Clinical diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer: Markers, molecular mechanisms, and treatment options

Pancreatic cancer(PC)is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths.The overall 5-year survival rate of PC is 9%,and this rate for metastatic PC is below 3%.However,the PC-induced death cases will increase about 2-fold by 2060.Many factors such as genetic and environmental factors and metabolic diseases can drive PC development and progression.The most common type of PC in the clinic is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,comprising approximately 90%of PC cases.Multiple pathogenic processes including but not limited to inflammation,fibrosis,angiogenesis,epithelial-mesenchymal transition,and proliferation of cancer stem cells are involved in the initiation and progression of PC.Early diagnosis is essential for curable therapy,for which a combined panel of serum markers is very helpful.Although some mono or combined therapies have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for PC treatment,current therapies have not shown promising outcomes.Fortunately,the development of novel immunotherapies,such as oncolytic viruses-mediated treatments and chimeric antigen receptor-T cells,combined with therapies such as neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery,and advanced delivery systems of immunotherapy will improve therapeutic outcomes and combat drug resistance in PC patients.Herein,the pathogenesis,molecular signaling pathways,diagnostic markers,prognosis,and potential treatments in completed,ongoing,and recruiting clinical trials for PC were reviewed.

Identification of prognostic indicators,diagnostic markers, and possible therapeutic targets among LIM homeobox transcription factors in breast cancer

Background:Breast cancer(BRCA)is the most common malignant tumor among women worldwide.Despite advances in treatment,many patients still die from a lack of effective diagnostic and prognostic markers and powerful therapeutic targets.LIM homeobox genes(LHXs)play vital roles in regulating the development of various organisms.However,there are limited reports regarding their roles in the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of BRCA.Methods:UALCAN,Kaplan–Meier plotter,cBioPortal,GeneMANIA,STRING,DAVID 6.8,TRRUST v2,LinkedOmics,and TIMER were utilized to analyze differential expression,prognostic value,genetic alteration,neighbor gene network,transcription factor targets,kinase targets,and immune cell infiltration of LHXs in BRCA patients.Results:LHX gene expression patterns are clear in BRCA and its different subtypes.Further analyses indicated that this altered expression is possibly affected by genetic and/or epigenetic changes.The prognostic and diagnostic values of certain LHXs are unique to different BRCA subtypes.LHXs are mainly involved in the regulation of differentiation and development,and their neighbor genes are primarily involved in cancer‐related pathways.Moreover,most LHXs are closely correlated with immune cell infiltration.Furthermore,LHXs may exert their functions by regulating a series of transcription factor and kinase targets.Conclusions:LHXs are unique diagnostic and prognostic markers and participate in cancer through different signaling pathways and/or regulatory mechanisms in BRCA.This study provides potential applications of LHXs for the diagnosis,prognosis,and treatment of BRCA and its different subtypes.