Evaluation of TKTL1 as a biomarker in serum of prostate cancer patients.

Introduction Monocyte associated transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) as a cancer biomarker has become popular with alternative practitioners, but plays no role in conventional medicine. This investigation evaluates the potential of serum TKTL1 as a biomarker for prostate cancer. Material and methods Patients (n = 66) undergoing curative radical prostatectomy (RPE) for biopsy-pro-ven PCa were included in the study. Controls (n = 10) were healthy, age-matched, male volunteers. 10 ml of peripheral blood was drawn from patients several days before surgery and from controls. Serum TKTL1 was measured using the ELISA method. Results The median age at tumor diagnosis was 66 years and median serum PSA was …

Preclinical studies on the significance of mistletoe preparations in the therapy of urological tumors

Chronic Sulforaphane Application Does Not Induce Resistance in Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells.

Background/aim Since the natural compound sulforaphane (SFN) has been shown to stop tumor growth, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients often use this drug in addition to their prescribed oncotherapy. The aim of this study was to examine whether resistance to SFN may develop after long-term application. Materials and methods Several RCC cell lines were incubated with SFN for short periods of time (24-72 h) or long periods of time (8 weeks) and cell growth, proliferation, and cell-cycle proteins were analyzed. Results Both short- and long-term application of SFN distinctly reduced RCC cell growth and proliferation. However, differences in the distribution of cells in each phase of the cell cyc…

Relevance of the natural HDAC inhibitor sulforaphane as a chemopreventive agent in urologic tumors.

Due to an increased understanding of molecular biology and the genomics of cancer, new and potent agents have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight this disease. However, all of these drugs cause severe side effects and resistance inevitably develops, re-activating tumor growth and dissemination. For this reason, patients turn to natural compounds as alternative or complementary treatment options, since it has been found that natural plant products may block, inhibit, or reverse cancer development. The present review focusses on the role of the natural compound sulforaphane (SFN) as an anti-tumor agent in urologic cancer. SFN is a natural compound found in crucife…

sE-cadherin is upregulated in serum of patients with renal cell carcinoma and promotes tumor cell dissemination in vitro

Abstract Introduction Cadherin family proteins are involved in the tumorigenesis of several malignancies. However, their significance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been extensively investigated. The current study investigates the potential of several cadherins to perform as biomarkers for tumor detection and exert functional RCC activity. Methods Pre- and postoperative concentrations of sE-cadherin, cadherin-6, N-cadherin, cadherin-11, cadherin-17, and cadherin-5 were measured in serum of patients undergoing surgery for RCC and correlated to clinical and histopathological parameters. Control serum was obtained from healthy volunteers. A498 and Caki-1 cells were incubated with sE-cad…

Increased tumor vascularization is associated with the amount of immune competent PD‑1 positive cells in testicular germ cell tumors

Testicular germ cell cancer in a metastatic state is curable with a cisplatin‑based first line chemotherapy. However, 10‑15% of these patients are resistant to first line chemotherapy and are thus left with only palliative options. Immunotherapies and inhibition of angiogenesis used in multiple types of cancer; however, the molecular context of angiogenesis and immune checkpoints in the development and progression of testicular cancers is still unknown. Therefore, the present study performed tissue micro array based analysis of 84 patients with immunohistochemistry of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‑1), programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD‑L1) and vascular endothelial growth factor recept…

Soluble E-Selectin Enhances Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) Expression in Human Tumor Cell Lines

E-selectin mediates neovascularization via its soluble form, while its membrane-bound form initiates binding of tumor cells to vascular endothelium. Therefore, it was studied whether soluble E-selectin regulates further adhesion molecules on tumor cells. In tumor cells but not in related nonmalignant cells, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 expression was strikingly increased from 5 to 68% positive cells by in vitro inoculation of a recombinant E-selectin-IgG1 within 24 h, as analyzed by flow cytometry. The absence of changes in the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule, integrin ligands (CD11a, CD18, integrin alpha 4), and sialyl-Lewis X indicates a specific effect of solubl…

In vitro pro-apoptotic and anti-migratory effects of Treculia africana Decne. (Moraceae) and Entandrophragma angolense Welw (Meliaceae) extracts on prostate cancer cells

Abstract Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men and there is an increasing interest in chemoprevention to fight it. The authors sought a scientific rationale for the traditional use of six Cameroonian medicinal plants for the treatment of prostate inflammation/tumour. The prostate cells viability incubated with each ethanolic plant extract was determined after 24, 48 and 72 h using the MTT assay. The antitumor mechanisms of promising extracts [Treculia africana (TA) and Entandrophragma angolense (EA)] were further assessed by evaluating cell growth, cell proliferation, cell cycle, cell death mechanisms and cell migration. Only TA and EA significantly inhibited L…