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Gliomas, the most prevalent primary tumors in the central nervous system, are marked by their immunosuppressive properties and consequent poor patient prognosis. Current evidence emphasizes the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment in the progression of gliomas, largely attributed to tumor-associated macrophages (brain-resident microglia and bone marrow-derived macrophages) that create a tumor microenvironment conducive to the growth and invasion of tumor cells. Yet, distinguishing between these two cell subgroups remains a challenge. Thus, our review starts by analyzing the heterogeneity between these two cell subsets, then places emphasis on elucidating the complex interactions between microglia and glioma cells. Finally, we conclude with a summary of current attempts at immunotherapy that target microglia. However, given that independent research on microglia is still in its initial stages and has many shortcomings at the present time, we express our related concerns and hope that further research will be carried out to address these issues in the future.

Mutated JAK3 has been considered a promising target for cancer therapy. Activating mutations of JAK3 are observed in 3.9%–10% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, but it is unclear whether AML cells are sensitive to JAK3 inhibitors, and no disease-related human AML cell model has been reported. We have identified U937 as the first human AML cell line expressing the JAK3M511I activated mutation and confirmed that JAK3 inhibitors sensitively suppress the proliferation of U937 AML cells.

The mitochondria play a significant role in many cellular processes and are recognized as one of the most important therapeutic targets in cancer. Direct long-term imaging of the mitochondria is very crucial for treating cancer. However, the development of a red-emitting mitochondrial probe with a large Stokes shift and photostability remains highly challenging. Fluorescent metal complexes with superior physicochemical property have emerged as new fluorescent nanomaterials due to their increasing advantages in bioimaging. Herein, a luminescent pitaya-type nanostructure based on rhein-magnesium(II) (Rh-Mg) coordination polymer nanodots was used as a fluorescent nanoprobe to selectively image the mitochondria benefiting from the introduction of triphenylphosphine. The as-prepared Rh-Mg nanodot-based nanoprobe showed red emission peaking at 620 nm, a large Stokes shift (100 nm), and excellent photostability as compared with commercial mitochondrial probes. Due to these extraordinary features, this fluorescent nanoprobe was successfully used for mitochondrial targeting imaging of live cancer cell line Neuro-2a (mouse neuroblastoma) and BV2 microglial cells. Therefore, our results pave a new way for the design of fluorescent nanoprobes for imaging mitochondria in cancer cell.

BackgroundDysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) are common in human cancer and are involved in the proliferation, promotion, and metastasis of tumor cells. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the expression and biological function of miR-1236-3p in colon cancer.MethodsThis study screened the miRNA in normal and colon cancer tissues through array analysis. In addition, quantitative Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis was performed to validate the expression of miR-1236-3p in normal and tumor tissues from colon cancer patients and cancer cell lines. Online predicting algorithms and luciferase reporter assays were also employed to confirm Doublecortin Like Kinase 3 (DCLK3) was the target for miR-1236-3p. Moreover, the impact of miR-1236-3p on the progression of colon cancer was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were also performed to investigate the interactions between miR-1236-3p and DCLK3.ResultsMiR-1236-3p was significantly downregulated in colon cancer tissues and its expression was associated with the TNM stage and metastasis of colon. In addition, the in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that miR-1236-3p significantly promoted cancer cell apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of cancer cells. The results also showed that miR-1236-3p hindered Epithelial–mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by targeting DCLK3. Moreover, the expression of DCLK3 mediated the effects of miR-1236-3p on the progression of cancer.ConclusionsMiR-1236-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in colon cancer by targeting DCLK3 and is therefore a promising therapeutic target for colon cancer.

