• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.213-217
• /
• 1998

This study was performed to observe cytotoxic effect of the pine needle extracts against cancer cell lines including human gastric carcinoma (KATOIII), human lung carcinoma (A549), human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) using MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) and SRB (sulforhodamine B) method. The extracts were prepared by step-wise fractionation of ethanol extract of pine needles using diethylether, chloroform, ethylacetate, butanol and water. The growth of the cancer cells in medium containing pine needle extracts were significantly inhibited degree in proportion to the increase of the extract concentration. A significant shrinkage of Hep3B cells was observed when the cells were exposed into 0.5, 1 mg/mL of pinus rigida extract.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2008

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent form of oral cancer and holds the eighth position in the cancer incidence ranking. OSCC patients are treated by classical therapeutic modalities consisting of surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy. But OSCC still shows significant mortality rates. Thus, new therapeutic approaches have been investigated and the most promising one is naturally acquired agents with known anti-cancer effects. Genistein is a compound extracted from soy bean. Its anti-cancer effect on breast cancer is well established now and it is investigated whether it has similar effect on OSCC. It inhibited the growth and invasive-ness of OSCC cells in vitro, but these effects did not work in living animals in vivo. Catechin is a compound from green tea and its anti-cancer effect on OSCC is known better than other agents. Catechin showed its anti-cancer effect in vitro via induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, inhibition of growth, and down-regulation of invasion/metastasis. These effects were confirmed in vivo with mouse model. Cordycepin is one of major pharmacologically important components in Cordyceps Militaris and may exert its anti-cancer effect as an adenosine receptor agonist. In recent study, it inhibited the proliferation of OSCC cells via A3 adenosine receptor. But because there is very scarce evidence on this effect, more researches are needed on this theme.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.542-548
• /
• 2005

In recent years, propolis has attracted much attention as an useful substance in medicine and functional food, even if it is known as a natural remedy in folk medicine since ancient times. propolis was registered as natural food since 1995 on Korean Food Act by Korean Food and Drug Administration(KFDA). The present study demonstrated the optimization of isolation of crude propolis by ethanol, and tumoricidal effect of pro polis. The optimal concentration of ethanol to separate a high quantity of propolis was $60\%$. The cytotoxic effect of ethanol extracted propolis against various cancer cell lines including murine lymphoma (Sarcoma-180), murine T-lymphoma (YAC-1), human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), human gastric carcinoma (KATOIII) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (Hep3B) and human lung adenocarcinoma (A-549) was observed using SRB and MIT assay. In order to investigate the curative activity by oral administration of propolis on tumor, ICR mice was subcutaneously implanted Sarcoma 180. In 300mg/kg and 600mg/kg propolis administered group, development of implanted tumors was inhibited by $40.9\%\;and\;67.9\%$ at 16th day, respectively. In the same dose of propolis administered group, development of implanted tumors was inhibited more strongly with dose dependent manner. Therefore, these data suggested propolis may show tumoricidal effects. In conclusion, these results indicate that propolis, one of the few natural remedies, can be used as functional food with tumoricidal effects.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
• /
• 1993.05a
• /
• pp.84-84
• /
• 1993

Overexpression of the mutant p53, derived from mutation of the p53 gene which is located on the short arm of chromosome 17 and plays a role in suppression of the tumor, was reported in some human malignancy such as breast or colon carcinoma and suggested to be a prognostic factor. The authors investigated expression of p53 protein by immunohistochemical staining using anti-p53 monoclonal antibody in the paraffin embedded blocks of the 23 patients who were diagnosed at Seoul National University Hospital as adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck between 1982 and 1991, and could be followed-up. 7 cases(34%) out of the 23 cases showed p53 expression, and there was no significant association between p53 positivity and local recurrence(p=0.31) or distant metastasis(p=0.16)

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.1584-1592
• /
• 2006

Houttuynia cordata Thunb, well known as 'E-Sung-Cho' in Korea, is traditional medicinal plant generally used in Oriental medicine therapy. We previously reported that the water extract of H. cordata inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in human breast carcinoma cells. In the present study, we investigated the biochemical mechanisms of anti-proliferative effects by the methanol extract of H. cordata (MEHC) in human lung carcinoma A549 cells. It was found that MEHC could inhibit the cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with morphological change and apoptotic cell death as determined by formation of apoptotic bodies, DNA fragmentation and increased populations of apoptotic-sub G1 phase cells. Apoptosis of A549 cells by MEHC was also connected with a down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) expression. MEHC treatment induced the proteolytic activation of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, and a concomitant inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), ${\beta}$-catenin and phospholipase (PLC)-${\gamma}$1 protein expression. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of H. cordata.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.5.1-5.11
• /
• 2021

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the most frequent type of head and neck cancer that usually arises from the mucosal surfaces of several organs including nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, oral cavity, tongue, pharynx, and larynx. The Wnt signaling pathway is a crucial mechanism for cellular maintenance and development. It regulates cell cycle progression, apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Dysregulation of this pathway correlates with oncogenesis in various tissues including breast, colon, pancreatic as well as head and neck cancers. The present study aims to assess the gene alterations in the Wnt family of genes so as to derive an association with HNSCC. Computational approaches have been utilized for the identification of gene alterations in the Wnt family of genes. Several databases such as cBioportal, STRING, and UALCAN were used for the purpose. The frequency of alteration was high in case of Wnt family member 11 (5%). Gene amplification, deep deletions, missense and truncating mutations were observed in HNSCC patients. There was a marked difference in the gene expression profile of WNT11 between grades as well as normal samples. The survival probability measured using the Kaplan-Meier curve also presented with a significant difference among male and female subjects experiencing a low/medium level expression. The female patients showed less survival probability when compared to the male subjects. This provides the prognostic significance of the WNT11 gene in HNSCC. Taken together, the present study provides clues on the possible association of WNT11 gene alterations with HNSCC, which has to be further validated using experimental approaches.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.457-468
• /
• 2022

