Revolutionizing gastric cancer treatment:The potential of immunotherapy

Gastric cancer,a prevalent malignancy worldwide,ranks sixth in terms of frequency and third in fatality,causing over a million new cases and 769000 annual deaths.Predominant in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia,risk factors include family medical history,dietary habits,tobacco use,Helicobacter pylori,and Epstein-Barr virus infections.Unfortunately,gastric cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage,leading to a grim prognosis,with a 5-year overall survival rate below 5%.Surgical intervention,particularly with D2 Lymphadenectomy,is the mainstay for early-stage cases but offers limited success.For advanced cases,the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends chemotherapy,radiation,and targeted therapy.Emerging immunotherapy presents promise,especially for unresectable or metastatic cases,with strategies like immune checkpoint inhibitors,tumor vaccines,adoptive immunotherapy,and nonspecific immunomodulators.In this Editorial,with regards to the article“Advances and key focus areas in gastric cancer immunotherapy:A comprehensive scientometric and clinical trial review”,we address the advances in the field of immunotherapy in gastric cancer and its future prospects.

Crucial steps in the natural history of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD),including ulcerative colitis(UC) and Crohn's disease(CD),are chronic,progressive and disabling disorders.Over the last few decades,new therapeutic approaches have been introduced which have led not only to a reduction in the mortality rate but also offered the possibility of a favorable modification in the natural history of IBD.The identification of clinical,genetic and serological prognostic factors has permitted a better stratification of the disease,thus allowing the opportunity to indicate the most appropriate therapy.Early treatment with immunosuppressive drugs and biologics has offered the opportunity to change,at least in the short term,the course of the disease by reducing,in a subset of patients with IBD,hospitalization and the need for surgery.In this review,the crucial steps in the natural history of both UC and CD will be discussed,as well as the factors that may change their clinical course.The methodological requirements for high quality studies on the course and prognosis of IBD,the true impact of environmental and dietary factors on the clinical course of IBD,the clinical,serological and genetic predictors of the IBD course(in particular,which of these are rel-evant and appropriate for use in clinical practice),the impact of the various forms of medical treatment on the IBD complication rate,the role of surgery for IBD in the biologic era,the true magnitude of risk of colorectal cancer associated with IBD,as well as the mortality rate related to IBD will be stressed;all topics that are extensively discussed in separate reviews included in this issue of World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Treatment on Nature’s lap:Use of herbal products in the management of hyperglycemia

Diabetes mellitus(DM)is characterized by persistently elevated blood glucose concentration that lead to multisystem complications.There are about 400 medicinal plants cited to have a beneficial effect on DM.We must choose products wisely based on data derived from scientific studies.However,a major obstacle in the amalgamation of herbal medicine in modern medical practices is the lack of clinical data on its safety,efficacy and drug interaction.Trials of these herbal products often underreport the side effects and other crucial intervention steps deviating from the standards set by Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials.Due to a lack of knowledge of the active compounds present in most herbal medicines,product standardization is difficult.Cost-effectiveness is another issue that needs to be kept in mind.In this mini-review,we focus on the antihyperglycemic effect of herbal products that are commonly used,along with the concerns stated above.

Current status and future perspective of natural killer cell therapy for cancer

Natural killer(NK)cells possess innate abilities to effectively eliminate cancer cells.However,because of difficulties of proliferation and easy to be induced dysfunction in the setting of cancer post NK cell therapy,the curative effect of NK cell infusion has been constrained and not been widely applicable in clinical practice.The rapid development of biotechnology has promoted the development of NK cell therapy for cancer treatment.In this review,we will provide a comprehensive analysis of the current status and future prospects of NK cell therapy for cancer,focusing on the biological characteristics of NK cells,as well as strategies to enhance their targeting capabilities and overcome tumor immune suppression within the microenvironment.

Natural therapeutics for cancer treatment:success,challenges,and prospect

Cancer is a terrifying disease that has become one of the world’s most challenging health concerns,necessitating a proactive approach to its treatment.Nature is a rich source of new chemical entities and a promising avenue for cancer research.Because of their different modes of action on target events in many ways,nature-derived chemicals are considered good possibilities for anticancer drug development.The current review article highlights recent breakthroughs in cancer therapeutics,including natural therapeutic molecules and their mechanisms of action against cancer treatment,as well as their limits,challenges,and prospect.For the review,article data have been collected from previously studied and published research reports,clinical evaluations,case studies,and clinical statistical data generated by scientific research organizations of repute.The chemical structures have been drawn using computational software(chemsketch).The development of promising candidates that can prevent or reduce the proliferation of cancer cells without causing adverse effects from these therapeutics is now underway.Further,nature-derived products are a game-changer because they are simple,safer,environmentally friendly,low-cost,quick,and less toxic than traditional treatment techniques.However,many bioactive chemicals and their analogs have been discovered as possible anticancer treatment options.In the review,the potent therapeutics phytochemicals derived from nature with their tremendous anticancer effects with limitations and prospects have been studied and analyzed based on previously published articles and reports.

