Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Eur J Cancer 2021 May 7;151:94-105. Epub 2021 May 7.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Key Laboratory for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Sciences and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address:

Aim: This study aimed to identify the functional genes and genetic variants associated with the prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and reveal the mechanism underlying their prognostic roles.

Methods: First, we implement a two-stage exome-wide association study in a total of 1070 patients to identify the genetic variant correlated with PDAC prognosis. Then we performed fine mapping through bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assays to reveal the causal functional variant and prognostic gene. Read More

Cancer Cell 2021 May;39(5):596-598

Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address:

Su et al. demonstrate that upon inhibiting autophagy, an intracellular nutrient recycling pathway, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells upregulate NRF2-mediated transcription of macropinocytosis pathway components, thereby triggering an alternate route for tumors to scavenge nutrients from extracellular sources. Accordingly, the combined inhibition of autophagy and macropinocytosis may improve cancer treatment. Read More

Cancer 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Interventional Treatment Center, Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Background: There is a paucity of global comparative trend analyses of all human papillomavirus (HPV)-attributable cancers. In addition, most analyses by international sources only describe past trends; few studies have projected the future trend of HPV-attributable cancers.

Methods: Data were used from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5plus) database that contains annual incidence by cancer site, age, and sex, as well as corresponding populations. Read More

ACS Nano 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Chemistry, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.

Pancreatic cancer is among the leading causes of cancer-related death and remains a formidable therapeutic challenge. To date, surgical resection and chemotherapy have been the standards of care. Methotrexate (MTX), which is recognized as a refractory drug for pancreatic cells, was conjugated to the surface of LiYF:Ce nanoparticles (NP-MTX) through a photocleavable linker molecule. Read More

Anal Chem 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dalian 116023, China.

Bottom-up proteomics has been increasingly applied in clinical research to study the disease pathophysiology and to discover disease biomarkers. However, glycoproteomic analysis always requires tedious experimental steps for intact glycopeptide enrichment, which has been the technique bottleneck for large-scale analysis of clinical samples. Herein, we developed an automated glycopeptide enrichment method for the analysis of serum site-specific N-glycoproteome. Read More

Oncologist 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced toxicities lead to therapy dose reduction or delay affecting patient outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the impact of relative dose intensity (RDI) on survival in adult solid-tumor cancer patients on nonadjuvant-based chemotherapy regimens.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for peer-reviewed English journal articles or congress abstracts evaluating association between RDI and survival; observational studies, case series of ≥20 patients, and clinical trials published between 2013─2020 were eligible. Read More

Cureus 2021 Apr 8;13(4):e14359. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

General Surgery, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, TUR.

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a syndrome characterized by multiple hamartomatous polyps in the gastrointestinal system and melanin pigments accumulating in the skin and mucous membranes. Patients with PJS have an increased risk of gastrointestinal malignancies. In this syndrome, pancreatic cancer is primarily detected in older ages. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021 23;12:628939. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Department of Vascular Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Background: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of the breast. To understand the characteristics and prognosis of single hormone receptor-positive (HR+) MBC (estrogen receptor-positive [ER+]/progesterone receptor-negative [PR-] and ER-/PR+), we compared these tumors to double HR+ tumors as well as HR- tumors.

Patients And Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to analyze MBC between 1975 and 2016. Read More

Nat Chem Biol 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.

The peptidyl-prolyl isomerase, Pin1, is exploited in cancer to activate oncogenes and inactivate tumor suppressors. However, despite considerable efforts, Pin1 has remained an elusive drug target. Here, we screened an electrophilic fragment library to identify covalent inhibitors targeting Pin1's active site Cys113, leading to the development of Sulfopin, a nanomolar Pin1 inhibitor. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 10;11(1):9896. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Surgery, Translational Cancer Medicine Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4, PO Box 340, 00029 HUS, Helsinki, Finland.

Podocalyxin overexpression associates with poor survival in pancreatic cancer (PDAC). We investigated whether podocalyxin expression correlates with treatment response or survival in neoadjuvant-treated PDAC. Through immunohistochemistry, we evaluated podocalyxin expression in 88 neoadjuvant and 143 upfront surgery patients using two antibodies. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 10;11(1):9854. Epub 2021 May 10.

Département de Chimie-Faculté des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit, Succursale Centre-Ville, CP 6128, Montreal, QC, H3C3J7, Canada.

