the existing limitations in the implementation of such solutions in the clinic is difficult. We concluded that hybrid nanostructures are used in a very wide range, especially in the treatment of cancer and magnetic resonance imaging. There were also solutions that combine treatments with simultaneous imaging, creating a theragnostic approach. In the future, researchers should focus on the description of the biological interactions and the long-term effects of the nanostructures to use LipoMNPs in the treatment of patients.

Expression of the Body-Weight Signaling Players: GDF15, GFRAL and RET and their clinical relevance in Gastric Cancer

The existence, the functional role and clinical relevance of GDF15 and its signaling through a GFRAL/RET-dependent complex in gastric cancer (GC) and other human tumors remain to be elucidated, despite the widespread recognition of obesity as an important cancer-predisposing factor. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the expression levels of GDF15, GFRAL and RET in GC tissues in relation to each other and clinicopathological features, including patient survival, in order to establish a potential implication of the body-weight signaling pathway in the pathology and clinical outcome of GC. Protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays containing 104 and 30 consecutive GC and normal gastric mucosa samples, whereas gene expression data for The Cancer Genome Atlas cohort of 413 GC patients were obtained from public sources. We found that the protein expression of GDF15, GFRAL and RET was significantly elevated and positively correlated in our set of GC tissues, which was reflected in their tendency to be overexpressed in low-grade and intermediate-grade tumors rather than high-grade ones. No other relationships between the expression status of the examined proteins and clinicopathological characteristics of GC patients were found. Through in silico data analysis, we showed that high GDF15 expression was associated with better overall survival (OS) of GC patients, whereas the opposite was true for high levels of GFRAL or RET. Specifically, GFRAL and RET emerged as independent prognostic factors associated with poor OS. Furthermore, high combined expression of the three markers: GDF15+GFRAL+RET was significantly associated with reduced OS, and it was an independent prognostic factor of borderline significance in terms of OS, when adjusted for covariates. If validated in large-scale studies, the individual and combined expression of GDF15, GFRAL and RET may provide significant clinical implications for the prognosis prediction of GC patients.

Review of the Application of Nanovesicles and the Human Interstitial Fluid in Gastrointestinal Premalignant Lesion Detection, Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy

Premalignant lesions arise from cells that abnormally proliferate and have a tendency to become cancerous. Developing methods to specifically target and remove these premalignant lesions is imperative to the prevention of malignant progression into gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. However, accurate detection and diagnosis of GI precancerous lesions is challenging, as these lesions show little or no structural change. Thus, this prevents early intervention and reduces the success rate of therapy. In this review, we performed a systematic analysis of the technological advancements in the combined application of nanovesicles (NVs) and the human interstitial fluid (HIF) to specifically target GI premalignant lesions. NVs, which include quantum dots (QDs), are small membranous vehicles of a nanometer diameter that are widely used as drug delivery vectors, therapeutic effectors and diagnostic sensors. HIF is the fluid that is present in human interstitial tissues (HITs) in which signaling molecules and agents travel and can be found throughout the body. HIF is exploited by tumor cells for their invasion, migration and spread. Because the HITs span the entire submucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, they have been increasingly targeted in GI tumor therapy. The challenges involved in the combined application of NVs and HIF in the detection, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of GI premalignant lesions are also discussed.

Gastric cancer combination therapy: synthesis of a hyaluronic acid and cisplatin containing lipid prodrug coloaded with sorafenib in a nanoparticulate system to exhibit enhanced anticancer efficacy and reduced toxicity

Purpose

Gastric cancer is one of the most common human epithelial malignancies, and using nanoparticles (NPs) in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to develop hyaluronic acid (HA) containing lipid NPs coloaded with cisplatin (CDDP) and sorafenib (SRF) for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Materials and methods

HA and CDDP containing lipid prodrug was synthesized using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a linker (HA-PEG-CDDP). HA-PEG-CDDP and SRF were entrapped into the lipid NPs by nanoprecipitation method (H-CS-NPs). The physicochemical and biochemical properties such as size, zeta potential, and drug release pattern were studied. In vitro viability was also evaluated with MKN28 and SGC7901 human gastric cancer cells. In vivo testing including biodistribution and accumulation in tumor tissue was applied in gastric tumor-bearing mice to confirm the inhibition of gastric cancer.

Results

H-CS-NP has a particle size of 173.2±5.9 nm, with a zeta potential of −21.5±3.2 mV. At day 21 of in vivo treatment, H-CS-NPs inhibited the tumor volume from 1,532.5±41.3 mm³ to 259.6±16.3 mm³ with no obvious body weight loss. In contrast, mice treated with free drugs had body weight loss from 20 to 15 g at the end of study.

Conclusion

The results indicate that H-CS-NPs enhanced the antitumor effect of drugs and reduced the systemic toxicity effects. It could be used as a promising nanomedicine for gastric cancer combination therapy.