Background: Giant (with a diameter of at least 40 mm and a volume of at least 10 cm 3 ) pituitary adenomas (GPAs) are intricate tumors that pose considerable difficulty for surgical removal. While endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETS) is a commonly employed technique for these destructive tumors, its effectiveness may be restricted in cases where invasion into multiple compartments is present, leading to limited resection., Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on the clinical records of 94 patients diagnosed with GPAs who had undergone surgical resection from 2014 to 2022. An analysis was conducted on the outcomes of the surgical and clinical procedures., Results: In this group, the average size of the tumor before surgery was 44.6 ± 5.6 mm (range, 40-73 mm), and the volume was 25. 5± 16.6 cm 3 (range, 10-20.67 cm 3 ). Of the total number of patients, 72 (76.6%) underwent a single ETS, 12 (12.8%) opted for transcranial surgery (TCS), and 10 (10.6%) chose a combined method. Gross total resection (GTR) was successfully performed in 49 (68.1%), 3 (25.0%), and 8 (80.0%) patients who underwent each surgical approach. Seventy-four (78.7%) patients had improved vision, 20 (21.3%) were unchanged, and none had deterioration. Twenty-two patients (23.4%) experienced a total of 43 complications, which comprised hormonal insufficiency (11/94, 11.7%), diabetic insipidus (6/88, 6.8%), electrolyte disorders (7/94, 7.4%), cerebrospinal fluid leakage (5/94, 5.3%), meningitis (8/94, 8.5%), and hydrocephalus (6/94, 6.4%). The GTR, subtotal resection (STR), and partial resection (PTR) rates were 63.8% (60/94), 21.3% (20/94), and 14.9% (14/94), respectively. Throughout the follow-up duration, 18.1% (17/94) of patients required reoperation and/or adjuvant radiation treatment as a result of tumor regrowth or inadequate biochemical remission of functioning GPAs., Conclusion: ETS remains the optimal surgical option for most GPAs and generally offers safe and efficient tumor resection. However, a combined approach with TCS remains a requirement in cases that are not suitable for treatment with a single ETS. To achieve optimal tumor removal and minimize the occurrence of surgical complications, a flexible combination of ETS and TCS is recommended based on the characteristics of the tumor., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Ke, Xu, Wu, Yang, Liu, Xie and Xiao.)

Objective: Radiation esophagitis (RE) is a common adverse effect in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients undergoing thoracic radiotherapy. We aim to develop a novel nomogram to predict the acute severe RE (grade≥2) receiving chemoradiation in SCLC patients., Materials and Methods: the risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression, and a nomogram was constructed based on multivariate analysis results. The clinical value of the model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating curve (ROC) curve (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The correlations of inflammation indexes were assessed using Spearman correlation analysis., Results: Eighty-four of 187 patients (44.9%) developed grade ≥2 RE. Univariate analysis indicated that concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT, p < 0.001), chemotherapy cycle (p = 0.097), system inflammation response index (SIRI, p = 0.048), prognostic-nutrition index (PNI, p = 0.073), platelets-lymphocyte radio (PLR, p = 0.026), platelets-albumin ratio (PAR, p = 0.029) were potential predictors of RE. In multivariate analysis, CCRT [p < 0.001; OR, 3.380; 95% CI, 1.767-6.465], SIRI (p = 0.047; OR, 0.436; 95% CI, 0.192-0.989), and PAR (p = 0.036; OR, 2.907; 95% CI, 1.071-7.891) were independent predictors of grade ≥2 RE. The AUC of nomogram was 0.702 (95% CI, 0.626-0.778), which was greater than each independent predictor (CCRT: 0.645; SIRI: 0.558; PAR: 0.559). Calibration curves showed high coherence between the predicted and actual observation RE, and DCA displayed satisfactory clinical utility., Conclusion: In this study, CCRT, SIRI, and PAR were independent predictors for RE (grade ≥2) in patients with SCLC receiving chemoradiotherapy. We developed and validated a predictive model through these factors. The developed nomogram with superior prediction ability can be used as a quantitative model to predict RE., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Qiu, Ke, Lin, Yu, Zheng, Li, Zheng, Liu and Li.)