We present the design and synthesis of a small library of substituted biguanidium salts and their capacity to inhibit the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. We first present their in vitro and membrane activity, before we address their mechanism of action in living cells and in vivo activity. We show that phenylethynyl biguanidium salts possess higher ability to cross hydrophobic barriers, improve mitochondrial accumulation and anticancer activity. Read More

Dig Liver Dis 2021 May 7. Epub 2021 May 7.

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Idiopathic recurrent acute pancreatitis (IRAP) describes frequent episodes of pancreatitis without an etiology found using current testing. We compared the natural history of IRAP with recurrent acute pancreatitis with genetic mutations.

Methods: Retrospective cohort of patients with recurrent acute pancreatitis (≥2 episodes) and negative conventional testing. Read More

Int J Surg Case Rep 2021 Apr 30;83:105951. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Department of Gastrointestinal and Hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi, Viet Nam.

Background: Hepatoid carcinoma (HC) is a rare type of malignant tumor that shared similar features of morphology and immunohistochemistry with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Pancreatic HC exists as either pure or mixed type. Mixed pancreatic HC is extremely rare, with only a few cases reported in the literature to date. Read More

Cancer Lett 2021 May 7. Epub 2021 May 7.

Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China. Electronic address:

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors and has the lowest survival rate due to early metastasis and drug resistance. Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have emerged as crucial regulators of the progression of various tumors. These vesicles contain abundant circRNAs that have important biological functions. Read More

Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021 May 7. Epub 2021 May 7.

Department of Intervention, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China.

Background: Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) has shown antitumour activity in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, but few studies of VEGFR inhibitors have been done in populations with a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib in patients with pretreated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: AHELP was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial done at 31 hospitals in China, in patients (aged ≥18 years) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who had previously been refractory or intolerant to at least one line of systemic chemotherapy or targeted therapy. Read More

J Clin Oncol 2021 May 10:JCO2100003. Epub 2021 May 10.

Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Purpose: Olaparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor (PARPi), is approved as maintenance therapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (PC) and a germline or pathogenic variant (PV). This investigator-initiated, single-arm phase II study assessed the role of the PARPi rucaparib as maintenance therapy in advanced PC with germline or somatic PV in , , or .

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients had advanced PC; germline (g) or somatic (s) PVs in , , or , and received at least 16 weeks of platinum-based chemotherapy without evidence of platinum resistance. Read More

Nanomedicine (Lond) 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Centre for Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, Kochi, Kerala, 682041, India.

To develop a method for making total serum nanoparticles (TSN) loaded with cytotoxic chemodrugs for cancer therapy. TSN loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) or piperlongumine (PL) were prepared using high-pressure homogenization and tested for immunogenicity in healthy animals and antitumor properties in pancreatic cancer xenograft models. TSN-PL nanoparticles of average size 104 nm and encapsulation efficiency approximately 50% showed enhanced dose-dependent cytotoxicity compared with TSN-PTX or clinically used combination of gemcitabine and nano-PTX in two pancreatic cell lines. Read More

Ann Surg Oncol 2021 May 9. Epub 2021 May 9.

Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.

Background: Limited evidence exists for the safety and oncologic efficacy of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNETs) according to tumor location. This study aimed to compare the surgical outcomes of MIS and open surgery (OS) for right- or left-sided NF-PNETs.

Methods: The study collected data on patients who underwent surgical resection (pancreatoduodenectomy, distal/total/central pancreatectomy, duodenum-preserving pancreas head resection, or enucleation) of a localized NF-PNET between January 2000 and July 2017 at 14 institutions. Read More

Cell Rep Med 2021 May 3:100287. Epub 2021 May 3.

Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Mechanisms underlying severe COVID-19 disease remain poorly understood. We analyze several thousand plasma proteins longitudinally in 306 COVID-19 patients and 78 symptomatic controls, uncovering immune and non-immune proteins linked to COVID-19. Deconvolution of our plasma proteome data using published scRNAseq datasets reveals contributions from circulating immune and tissue cells. Read More

World J Clin Cases 2021 May;9(13):3102-3113

Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 35015, South Korea.

