Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery - Volume 20, Issue 3, 2025

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is an imaging method based on mass spectrometry technology that can simultaneously visualize the spatial distribution of various biological molecules. The use of MSI in cancer detection and drug discovery has been extensively investigated in recent years.

This review aims to summarize the latest advances of MSI and its specific applications in cancer detection and drug discovery, providing a basic understanding of the development and application of MSI in the past five years and offering references for the further application of MSI in cancer detection and drug discovery.

In the database, “mass spectrometry imaging”, “cancer treatment”, and “drug discovery” were used as keywords for literature retrieval, and the time range was limited to “2018-2023”. After organizing and analyzing the literature and patents, a review was conducted.

Based on the literature, it was found that the updated progress of MSI in the past five years mostly focused on concrete methods, operation procedures, facilities, and composite applications. The patents of MSI were mainly correlated with the mass spectrometry imaging system and its application in cancer treatment. MSI is conducive to investigating the therapeutic schedule of cancer and searching for new drugs.

MSI is a convenient, fast and powerful technology that has made great progress in sample preparation, instrumentation, quantitation, and multimodal imaging. MSI has emerged as a powerful technique in various biomedical applications, which has strong potential in cancer detection, treatment, formation mechanism research, discovery of biomarkers, and drug discovery process.

miR-1468-5p, a type of microRNA, is acknowledged for its crucial involvement in a variety of cancerous processes. Nonetheless, the specific impact of this microRNA on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has not yet been clearly defined.

Our aim was to investigate how miR-1468-5p influences LUAD.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) offered specimens for our research. Employing statistical techniques, we assessed the diagnostic and prognostic significance of miR-1468-5p, as well as its association with clinical characteristics. Our analysis delved into the target genes and the regulatory mechanisms influenced by miR-1468-5p. The expression levels of miR-1468-5p in LUAD cell lines were validated through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

The expression of miR-1468-5p varied significantly across different cancer types. The presence of reduced miR-1468-5p levels was correlated with a lower likelihood of overall survival in LUAD patients, with a statistically significant result (p = 0.005). miR-1468-5p demonstrated independent prognostic significance in LUAD and potentially contributes to disease progression via multiple pathways, including the HIF-1 signaling pathway and more. There was a significant reduction in miR-1468-5p expression in LUAD cell lines when compared to cells of the normal lung epithelium.

miR-1468-5p may serve as a useful patent as a therapeutic intervention target and a prognostic indicator for LUAD patients.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is closely linked to inflammatory reactions, with chronic liver diseases acting as major risk factors. In the inflammatory microenvironment, repeated damage and repair of liver cells lead to genetic mutations, abnormal proliferation, and tumorigenesis.

This study aimed to investigate the expression profile of specific cell clusters under inflammatory stimulation in HCC and identify potential therapeutic drugs.

Comprehensive analysis of HCC transcriptome data and single-cell sequencing data from TCGA, ICGC, and GEO databases was conducted to explore the specific molecular mechanisms of epithelial cells. Virtual screening of natural compounds in the ZINC database and in vitro cell experiments were performed to identify drugs that regulate the expression of inflammatory factors in epithelial cells.

Analysis of the single-cell dataset revealed cell clusters closely associated with HCC, notably Epithelial cells, Hepatocytes, MSC, and iPS cells, with Epithelial cells playing a pivotal role in HCC development. Further investigation of TCGA data unveiled 83 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to inflammatory responses in HCC. Intersection analysis of DEGs in epithelial cells and HCC DEGs identified 12 common DEGs, including ADRM1, ATP2B1, FZD5, GPC3, KIF1B, KLF6, LY6E, MET, NAMPT, SERPINE1, SPHK1, and SRI. Prognostic analysis revealed that CCL7, GPR132, ITGB8, PTAFR, SELL, and VIP were influential in the survival prognosis of HCC. A prognostic model based on the expression levels of these genes demonstrated an increased risk of HCC associated with higher differential expression of inflammatory response genes. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that compounds NADH and Deferoxamine formed stable docking models with the inflammatory protein VIP, suggesting their potential as candidates for targeted therapy.

