Prognostic values of transketolase family genes in ovarian cancer

Cancer-Testis Gene Biomarkers Discovered in Colon Cancer Patients

In Saudi Arabia, colon cancer (CC) is the most prevalent cancer in men and the third most common cancer in women. Rather than being detected through screening programs, most CC cases are diagnosed mainly during clinical exams. Because of the slow growth of CC and its ability to be treated at an early stage, screening for CC can reduce the incidence of death and mortality. Consequently, there is an urgent need to identify a potential new cancer-specific biomarker for detecting early illness. Much research has been conducted on distinct antigen classes as potential new cancer-specific biomarkers for the early identification of malignancy. The cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) are one such category of antigens, with protein presence largely normally confined to human germ line cells in the testis and aberrantly produced in some cancer cells. CTAs are potentially valuable for use as cancer biomarkers and in cancer therapeutics due to their distinctive expression pattern. The aim of this current study was to identify potential cancer-testis (CT) gene biomarkers in Saudi Arabian CC patients. In this study, a total of 20 matching CC and normal colon (NC) tissues were obtained from the Saudi population. Any genes that showed expression in CC tissues but not in matching NC tissues were subsequently verified for mRNA expression in eight breast and eight leukemia malignancies using RT-PCR to determine the specificity of any CC biomarkers. CTAG1A, SPZ1, LYZL6, SCP2D1, TEX33, and TKTL2 genes were expressed in varying numbers of CC tissues compared to no measurable expressions in all NC tissue specimens, making these genes suitable potential candidates for CC markers. The most frequently expressed CT genes in CC patients were CTAG1A (35%) and SCP2D1 (35%), followed by TKTL2 (25%), SPZ1 (20%), LYZL6 (15%), and TEX33 (5%). The LYZL6 gene shows a weak RT-PCR product in 25% of breast cancer (BC) patients but not in leukemia patients. The SCP2D1 gene appears to display expression in all leukemia patients but not in the BC patients. TKTL2 expression was also observed in 50% of leukemia samples but not in the BC samples. More experiments at the protein level and with a larger cohort of patients are required to evaluate this finding.

Phytocompounds Targeting Metabolic Reprogramming in Cancer: An Assessment of Role, Mechanisms, Pathways, and Therapeutic Relevance

The metabolism of cancer is remarkably different from that of normal cells and confers a variety of benefits, including the promotion of other cancer hallmarks. As the rewired metabolism is a near-universal property of cancer cells, efforts are underway to exploit metabolic vulnerabilities for therapeutic benefits. In the continued search for safer and effective ways of cancer treatment, structurally diverse plant-based compounds have gained substantial attention. Here, we present an extensive assessment of the role of phytocompounds in modulating cancer metabolism and attempt to make a case for the use of plant-based compounds in targeting metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer. We discuss the pharmacological interactions of phytocompounds with major metabolic pathways and evaluate the role of phytocompounds in the regulation of growth signaling and transcriptional programs involved in the metabolic transformation of cancer. Lastly, we examine the potential of these compounds in the clinical management of cancer along with limitations and challenges.

Importance of Potential New Biomarkers in Patient with Serouse Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer remains the gynecological cancer with the highest mortality rate. In our study, we compare a number of proteins from different effector pathways to assess their usefulness in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. The tissue expression of the tested proteins was assessed by two methods: qRT-PCR and an immunohistochemical analysis. A significantly higher level of mRNA expression was found in the ovarian cancer group for YAP and TEAD4 (p = 0.004 and p = 0.003, respectively). There was no statistical significance in the expression of mRNA for SMAD3, and there was borderline statistical significance for SMAD2 between the groups of ovarian cancer patients and other subgroups of patients with simple cysts and healthy ovarian tissue (p = 0.726 and p = 0.046, respectively). Significantly higher levels of transferrin receptor (CD71), H2A.X, and ADH1A gene expression were found in the ovarian cancer group compared to the control group for YAP, and TEAD4 showed strong nuclear and cytoplasmic staining in ovarian carcinoma and weak staining in non-carcinoma ovarian samples, ADH1A1 showed strong staining in the cytoplasm of carcinoma sections and a weak positive reaction in the non-carcinoma section, H2A.X showed strong positive nuclear staining in carcinoma sections and moderate positive staining in non-carcinoma samples, and CD71 showed moderate positive staining in carcinoma and non-carcinoma samples. YAP, TEAD4, and ADH1A proteins appear to be promising biomarkers in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.