New developments in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis,including the cutaneous form,poses an important public health threat around the world,while no vaccine is currently available against any form of leishmaniasis.The drugs used in the first line treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis(CL)are commonly pentavalent antimonials despite their toxicities,long-term treatment duration and increasing resistance rates.Other alternatives are amphotericin B,pentamidine,miltefosine and paromomycine.Movement of the population,especially in endemic regions,increases the spread of the parasite and affectes the distribution of causative species,which requires re-evaluation the treatment regimen.Extensive researches are carried out on the treatment of leishmaniasis.The immunotherapeutic and targeted therapeutic approaches,formulations of carrier-loaded active drugs,local thermotherapeutic applications,the combination of antileishmanial drugs/compounds,the use of new synthetic and natural products are promising therapeutic options in the future.Herein,the author reviews the potential treatment modalities of CL with a brief overview of current treatments in the light of ongoing studies around the world.

Cancer Rehabilitation,A New Discipline Based upon Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Cancer Rehabilitation is a new discipline,a combination of tumor medication,immunology,psychology,nutritional science and exercise physiology etc..The core of cancer rehabilitation is the therapy of natural immunology,which aims at activating T-cells,and restoring the bone marrow function impaired during chemo-radiation therapy.Cancer rehabilitation seeks to achieve the gradual recovery of the immune system,which in turn hinders recurrence and metastasis.In addition,with the help of psychological consultation,nutritional and physical exercise guidance,cancer patients may have a better chance at managing the risk of recurrence and metastasis,extending life expectancy with an improved quality of life.

Multifunctional Reduced Graphene Oxide Hydrogel as Drug Carrier for Localized and Synergic Photothermal/Photodynamics/Chemo Therapy

To combine localized drug release with multimodal therapy for malignant tumor, a composite hydrogel as an integrative drug delivery system was facilely prepared. The system contains spinach extract （SE）, reduced graphene oxide （rGO） and gold nanocages （AuNCs）. SE conduces to the formation of hydrogel, and also serves as a green material for improving the biocompatibility of hydrogel, and a natural pho- tosensitizer for killing tumor cells under laser radiation （fi60 nm）. AuNts show obvious photothermy and can enhance the generation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen （102）. The composite hydrogel shell on tumor cells exhibits several competitive advantages including enhanced antitumor effect by retaining the high con- centration of drugs around cancer cell, excellent PDT/FFr compatibility as well as high loading and controllable release of fluorouracil （5-FU） for synergetic multimodal treatment. The survival rate of HeLa cells incubated with 5-FU loaded hydrogel under NIR radiation for 10 min sharply decreases to 1.2%, in- dicating remarkably improved antitumor effects. These results demonstrate that the hydrogel is an excellent delivery carrier for localizable, NIR-responsive and combined PTT/PDT/Chemo synergetic antitumor.

Pandemic COVID-19:Current status and challenges of antiviral therapies

The pandemic COVID-19,caused by a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection,has infected over 12 million individuals and caused more than 55,200 death worldwide.Currently,there is no specific drug to treating this disease.Here we summarized the mechanisms of antiviral therapies and the clinic findings from different countries.Antiviral chemotherapies have been conducted by in multiple cohorts in different counties.Although FDA has fast approved remdesivir for treating COVID-19,it only speeds up recovery from COVID-19 with mildly reduced mortality.The chloroquine was suggested a potential drug against SARS-CoV-2 infection due to its in vitro antiviral effects,it is imperative high-quality data from worldwide clinical trials are necessitated for an approved therapy.In terms of hydroxychloroquine(HCQ)therapy,although WHO has stopped all the clinic trials due to its strong side-effects in COVID patients,large scale clinical trials with a long-term outcome follow-up may warrant HCQ and azithromycin combination in combating the virus.Convalescent plasma(CP)therapy suggested its safety use in SARS-CoV-2 infection;but both CP immunotherapy and NK cellular therapy must be manufactured and utilized according to scrupulous ethical and controlled conditions to guarantee a possible role of these products of human origin.Further research should be conducted to define the exact mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis,suitable animal models or ex vivo human lung tissues aid in studying replication,transmission and spread of the novel viruses,thereby facilitating highly effective therapies.