Inflammatory factors CCL7, GPR132, ITGB8, PTAFR, SELL, and VIP influence the inflammatory cascade response in HCC epithelial cells, and their expression correlates with the survival prognosis of HCC patients. Interfering with VIP expression effectively suppresses proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells, as well as inhibiting the occurrence of inflammatory cascade reactions, thus slowing down the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, compounds NADH and Deferoxamine have the potential to target and bind to the inflammatory protein VIP, highlighting their relevance in potential HCC treatment.

This study aimed to identify key genes linked to resistance to a combination treatment regimen of bevacizumab and pemetrexed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through bioinformatics analysis and analysis of their associated pathways.

Expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE154286) were analyzed. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tissues sensitive and resistant to combined bevacizumab and pemetrexed treatment in NSCLC were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment was investigated, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, as well as transcription factors (TFs)-DEGs-miRNA networks, were created using the STRING tool. Key genes were identified with the help of the MCODE plugin. Additionally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was utilized to identify pathways linked to the key genes. A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data from 80 NSCLC patients. Patients were categorized into drug-resistant and non-resistant groups based on RECIST1.1 criteria. The expression of the key gene TNFSF4 was analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR).

In the GSE154286 dataset, 35 downregulated DEGs were discovered. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs were primarily associated with immunity and inflammation-related pathways. The PPI network construction highlighted a significant module and led to the identification of 8 candidate genes: TNFRSF18, TNFSF4, LGALS9, FAS, LAG3, CD86, CD80, and FOXP3. The TFs-DEGs-miRNA network analysis pinpointed TNFSF4 as a key gene, potentially regulated by 7 TFs and interacting with 9 miRNAs. GSEA analysis suggested that TNFSF4 may influence NSCLC’s pathological processes through involvement in pathways involved in chemokine, JAK/STAT, NOD-like receptor, T cell receptor, toll-like receptor, and PPAR signaling. qRT-PCR detection displayed significantly lower expression of TNFSF4 in the peripheral blood of the patients in the resistant group relative to the non-resistant group (p < 0.0001). Logistic regression analysis showed that low TNFSF4 levels were independently linked to a raised risk of resistance to bevacizumab combined with pemetrexed therapy in lung adenocarcinoma patients.

The identification of key genes, such as TNFSF4, and resistance-related signaling pathways through bioinformatics analysis offers valuable insights into potential mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in NSCLC when treated with the combination of bevacizumab and pemetrexed. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for advancing clinical research on diagnosis and treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world, but molecular complexity and tumor heterogeneity make predictive models for HCC prognosis ineffective. Many recent studies have suggested that autophagy is important in tumor progression. Using autophagy-related genes (ARGs), we attempted to create a novel signature for individual prognosis prediction in patients with HCC.

Differentially expressed ARGs (DE-ARGs) in HCC and normal samples were screened using TCGA datasets. Univariate Cox and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to determine ARGs related to survival in HCC. An autophagy-based signature was constructed using LASSO, and its correlation with the prognosis and the immune infiltration of HCC patients was explored.

In this study, we screened 32 survival-related DE-ARGs by analyzing TCGA datasets. Functional enrichment indicated that the 32 DE-ARGs may play important functional and regulatory roles in cellular autophagy, the regulation of multiple signaling pathways, as well as in the context of cancer and neurological diseases. Based on PPI Network, we identified several hub genes. LASSO Cox regression analysis selected five genes (CASP8, FOXO1, PRKCD, SPHK1, and SQSTM1) for a novel prognostic model. AUCs of 0.752, 0.686, and 0.665 in the TCGA whole set indicated that the model accurately predicted 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed that the five-gene signature is an independent and robust predictor in patients with HCC. The high-risk group demonstrated higher levels of immune cell infiltration and exhibited a strong correlation with the immune microenvironment and tumor stem cells. In addition, we further identified PRKCD and SQSTM1 as critical regulators involved in HCC progression. The expression levels of PRKCD and SQSTM1 genes play a crucial role in chemotherapy drug sensitivity and resistance.

