• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate candidates for serological biomarkers of neuropathic pain in individuals with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Methods: We analyzed 38 sera samples from 38 participants with NMOSD in National Cancer Center. Neuropathic pain was evaluated using the painDETECT questionnaire. Pain with neuropathic components (painDETECT score ≥ 13) was observed in 22 participants, among whom 17 had definite neuropathic pain (painDETECT score ≥ 19). The remaining 16 participants had non-neuropathic pain (painDETECT score < 13). Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels were assessed using a single-molecule array assay. Several cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, and IL-17A, were measured by a multiplex bead-based immunoassay. Results: In comparison of NMOSD participants with neuropathic pain components (or definite neuropathic pain) and those with non-neuropathic pain, the absolute values of serum GFAP, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 levels were higher in participants with neuropathic pain components (or definite neuropathic pain), but these findings did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Further larger-scale investigations to find reliable serological biomarkers for neuropathic pain in NMOSD are warranted.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.65-73
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• 2022

A breakthrough in immunotherapy has changed the outlook for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treatment as the immune surveillance evasion mechanism of tumor cells has been continuously elucidated. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and ipilimumab, which block immune checkpoint receptors or ligands have been approved for the treatment of mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) mCRC based on numerous clinical studies. However, 50% of dMMR/MSI-H mCRC and most mismatch repair proficient/microsatellite stable mCRC remained unresponsive to current immunotherapy. Clinical trials on combination therapy that adds various treatments, such as target agents, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy to ICI, have been actively conducted to overcome this immunotherapy limitation. Further studies on safety and efficacy are needed although several trials presented promising data. Additionally, dMMR/MSI-H, tumor mutation burden, and programmed cell death ligand-1 expression have been studied as biomarkers for predicting the treatment response to immunotherapy, but the discovery and validation of more sensitively predictable biomarkers remained necessary. Thus, this study aimed to review recent studies on immunotherapy in mCRC, summarize the efficacy and limitation of immunotherapy, and describe the biomarkers that predict treatment response.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8549-8556
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• 2014

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the world top ten most common cancers with its highest occurrence in the Indian subcontinent and different aggressive and etiological behavioural patterns. The scenario is only getting worst with the 5 year survival rates dropping to 50%, persistent treatment failures and frequent cases of relapse/recurrence. One of the major reasons for these failures is the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small population of cancer cells that are highly tumourigenic, capable of self-renewal and have the ability to differentiate into cells that constitute the bulk of tumours. Notably, recent evidence suggests that cancer stem cells are especially resistant to conventional therapy and are the "drivers" of local recurrence and metastatic spread. Specific markers for this population have been investigated in HNSCC in the hope of developing a deeper understanding of their role in oral cancer pathogenesis, elucidating novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and newer therapeutic strategies. This review covers the fundamental relevance of almost all the CSC biomarkers established to date with a special emphasis on their impact in the process of oral tumourigenesis and their potential role in improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of OSCC patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.4-28
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• 2024

Liquid biopsy, a minimally invasive procedure that causes minimal pain and complication risks to patients, has been extensively studied for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, it facilitates comprehensive quantification and serial assessment of the whole-body tumor burden. Several biosources obtained through liquid biopsy have been studied as important biomarkers for establishing early diagnosis, monitoring minimal residual disease, and predicting the prognosis and response to treatment in patients with cancer. Although the clinical application of liquid biopsy in gastric cancer is not as robust as that in other cancers, biomarker studies using liquid biopsy are being actively conducted in patients with gastric cancer. Herein, we aimed to review the role of various biosources that can be obtained from patients with gastric cancer through liquid biopsies, such as blood, saliva, gastric juice, urine, stool, peritoneal lavage fluid, and ascites, by dividing them into cellular and acellular components. In addition, we reviewed previous studies on the diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for gastric cancer using liquid biopsy and discussed the limitations of liquid biopsy and the challenges to overcome these limitations in patients with gastric cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1163-1168
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• 2016

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the bile duct cancer which constitutes one of the important public health problems in Thailand with high mortality rate, especially in the Opisthorchis viverrini (a parasite risk factor for CCA) endemic area of the northeastern region of the country. This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers from the plasma peptidome by CCA patients. Peptides were isolated using 10 kDa cut-off filter column and the flow-through was then used as a peptidome for LC-MS/MS analysis. A total of 209 peptides were obtained. Among these, 15 peptides were concerned with signaling pathways and 12 related to metabolic, regulatory, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolite pathways. Five exclusive peptides were identified as potential biomarkers, i.e. ETS domain-containing transcription factor ERF (P50548), KIAA0220 (Q92617), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit beta isoform isoform 1 (P42338), LP2209 (Q6XYC0), and casein kinase II subunit alpha (P19784). Three of these biomarkers are signaling related molecules. A combination of these biomarkers for CCA diagnosis is proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.301-312
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• 2020