It has been established that long-chain coding RNA (lncRNA) SLC25A25-AS1 is associated with cancer progression. However, the roles and mechanisms of SLC25A25-AS1 in prostate cancer (PC) have not been reported in the literature. The present study explored the relationship between SLC25A25-AS1 expression and PC progression via comprehensive analysis. The pan-cancer expression of SLC25A25-AS1 was identified using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and tissue specimens from our hospital. The expression levels of SLC25A25-AS1 in various subgroups based on the clinical features were identified. The prognostic value of SLC25A25-AS1 and SLC25A25-AS1 co-expressed lncRNAs in PC patients was assessed by survival analysis and ROC analysis, and prognosis-related risk models of SLC25A25-AS1 were constructed. The relationship between SLC25A25-AS1 and the PC immune microenvironment was investigated using correlation analysis. SLC25A25-AS1 expression in PC was significantly increased and correlated with the T stage, clinical stage, Gleason score (GS), and dismal prognosis. SLC25A25-AS1 overexpression exhibited good performance in evaluating the prognosis of PC patients. The area under the curves (AUCs) of the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) for SLC25A25-AS1 was 1, 0.876, and 0.749. Moreover, the AUCs for the 1-, 3-, and 5-year progress free interval (PFI) for SLC25A25-AS1 were 0.731, 0.701, and 0.718. SLC25A25-AS1 overexpression correlated with the infiltration of CD8 T cells, interstitial dendritic cells (IDC), macrophages and other cells. AC020558.2, ZNF32-AS2, AP4B1-AS1, AL355488.1, AC109460.3, SNHG1, C3orf35, LMNTD2-AS1, and AL365330.1 were significantly associated with SLC25A25-AS1 expression, and short OS and PFI in PC patients. The risk models of the SLC25A25-AS1-related lncRNAs were associated with a dismal prognosis in PC. Overall, SLC25A25-AS1 expression was increased in PC and related to the prognosis and PC immune microenvironment. The risk model of SLC25A25-AS1 have huge prospect for application as prognostic tools in PC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhao, Xiang, Chen, Zhang, Zheng, Ke, Shi and Yang.)

Background: This study was conducted to determine risk factors for developing brain metastasis (BM) and to predict brain metastasis free survival (BMFS) and overall survival (OS) by combining several clinical parameters and inflammatory indexes., Materials and Methods: A nomogram and risk stratification were developed based on multivariate analysis results. The prognostic index (PI) predicting the high risk of BM was calculated by multiplying the weighted factor (β coefficient) with each variable., Results: Thirty-two of one hundred patients (32.0%) developed BM. Multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT; hazard ratio (HR), 3.356; p = 0.020), monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR; HR, 4.511; p = 0.002), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR; HR, 4.023; p = 0.033), and prognostic-nutrition index (PNI; HR, 2.902; p = 0.018) were independent prognostic factors of BMFS. The nomogram has good accuracy in predicting BMFS, and the C-index was 0.73. The ROC curve showed that these risk factors have good discriminant ability. Similarly, tumor location (HR, 1.675; p = 0.035) and MLR (HR, 2.076; p = 0.013) were independent prognostic factors of OS. In the subgroup analysis of OS, the good group had a better prognosis than the other groups. Risk stratification by PI: the high-risk group had worse BMFS than the low-risk group, which also has certain practical significance for clinical practice in OS., Conclusion: We developed a nomogram and corresponding risk stratification in stage III SCLC patients who developed BM. This model and risk stratification can help clinicians improve patient treatment management and better deliver personalized therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Qiu, Ke, Yu, Lin, Zheng, Li, Zheng, Liu, Wang, Wu, Liu and Li.)

Background: We aimed to determine whether the tumor length and tumor thickness should be used as prognostic factors for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT)., Methods: A retrospective analysis consists of 902 non-operative ESCC patients received dCRT. The nomogram was used to predict the survival. Besides, Restricted Cubic Splines (RCS) was used to examine the relationship between prognostic factors and survival outcomes. Finally, the prognostic index (PI) scores were constructed according to the tumor length and tumor thickness, and the patients were divided into the low-, medium-, and high-risk groups., Results: The median follow-up of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 23.0 months and 17.5 months. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that tumor length and tumor thickness were independent prognostic factors associated with survival. Our novel nomograms for OS and PFS were superior to the TNM classification (p < 0.001). Besides, RCS analysis demonstrated that the death hazard of tumor length and tumor thickness sharply increased at 7.7 cm and 1.6 cm (p < 0.001). Finally, there were significant differences for ESCC patients with clinical TNM stage group of the OS and PFS in different risk groups. The higher risk group was significantly associated with shorter OS and PFS in ESCC patients (both p < 0.001 for all)., Conclusion: The study results suggest that the novel models integrating tumor length and tumor thickness may provide a simple and widely available method for evaluating the prognosis of non-operative ESCC patients. The tumor length and tumor thickness should be considered as prognostic factors for ESCC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Chen, Yu, Wu, Qiu, Ke, Wu, Lin, Liu, Zheng, Zheng, Yang, Wang, Li, Liu, Yao, Li and Cheng.)