Friend or foe?

Publication date: Available online 16 November 2016
Source:Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Reviews on Cancer
Author(s): Tommaso Colangelo, Giovanna Polcaro, Livio Muccillo, Giovanna D'Agostino, Valeria Rosato, Pamela Ziccardi, Angelo Lupo, Gianluigi Mazzoccoli, Lina Sabatino, Vittorio Colantuoni
The network of bidirectional homotypic and heterotypic interactions established among parenchymal tumour cells and surrounding mesenchymal stromal cells generates the tumour microenvironment (TME). These intricate crosstalks elicit both beneficial and adverse effects on tumour initiation and progression unbalancing the signals and responses from the neighbouring cells.Here, we highlight the structure, activities and evolution of TME cells considering a novel colorectal cancer (CRC) classification based on differential stromal composition and gene expression profiles. In this scenario, we scrutinise the molecular pathways that either change or become corrupted during CRC development and their relative prognostic value.Finally, we survey the therapeutic molecules directed against TME components currently available in clinical trials as well as those with stronger potential in preclinical studies. Elucidation of dynamic variations in the CRC TME cell composition and their relative contribution could provide novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers and allow more personalised therapeutic strategies.



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Connected Health: An Important Tool for Making Progress against Cancer

In the year 2000, when I was director of NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, only about half of U.S. adults had Internet access. The first iPhone was still 7 years in the future. Few health systems used electronic health records (EHRs) for patient care, and the notion of patients communicating with their health providers and accessing their health records via their own computers was science fiction for most people.

There were—and still are, to a lesser extent—large disparities by age and race in access to and use of the Internet, and at NCI, we were already focused on overcoming this "digital divide." WiFi was not ubiquitous, and I remember many offsite meetings where we had to go outside to get a wireless signal.

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Connected Health: An Important Tool for Making Progress against Cancer

In the year 2000, when I was director of NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, only about half of U.S. adults had Internet access. The first iPhone was still 7 years in the future. Few health systems used electronic health records (EHRs) for patient care, and the notion of patients communicating with their health providers and accessing their health records via their own computers was science fiction for most people.

There were—and still are, to a lesser extent—large disparities by age and race in access to and use of the Internet, and at NCI, we were already focused on overcoming this "digital divide." WiFi was not ubiquitous, and I remember many offsite meetings where we had to go outside to get a wireless signal.

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Advanced radiotherapy techniques reduce normal tissue dose by conforming closely to target volumes. In cervical cancer radiotherapy, organ filling affects clinical target volume (CTV; cervix, uterus) position. This study estimates the dosimetric effect of this primary CTV position variation during chemoradiation.

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Clinical evidence of variable proton biological effectiveness in pediatric patients treated for ependymoma

A constant relative biological effectiveness (RBE) is used for clinical proton therapy; however, experimental evidence indicates that RBE can vary. We analyzed pediatric ependymoma patients who received proton therapy to determine if areas of normal tissue damage indicated by post-treatment image changes were associated with increased biological dose effectiveness.

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