Immune escape is a phenomenon in which tumor cells or infections evade detection and clearance by the host immune system in various ways. During an antitumor immune response, cells increase the concentration of pentameric stalk, which enhances antigen presentation and recognition by the immune system. It has been found that both increased and decreased levels of specificity protein 1 (SP1) control oncogenes, thereby influencing tumorigenesis and cancer development. Thus, elucidating the mechanism underlying the role of SP1 in tumors may help identify novel prognostic indicators. However, the immune escape mechanism involved in SP1 poses new challenges to diagnosis and treatment. The present review used a combination of analogies and summaries to explore the structure, function, regulatory mechanism and biological activity of SP1 in normal and cancer cells, and aimed to discuss the regulatory function of SP1 in different tumors, as well as the relevant association between SP1 and clinical diagnosis and treatment, which revealed the importance of SP1 in tumorigenesis and cancer development. The novelty of the present review lies in the identification of novel immune evasion mechanisms and immunotherapeutic techniques that provide new insights and approaches for a deeper understanding of the role of SP1 in malignant tumors.

The present study aimed to investigate whether red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was an independent prognosis factor for patients with glioma after surgery. Potential studies were found in four databases including PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and the Cochrane Library on 21st July, 2022. To evaluate the prognosis after surgery, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to calculate the overall survival (OS) of patients with glioma. Stata V16.0 software was used for data analysis. A total of 8 studies were included, involving 1,468 patients. After collecting and analyzing the data, RDW was demonstrated to be a prognostic factor for OS of patients with glioma (HR=1.51; I2=0.00%; 95% CI, 1.29–1.74; P<0.01). Patients with high preoperative RDW levels had a high risk of poor survival after neurosurgery. High preoperative RDW levels may be associated with poor prognosis and warrant further clinical attention.

Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AteBev) is used as a first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Combining AteBev with sequential local treatment holds potential; however, optimal timing, modality and continuation of systemic chemotherapy remain undetermined. In the present study, a retrospective analysis of 123 patients with HCC treated with AteBev at two institutions was performed. Patients with no apparent residual lesions after sequential local treatment or AteBev treatment alone were followed up without any systemic chemotherapy ('drug-free' cohort). Outcomes focused on the impact of achieving 'drug-free' status, with timing assessed based on tumor size and α-fetoprotein levels. The results revealed that serum α-fetoprotein levels and tumor shrinkage plateaued at ~3 and 6 months post-AteBev treatment, respectively. Patients achieving 'drug-free' status demonstrated prolonged median survival (P<0.001) and progression-free survival (P<0.001), comparable with patients with 'clinical complete response' or 'drug-off' statuses. Moreover, particle radiotherapy was the most common local treatment modality. In conclusion, achieving a 'drug-free' status was associated with favorable prognoses. Optimal timing for sequential local treatment is suggested as 3-6 months after AteBev initiation, with multidisciplinary strategies to achieve 'drug-free' status offering a promising option for the treatment of advanced HCC.

