Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and frequent brain tumor, albeit without cure. Although patient survival is limited to one year on average, significant variability in outcome is observed. The assessment of biomarkers is needed to gain better knowledge of this type of tumor, help prognosis, design and evaluate therapies. The neurodevelopmental polysialic acid neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA−NCAM) protein is overexpressed in various cancers. Here, we studied its expression in GBM and evaluated its prognosis value for overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS). »
03/10/10

Ovarian cancer still has a relatively poor prognosis due to the frequent occurrence of drug resistance, making the identification of new therapeutic targets an important goal. We have studied the role of HOX genes in the survival and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. These are a family of homeodomain−containing transcription factors that determine cell and tissue identity in the early embryo, and have an anti−apoptotic role in a number of malignancies including lung and renal cancer. »
03/10/10

The goal of this study was to analyze protein expression of antigen processing machinery (APM) components in bladder carcinoma (BC), and to assess the clinical significance of defects in their expression. »
09/16/09

To investigate the effects of survivin gene RNA interference on cell growth and the cell cycle in the human bladder cancer cell line T24. »
03/01/10

Sulforaphane, a well−characterised dietary isothiocyanate, has been demonstrated to be a potent anti−carcinogenic agent in numerous cancer models, including in bladder cancer cells. In the present study, sulforaphane up−regulated the expression of two Nrf2−dependent enzymes, glutathione transferase (GSTA1−1) and thioredoxin reductase (TR−1), and down−regulated cyclooxygenase 2 (COX−2) in human bladder cancer T24 cells. »
04/01/10

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) are highly invasive tumours with frequent local and distant recurrence. Metastasis formation requires degradation of the extracellular matrix, which is fulfilled by membrane−associated proteases such as the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). WX−UK1 is a competitive active site inhibitor of the protease function of uPA that impairs on the capacity of tumour cells to invade in vitro. »
03/11/10

The ribonucleotide reductase M1 (RRM1) gene encodes the regulatory subunit of ribonucleotide reductase, the molecular target of gemcitabine. The overexpression of RRM1 mRNA in tumor tissues is reported to be associated with gemcitabine resistance. Thus, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the RRM1 gene are potential biomarkers of the response to gemcitabine chemotherapy. We investigated whether RRM1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or SNPs were associated with clinical outcome after gemcitabine−based chemotherapy in advanced non−small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. »
03/13/10

Evaluating the expression of signaling molecule proteins from the mitogen−activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the phosphatidylinositol−3−kinase (PI3K) pathway in invasive breast cancers may identify prognostic marker(s) associated with early relapse. »
03/12/10

The VEGF family of ligands and receptors are intimately involved in tumor angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and metastasis. The evaluation of VEGF ligand/receptor ratios may provide a more profound understanding of the involvement of these proteins in colorectal tumour progression. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of the VEGF ligand/receptor ratios on tumour progression and metastasis in patients with mismatch repair−proficient colorectal cancer. »
03/11/10

In the present study, we determined the gene hypermethylation profiles of normal tissues adjacent to invasive breast carcinomas and investigated whether these are associated with the gene hypermethylation profiles of the corresponding primary breast tumours. »
03/12/10