It has been demonstrated that APPL1 (adaptor protein, phosphotyrosine interacting with PH domain and leucine zipper 1) is involved in the regulation of several growth-related signaling pathways and thus closely associated with the development and progression of some cancers. Diallyl trisulfide (DAT), a garlic-derived bioactive compound, exerts selective cytotoxicity to various human cancer cells through interfering with pro-survival signaling pathways. However, whether and how DAT affects survival of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unclear. Herein, we tested the hypothesis of the involvement of APPL1 in DAT-induced cytotoxicity in HCC HepG2 cells. We found that Lys 63 (K63)-linked polyubiquitination of APPL1 was significantly decreased whereas phosphorylation of APPL1 at serine residues remained unchanged in DAT-treated HepG2 cells. Compared with wild-type APPL1, overexpression of APPL1 K63R mutant dramatically increased cell apoptosis and mitigated cell survival, along with a reduction of phosphorylation of STAT3, Akt, and Erk1/2. In addition, DAT administration markedly reduced protein levels of intracellular TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6). Genetic inhibition of TRAF6 decreased K63-linked polyubiquitination of APPL1. Moreover, the cytotoxicity impacts of DAT on HepG2 cells were greatly attenuated by overexpression of wild-type APPL1. Taken together, these results suggest that APPL1 polyubiquitination probably mediates the inhibitory effects of DAT on survival of HepG2 cells by modulating STAT3, Akt, and Erk1/2 pathways.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 1988

Because carcinoma of breast is known to readily metastasize to the bone, early detection of metastasis spread is very important. Two hundred thirty four consecutive patients who had $^{99m}Tc-MDP$ bone scans prior to treatment and during the follow up period were studied retrospectively to determine the contribution of the scans to staging, treatment and follow up examination between Jan. 1980 and Apr. 1987 in Seoul National University Hospital. 1) Positive bone scan rates in initial clinical stage I, II, III and IV were 0%, 4%, 14% and 53%, respectively. 2) The higher clinical stage is, the more cumulative risk of conversion to positive bone scan is during the same follow up period. 3) Conversion rate to positive bone scan in patients with lymph node metastasis is higher (50%) than those without metastasis (18%) (P < 0.001). We concluded that the bone scan in primary breast cancer was very useful to evaluate initial clinical stage and to perform the follow up examination.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8525-8531
• /
• 2016

Background: Cancer has become a major health problem associated with high mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries. The aim of our study was to evaluate the incidence rates of different types of cancer in Sulaymaniyah from January-2006 to January-2014. The data were compared with those reported for other middle east countries. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study depended on data collected from Hiwa hospital cancer registry unit, death records and histopathology reports in all Sulaymaniyah teaching hospitals, using international classification of diseases. Results: A total of 8,031 cases were registered during the eight year period, the annual incidence rate in all age groups rose from 38 to 61.7 cases/100,000 population/year, with averages over 50 in males and 50.7 in females. The male to female ratio in all age groups were 0.98, while in the pediatric age group it was 1.33. The hematological malignancies in all age groups accounted for 20% but in the pediatric group around half of all cancer cases. Pediatric cancers were occluding 7% of total cancers with rates of 10.3 in boys and 8.7 in girls. The commonest malignancies by primary site were leukemia, lymphoma, brain, kidney and bone. In males in all age groups they were lung, leukaemia, lymphoma, colorectal, prostate, bladder, brain, stomach, carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) and skin, while in females they were breast, leukaemia, lymphoma, colorectal, ovary, lung, brain, CUP, and stomach. Most cancers were increased with increasing age except breast cancer where decrease was noted in older ages. High mortality rates were found with leukemia, lung, lymphoma, colorectal, breast and stomach cancers. Conclusions: We here found an increase in annual cancer incidence rates across the period of study, because of increase of cancer with age and higher rates of hematological malignancies. Our study is valuable for Kurdistan and Iraq because it provides more accurate data about the exact patterns of cancer and mortality in our region.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.17
• /
• pp.7819-7824
• /
• 2015

Purpose: To subtype breast cancer (BC) in Saudi women according to the recent molecular classification and to correlate these subtypes with available clinicopathological parameters. Materials and Methods: Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor (Her2/neu) immunostaining was semi-quantitatively assessed to define molecular subtypes of luminal A and B, HER-2 and triple negative (basal-like) in BC paraffin embedded sections from 115 Saudi female patients diagnosed between 2005 to 2015 at the Department of Pathology, King Fahd Hospital, Almadinah, Saudi Arabia. Results: The most common subtypes were luminal A (47%), followed by luminal B (27.8%) and basal like subtypes (18.3%), whereas HER-2 was the least common subtype (6.9%). Luminal A was predominantly found in the old age group, with low tumor grade (p<0.001) and small tumor size, whereas HER-2 and basal-like subtypes were significantly associated with young age, high tumor grade, lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion (p<0.03, 0.004, 0.05 and 0.04 respectively). All subtypes showed advanced clinical stage at the time of presentation. Conclusions: Molecular subtypes of Saudi BC patients in Almadinah region are consistent with most of the worldwide subtyping. The biological behaviour of each molecular subtype could be expected based on its characteristic clinicopathological features. Along with other prognostic indicators, molecular subtyping would be helpful in predicting prognosis and management of our BC patients. We recommend screening and early diagnosis of BC in our population.