The Geriatric G8 Score Is Associated with Survival Outcomes in Older Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer in the ADHERE Prospective Study of the Meet-URO Network

Introduction: Androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) have been increasingly offered to older patients with prostate cancer (PC). However, prognostic factors relevant to their outcome with ARPIs are still little investigated. Methods and Materials: The Meet-URO network ADHERE was a prospective multicentre observational cohort study evaluating and monitoring adherence to ARPIs metastatic castrate-resistant PC (mCRPC) patients aged ≥70. Cox regression univariable and multivariable analyses for radiographic progression-free (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) were performed. Unsupervised median values and literature-based thresholds where available were used as cut-offs for quantitative variables. Results: Overall, 234 patients were enrolled with a median age of 78 years (73–82); 86 were treated with abiraterone (ABI) and 148 with enzalutamide (ENZ). With a median follow-up of 15.4 months (mo.), the median rPFS was 26.0 mo. (95% CI, 22.8–29.3) and OS 48.8 mo. (95% CI, 36.8–60.8). At the MVA, independent prognostic factors for both worse rPFS and OS were Geriatric G8 assessment ≤ 14 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004) and PSA decline ≥50% (p < 0.001 for both); time to castration resistance ≥ 31 mo. and setting of treatment (i.e., post-ABI/ENZ) for rPFS only (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01, respectively); age ≥78 years for OS only (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Baseline G8 screening is recommended for mCRPC patients aged ≥70 to optimise ARPIs in vulnerable individuals, including early introduction of palliative care

The role of RelA (p65) threonine 505 phosphorylation in the regulation of cell growth, survival, and migration

The NF-κB family of transcription factors is a well-established regulator of the immune and inflammatory responses and also plays a key role in other cellular processes, including cell death, proliferation, and migration. Conserved residues in the trans-activation domain of RelA, which can be posttranslationally modified, regulate divergent NF-κB functions in response to different cellular stimuli. Using rela(−/−) mouse embryonic fibroblasts reconstituted with RelA, we find that mutation of the threonine 505 (T505) phospho site to alanine has wide-ranging effects on NF-κB function. These include previously described effects on chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis, as well as new roles for this modification in autophagy, cell proliferation, and migration. This last effect was associated with alterations in the actin cytoskeleton and expression of cellular migration–associated genes such as WAVE3 and α-actinin 4. We also define a new component of cisplatin-induced, RelA T505–dependent apoptosis, involving induction of NOXA gene expression, an effect explained at least in part through induction of the p53 homologue, p73. Therefore, in contrast to other RelA phosphorylation events, which positively regulate NF-κB function, we identified RelA T505 phosphorylation as a negative regulator of its ability to induce diverse cellular processes such as apoptosis, autophagy, proliferation, and migration

E2F1 germline copy number variations and melanoma susceptibility

Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer whose aetiology remains elusive as both environmental and genetic factors can contribute to its development. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of multiple copies of E2F1 gene in melanoma specimens which could explain the deregulated E2F1 activity in this type of cancer. This finding suggests a key role for this transcription factor in the malignant transformation of melanocytes. Therefore, E2F1 has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for this form of skin cancer. Since germline copy number variations (CNVs) have been associated with increased susceptibility to different types of cancer, the aim of our study was to assess germline E2F1 CNV in melanoma patients. However, CNVs not necessarily lead to gene dosage imbalance, hence, further factors, in association with CNVs, could contribute to clinical manifestations. Considering that heat stress has been hypothesised as a contributing factor to skin cancer, we also investigated the effect of heat stress on E2F1 expression

Identification of novel inhibitors of UDP-Glc 4'-epimerase, a validated drug target for african sleeping sickness

Novel inhibitors of Trypanosoma brucei and mammalian UDP-Glc 4'-epimerase were identified by screening a small library of natural products and commercially available drug-like molecules. The inhibitors possess low micromolar potency against the T. brucei and human enzymes in vitro, display a degree of selectivity between the two enzymes, and are cytotoxic to cultured T. brucei and mammalian cells

A hypoxic signature marks tumors formed by disseminated tumor cells in the BALB-neuT mammary cancer model

Metastasis is the final stage of cancer progression. Some evidence indicates that tumor cell dissemination occurs early in the natural history of cancer progression. Disseminated tumor cells (DTC) have been described in the bone marrow (BM) of cancer patients as well as in experimental models, where they correlate with later development of metastasis. However, little is known about the tumorigenic features of DTC obtained at different time points along tumor progression. Here, we found that early DTC isolated from BM of 15-17 week-old Her2/neu transgenic (BALB-neuT) mice were not tumorigenic in immunodeficient mice. In contrast, DTC-derived tumors were easily detectable when late DTC obtained from 19-22 week-old BALB-neuT mice were injected. Angiogenesis, which contributes to regulate tumor dormancy, appeared dispensable to reactivate late DTC, although it accelerated growth of secondary DTC tumors. Compared with parental mammary tumors, gene expression profiling disclosed a distinctive transcriptional signature of late DTC tumors which was enriched for hypoxia-related transcripts and was maintained in ex-vivo cell culture. Altogether, these findings highlight a different tumorigenic potential of early and late DTC in the BALB-neuT model and describe a HIF-1 alpha-related transcriptional signature in DTC tumors, which may render DTC angiogenesis-competent, when placed in a favourable environment