Standards of diagnostic and new trends in treatment in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common cancer of white blood cells in adults. Men over 65 years old are more prone to develop this disease. Symptoms that lead patients to visit the doctor are: high fever, bone pain, weakness and signs of infection. The etiology of AML is not yet fully understood. The predisposing factors for acute myeloid leukemia may include environmental and genetic factors. If left untreated, it can lead to death within a few weeks. Therefore, it is important to quickly identify the disease and to implement appropriate treatment, which will allow to increase the percentage of survival among patients. The basis of AML diagnosis is the presence of more than 20% of blasts in blood or bone marrow smears. The choice of AML treatment depends on prognostic factors: patients’ age and sex and cytogenetic-molecular risk. The treatment regimen for AML is outdated and remains almost unchanged for over 30 years. Understanding the molecular basis of this disease development and pathomechanism allows to search for new effective treatments, often based on targeted therapies. This article presents contemporary standards of AML diagnosis and the latest trends in its treatment

Tumor markers in gastric cancer – classification and characteristics

Gastric cancer is a malignant neoplasm. It is one of the major causes of premature death due to cancer in the world. Carcinogenesis process can take up to 30 years, therefore, stomach cancer develops primarily over the age of 50. However, the disease can occur at any age. The etiology of this disease is very complex, for example, environmental factors, persistent infection with Helicobacter pylori and smoking may be mentioned. However, it is estimated that about 20% of cases have been associated with a family occurrence. Symptoms, that may indicate the ongoing process of cancer, are non–specific. Because of the non–specific symptoms, gastric cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, when the only effective treatment is the complete resection of the affected organ, and the percentage of the 5–year survival rate is poor. For this reason, researchers are constantly looking for new diagnostic methods, including tumor markers which can accelerate diagnosis. The determination of tumor markers level could be also useful in the evaluation of remissions, monitoring recurrences and metastases. Investigations also provide novel therapeutic targets related, for example, to the molecular type of tumor, which would reduce the invasiveness and improve the quality of patient's life. This article presents and characterizes previously known and useful tumor markers associated with gastric cancer.Rak żołądka jest powszechnie występującym nowotworem złośliwym. Stanowi jedną z głównych przyczyn przedwczesnego zgonu z powodu chorób nowotworowych na świecie. Proces kancerogenezy może trwać nawet 30 lat, dlatego rak żołądka rozwija się przede wszystkim po 50. roku życia, jednakże zachorowania zdarzają się w każdej grupie wiekowej. Etiologia tej choroby jest bardzo złożona, składają się na nią m.in. czynniki środowiskowe, przetrwałe zakażenie bakterią Helicobacter pylori oraz palenie tytoniu. Szacuje się, że około 20% zachorowań jest związanych z występowaniem rodzinnym. Objawy, które mogą świadczyć o toczącym się procesie nowotworowym są nieswoiste. Ze względu na mało specyficzne objawy, rak żołądka jest zazwyczaj rozpoznawany w zaawansowanym stadium, kiedy jedynym skutecznym sposobem leczenia jest całkowita resekcja zajętego narządu, a odsetek 5–letnich przeżyć jest niski. Z tego względu, badacze wciąż poszukują nowych metod diagnostycznych, w tym markerów nowotworowych, które przyśpieszyłyby proces rozpoznania choroby. Oznaczanie stężenia markerów nowotworowych może być także przydatne w ocenie remisji, monitorowaniu wznowy oraz przerzutów. Badane są też nowe cele terapeutyczne, związane np. z typem molekularnym nowotworu, które pozwoliłyby ograniczyć inwazyjne zabiegi i polepszyć komfort życia pacjenta. W niniejszym artykule przedstawiono i scharakteryzowano dotychczas poznane oraz użyteczne markery nowo– tworowe dla raka żołądka

Preliminary evaluation of T-129C polymorphism in the promoter region of the ABCB1 gene in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma

Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most common tumors in the world. The pathogenesis of this cancer is not fully known. Among the risk factors for the disease there are: Helicobacter pylori infection, diet, alcohol consumption and smoking. On the other hand, it is assumed that the pathogenesis of the development is related to interdependence between risk factors and patient's genetic susceptibility. One of the genes involved in carcinogenesis can be ABCB1, whose protein product, P–glycoprotein, plays a protective function by removing xenobiotics from the cell into the extracellular environment. Polymorphisms of this gene can alter the protein product, leading to the loss of protective function and the increased risk of diseases development. Polymorphism T–129C can influence the formation of mRNA and thus, lead to changes in the quantity/activity of P–glycoprotein. The aim of this study was to evaluate the polymorphism at position T–129C in promoter region of ABCB1 gene in the group of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Material and methods: The material for the study consisted of 19 samples of the tissue taken from patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and 68 samples of peripheral blood taken from healthy donors. Genotyping of the T–129C was performed by using restriction fragments polymorphism method. Results: No statistically significant differences between the group of patients with gastric cancer and the healthy individuals were found. Conclusions: The polymorphism on position T–129C in promoter region of ABCB1 gene did not affect the risk of the development of gastric cancer. The obtained results require confirmation by investigating a large cohort of patients.Wstęp: Rak żołądka jest jedną z najczęstszych chorób nowotworowych na świecie. Patogeneza tego nowotworu nie została w pełni poznana. Wśród czynników ryzyka rozwoju choroby wymienia się: zakażenie Helicobacter pylori, niewłaściwą dietę, spożywanie alkoholu czy palenie tytoniu. Z drugiej strony, zakłada się, iż patogeneza rozwoju tego raka jest związana ze współzależnością pomiędzy czynnikami ryzyka a predyspozycją genetyczną samego pacjenta. Jednym z genów zaangażowanych w proces kancerogenezy może być ABCB1, którego produkt białkowy – glikoproteina P, poprzez usuwanie ksenobiotyków z komórki do środowiska pozakomórkowego, spełnia funkcję ochronną. Polimorfizmy tego genu mogą zmieniać jego produkt białkowy prowadząc do utraty funkcji ochronnej i zwiększonego ryzyka rozwoju chorób. Polimorfizm w pozycji T–129C może wpływać na powstawanie mRNA, a tym samym prowadzić do zmiany ilości/aktywności glikoproteiny P. Celem pracy była ocena polimorfizmu w regionie promotorowym genu ABCB1 w pozycji T–129C u pacjentów z gruczolakorakiem żołądka. Materiał i metody: Materiał do badania stanowiło 19 skrawków tkankowych pobranych od pacjentów z gruczolakorakiem żołądka oraz 68 prób krwi obwodowej pobranych od zdrowych krwiodawców. Genotypowanie w pozycji T–129C przeprowadzono za pomocą techniki polimorfizmu długości fragmentów restrykcyjnych. Wyniki: Nie wykazano istotnych statystycznie różnic pomiędzy grupą pacjentów z rakiem żołądka a grupą osób zdrowych. Wnioski: Polimorfizm w pozycji T–129C regionu promotorowego genu ABCB1 nie ma związku z rozwojem raka żołądka. Uzyskane w pracy wyniki badań wymagają potwierdzenia na większej grupie pacjentów

<i>RUNX1</i> and <i>RUNX3</i> Genes Expression Level in Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia—A Case Control Study

The genetic factors of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) development are only partially understood. The Runt-Related Transcription Factor (RUNX) gene family play a crucial role in hematological malignancies, serving both a tumor suppressor and promoter function. The aim of this study was the assessment of relative RUNX1 and RUNX3 genes expression level among adult ALL cases and a geographically and ethnically matched control group. The relative RUNX1 and RUNX3 genes expression level was assessed by qPCR. The investigated group comprised 60 adult patients newly diagnosed with ALL. The obtained results were compared with a group of 40 healthy individuals, as well as clinical and hematological parameters of patients, and submitted for statistical analysis. ALL patients tend to have significantly higher RUNX1 gene expression level compared with controls. This observation is also true for risk group stratification where high-risk (HR) patients presented higher levels of RUNX1. A higher RUNX1 transcript level correlates with greater leukocytosis while RUNX3 expression is reduced in Philadelphia chromosome bearers. The conducted study sustains the hypothesis that both a reduction and increase in the transcript level of RUNX family genes may be involved in leukemia pathogenesis, although their interaction is complex. In this context, overexpression of the RUNX1 gene in adult ALL cases in particular seems interesting. Obtained results should be interpreted with caution. Further analysis in this research field is needed

Differential Expression of AP-2 Transcription Factors Family in Lung Adenocarcinoma and Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma—A Bioinformatics Study

Members of the activator protein 2 (AP-2) transcription factor (TF) family are known to play a role in both physiological processes and cancer development. The family comprises five DNA-binding proteins encoded by the TFAP2A to TFAP2E genes. Numerous scientific reports describe differential expression of these TF and their genes in various types of cancer, identifying among them a potential oncogene or suppressor like TFAP2A or TFAP2C. Other reports suggest their influence on disease development and progression, as well as response to treatment. Not all members of this AP-2 family have been comprehensively studied thus far. The aim of the present article is to gather and discuss knowledge available in bioinformatics databases regarding all five members of this family and to differentiate them in relation to the two most common lung cancer subtypes: adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). In addition, to assess the difference in levels depending on a number of clinicopathological factors, the impact on patient survival and interactions with tumor-infiltrating immune cells. This article may help to identify the target for further original research that may contribute to the discovery of new diagnostic biomarkers and define the molecular differences between LUAD and LUSC, which may affect the therapy effectiveness improvement and longer survival