1.
The Emerging Role of Thymopoietin-Antisense RNA 1 as Long Noncoding RNA in the Pathogenesis of Human Cancers.
Zheng, Q, Jia, J, Zhou, Z, Chu, Q, Lian, W, Chen, Z
DNA and cell biology. 2021;(7):848-857
Abstract
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play essential roles in the occurrence and development of multiple human cancers. An accumulating body of researches have investigated thymopoietin antisense RNA 1 (TMPO-AS1) as a newly discovered lncRNA, which functions as an oncogenic lncRNA that is upregulated in various human malignancies and associated with poor prognosis. Many studies have detected abnormally high expression levels of TMPO-AS1 in multiple cancers, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC), hepatocellular carcinoma, CRC, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, esophageal cancer, Wilms tumor, cervical cancer, retinoblastoma, bladder cancer, osteosarcoma, and prostate cancer. TMPO-AS1 has been subsequently demonstrated to play a pivotal role in tumorigenesis and progression. The aberrantly expressed TMPO-AS1 acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) that inhibits miRNA expression, thus activating the expression of downstream oncogenes. This study comprehensively summarizes the aberrant expressions of TMPO-AS1 as reported in the current literature and explains the relevant biological regulation mechanisms in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Corresponding studies have indicated that TMPO-AS1 has a potential value as a promising biomarker or a target for cancer therapy.
2.
Red and processed meat consumption and cancer outcomes: Umbrella review.
Huang, Y, Cao, D, Chen, Z, Chen, B, Li, J, Guo, J, Dong, Q, Liu, L, Wei, Q
Food chemistry. 2021;:129697
Abstract
The purpose of this umbrella review was to evaluate the quality of evidence, validity and biases of the associations between red and processed meat consumption and multiple cancer outcomes according to existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The umbrella review identified 72 meta-analyses with 20 unique outcomes for red meat and 19 unique outcomes for processed meat. Red meat consumption was associated with increased risk of overall cancer mortality, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), bladder, breast, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, gastric, lung and nasopharyngeal cancer. Processed meat consumption might increase the risk of overall cancer mortality, NHL, bladder, breast, colorectal, esophageal, gastric, nasopharyngeal, oral cavity and oropharynx and prostate cancer. Dose-response analyses revealed that 100 g/d increment of red meat and 50 g/d increment of processed meat consumption were associated with 11%-51% and 8%-72% higher risk of multiple cancer outcomes, respectively, and seemed to be not correlated with any benefit.
3.
A multiscale model for heterogeneous tumor spheroid in vitro.
Chen, Z, Zou, Y
Mathematical biosciences and engineering : MBE. 2018;(2):361-392
Abstract
In this paper, a novel multiscale method is proposed for the study of heterogeneous tumor spheroid growth in vitro. The entire tumor spheroid is described by an ellipsoid-based model while nutrient and other environmental factors are treated as continua. The ellipsoid-based discrete component is capable of incorporating mechanical effects and deformability, while keeping a minimum set of free variables to describe complex shape variations. Moreover, our purely cell-based description of tumor avoids the complex mutual conversion between a cell-based model and continuum model within a tumor, such as force and mass transformation. This advantage makes it highly suitable for the study of tumor spheroids in vitro whose size are normally less than 800 μm in diameter. In addition, our numerical scheme provides two computational options depending on tumor size. For a small or medium tumor spheroid, a three-dimensional (3D) numerical model can be directly applied. For a large spheroid, we suggest the use of a 3D-adapted 2D cross section configuration, which has not yet been explored in the literature, as an alternative for the theoretical investigation to bridge the gap between the 2D and 3D models. Our model and its implementations have been validated and applied to various studies given in the paper. The simulation results fit corresponding in vitro experimental observations very well.
4.
Alternative formulations of sorafenib for use in children.
Navid, F, Christensen, R, Inaba, H, Li, L, Chen, Z, Cai, X, Regel, J, Baker, SD
Pediatric blood & cancer. 2013;(10):1642-6
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor with antiangiogenic and antitumor activity. In most cases, the commercially available 200 mg tablet is not suitable for administration to children. We studied the chemical and physical stability of extemporaneously prepared formulations and evaluated the pharmacokinetic profile of cut tablets and smaller-dosage capsules of sorafenib in children. PROCEDURE Commercially available 200 mg tablets of sorafenib tosylate were used to prepare liquid suspensions of sorafenib in oil and Ora-Plus(®):Ora-Sweet(®) solution, and to prepare 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 mg capsules. Plasma concentrations of sorafenib were measured in patients receiving capsules and cut tablets, using a validated HPLC-based method with tandem mass spectrometric detection. RESULTS At room temperature and under refrigeration, sorafenib concentrations in Ora Plus(®):Ora Sweet(®) were highly variable (means ranging from 75% to 131% of the intended concentration of 50 mg/ml). In oil suspension, sorafenib concentrations were inconsistent during compounding. In contrast, all smaller-dosage capsules, except the 5 mg capsule, were within 91-99% of the intended content and were stable at room temperature for at least 8 months. Sorafenib pharmacokinetic parameters in patients receiving capsules or cut tablets were consistent with those reported previously in adults and children receiving intact tablets. CONCLUSIONS Sorafenib is not stable in an oral suspension prepared from commercially available tablets, but compounded capsules in smaller-dosage forms that can be sprinkled on food or cut tablets are alternatives for administration to children who need smaller doses based on body surface area or cannot swallow tablets.