Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 15 (Siglec-15) might be involved in the activation of important pathways related to tumor immune escape, along with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Here, we aimed to investigate the correlation between the expression of Siglec-15 and PD-L1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. We determined the expression of PD-L1 via immunohistochemical staining and that of Siglec-15 via immunofluorescence staining in 182 NPC tissue samples. A significant correlation was identified between the PD-L1 and Siglec-15 expression (P = 0.000). Moreover, Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that PD-L1 expression was associated with improved overall survival (OS) (P = 0.025) and Siglec-15 expression was associated with improved distant failure-free survival (D-FFS) (P = 0.048). Moreover, multivariate Cox analysis showed that PD-L1 and Siglec-15 were independent predictors of OS (P = 0.020) and D-FFS (P = 0.047), respectively. The results of the log-rank test and Cox regression analyses showed that patients exhibiting no PD-L1/Siglec-15 expression had significant advantages regarding OS, compared to other groups (P = 0.037). PD-L1 and Siglec-15 may represent novel biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of NPC patients. Siglec-15 may be considered as a potential target for the development of therapeutics for NPC treatment in the future.

Background Considering the strong attenuation of photons and the potential to increase the deposition of radiation, high-atomic number nanomaterials are often used as radiosensitizers in cancer radiotherapy, of which gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are widely used. Materials and Methods We prepared albumin-modified GNPs (Alb-GNPs) and observed their radiosensitizing effects and biotoxicity in human non-small-cell lung carcinoma tumor-bearing mice models. Results The prepared nanoparticles (Alb-GNPs) demonstrated excellent colloidal stability and biocompatibility at the mean size of 205.06 ± 1.03 nm. Furthermore, clone formation experiments revealed that Alb-GNPs exerted excellent radiosensitization, with a sensitization enhancement ratio (SER) of 1.432, which is higher than X-ray alone. Our in vitro and in vivo data suggested that Alb-GNPs enabled favorable accumulation in tumors, and the combination of Alb-GNPs and radiotherapy exhibited a relatively greater radiosensitizing effect and anti-tumor activity. In addition, no toxicity or abnormal irritating response resulted from the application of Alb-GNPs. Conclusion Alb-GNPs can be used as an effective radiosensitizer to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy with minimal damage to healthy tissues.

Purpose: Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 15 (Siglec-15) might be involved in the activation of important pathways related to tumor immune escape, along with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). We aimed to investigate the correlation between the expression of Siglec-15 and PD-L1 in NPC patients.Patients and methods: We determined the expression of PD-L1 via immunohistochemical staining and that of Siglec-15 via immunofluorescent staining in 182 NPC tissue samples.Results: A significant correlation was identified between the PD-L1 and Siglec-15 expression (P=0.000). Moreover, Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that PD-L1 expression were associated with improved overall survival (P=0.025) and Siglec-15 expression were associated with improved distant failure-free survival (P=0.048). Meanwhile, multivariate Cox analysis showed that PD-L1 and Siglec-15 were independent predictors of overall survival (P=0.020) and distant failure-free survival (P=0.047), respectively. The results of the log-rank test and Cox regression analyses showed that patients exhibiting no PD-L1/Siglec-15 expression were found to have significant advantages with regard to overall survival, compared to other groups (P=0.037).Conclusion: PD-L1 and Siglec-15 may represent novel biomarkers for predicting NPC patient prognosis. Siglec-15 could be considered as a potential target for the development of therapeutics for NPC treatment in the future.

Therapeutic plasma exchange is used as a trial method for the treatment of cancer patients. Therapeutic plasma exchange uses in vitro technology to remove pathogenic factors in the plasma, returning the replacement and remaining components to the patient to facilitate cure. In the effort to explore new methods of cancer treatment, the introduction of therapeutic plasma exchange brings new hope for cancer treatment; however, the current evidence supporting therapeutic plasma exchange is controversial, and most of the evidence comes from observational studies, lacking large prospective randomized trials. Therefore, this review attempts to focus on the main indications of therapeutic plasma exchange for the treatment of tumors and their complications, including hematological tumors (multiple myeloma cast nephropathy and hyperviscosity syndrome), nervous system tumors (myasthenia gravis associated with thymoma, paraneoplastic neurological syndrome, Lambert-Eaton myasthenia syndrome, and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis), overdose of chemotherapy drugs. In addition, the issues of side-effects and safety in the use of therapeutic plasma exchange are also discussed. However, well-designed prospective trials are needed to better define the role of therapeutic plasma exchange in cancer.

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