Osteosarcoma is the most prevalent malignant bone tumor in pediatric and adolescent populations. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a post-transcriptional modification of RNA, and the most prevalent internal chemical modification of mRNA. KIAA1429, also known as virus-like m6A methyltransferase-associated, is a key component of the m6A methyltransferase complex, and the largest protein within this complex. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of transcripts >200 nucleotides in length that are able to regulate gene expression. Friend of GATA family member 2-antisense 1 (ZFPM2-AS1) is a lncRNA that has been observed to exhibit aberrantly elevated expression in gastric cancer. The present study aimed to explore the expression levels of KIAA1429 and ZFPM2-AS1 in osteosarcoma tissues and 143B and MG63 osteosarcoma cell lines. The results of bioinformatics analysis, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blotting revealed that the expression of KIAA1429 and ZFPM2-AS1 in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines was upregulated compared with that in the corresponding normal tissues or cells. The association between KIAA1429-mediated m6A modifications and ZFPM2-AS1 stability in osteosarcoma cells was confirmed using m6A-methylated RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR and actinomycin D assays. In addition, in Cell Counting Kit-8 and Transwell assays KIAA1429 overexpression promoted the proliferation, invasion and migration of 143B and MG63 osteosarcoma cells, and these promotive effects were attenuated by ZFPM2-AS1 knockdown. These findings suggest a potential novel approach for molecular therapy in the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Tumor protein 53 (TP53) serves a key role in the prevention of tumor formation, while TP53 mutation can lead to uncontrolled cell division and tumorigenesis. Men carrying TP53 mutations have a higher risk of developing invasive prostate cancer. Notably, there are distinct epidemiological and genomic features between Chinese and Western patients with prostate cancer, wherein TP53 mutations are more prevalent among Chinese patients. However, the effect of TP53 mutations, expression and polymorphisms on prostate cancer remain to be elucidated. Therefore, in the present study, bioinformatics analyses and meta-analysis were conducted to assess how TP53 mutations and expression affect the prognosis and tumor microenvironment in patients with prostate cancer. Additionally, the role of TP53 in ferroptosis was also investigated in vitro. The results indicated that high TP53 expression was a prognostic factor associated with poor outcomes in patients with prostate cancer. In addition, bioinformatics analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas database demonstrated significant differences in immune cell infiltration and in the expression of ferroptosis-related genes between wild-type and mutant TP53 prostate cancer tissues, as well as between high and low TP53-expressing tumors. Furthermore, erastin, a well-known inducer of ferroptosis, triggered ferroptosis in prostate cancer cells via downregulation of solute carrier family 7 member 11 and glutathione peroxidase 4, independent of TP53 expression. However, reactive oxygen species levels were markedly higher in TP53-expressing cells, LnCAP and DU145, compared with TP53-null cells, PC3 cells. Overall, the results of the present study could provide a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer in the future.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors among women worldwide. Its primary etiology is closely associated with human papillomavirus infection, which poses a serious threat to the health of women. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications notably affect the biological characteristics of tumor cells, such as their proliferation, metastasis and chemoresistance, by regulating the stability, translation and degradation of RNA. It also serves an important regulatory role in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer. The present review details the mechanisms underlying m6A modification in cervical cancer and analyzes its impact on tumor progression. Moreover, it explores the potential clinical applications of m6A modification as a biomarker and therapeutic target to provide new insights and evidence regarding the early diagnosis and individualized treatment of patients with cervical cancer.

Pathological staging is essential for guiding treatment decisions and determining prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to establish a model using intratumoral and peritumoral features from computed tomography radiomics data and a multi-task learning algorithm, and evaluate its predictive performance for the pathological stage of NSCLC. Data from 198 eligible patients with NSCLC from The Cancer Imaging Archive database were retrospectively analyzed, which was used to develop four radiomics models to classify the pathological stages of NSCLC. These models combined the traditional random forest and multi-task random forest algorithms with the volumes of interest for the intratumoral region alone and with the intratumoral and peritumoral regions combined. Subsequently, the data from 90 patients from a real-world dataset were collected for use as an external test set. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F1 scores and receiver operating characteristic curves. The results revealed that, in the internal test set, the area under the curve (AUC) values for model 1 (single-task model based on the intratumoral region), model 2 (single-task model combining intra- and peritumoral regions), model 3 (multi-task model based on the intratumoral region) and model 4 (multi-task model combining intra- and peritumoral regions) were 0.814, 0.900, 0.896 and 0.938, respectively. In the external test set, the AUC values were 0.821, 0.921, 0.858 and 0.939, separately. Moreover, the results of the DeLong test indicated that the AUC difference between model 1 and 4 was statistically significant (P<0.05). In conclusion, the multi-task radiomic model incorporating both intratumoral and peritumoral regions demonstrated favorable diagnostic efficacy in the predictive pathological staging of NSCLC.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant tumor that originates in the plasma cells of the bone marrow, interfering with the production of healthy blood cells and causing notable damage to bones and other tissues. Currently, the treatment options for MM are limited and often fail to provide effective and well-tolerated solutions. Silymarin, a primary active compound found in the dried fruit of Silybum marianum, is known for its inhibitory action on lipoxygenases and peroxidases. In addition to its known benefits in reducing liver toxicity and enhancing radiation protection, silymarin has shown promise in lowering lipid levels. Silymarin has anticancer properties; however, the specific mechanisms and efficacy of silymarin in treating MM require further investigation. In the present study, network pharmacology was employed to discern the targets and associated pathways of silymarin against MM. The cytotoxic effects of silymarin on MM were subsequently tested using RPMI 8226 and H929 cell lines. Furthermore, the molecular targets of silymarin in MM were assessed through immunofluorescence, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and molecular docking studies. A total of 15 notable targets of silymarin associated with MM were identified, along with 60 interactions among these targets and several associated signaling pathways. In vitro experiments using Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry revealed that silymarin markedly promoted apoptosis in MM cells. Additionally, there was a reduction in the expression of anti-apoptotic genes, such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. After silymarin treatment, a decrease in phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3 was observed in MM cells, and it was suggested that silymarin potentially binds to JAK2 and STAT3. In conclusion, silymarin was revealed to trigger apoptosis in MM cells by blocking the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. This mechanism highlights the potential of silymarin as a therapeutic agent that can target specific molecular pathways to combat MM.

