Current and future markers for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer

peer reviewe

Reviewing Clinical Trials and Meta-Analyses to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Huachansu in Cancer Treatment

peer reviewedTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including herbal remedies and animal secretions like HuaChansu, also called Cinobufacini, has gained attention for its therapeutic efficacy in cancer treatment. HuaChansu, extracted from the skin of toads from the genus Bufo, has been used traditionally for various diseases and recently explored for its anti-cancer properties attributed to bufadienolides like bufalin, resibufogenin, and cinobufagin. Clinical studies and meta-analyses have evaluated its efficacy and safety across various cancers. For hepatocellular carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, pilot studies and clinical trials showed HuaChansu's potential for disease stabilization with minimal toxicity. In breast cancer, a meta-analysis suggested that HuaChansu combined with chemotherapy improves response rates and quality of life. Studies on gallbladder and gastric cancers indicated similar benefits, enhancing therapeutic effects and reducing side effects. In lung cancer, HuaChansu improved survival rates and quality of life when combined with chemotherapy, though placebo-controlled trials are needed. For liver cancer, meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials demonstrated improved survival rates and reduced recurrence when HuaChansu was used with transarterial chemoembolization. These findings underscore HuaChansu potential as a complementary cancer treatment, warranting further research to optimize its dosage and administration for enhanced efficacy

Bufalin for an innovative therapeutic approach against cancer.

peer reviewedBufalin is an endogenous cardiotonic steroid, first discovered in toad venom but also found in the plasma of healthy humans, with anti-tumour activities in different cancer types. The current review is focused on its mechanisms of action and highlights its very large spectrum of effects both in vitro and in vivo. All leads to the conclusion that bufalin mediates its effects by affecting all the hallmarks of cancer and seems restricted to cancer cells avoiding side effects. Bufalin decreases cancer cell proliferation by acting on the cell cycle and inducing different mechanisms of cell death including apoptosis, necroptosis, autophagy and senescence. Bufalin also moderates metastasis formation by blocking migration and invasion as well as angiogenesis and by inducing a phenotype switch towards differentiation and decreasing cancer cell stemness. Regarding its various mechanisms of action in cancer cells, bufalin blocks overactivated signalling pathways and modifies cell metabolism. Moreover, bufalin gained lately a huge interest in the field of drug resistance by both reversing various drug resistance mechanisms and affecting the immune microenvironment. Together, these data support bufalin as a quite promising new anti-cancer drug candidate

Role of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) in melanoma

peer reviewedInhibition des kinases Mnk1/2 pour éviter ou retarder les résistances aux thérapies ciblées dans le mélanome - Fédération Wallonie Bruxelle

New combinations of targeted therapies in melanoma

Inhibition des kinases Mnk1/2 pour éviter ou retarder les résistances aux thérapies ciblées dans le mélanome - Fédération Wallonie Bruxelle

Development of a Macrophage-based Prognostic Scoring System and Evaluation of Bufalin as a Macrophage Phenotype Modulator in Head and Neck Cancer using 2D and 3D Models

peer reviewe

Development of a Macrophage-based Prognostic Scoring System and Evaluation of Bufalin as a Macrophage Phenotype Modulator in Head and Neck Cancer using 2D and 3D Models

peer reviewe

Toward the development of peptide inhibitors targeted to PI3K/AKT signalling pathway for the therapy of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma

Toward the development of peptide inhibitors targeted to PI3K/AKT signalling pathway for the therapy of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma Zehra-Cagla Kahvecioglu1,2, Laetitia Gheysen1,2, Fabrice Journé2, Sophie Laurent1,3, Sven Saussez2, Carmen Burtea1 [email protected] 1 UMONS - General, Department of General, Organic and Biomedical Chemistry, NMR and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons 2 UMONS - Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons 3 UMONS - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons Introduction: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer worldwide. Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) represents one of the most aggressive cancers in humans. The death of patients generally occurs within 2-6 months from diagnosis. Consequently, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches. The PI3K/AKT pathway is overactivated in many cancer types including ATC. PIP3 acts as a docking site for the AKT protein, which once phosphorylated will activate or inhibit different cellular targets. The purpose of this project is to develop a peptide able to inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway by targeting the PIP3. Materials and Methods: A phage display library of randomized linear dodecapeptides fused to the pIII proteins of the M13 bacteriophage capsid was screened against PIP3. The dissociation constant and the half maximal inhibitory concentration of the selected peptide clones were determined by ELISA. The DNA was sequenced by the Sanger's method. The abundance of PIP3, the phosphorylation of AKT and the binding of selected peptides to the target were confirmed on ATC biopsies by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: The affinity and specificity of the selected peptide clones was evaluated against PIP3 and other phospholipids. The DNA sequencing revealed 3 different peptide sequences, which present a high specificity against PIP3 and are able to block AKT binding to PIP3. The presence of PIP3 and phosphorylated AKT was validated by a high staining level in ATC cases, suggesting their overactivation. The labelling observed with synthesized peptides by IHC is comparable to PIP3 distribution, suggesting their specific binding to this biomarker. Conclusion/Perspectives: One of the 3 selected peptides presented optimal PIP3-binding affinity and specificity. Prospectively, the present study will be consecrated to the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological characterization of the selected peptide to finally obtain a confident therapeutic agent, which may find applications in ATC and any cancer types presenting a similar biomarker configurationTargeted therapy of thyroid cancer - Fédération Wallonie Bruxelle