Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0598934 (tumor growth)
 58,965 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Primary liver cancer, particularly HCC, is increasing in certain countries, notably Japan. Although hepatitis B virus has been etiologically linked to hepatocarcinogenesis and integration of its DNA into hepatocyte chromosomal DNA has been emphasized, other etiologic factors seem to have an interplay with virus infection. Histopathology of HCC has geographic variations. An expanding encapsulated HCC is most common in Japan, whereas it is nearly nonexistent in the West; such regional differences can only be explained by differences in the major etiologic factors. Early detection of HCC is now possible with ultrasound examination combined with AFP measurement, and this strategy has been executed with success in the Far East where HCC is endemic among cirrhotics. The speed of tumor growth can be measured with accuracy by ultrasound examination. Preneoplastic or early lesions of HCC in a cirrhotic liver seem to be adenomatous hyperplastic nodules or foci, and the conventional histological criteria for malignant liver cells do not seem applicable to such lesions. Although advanced cirrhosis is a real deterrent for hepatic surgery, hepatic resection affords a better survival compared with any nonsurgical therapeutic modality. Transcatheter arterial embolization is one of the current preferences of the hepatologist for inoperable patients. Lastly, a new staging scheme has been proposed for the assessment of prognosis and for comparison of efficacy of various therapeutic modalities.
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PMID:Primary liver cancer. Quadrennial review lecture. 301 22

Primary liver cancer of the bile ducts known as cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive tumor with a difficult diagnosis and poor prognosis. The limited treatment strategies coupled with the chemo-resistant nature of the tumor results in dismal survival rates following diagnosis. The search for targets and biomarkers has been ongoing for a number of years and while advances have been made, there have been no definitive therapeutics found. The tumor microenvironment of CCA is comprised of malignant cholangiocytes and cancer stem cells (CSCs), along with other inflammatory, vascular, and collagen-producing cells. Together, the tumor microenvironment in CCA is capable of sustaining tumor growth, promoting metastasis and developing an epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype - all of which make this tumor difficult to handle and treat. Doublecortin-like kinase1 (DCLK1) has been implicated to play a role in a number of gastrointestinal tumor types and has been noted to be a CSC marker. In addition, blocking DCLK1 has shown to ameliorate tumor progression of specific types, such as colon cancer. In this current study, the authors demonstrate that DCLK1 is upregulated in CCA and CSCs, but not in healthy cells. Further, circulating levels of DCLK1 were increased in patients with liver injury, but not in healthy patients. These findings, coupled with specific co-expression of DCLK1 with CSC markers, pinpoints DCLK1 as a promising target and potential biomarker for CCA. In vitro experiments demonstrate that inhibition of DCLK1 blocks the devastating phenotypes that are typically found in CCA suggesting the therapeutic benefit of targeting DCLK1.
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PMID:DCLK1 in Cholangiocarcinoma: Is this the biomarker and target we've been looking for? 3317 83