Abstract. Elongation of long chain fatty acids family member 6 (Elovl6) has been demonstrated to be involved in insulin resistance, obesity and lipogenesis. In addition, it has been reported that the protein is upregulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma and is implicated in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated liver carcinogenesis. Excess body weight has been associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and poor prognosis. However, the connection between Elovl6 expression and outcome of breast cancer remains uncertain. Therefore, the present study used immunohistochemical analysis to investigate the expression of Elovl6 in breast cancer tissues from patients who had undergone curative mastectomy. Out of a total of 70 patients, 37.1% of patients exhibited positive Elovl6 expression in breast cancer tissue, whilst 62.9% were considered as negative. Positive Elov16 expression correlated with positive lymph node involvement and shorter recurrence-free survival. However, Elovl6 expression had no association with primary tumor size, lymph node metastasis, stage, grade, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2 and age. Therefore, positive Elovl6 expression is a poor prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer that have previously undergone surgery, and may function as a potential therapeutic approach in the future, particularly in the scope of obesity related disease. IntroductionOverweight or obese patients have become an emerging health concern worldwide, and are associated with several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and various forms of cancer (1). The prevalence of obesity has substantially increased over the last few decades, with the World Health Organization estimating that 500 million adults worldwide and 31% of females in the United States are categorically obese (2,3). In Taiwan, the prevalence of obesity has increased to 13.2% of adult women, which poses a major task in the prevention of female cance (4). There is accumulating evidence that being overweight carries an established risk for renal cell cancer, colon cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal adenocarcinoma and postmenopausal breast cancer. A major review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer analyzed data regarding weight, physical activity and cancer incidence in Europe (5). The review concluded that obesity contributed to the cause of 39% of endometrial cancer cases, 37% of esophageal cancer cases, 25% of kidney cancer cases, 11% of colon cancer cases and 9% of postmenopausal breast cancer cases (5). Data published over the last 25 years has indicated that obesity is responsible for ~20% of cancer-associated mortalities in women and ~14% in men (6). These rates are second only to smoking for the number of avoidable cases of cancer (6).In women, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer and the second highest cause of cancer-associated mortality in the United States, with a similar outcome reported for Asia-Pacific populations (7,8

Background/Aim: The outcome of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains poor and therapeutic options, including sorafenib, the first anticancer drug proved to prolong survival in patients with advanced HCC, are limited. However, no clinically useful predictive biomarker for sorafenib has been reported. Materials and Methods: We exploited two-dimensional gel electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry to find deregulated proteins by using conditioning of a sorafenibresistant HCC cell line, Huh7. Tumor samples from 60 patients with HCC treated with sorafenib were analyzed and correlated with survival outcome. Results: Comparative proteomics indicated three proteins including, 78 kDa glucose related protein (GRP78), 14-3-3ε, and heat shock protein 90β (HSP90β). The three proteins were overexpressed in sorafenib-resistant Huh7 cells. In HCC tumor samples from patients treated with sorafenib, 73% of tumor samples had a high expression of GRP78, 18% had high 14-3-3ε expression and 85% had high HSP90β expression. Among these, GRP78 was associated with the shortest progression-free survival of HCC patients treated with sorafenib. Conclusion: GRP78 can be a predictive biomarker in HCC patients treated with sorafenib. Strategies designed to inhibit the GRP78-related pathway may overcome sorafenib resistance.

Prothymosin α (ProTα) is a nuclear protein that serves a role in oncogenesis, by promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis in various malignancies. The present study was designed to investigate ProTα expression in resected human non-small cell lung cancer to define the clinicopathological associations of ProTα-positive lung cancer. Immunohistochemical staining of ProTα was performed using tumor sample slides from 149 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, who underwent surgical resection. Association between the expression of ProTα and the following clinicopathological parameters was accessed: Age, sex, stage, lymph node involvement, pathological subtype, recurrence and cigarette smoking. A total of 85 tumors (57%) were classified as ProTα-positive lung cancer by staining intensity and 73 tumors (49%) were regarded as ProTα-positive by scoring index. The majority of patients with ProTα-positive tumors were younger (P=0.05) and had squamous cell carcinoma (P<0.01) compared with older and adenocarcinoma. Positive expression of ProTα by staining intensity was associated with a higher incidence rate of cancer recurrence (P=0.05) compared with negative ProTα expression. ProTα was also associated with cigarette smoking, particularly in the group with squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, the present data suggested that ProTα-positive non-small cell lung cancer was associated with younger patients, squamous cell carcinoma, cigarette smoking and a higher incidence recurrence rate, subsequently indicating a subtype consisting of patients with smoking-associated inferior outcomes.

Adipokines play a role in carcinogenesis in a variety of malignancies. These findings were established with regard to serum adipokines and malignancies. However, the expression of adipokines in bone marrow fluid remains unclear, and an investigation of the correlation between bone marrow adipokines and hematological malignancy is needed. The present study was designed to detect adipokine concentrations, including adiponectin, leptin and resistin, in bone marrow interstitial fluid from patients with hematological malignancy and controlled counterparts. The correlations between adipokines, body mass index, clinical parameters, and hematological malignancy were assessed. A total of 80 bone marrow samples were assessed for values of adipokines, adiponectin, leptin and resistin. Patients with hematological malignancy had lower levels of adiponectin. Adiponectin from leukemia bone marrow expressed significantly low values. The adiponectin levels were inversely correlated with body mass index. In conclusion, adiponectin was decreased in bone marrow from patients with leukemia and negatively correlated with body mass index.