Evidence is emerging that the closely related ROCK1 and ROCK2 serine/threonine kinases support the invasive and metastatic growth of a spectrum of human cancer types. Therefore, inhibitors of ROCK are under preclinical development. However, a key step in their development involves the identification of genetic biomarkers that will predict ROCK inhibitor anti-tumor activity. »
09/11/12

The limited success of cancer therapeutics is largely attributable to the ability of cancer to become resistant to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Thus, further identification of signaling molecules and pathways that influence tumorigenesis is needed to increase the overall therapeutic options. GRKs, originally recognized for their conserved role in GPCR signal control, have now emerged as regulators of additional biological molecules and functions. »
01/01/12

Tea consumption has been reported to be associated with an decreased risk of several types of cancers. However, the results based on epidemiological studies on the association of tea consumption with bladder cancer were inconsistent. This meta-analysis was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between tea consumption and bladder cancer risk. »
08/25/12

Cigarette smoking is the best-established risk factor for urothelial carcinoma (UC) development, but the impact on oncologic outcomes remains poorly understood. »
08/21/12

Hypoxia, a characteristic of almost all types of solid tumors, has been associated with poor outcome in a number of human malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in hypoxia-induced activation of the human survivin gene promoter in cervical HeLa cells. »
08/26/12

Oligodendroglioma is characterized by mutations of IDH and CIC, 1p/19q loss, and slow growth. We found that NHE-1 on 1p is silenced in oligodendrogliomas secondary to IDH-associated hypermethylation and 1p allelic loss. »
06/12/12

Cell differentiation agent-2 (CDA-2) is an extraction from healthy human urine consisting of primary organic acids and peptides, and it has been demonstrated to inhibit growth and induce differentiation in glioma and other cell lines. But the mechanism of CDA-2 remains unclear. »
08/24/12

Our aim was to evaluate the KRAS genotypes of Japanese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and to assess the effect of these genotypes on clinical outcome. A total of 99 patients with stage I-IV CRC who underwent resection were prospectively studied for KRAS mutations by direct sequencing. »
08/21/12

Because IL-4 and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) are immune stimulants, we evaluated the antitumor effects of IL-4 gene therapy and CpG-ODN treatment in a poorly immunogenic murine cancer model. We used a murine colorectal cancer MC38 cell line overexpressing the IL-4 gene (MC38-IL4). »
06/01/12

High expression levels of TrkB and BDNF are associated with aggressive malignant behavior in tumor cells and a poor prognosis in patients with various types of cancer. »
08/17/12