• BMB Reports
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.233-234
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• 2017

Aberrant expression of the polypeptide N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferase (GALNTs) has been associated with cancer, but their function(s) in metastasis remains elusive. We have recently identified GALNT14, one of the O-GalNAc glycosylation-initiating enzymes, as a prognostic marker for pulmonary relapse in breast cancer patients. Furthermore, we showed that GALNT14 promotes lung metastasis by the following novel mechanisms: 1) enhancing metastasis initiation by inhibiting the anti-metastatic effect of BMP produced from the lung stroma, 2) exploiting growth signals (e.g. FGF) supplied by macrophages, for their growth into macrometastases in the lung environment. These multi-faceted roles of GALNT14 in lung metastasis are achieved by GALNT14-mediated inhibition and activation of the BMP and FGF signaling pathways, respectively. The link among GALNT14, its downstream pathways and lung metastasis, provides us with an opportunity to develop effective therapeutic intervention for breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2735-2739
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• 2016

Curcumin, is a polyphenol from Curcuma longa (turmeric plant), is a polyphenol that belongs to the ginger family which has long been used in Ayurveda medicines to treat various diseases such as asthma, anorexia, coughing, hepatic diseases, diabetes, heart diseases, wound healing and Alzheimer's. Various studies have shown that curcumin has anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, hepatoprotective, thrombosuppressive, cardio protective, anti-arthritic, chemo preventive and anti-carcinogenic activities. It may suppress both initiation and progression stages of cancer. Anticancer activity of curcumin is due to negative regulation of inflammatory cytokines, transcription factors, protein kinases, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oncogenes. This review focuses on the different targets of curcumin to treat cancer.

• Kosin Medical Journal
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.283-288
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• 2018

Historically, the standard treatment for early-stage cervical cancer has been radical surgery in patients with operable disease. Patients with locally advanced disease (defined as FIGO stage IB2 and usually with tumors greater than 4 cm, IIB, III and IVA) are usually treated with radical radiotherapy, which consists of external beam radiotherapy and internal brachytherapy. However, the discovery that cervical cancer tumors are sensitive to chemotherapy led to the initiation of studies looking at adding chemotherapy to both radiotherapy and surgery. Following a National Cancer Institute (NCI) alert in 1999 (NCI 1999), chemoradiotherapy became the standard of care for women with locally advanced cervical cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4639-4643
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• 2012

The burden of lung cancer in terms of mortality is the highest among all types of cancers globally. The present study aimed to evaluate lifestyle related habits, clinico-pathological profile and treatment details of lung cancer patients who were registered at Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC), Kerala, during the calendar year 2010. A retrospective evaluation was made from medical records to gather data from 281 registered lung cancer cases in 241 males and 40 females, with a male to female ratio of 6.03: 1. Approximately 89% of the cases were above 50 years of age. Among males about 91% of the cases were smokers and 62% of them had a chronic smoking habit. Adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, non-small cell carcinomas and small cell cancers accounted for 10.7, 13.9, 17.0 and 5.7% respectively. Out of 281 cases around 67% were diagnosed with distant metastasis and the remainder had regional lymph node involvement. However, no statistically significant difference was observed for secondary site of tumor according to gender. As majority of the cases reported at MCC were in an advanced stage of the disease, histology of the secondary site from supraclavicular lymph nodes or liver was taken for diagnosis. Initiation of population based screening for early detection of cancer, and primary and secondary prevention strategies for reducing the prevalence of tobacco consumption are high priorities to reduce the lung cancer burden in Kerala.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-92
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• 2018

It is widely accepted that altered metabolism contributes to cancer growth and has been described as a hallmark of cancer. Our view and understanding of cancer metabolism has expanded at a rapid pace, however, there remains a need to study metabolic dependencies of human cancer in vivo. Recent studies have sought to utilize multi-modality imaging (MMI) techniques in order to build a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of cancer metabolism. MMI combines several in vivo techniques that can provide complementary information related to cancer metabolism. We describe several non-invasive imaging techniques that provide both anatomical and functional information related to tumor metabolism. These imaging modalities include: positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) that uses hyperpolarized probes and optical imaging utilizing bioluminescence and quantification of light emitted. We describe how these imaging modalities can be combined with mass spectrometry and quantitative immunochemistry to obtain more complete picture of cancer metabolism. In vivo studies of tumor metabolism are emerging in the field and represent an important component to our understanding of how metabolism shapes and defines cancer initiation, progression and response to treatment. In this review we describe in vivo based studies of cancer metabolism that have taken advantage of MMI in both pre-clinical and clinical studies. MMI promises to advance our understanding of cancer metabolism in both basic research and clinical settings with the ultimate goal of improving detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.175-177
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• 2016

