Current Cancer Therapy Reviews - Volume 19, Issue 2, 2023

According to the American Cancer Society, the prevalence of lymphoma remains high in the United States with an estimated 90,390 new cases, and 21,680 deaths annually. Although current chemotherapeutic regimens approved by the FDA can effectively improve treatment outcomes, the prognosis remains poor with numerous complications. Current therapeutic strategies have faced multiple challenges limiting desired therapeutic effects. With the multitude of clinical barriers faced by conventional treatment strategies, researchers continue to explore the use of nanotherapeutics over more conventional treatment options. The engineered nanoparticles include starting materials from a number of biocompatible sources, and the final products can safely incorporate therapeutic agents, improve drug selectivity to tumor targets, and enhance efficacy profiles, all while reducing toxicity associated with the drug payload. These are tremendous potential advantages. This review summarizes the molecular basis of lymphoma, disease progression, and therapeutic challenges encountered during treatment. The discussions further highlight preclinical and clinical results at the different clinical stages, reviewing the different types of lymphoma, and summarizing how nanotherapeutics have addressed challenges confronting treatment.

It has been reported that more than 20% of malignancies in the developing countries are induced by some infections. However, helminth infections related to malignancies have been less appreciated. Since, helminths sometimes infect their hosts for over decades, the host’s immune responses get modulated Several studies have shown that there are many similarities between the persistence of parasite infection and the progression of tumors in terms of biochemical and immune responses. Thus, this review was designed to evaluate the association between some helminths and tumorigenesis through immunological and biochemical factors. The results of the current study showed that helminth infections could be implicated in the pathogenesis of some cancers. Several factors contribute to tumorigenesis of these helminth-stimulated tumors. These helminth infections increase the proportions of CD19+ B cells and F4/80+ macrophages as well as reduce the proportions of CD8+ lymphocytes, and increase the levels of VEGF, IL-10, and IL-4. In addition, this parasitestimulated inflammation may encourage neoplasia. Also, catechol-estrogens and oxysterols related to some helminths can play a key role in tumorigenesis. Thus, the effects of parasitic helminth infections on the development of tumor are very important. However, the investigation on these issues requires further study, which can be helpful in preventing parasitic helminth infections-related cancers.

Cancer is a multi-step process involving alterations in epigenetic and genetic processes. Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a frequent oral malignancy that originates from the transformation of normal cells into malignant cells as a consequence of failures in a series of normal molecular and cellular processes. The mechanism of human carcinogenesis is often seen as a double-edged sword, with the body's system being thought to counteract the detrimental consequences of neoplastic cell proliferation while simultaneously promoting tumor development. Various transcription factors play a significant part in cancer regulation, with the activator protein-1 family of transcription factors (TFs) being the most prominent regulatory protein family. The Jun, Fos, ATF, and MAF protein families are all present in the AP-1 dimeric complex. While certain AP-1 proteins, including JunB and c-Fos, are known to be majorly oncogenic in function, experimental studies have shown that other AP-1 proteins, such as JunB and c-Fos, also play a critical role in tumor suppression. The aim of this review is to offer breakthrough information on the role of molecular mechanisms mediated by AP-1 TFs in tumor development and its environment.

Background: Immunotherapy has garnered attention in cancer treatment following the success of recent trials in solid tumors adopting PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint inhibition. PD-1 is a T-cell checkpoint molecule that limits autoimmune and auto-inflammatory reactivity in the normal host by suppressing adaptive immune responses. Although PD-L1 expression in the tumor is generally considered a poor prognostic marker, it has been used to screen patients for cancer therapy since it is associated with a positive response to PD-L1/PD-1 blocking antibodies. Outline: This review focuses on the complex interconnections between cancer-reactive and selfreactive immune cells, as well as the potential contribution of a wide range of leading immunomodulatory chemical products from plant-based origins as cancer therapeutics or to foreseeably ameliorate autoimmune diseases. The natural compounds derived from plants should be used as a PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint modulator to combat cancer cells and other chronic diseases. Conclusion: The significance of herbal plant extracts in the regulation of the PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint is presented in this review together with the expression of PD-L1 and PD-1 in cancer cells and diseases in human bodies.

