One of the most commonly used classes of anti-cancer drugs presently in clinical practice is the platinum-based drugs, including cisplatin. The efficacy of cisplatin therapy is often limited by the emergence of resistant tumours following treatment. Cisplatin resistance is multi-factorial but can be associated with increased DNA repair capacity, mutations in p53 or loss of DNA mismatch repair capacity. »
05/14/10

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone in children and adolescents. However, the knowledge in diagnostic modalities has progressed less. To identify new biomarkers for the early diagnosis of OS as well as for potential novel therapeutic candidates, we performed a subcellular comparative proteomic research. »
05/14/10

A population of breast cancer patients exists who, for various reasons, never received adjuvant post-operative tamoxifen (TAM). This study was aimed to evaluate the role of late TAM in these patients. »
05/14/10

One of the main obstacles for successful cancer polychemotherapy is multiple drug resistance phenotype (MDR) acquired by tumor cells. Currently, RNA interference represents a perspective strategy to overcome MDR via silencing the genes involved in development of this deleterious phenotype (genes of ABC transporters, antiapoptotic genes, etc.). »
05/14/10

Angiogenesis is a multistep process in which many growth factors and cytokines have an essential role. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic agent that acts as a specific mitogen for vascular endothelial cells through specific cell surface receptors. The interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway is another mechanism linking angiogenesis to malignancy. C-reactive protein (CRP), a representative marker for inflammation, is known for its association with disease progression in many cancer types. The aim of this study was to determine preoperative serum levels of VEGF, IL-6, and CRP in colorectal carcinoma, and to correlate them with disease status and prognosis. »
05/14/10

Limonoids from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica) have attracted considerable research attention in recent years owing to their potent antioxidant and anti-proliferative effects. The present study was designed to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which azadirachtin and nimbolide exert cytotoxic effects in the human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line. »
06/01/10

A subset of the mucosotropic human papillomaviruses (HPV), including HPV16, are etiologic agents for the vast majority of cervical cancers, other anogenital cancers, and a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. HPV16 encodes three oncogenes: E5, E6, and E7. »
04/01/10

Although aided by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test, early detection of cervical cancer is still a challenge. Hypermethylation of the paired boxed gene 1 (PAX1) was recently reported as a characteristic of cervical cancer. This study designed a quantitative measure of PAX1 methylation and compared its efficacy to the currently available Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) HPV test in detection of cervical cancer. »
05/01/10

We here demonstrate that the anti-diabetic drug metformin interacts synergistically with the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Tzb; Herceptin) to eliminate stem/progenitor cell populations in HER2-gene-amplified breast carcinoma cells. »
05/11/10

Cancer stem cell studies may improve understanding of tumor pathophysiology and identify more effective strategies for cancer treatment. In a variety of organisms, Piwil2 has been implicated in multiple roles including stem cell self-renewal, RNA silencing, and translational control. »
05/11/10