Background: Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the pancreas is extremely rare and has an extremely poor prognosis. Although a few cases of sarcomatoid carcinoma of pancreas have been reported, most are focused on a histopathological review. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports documenting multimodality imaging characteristics and chronological changes with emphasis on radiologic features. Read More

World J Clin Cases 2021 May;9(13):2969-2982

Department of Internal Medicine, University of Hallym College of Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang 14068, South Korea.

Pancreatic cancer, a highly lethal cancer, has the lowest 5-year survival rate for several reasons, including its tendency for the late diagnosis, a lack of serologic markers for screening, aggressive local invasion, its early metastatic dissemination, and its resistance to chemotherapy/radiotherapy. Pancreatic cancer evades immunologic elimination by a variety of mechanisms, including induction of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Cancer-associated fibroblasts interact with inhibitory immune cells, such as tumor-associated macrophages and regulatory T cells, to form an inflammatory shell-like desmoplastic stroma around tumor cells. Read More

Front Mol Biosci 2021 22;8:645365. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Gemcitabine (GEM) resistance remains a challenging clinical issue to overcome in chemotherapy against pancreatic cancer. We previously demonstrated that miR-210 derived from pancreatic cancer stem cells enhanced the GEM-resistant properties of pancreatic cancer cells, thus identifying miR-210 as an oncogenic miRNA. Herein, we report the existence of an upstream effector that acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to miR-210. Read More

Front Mol Biosci 2021 22;8:645084. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, China.

The purpose of this study was to construct a novel risk scoring model with prognostic value that could elucidate tumor immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Data were obtained through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Univariate Cox analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis, and multivariate Cox analysis were carried out to screen for glycolysis-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that could provide prognostic value. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 21;11:669560. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common malignant tumor in the liver of infants and young children. The incidence rate varies among different populations. However, genetic differences in HB patients with different epidemiological and ancestral backgrounds have not been found. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 23;11:653222. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Department of Medical Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

The adenomatous polyposis coli () gene, known as tumor suppressor gene, has the two promoters 1A and 1B. Researches on have usually focused on its loss-of-function variants causing familial adenomatous polyposis. Hypermethylation, however, which is one of the key epigenetic alterations of the CpG sequence, is also associated with carcinogenesis in various cancers. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 23;11:646082. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China.

Background/aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can occur in different parts of the pancreas. This study aimed to identify clinicopathological characteristics independently correlated with the prognosis of PDAC of the pancreatic head/uncinate (PHC) or body-tail (PBTC), and to develop novel nomograms for predicting cancer-specific survival (CSS) according to different primary cancer locations.

Methods: 1160 PDAC patients were retrospectively enrolled and assigned to training and test sets with each set divided into PHC and PBTC groups. Read More

Gland Surg 2021 Apr;10(4):1487-1498

Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University/The Second Faculty of Clinical Medicine, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China.

This review aimed at assessing current guidelines' methodological quality systematically for pancreatic cancer's diagnosis and to reveal the heterogeneity of the recommendations among the evaluated guidelines. A systematic search was conducted to find the latest guidelines for pancreatic cancer's diagnosis. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) tool was used to assess the qualified guidelines' feature. Read More

Gland Surg 2021 Apr;10(4):1397-1409

Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Background: The aim of the present study was to construct a novel gene signature on the tumor microenvironment (TME) to predict the prognosis of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: We downloaded gene expression profiles and clinical information of PDAC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets, as well as Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE78229, GSE62452, and GSE28735). Differentially expressed genes were generated by comparing high versus low score groups of immune/stromal subgroups based on the Estimation of STromal and Immune cells in MAlignant Tumor tissues using Expression data algorithm. Read More

Cureus 2021 Apr 5;13(4):e14311. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Medical University of Varna, Varna, BGR.

Background Urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder (UCUB) is a common malignancy in both genders with a very high recurrence rate. There has been increasing evidence for a correlation between tumor-associated mast cells (TAMC) and tumor growth and recurrence rates. In the present study, we set out to establish a link between TAMC and the clinical morphological characteristics of UCUB in stages pTa and pT1. Read More

J Gastrointest Oncol 2021 Apr;12(Suppl 1):S110-S117

Department of Surgery, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Japan.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most lethal malignancies globally. We have previously explored the clinical efficacy of intraperitoneal (IP) paclitaxel therapy for patients with PDAC and peritoneal metastasis, which demonstrated favourable response and disease control rates. However, the real implications of conversion surgery after IP therapy remain unclear. Read More