Estrogen effects on mammary epithelial and breast cancer (BC) cells are mediated by the nuclear receptors ERα and ERβ, transcription factors that display functional antagonism with each other, with ERβ acting as oncosuppressor and interfering with the effects of ERα on cell proliferation, tumor promotion and progression. Indeed, hormone-responsive, ERα+ BC cells often lack ERβ, which when present associates with a less aggressive clinical phenotype of the disease. »
01/09/12

Evidence from case-control studies suggest that dietary fiber may be inversely related to breast cancer risk, but it is unclear if this is supported by prospective data. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence from prospective studies. »
01/10/12

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most frequent malignancies and has a high mortality rate due to late detection and lack of efficient treatments. Identifying novel drug targets for this indication may open the way for new treatment strategies. Comparison of gene expression profiles of NSCLC and normal adjacent tissue (NAT) allowed to determine that 5-alpha-reductase type I (SRD5A1) was up-regulated in NSCLC compared to NAT. This raised the question whether SRD5A1 was involved in sustained proliferation and survival of NSCLC. »
01/18/12

C-C Chemokine receptor type7 (CCR7), plays an important role in chemotactic and metastatic responses in various cancers, including breast cancer. In this study, we demonstrated that microRNA Let-7a down-regulates CCR7 expression and directly influences the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. »
01/18/12

The purpose of this study is to determine the methylation status of Transforming growth factor-beta-inducible gene-h3 (TGFBI) and its correlation with paclitaxel chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. The methylation status of TGFBI was examined in ovarian cancer and control groups by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP). »
01/16/12

One of the major components of telomerase is the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) as the catalytic protein. hTERT mRNA expression are reported to be associated with prognosis and tumor progression in several sarcomas. However, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms of hTERT in human sarcomas. Recent studies have suggested that signals transmitted through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) can increase or decrease hTERT transcription in human cells. The purpose of this study was to analyse the correlation between p38 MAPK and hTERT in sarcoma samples. »
01/16/12

To study the methylation status of genes that play a role in the p53-Bax mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and its clinical significance in cholangiocarcinoma. »
01/09/12

Recent studies have reported that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can activate gene expression by targeting promoter sequence in a process termed RNA activation. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential of WT1 induction by small activating RNA targeting the WT1 promoter (dsWT1) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. »
01/13/12

The receptor tyrosine kinase family includes many transmembrane proteins with diverse physiological and pathophysiological functions. The involvement of tyrosine kinase signaling in promoting a more aggressive tumor phenotype within the context of chemotherapeutic evasion is gaining recognition. The Ron receptor is a tyrosine kinase receptor that has been implicated in the progression of breast cancer and evasion of tamoxifen therapy. »
01/06/12

Carcinoma cells must circumvent the normally suppressive signals to disseminate. While often considered 'stop' signals for adherent cells, CXCR3-binding chemokines have recently been correlated positively with cancer progression though the molecular basis remains unclear. »
01/11/12