Targeting chemoresistant colorectal cancer via systemic administration of a BMP7 variant
Abstract Despite intense research and clinical efforts, patients affected by advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) have still a poor prognosis. The discovery of colorectal (CR) cancer stem cell (CSC) as the cell compartment responsible for tumor initiation and propagation may provide new opportunities for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Given the reduced sensitivity of CR-CSCs to chemotherapy and the ability of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) to promote colonic stem cell differentiation, we aimed to investigate whether an enhanced variant of BMP7 (BMP7v) could sensitize to chemotherapy-resistant CRC cells and tumors. Thirty-five primary human cultures enriched in CR-CSCs, includ…
Hepatectomy Versus Sorafenib in Advanced Non-Metastatic Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Real-Life Multicentric Weighted Comparison
Objective: The aim of the study was to compare SURG vs SOR regarding the OS and progression-free survival (PFS) in a real-world clinical scenario. Background data: The treatment for advanced nonmetastatic HCC belonging to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C (BCLC C) is still controversial. Methods: BCLC C patients without extrahepatic spread and tumoral invasion of the main portal trunk were considered. Surgical patients were obtained from the HE.RC.O.LE.S. Register, whereas sorafenib patients were obtained from the ITA.LI.CA register The inverse probability weighting (IPW) method was adopted to balance the confounders between the 2 groups. Results: Between 2008 and 2019, 478 patients…