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among the population as a whole and among females, yet it is highly curable if diagnosed at an early stage. Different methods are used to diagnose breast cancer. One of these methods features immunological tests using flow cytometry to determine T-lymphocyte (CD4/CD8) ratios in peripheral blood. One hundred patients with breast cancer (50 from Basra, Iraq, and 50 from Baku, Azerbaijan) confirmed to have breast cancer by histopathology were studied. Blood samples were collected from all patients before initiation of treatment and were used for analysis. The mean age of women from Basra was $51.2{\pm}10.7years$ and that of women from Baku was slightly higher at $54.8{\pm}12.2$. The mean CD4/CD8 ratio in Basra was 1.4 and in Baku was 1.8 with P value < 0.05. The percentage of Basra patients who have CD4/CD8 value less than 1 was 50%, while the percentage for Baku patients was 24 % (p < 0.05). While the CD4/CD8 T-lymphocyte ratio might be useful for early diagnosis in patients with breast cancer parallel with other confirmed tests factors involved in explaining variation between countries such as that observed here need to be taken into account.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.473-483
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• 2023

Many cancers arise from sites of chronic inflammation, which creates an inflammatory microenvironment surrounding the tumor. Inflammatory substances secreted by cells in the inflammatory environment can induce the proliferation and survival of cancer cells, thereby promoting cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. Therefore, it is important to identify the role of inflammatory factors in cancer progression. This review summarizes the signaling pathways and roles of C-reactive protein (CRP) in various cancer types, including breast, liver, renal, and pancreatic cancer, and the tumor microenvironment. Mounting evidence suggests the role of CRP in breast cancer, particularly in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is typically associated with a worse prognosis. Increased CRP in the inflammatory environment contributes to enhanced invasiveness and tumor formation in TNBC cells. CRP promotes endothelial cell formation and angiogenesis and contributes to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In pancreatic and kidney cancers, CRP contributes to tumor progression. In liver cancer, CRP regulates inflammatory responses and lipid metabolism. CRP modulates the activity of various signaling molecules in macrophages and monocytes present in the tumor microenvironment, contributing to tumor development, the immune response, and inflammation. In the present review, we overviewed the role of CRP signaling pathways and the association between inflammation and cancer in various types of cancer. Identifying the interactions between CRP signaling pathways and other inflammatory mediators in cancer progression is crucial for understanding the complex relationship between inflammation and cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9059-9064
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• 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitously expressed small, non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at a post transcriptional/translational level. They have emerging as playing crucial roles in cancer at all stages ranging from initiation to metastasis. As a tumor suppressor miRNA, aberrant expression of microRNA-29b (miR-29b) has been detected in various types of cancer, and its disturbance is related with tumor development and progression. In this review, we summarize the latest findings with regard to the tumor suppressor signatureof miR-29b and its regulatory mechanisms. Our review highlights the diverse relationships between miR-29b and its target genes in malignant tumors.

• Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.162-169
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• 2018

$TGF-{\beta}$ signaling plays a tumor suppressive role in normal and premalignant cells but promotes tumor progression during the late stages of tumor development. The $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling pathway is tightly regulated at various levels, including transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Ubiquitination of signaling components, such as receptors and Smad proteins is one of the key regulatory mechanisms of $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling. Tripartite motif (TRIM) family of proteins is a highly conserved group of E3 ubiquitin ligase proteins that have been implicated in a variety of cellular functions, including cell growth, differentiation, immune response, and carcinogenesis. Recent emerging studies have shown that some TRIM family proteins function as important regulators in tumor initiation and progression. This review summarizes current knowledge of TRIM family proteins regulating the $TGF-{\beta}$ signaling pathway with relevance to cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1747-1753
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• 2013

Background: It is projected that low and middle-income countries will bear a major burden of tobacco related morbidity and mortality, yet, only limited information is available on the determinants of smoking initiation among youth in Africa. This study aimed to assess the determinants of smoking initiation and susceptibility to future smoking among a population of high school school students in Lagos, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Baseline data from an intervention study designed to assess the effect of an anti-smoking awareness program on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescents was analyzed. The survey was carried out in six randomly selected public and private secondary schools in local government areas in Lagos state, Nigeria. A total of 973 students completed self-administered questionnaires on smoking initiation, health related knowledge and attitudes towards smoking, susceptibility to future smoking and other factors associated with smoking. Results: Of the respondents, 9.7% had initiated smoking tobacco products with the predominant form being cigarettes (7.3%). Males (OR: 2.77, 95%CI: 1.65-4.66) and those with more pro-smoking attitudes (OR: 1.44, 95%CI: 1.34-1.54) were more likely to have initiated smoking. Those with parents and friends who are smokers were 3.47 (95%CI: 1.50-8.05) and 2.26 (95%CI: 1.27-4.01) times more likely to have initiated smoking. Non-smoking students, in privately owned schools (OR: 5.08), with friends who smoke (5.09), with lower knowledge (OR: 0.87) and more pro-smoking attitudes (OR 1.13) were more susceptible to future smoking. In addition, respondents who had been sent to purchase cigarettes by an older adult (OR: 3.68) were also more susceptible to future smoking. Conclusions: Being male and having parents who smoke are predictors of smoking initiation among these students. Consistent with findings in other countries, peers not only influence smoking initiation but also influence smoking susceptibility among youth in this African setting. Prevention programs designed to reduce tobacco use among in-school youth should take these factors into consideration. In line with the recommendations of article 16 of the WHO FCTC, efforts to enforce the ban on the sales of cigarettes to minors should be also emphasised.