The Warburg effect, one of the hallmarks of tumors, produces large amounts of lactate and generates an acidic tumor microenvironment via using glucose for glycolysis. As a metabolite, lactate not only serves as a substrate to provide energy for supporting cell growth and development but also acts as an important signal molecule to affect the biochemical functions of intracellular proteins and regulate the biological functions of different kinds of cells. Notably, histone lysine lactylation (Kla) is identified as a novel post-modification and carcinogenic signal, which provides the promising and potential therapeutic targets for tumors. Therefore, the metabolism and functional mechanism of lactate are becoming one of the hot fields in tumor research. Here, we review the production of lactate and its regulation on immunosuppressive cells, as well as the important role of Kla in hepatocellular carcinoma. Lactate and Kla supplement the knowledge gap in oncology and pave the way for exploring the mechanism of oncogenesis and therapeutic targets. Research is still needed in this field.

Third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have revolutionized the standard treatment for EGFR T790M-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Osimertinib is one of the third-generation EGFR-TKIs and is currently the most advanced in clinical development. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a potentially fatal side effect of osimertinib use.Successful rechallenge with the second-generation TKI afatinib following osimertinib-induced ILD has been reported. However, few reports have discussed the safety and efficacy of third-generation TKI rechallenge in this patient population. In this paper, a case of lung adenocarcinoma is retrospectively analyzed, and the relevant literature is reviewed. The patient was initially diagnosed with early lung cancer, for which surgical treatment was performed. The postoperative diagnosis indicated stage IB (pT2N0M0) right lung adenocarcinoma. Genetic testing (amplification-refractory mutation system) revealed EGFR exon 19 deletion. More than 2 years after surgery, multiple metastases occurred in both lungs, so gefitinib (250 mg per day) was administered. However, 6 months after the start of gefitinib treatment, the tumor progressed.Lung tumor biopsy was performed for genetic testing (NGS) and an EGFR T790M mutation was observed.Subsequently, second-line treatment with osimertinib (80 mg per day) was given for 3 months. The evaluated response suggested a partial response (PR) with the occurrence of grade 3 ILD. Pemetrexed plus bevacizumab chemotherapy was subsequently administered, resulting in stable disease. However, following a severe drug reaction after six courses, the patient's chemotherapy was discontinued. Another thirdgeneration TKI, almonertinib (110 mg per day), was rechallenged based on no ILD having been reported in a phase I/II study of this drug. After 4 months of almonertinib administration and 6 months without ILD recurrence, partial remission was attained. This is the first report of successful treatment with almonertinib after osimertinib-induced ILD. The results suggested that almonertinib had a significant effect in patients with EGFR T790M mutation, with fewer side effects and better survival benefits for patients with advanced lung cancer.

BackgroundAt present, a number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been realized as the critical regulators of breast cancers. Current evidence indicates that dysregulation of UFC1 contributes to the tumorigenesis and progression of various types of human cancer. However, the roles of UFC1 in breast cancer are still unclear.Material/MethodsFirstly, we measured the expression of UFC1 in breast cancer tissues and cells lines compared with corresponding controls. Then, cell functional assays were performed to determine the roles of UFC1 in breast cancer progression in vitro. Moreover, the correlation between UFC1 and miR-34a was determined by luciferase reporter assays. Further, the role of miR-34a in regulating biological function of breast cancer and its downstream target CXCL10 was applied by a series of functional assays.ResultsIn present study, we found that UFC1 was highly expressed in breast tissue and cells lines compared with normal tissues and cell lines. Silenced UFC1 suppressed multiple biological activities of breast cancer cells, which also functioned as a miR-34a sponge in breast cancer. Furthermore, over-expressing miR-34a could prominently suppress cell growth, invasion, migration and inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cells. In addition, we verified that miR-34a was a target of CXCL10 by bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay.ConclusionsLncRNA UFC1 regulated biological activity of breast cancer via miR-34a/CXCL10 axis, providing a novel diagnosis biomarker and potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Background: This study investigated the predictive value of peripheral inflammatory indices, including neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-tolymphocyte ratio (PLR), in anastomotic leakage during elective esophageal surgery.Methods: This retrospective study included all patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from 2016 to 2020 in our institution. The peripheral blood inflammatory indices were obtained on preoperative days 1-7 (PRD 1-7), and postoperative days 1-3 (POD 1-3) and 4-7 (POD 4-7). Univariate, multivariate logistic, and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic value of these peripheral blood inflammatory indices.Results: A total of 198 patients were included in the study, and 25 (13%) patients experienced anastomotic leakage. Multivariate analyses identified diet, neutrophil count, and PLR on POD 1-3, and NLR on POD 4-7 as independent factors associated with anastomotic leakage. Using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the variable with the best area under curve was a neutrophil cutoff count of 4.1 [0.737; 95% CI: 0.639-0.835],with a sensitivity and specificity of 60.0% and 66.5%, respectively. This was followed by an NLR cutoff value of 9.5 on POD 4-7 (0.628; 95% CI: 0.505-0.752) and a cutoff PLR value of 220.1 on POD 1-3 (0.643; 95% CI: 0.536-0.750). Diet showed a poor result on the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Conclusions: Neutrophil count and PLR on POD 1-3 and NLR on POD 4-7 were shown to have predictive value for anastomotic leakage in elective esophageal surgery.

Peripheral serological indicators are novel markers associated with prognosis in multiple malignant tumors. In the present study, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were selected to construct a model that predicts long-term survival of patients with stage IIIB-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received treatment with an anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody. A total of 133 patients were eligible for the present retrospective study (January 2019-February 2021). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the diagnostic value of PLR and NLR, and combined PLR and NLR. The objective response rate and disease control rate of each group were obtained and the differences were compared using the χ 2 test. The prognostic value of these indicators was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate risk factors associated with long-term survival. Statistically significant parameters were included in the nomogram. Based on the median PLR and NLR values, the patients were divided into high PLR (H-PLR) (PLR >200.00, 67 patients) and low PLR (L-PLR) (PLR ≤200.00, 66 patients), and high NLR (H-NLR) (NLR >3.56, 65 patients) and low NLR (L-NLR) (NLR ≤3.56, 68 patients) groups. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) occurred in 22 patients (16.5%) during the observation period, including 18 grade 2-3 irAEs and 4 grade 4 cases. H-NLR and H-PLR were associated with poor progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the present study. NLR was an independent prognostic factor for PFS [hazard ratio (HR): 0.201, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.060-0.670; P= 0.009) and OS (HR: 0.413, 95% CI: 0.226-0.754; P=0.004) in this patient group. Therefore, NLR may be used in the prognostication of patients with stage IIIB-IV NSCLC treated with PD-1 inhibitors. These serological markers may be used in combination with established immunomarkers to help predict outcomes.