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is a common type of malignant tumor, characterized by high morbidity and mortality worldwide, a poor prognosis, and a lack of reliable and effective prognostic predictors. The systemic immunoinflammatory index (SII) and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are key indicators of immunoinflammation in the body, and their combined clinical utility has not been fully explored in patients with PLC undergoing transarterial chemoembolization. In the present study, the association between the preoperative SII combined with the NLR and the prognosis of patients with PLC undergoing percutaneous hepatic artery chemoembolization was investigated. Of the 311 patients diagnosed with PLC in Liuzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Liuzhou, China) between March 2017 and October 2019, 122 were included in the study. The clinical data were collected, and the patients were categorized into a low SII group (SII <381.79; 45 patients) and a high SII group (SII ≥381.79; 77 patients), and a low NLR group (NLR <2.83; 55 patients) and a high NLR group (NLR ≥2.83; 67 patients) based on the optimal preoperative SII and NLR cutoff values. The predictive efficacy of SII and NLR on the prognosis of patients with PLC was analyzed using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The association between SII, NLR and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed using a χ2 test, and overall survival (OS) was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors affecting prognosis and to investigate the ability of SII combined with NLR to predict PLC prognosis. The ROC curves showed that the optimal cut-off values for preoperative SII and preoperative NLR were 381.79 and 2.83, respectively. ROC curve analysis showed that both SII [AUC, 0.843; sensitivity, 92.5%; specificity, 65.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.766–0.919] and NLR (AUC, 0.836; sensitivity, 82.1%; specificity, 60.3%; 95% confidence interval, 0.761–0.911) both had good predictive efficacy in patients with PLC. The results of the ROC curve analysis for predicting postoperative death in patients with PLC showed that the AUC of SII combined with NLR (0.846) was higher than that of SII alone (0.843) (P<0.01) and NLR alone (0.836) (P<0.01). Additionally, the AUC of SII (0.843) was higher than that of NLR (0.836) (P<0.01). SII [hazard ratio (HR), 0.655; 95% CI, 0.485–0.885; P=0.006] and NLR (HR, 0.655; 95% CI, 0.485–0.885; P=0.006) were independent risk factors for PLC. Based on K-M survival curve analysis, patients with SII ≥381.79 and NLR ≥2.83 exhibited the shortest OS (P<0.01). These findings indicated that higher preoperative SII and NLR values suggest a poor prognosis for patients with PLC, and that the predictive value of the combination of the two factors is greater than that of each of them alone.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positivity, including gene amplification and mutation, is uncommon in colorectal cancer (CRC), with an incidence of only ~5%. Targeted HER2 therapy has been shown to be feasible in patients with HER2-positive CRC after the failure of standard treatments. However, the importance of anti-HER2 therapy in patients with HER2-positive CRC is not yet fully reflected in clinical guidelines. The present report describes the case of a 60-year-old female patient who presented with abdominal pain and bloody stools and was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma and liver metastasis. The next-generation sequencing of biopsy tissue obtained during colonoscopy suggested HER2 mutation/amplification. After two cycles of chemotherapy, the tumor marker levels of the patient continued to increase, indicating poor treatment efficacy. The patient subsequently received six cycles of chemotherapy combined with anti-HER2 therapy, leading to a reduction in tumor marker levels and gradual shrinkage of the lesions. After this, the colorectal and liver lesions were surgically removed. There is currently no definitive treatment for HER2-positive CRC. However, the present case highlights a favorable response to anti-HER2 therapy in a patient with HER2-positive metastatic CRC, suggesting that this treatment approach may be beneficial for HER2-positive CRC and warrants further investigation.