Targeting Angiogenesis in Cancer Therapy

Angiogenesis is an essential process in tumor growth. The concept of angiogenesis, when proposed by Folksman in 1971, had a great impact on cancer research and therapy, as the survival and proliferation of cancer depend on angiogenesis, which could be a target of cancer therapy. In subsequent decades, numerous antiangiogenic agents were developed, and some of them have been applied clinically. However, angiogenesis includes a complex and multistep process that has not been sufficiently elucidated. In this review, we focus on signaling pathways related with tumor angiogenesis and several antiangiogenic agents approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration or under investigation

Dasatinib-induced massive left chylothorax in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia

Dasatinib, an effective second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is used to treat breakpoint cluster region-Ableson-positive chronic myeloid leukemia or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia. One common adverse event associated with dasatinib use is fluid retention, including pleural effusion. Chylothorax, however, is a rare adverse event. Although the precise mechanism of dasatinib-induced chylothorax is unclear, almost all cases involve right or bilateral chylothorax, and mostly occur within 5 years of dasatinib initiation. Here, we report a rare case of a patient with dasatinib-induced massive left chylothorax 10 years after dasatinib initiation, which improved after dasatinib termination and a switch to bosutinib

Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Fusion: A Review of Therapeutic Drugs and Treatment Strategies

The prognosis of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has improved in recent decades, especially for patients with an oncogenic driver mutation. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective for patients with the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4-ALK fusion gene. Several ALK-TKIs have been established: the first-generation ALK-TKI, crizotinib; second-generation ALK-TKIs, alectinib and ceritinib; and third-generation ALK-TKI, lorlatinib. Some ALK-TKIs are effective for tumors that are resistant to other ALK-TKIs; however, as is known in epidermal growth factor receptormutant lung cancer, tumor resistance is inevitable. ALK-positive NSCLCs acquire resistance via various mechanisms, making it a heterogeneous disease. Therefore, it is necessary to develop next-generation treatment strategies, such as the use of next-generation ALK-TKIs for secondary mutations, or combination therapies with ALK-TKIs and other TKIs. In this review, we summarize the development and use of ALK-TKIs, prior pivotal clinical trials, and resistance mechanisms

Establishment and characterization of an etoposide-resistant human small cell lung cancer cell line.

An etoposide-resistant subline, SBC-3/ETP, from a human small cell lung cancer cell line, SBC-3, was developed by continuous exposure to increasing concentrations of etoposide in culture. The SBC-3/ETP was 52.1-fold more resistant to etoposide than the parent cell line. The SBC-3/ETP was highly cross-resistant to teniposide, adriamycin, vinca alkaloids, 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, CPT-11 and mitomycin C, and marginally cross-resistant to cisplatin, while the subline showed a collateral sensitivity to bleomycin. Topoisomerase I activity in the SBC-3/ETP was reduced to an extent of one half and topoisomerase II activity to an extent of one eighth in comparison with those of the SBC-3. Intracellular accumulation of [3H]-etoposide in the SBC-3/ETP was significantly lower in comparison to the SBC-3. An overexpression of MDR1 mRNA, and the presence of its product, P-glycoprotein, were detected in the SBC-3/ETP by Northern blotting and flowcytometry using a monoclonal antibody of the protein, MRK16. These results indicate that a decreased activity of topoisomerase II is the major factor for the development of etoposide resistance, and that an overexpression of the MDR1 gene is responsible, in part, for the development of resistance to the drug and some structurally unrelated compounds such as adriamycin and vinca alkaloids.</p

Chemo-preventive effects and antitumorigenic mechanisms of beer and nonalcoholic beer toward 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumorigenesis in A/J mice

We investigated the chemopreventive effects of beer, nonalcoholic beers (NABs), and beer-components (glycine betaine (GB)) on NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis in A/J mice, and the possible mechanisms underlying the antitumorigenic effects of beer, NABs, and beer-components. Beer, NABs, and GB reduced NNK-induced lung tumorigenesis. We investigated the antimutagenicity of beer, NABs and beer-components (GB and pseudouridine (PU)) toward the mutagenicity of 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Beer, NABs, and beer components were antimutagenic toward MNNG and NNK in the Ames test using S. typhimurium TA1535. In contrast, MNNG and NNK mutagenicity detected in S. typhimurium YG7108, a strain lacking O-6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferases (ogt(ST) and ada(ST)) did not decrease in the presence of beer, NABs, or beer components, suggesting that they may mediate its antimutagenic effect by enhancing DNA damage repair. Phosphorylation of Akt and STAT3, with or without epidermal growth factor stimulation, in lung epithelial-like A549 cells were significantly decreased following beer, NABs, GB and PU. They targeted both the initiation and growth/progression steps of carcinogenesis, specifically via antimutagenesis, stimulation of alkyl DNA-adduct repair, and suppression of Akt- and STAT3- mediated growth signaling. GB and PU may contribute, in part, to the biological effects of beer and NABs via the suppression of Akt and STAT3 phosphorylation

Triplet Chemotherapy with Cisplatin, Docetaxel, and Irinotecan for Patients with Recurrent or Refractory Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

We examined the feasibility of triplet chemotherapy using cisplatin, docetaxel, and irinotecan for patients with recurrent or refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), retrospectively. Twenty-five patients (21 men and 4 women) with NSCLC and good performance status who were &#60;70 years old were analyzed. The median age was 58 years. Most patients had performance status 1 (16/25), stage IV disease (18/25) and adenocarcinoma-histology (16/25). Cisplatin and docetaxel were given on day 1 and irinotecan on day 2;the cycle was repeated every 3 weeks. The objective response rate was 39.1% (95% confidence interval:18.7-59.5%). The median survival time and actual 2-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 14.3 months, 32%, 20%, and 8%, respectively. Of note, only 6 patients were treated with gefitinib at the recurrence after triplet chemotherapy;of these, 4 (67%) achieved a partial response, which might result in favorable survival. Grade 3/4 toxicities consisted of neutropenia (100%), neutropenic fever (56%), nausea/vomiting (40%), and diarrhea (16%);no cases of treatment-related death occurred. Triplet chemotherapy showed impressive survival data in our clinical trial, but proved too toxic for use in treating patients with NSCLC in the clinical practice.</p

Successful Re-administration of Osimertinib in Osimertinib-induced Interstitial Lung Disease with an Organizing Pneumonia Pattern: A Case Report and Literature Review

Osimertinib is the standard therapy for epidermal-growth-factor-receptor (EGFR)-mutant lung cancers. We herein report a case of osimertinib-induced interstitial lung disease (OsiILD) with an organizing pneumonia (OP) pattern and provide a literature-based review. Six months after osimertinib administration, a 75-year-old woman with right pleural carcinomatosis developed ILD with an OP pattern. After salvage chemotherapy, osimertinib with corticosteroid was successfully re-administered. A literature review suggested that 1) OsiILD with an OP pattern was rare but should be recognized, and 2) re-administration of osimertinib in OsiILD was successful in select patients. A criterion that determines whether a patient would benefit from re-administration is warranted