We introduce here a novel ARG-based predictive feature for HCC patients. Effective use of this signature will aid in determining a patient's prognosis and may lead to novel approaches to clinical decision-making and therapy.

Accumulated evidence suggest that tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in breast cancer (BRCA) progression and therapeutic effects.

This study aimed to characterize immune-related BRCA subtypes in TME, and identify genes with prognostic value.

RNA sequencing profiles with corresponding clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database of BRCA patients were downloaded to evaluate immune infiltration using the single-sample gene set enrichment (ssGAEA) algorithm. Further, BRCA was clustered according to immune infiltration status by consensus clustering analysis. Using Venn analysis, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were overlapped to obtain candidate genes. Kaplan–Meier (K-M) analysis was performed to identify prognostic genes, and the results were verified in the GEO and METABRIC datasets. RT-qPCR was conducted to detect the mRNA expression of prognostic genes.

In the TCGA database, 3 immune-related BRCA subtypes were identified [cluster1 (C1), cluster2 (C2), and cluster3 (C2)]. The C2 subtype had better overall survival (OS) compared to the C1 subtype. Higher levels of immune markers and checkpoint protein were found in the C2 subtype than in others. By combining DEGs between BRCA and normal tissues, with the C1 and C2 subtypes associated with different OS, 25 BRCA candidate genes were identified. Among these, 8 genes were identified as prognostic genes for BRCA. RT-qPCR showed that the expressions of 2 genes were significantly elevated in BRCA tissues, while that of other genes were decreased.

Three BRCA subtypes were identified with the immune index, which may help design advanced treatment of BRCA. The data code used for the analysis in this article was available on GitHub (https://github.com/tangzhn/BRCA1.git).

Chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) manifest as prevalent gastrointestinal disorders, while digestive tract cancers (DTCs) present formidable challenges to global well-being. However, extant observational studies proffer uncertain insights into potential causal relationships of constipation and IBS with susceptibility to DTCs.

We executed Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to establish causal connections between these conditions and seven distinct categories of DTCs, including colorectal carcinoma (CRC), hepatocellular cancer (HCC), esophageal malignancy (ESCA), pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD), biliary tract carcinoma (BTCs), gastric carcinoma (GC), and small intestine neoplasm (SIC). Leveraging instrumental variables (IVs) obtained from GWAS data of the FinnGen database, we employed a range of analytical methodologies, including inverse-variance weighting multiplicative random effects (IVW_MRE), inverse-variance weighting fixed effects (IVW_FE), maximum likelihood (ML), weighted median (WM), MR‒Egger regression, and the MR-PRESSO test.

We observed a substantial linkage between genetically predicted constipation and increased vulnerability to PAAD (OR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.422-3.69, P = 0.001) via the IVW method. Following the removal of outlier SNPs through MR-PRESSO, genetically predicted IBS was affiliated with an increased risk of CRC (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1-1.37, P = 0.05). Nonetheless, decisive causal correlations of constipation or IBS with other DTCs remain elusive.

In summary, genetically predicted constipation was associated with an augmented PAAD risk, and IBS was associated with an increased CRC susceptibility within European cohorts, in agreement with some observational studies. Nevertheless, the causal associations of constipation and IBS with other DTCs remain inconclusive.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a sub-population of cancer cells present in many kinds of malignant tumors that have the potential for self-proliferation and differentiation. These cells have been demonstrated as the main cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Strong evidence indicates that CSCs prefer reprogrammed fatty acid β-oxidation over oxidative phosphorylation for sustaining energy supply. Although mitochondrial dynamics participate in the regulation of cancer stemness, the correlation between the inhibition of mitochondrial fission and the regulation of lipid metabolism in CSCs remains poorly understood.

The human tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cell lines CAL27 and SAS were used to obtain the CSCs by 3D Spheroid Culture. Then, western blot methods, RT-PCR and flow cytometry analysis were used to identify the TSCC CSCs. Next, Immunofluorescence method, transmission electron microscopy detection and western blot methods were used to evaluate the mitochondrial morphology and the quantity of lipid droplets (LDs). Lastly, lipidomic analysis was applied to explored the lipidomic alterations of TSCC CSCs with different mitochondrial morphology.