In disease diagnostics and health surveillance, the use of saliva has potential because its collection is convenient and noninvasive. Over the past two decades, the development of salivary utilization for the early detection of cancer, especially oral cavity and oropharynx cancer has gained the interest of the researcher and clinician. Until recently, the oral cavity and oropharynx cancers are still having a five-year survival rate of 62%, one of the lowest in all major human cancers. More than 90% of oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Despite the ease of accessing the oral cavity in clinical examination, most OSCC lesions are not diagnosed in the early stage, which is suggested to be the main cause of the low survival rate. Many studies have been performed and reported more than 100 potential saliva biomarkers for OSCC. However, there are still obstacles in figuring out the reliable OSCC salivary biomarkers and the clinical application of the early diagnosis protocol. The current review article discusses the emerging issues and is hoped to raise awareness of this topic in both researchers and clinicians. We also suggested the potential salivary biomarkers that are reliable, specific, and sensitive for the early detection of OSCC.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2023

A significant proportion of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is diagnosed in the early and resectable stage. Despite the use of platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy, there was only a marginal increase in overall survival and a 15% decrease in relapse. With the advents of immunotherapy and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), the landscape of adjuvant treatment in completely resectable NSCLC is changing. Postoperative radiotherapy can be beneficial to patients who underwent surgical resection in certain clinical settings. In addition, new biomarkers that predict efficacy of EGFR TKI and immunotherapy as adjuvant treatment are also necessary. In this review, recent updates in adjuvant treatment in resectable NSCLC were briefly explained.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1333-1336
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• 2016

Oral cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in India but the underlying mechanisms are minimally unraveled. Cancer research has immensely benefited from genome scale high throughput studies which have contributed to expanding the volume of data. Such datasets also exist for oral cancer genes but there has been no consolidated approach to integrate the data to reveal meaningful biological information. OrCanome is one of the largest and comprehensive, user-friendly databases of oral cancer. It features a compilation of over 900 genes dysregulated in oral cancer and provides detailed annotations of the genes, transcripts and proteins along with additional information encompassing expression, inhibitors, epitopes and pathways. The resource has been envisioned as a one-stop solution for genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic annotation of these genes and the integrated approach will facilitate the identification of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2022

Odorant receptors (ORs), the largest subfamily of G protein-coupled receptors, detect odorants in the nose. In addition, ORs were recently shown to be expressed in many nonolfactory tissues and cells, indicating that these receptors have physiological and pathophysiological roles beyond olfaction. Many ORs are expressed by tumor cells and tissues, suggesting that they may be associated with cancer progression or may be cancer biomarkers. This review describes OR expression in various types of cancer and the association of these receptors with various types of signaling mechanisms. In addition, the clinical relevance and significance of the levels of OR expression were evaluated. Namely, levels of OR expression in cancer were analyzed based on RNA-sequencing data reported in the Cancer Genome Atlas; OR expression patterns were visualized using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE); and the associations between patient survival and levels of OR expression were analyzed. These analyses of the relationships between patient survival and expression patterns obtained from an open mRNA database in cancer patients indicate that ORs may be cancer biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.133-140
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• 2012

Cancers claim millions of lives each year. Early detection that can enable a higher chance of cure is of paramount importance to cancer patients. However, diagnostic tools for many forms of tumors have been lacking. Over the last few years, studies of chimeric RNAs as biomarkers have emerged. Numerous reports using bioinformatics and screening methodologies have described more than 30,000 expressed sequence tags (EST) or cDNA sequences as putative chimeric RNAs. While cancer cells have been well known to contain fusion genes derived from chromosomal translocations, rearrangements or deletions, recent studies suggest that trans-splicing in cells may be another source of chimeric RNA production. Unlike cis-splicing, trans-splicing takes place between two pre-mRNA molecules, which are in most cases derived from two different genes, generating a chimeric non-co-linear RNA. It is possible that trans-splicing occurs in normal cells at high frequencies but the resulting chimeric RNAs exist only at low levels. However the levels of certain RNA chimeras may be elevated in cancers, leading to the formation of fusion genes. In light of the fact that chimeric RNAs have been shown to be overrepresented in various tumors, studies of the mechanisms that produce chimeric RNAs and identification of signature RNA chimeras as biomarkers present an opportunity for the development of diagnoses for early tumor detection.