Cancer is one of the most important threats to public health. Cancer is characterized by cell proliferation that has eluded central endogenous control mechanisms. Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women, followed by skin cancer and breast cancer, the first and second most common causes, respectively. In developing countries, cervical cancer is usually the most common cancer in women and may account for 25% of all female cancers. Over the years, the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer have made rapid progress, resulting in a decline in the mortality and morbidity of the disease. Unfortunately, although surgery and radiotherapy have effective treatment options for early cervical cancer, poor prognosis is still a challenge in the treatment of metastatic cervical cancer. Therefore, it is very important to reveal the mechanism of cervical cancer and explore new therapies against tumor invasiveness. At present, it is reported that nanomaterials are used in the detection and treatment of various types of malignant tumors due to their different targeting effects in many fields, such as imaging, immune detection, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. The cytotoxicity and inhibitory effects of graphene oxide (GO) on tumor invasion and metastasis were studied in recent studies using the human cervical cancer Hela cell line, as well as the probable mechanisms and signaling pathways involved. Here we collect the last reports, with focus on the role of GO in the inhibition of migration and invasion of cancer cells with the goal of exposing possible potential pathways to provide new insights for specific treatment of cancer.

Background: The Hedgehog (HH) pathway is a key regulator of many important processes in vertebrate embryonic development, including stem cell maintenance, cell differentiation, tissue polarity and cell proliferation. During pathway activation, Ptch no longer inhibits Smo and the full length Gli translocates to the nucleus resulting in the transcription of oncogenes. When constitutively activated, this leads to tumorigenesis in several human cancers. Cyclopamine acts as an antagonist of the HH signalling pathway by directly binding to the Smo heptahelical domain. The involvement of this pathway in metastasis, and its presence in cancer stem cells (CSCs), makes it a valid option for developing a targeted therapeutic against it. Methods: CSC were isolated from DLD1 and HT29 cell lines using magnetic cell separation labelling the CD133 receptor. The growth patterns of isolated CSCs (CD133 positive) in comparison to non-stem cells (CD133 negative) were analysed using real-time cell impedance assays (RTCA). Thereafter, adhesion, invasion and migration assays were performed with the application of small molecule inhibitors. The expression levels of CD133 and SHH were evaluated using confocal microscopy following treatment with cyclopamine. Results and Discussion: Growth of CSCs appeared to be slower than non-CSCs. Adhesion, invasion and cell migration were inhibited when CSCs were pharmacologically treated either with cyclopamine or SANT-2 (a synthetic analogue of cyclopamine), small molecule inhibitors of the HH pathway. Using confocal microscopy the cell surface expression of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) was significantly decreased following treatment with cyclopamine, while the expression of CD133 remained unaffected. Conclusion: Considering these in vitro results, small molecule inhibitors targeting the SHH pathway appear to be promising therapeutic tools for the treatment of metastatic colon CSCs.

Background: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the research articles indexed on the Web of Science about drug repurposing in cancer between 2012 and November 2021. Methods: Findings were obtained from the Web of Science database. A bibliometric method was performed to analyze publication types, research fields, citations, countries, institutions, active journals, authors, and keywords. The data were supported by using collaboration networks, including visualization maps. Globally, of 5,568 publications, only 408 were research papers in cancer research. However, the number of publications and citations was observed to increase significantly over the years, especially in 2020 and 2021. The majority of the publication types were original articles in the oncology field. Unsurprisingly, the USA was the most active country in publishing articles. Results: The University of Texas in the USA was the institution with the highest number of publications. A team of researchers led by Zdenek Skrott published the most cited paper. While Pantziarka’s research team was the most active in publication productivity, Ferlay J’s research group had the highest value of citation burst. Cancers and Cancer Research were the most active journals in terms of publications and citation numbers, respectively. After the keyword drug repurposing, the most frequently used keywords were “apoptosis” and “breast cancer”, indicating the research hotspots. Conclusion: This is the first bibliometric research in detail to point out that drug repurposing in cancer is a novel and growing area, especially in developed countries.