Here, we show that the quantity of lipid droplets containing intracellular triglyceride (TG) can be decreased by regulating mitochondrial morphology. Lipidomic analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) also compared alterations in lipid metabolites in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) CSCs, TSCC cells (non-CSCs), and CSCs with different mitochondrial morphology. Discriminant lipids of statistical significance were successfully annotated, including phosphatidylcholines (PCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), sphingomyelins (SMs), triacylglycerols (TGs), phosphatidylglycerols (PGs), phosphatidylserines (PSs), lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), and lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LPEs).

This study provides a deeper insight into the alterations of lipid metabolism associated with TSCC CSCs, non-CSCs and CSCs regulated by mitochondrial dynamics and thus serves as a guide toward novel targeted therapies.

Oxidative stress refers to non-homeostatic elevation within intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and is associated with several neuro-related pathological conditions. Diclofenac is a commonly prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for treating aches and pain by reducing inflammation. Diclofenac is also associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death by altering the homeostatic balance within mitochondria. In the present report, the neuroprotective effects of BNC formulation constituted by Bacopa monnieri leaves, Nigella sativa and Curcuma longa rhizome seeds were investigated.

The synthesized formulation was characterized using FT-IR and LC-MS along with organoleptic evaluation. Thereafter neuroprotective efficacy of BNC formulation was subsequently investigated against Diclofenac-induced oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells. The cells were pretreated with synthesized formulation and subsequently evaluated for amelioration in Diclofenac-induced cytotoxicity, and ROS augmentation. The neuroprotective effect of synthesized formulation was further explored by evaluating the changes in nuclear morphology, and apoptosis alleviation with concomitant regulatory effects on caspase-3 and -9 activation.

Diclofenac was found to be considerably cytotoxic against human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Intriguingly, Diclofenac-mediated toxicity was reduced significantly in SH-SY5Y cells pretreated with BNC formulation. Augmented ROS levels within Diclofenac-treated SH-SY5Y cells were also reduced in the BNC formulation pretreated SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, BNC formulation pretreated SH-SY5Y cells also exhibited reduced dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential, caspase-3 and -9, along with apoptosis after Diclofenac treatment.

These findings indicated that, indeed, Diclofenac induces considerable ROS-mediated apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells, which further intriguingly ameliorated Diclofenac-mediated cytotoxic effects on SH-SY5Y cells. This manuscript further collected information about available National and International patents published or granted in preparation of and thereof applications against motor and non-motor brain dysfunctions.

Ganoderma lucidum extracts are widely used as adjuvants in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) in China. However, its clinical value in TNBC remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the clinical effect of Ganoderma lucidum spore powder (GLSP) on prognosis in patients with early-stage TNBC in this study.

A total of 388 patients who were diagnosed with TNBC at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from February 2012 to December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was applied to balance baseline data. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used to evaluate the relationship between GLSP and prognosis.

Of the 388 patients, 72 (18.6%) patients took GLSP. After PSM, 208 patients were selected for analysis, including 71 (34.1%) patients who took the powder. The median follow-up period was 51 months. The patients who took GLSP (the treatment group) and those who did not take GLSP (the control group) were similar in most clinico-pathological features before being matched. However, the proportion of patients who received breast-conserving surgery in the treatment group was higher (27.8% vs. 16.1%; p =0.021) than in the control group. No significant difference was found in the baseline data between the two groups for the matched cohort (all p >0.05). Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis showed that patients taking GLSP benefited from improved overall survival (OS) (HR=0.159, p = 0.002) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR=0.232, p = 0.005) before being matched. The main result of the survival analysis after matching was similar to that described above. Patients in the treatment group achieved both greater OS and DFS benefits than patients in the control group (all p < 0.05). In stratified analysis according to TNM stages, after adjusting for the significant prognostic factors, multivariate analysis revealed that the treatment group had better OS than the control group for patients in stages II and III (HR=0.172, p =0.004).

The results of this real-world propensity-score-matched study suggest that GLSP can improve OS and DFS in early-stage TNBC patients. A higher OS was observed for patients taking GLSP, particularly in stage II and stage III.

The aim of this study was to examine the involvement of HMGA2-AS1 in GC.

The Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and immune infiltration analysis were used in this study. These methods were used to evaluate the relationship between clinical characteristics and HMGA2-AS1 expression, prognostic factors, and the significant functional impact of HMGA2-AS1. HMGA2-AS1 levels in GC cell lines were validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

In patients diagnosed with GC, a significant correlation was observed between high expression of HMGA2-AS1 and the T stage (p = 0.01). Furthermore, the high expression of HMGA2-AS1 was identified as a prognostic indicator for poorer OS (p = 0.004), PFS (p = 0.006), and DSS (p = 0.011). Furthermore, the expression of HMGA2-AS1 (p < 0.001) demonstrated an independent association with OS in patients with GC. The presence of a low expression phenotype of HMGA2-AS1 was associated with differential enrichment of various pathways, including the focal adhesion-PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway, focal adhesion, ECM glycoproteins, MET promoting cell motility, among others. Furthermore, the expression of HMGA2-AS1 exhibited correlations with B cells, CD56 bright cells, and TFH and Th17 cells. Furthermore, GC cell lines demonstrated significantly higher expression of HMGA2-AS1.

Elevated expression of HMGA2-AS1 in GC patients exhibited a significant correlation with unfavorable survival outcomes and increased immune infiltration. This suggests that HMGA2-AS1 holds promise as a potential prognostic biomarker and target for immunotherapy in GC.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a public health problem around the world. Several studies have investigated the association between statin use and the risk of HCC, however, more studies are needed in this field.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between statin use and HCC risk.

Systematic searches of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and Embase were conducted for studies published between 1980 and September 2023. Meta-analyses were performed using Stata 15 with a significance level of 0.05.

The search retrieved 8,125 articles, of which 40 were included in the meta-analysis after applying eligibility criteria. The total sample was 5,732,948 participants, including 68,698 HCC cases. Statin use was associated with a 44% lower risk of HCC compared to non-use (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.50–0.63, p < 0.001). The RR was 0.54 (0.42-0.69) in American countries, 0.52 (0.44-0.62) in Asian countries, and 0.63 (0.48-0.84) in European countries. The RR was 0.50 (0.42-0.60) in studies with a mean age <50 years and 0.61 (0.53-0.70) in studies with a mean age ≥50 years. No evidence of publication bias was found (Begg’s test p = 0.718).

This meta-analysis found statin use is associated with a significantly lower HCC risk. Statins may be a promising preventive intervention against HCC.

The tumor burden before chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy was one of the critical factors affecting the prognosis of lymphoma. It was a challenge to effectively reduce the tumor burden of relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma with p53 mutation.

Here, we have presented a case of relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma with p53 mutation being controlled by the treatment with daratumumab and venetoclax, followed by CAR-T cell therapy.

The patient was a 56-year-old female who was diagnosed with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) transformed from follicular lymphoma. The patient was treated with daratumumab, venetoclax, and GEMOX (gemcitabine and oxaliplatin) under the guidance of high-throughput drug sensitivity analysis. We used a CD38 positive lymphoma cell line with p53 mutation to construct tumor models for validating the anti-lymphoma effect of the combination therapy of daratumumab and venetoclax.

The patient achieved a complete metabolic response after treatment with daratumumab, venetoclax, and GEMOX. Then, she further achieved a complete molecular response after she subsequently received CAR-T cell therapy, and she has been living without a lymphoma recurrence. The results from the animal study showed that the combination of daratumumab and venetoclax could significantly enhance the antitumor effect on CD38-positive lymphoma with p53 mutation.

The results from our successful case and animal experiments provide new avenues for the treatment of relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma with p53 mutation. Further clinical trials are reuqired to treat CD38-positive lymphoma with the combination of daratumumab and venetoclax.