Cellular-mediated inflammatory response, lymphocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes are increasingly being recognised as having an important role in tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis. In this context, studies have suggested that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can be used as an independent prognostic factor in a variety of cancers. Particularly in breast cancer, several studies have shown that a high NLR is associated with shorter survival. Because the NLR can be easily determined from the full blood count, it could potentially provide a simple and inexpensive test cancer prognosis. This review addresses the possibilities and limitations of using the NLR as a clinical tool for risk stratification helpful for individual treatment of breast cancer patients. The potential underlying phenomena and some perspectives are discussed.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, play a key role in inter and intracellular communication, promoting the proliferation and invasion of recipient cells to support tumor growth and metastasis. Metastasis comprises multiple steps that first include the detachment of tumor cells through epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), allowing the physical dissemination to distant organs. Thereafter, cancer-derived exosomes are still critical components for preparing the tumor microenvironment by (i) enabling tumor cells to escape from the immunological surveillance and (ii) arranging the pre-metastatic site for the engraftment of detached cancer cells. In this review, we discuss the multifaceted role of EVs in the multiple steps of metastasis. Future research directions draw attention to EVs as biological targets for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. However, due to their significant role in cell communication, they may become a valuable drug delivery system.

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is arguably the most important form of the Chagas Disease, caused by the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi; it is estimated that 10–30% of chronic patients develop this clinical manifestation. The most common and severe form of CCC can be related to ventricular abnormalities, such as heart failure, arrhythmias, heart blocks, thromboembolic events and sudden death. Therefore, in this study, we proposed to evaluate the anti-angiogenic activity of a recombinant protein from T. cruzi named P21 (rP21) and the potential impact of the native protein on CCC. Our data suggest that the anti-angiogenic activity of rP21 depends on the protein’s direct interaction with the CXCR4 receptor. This capacity is likely related to the modulation of the expression of actin and angiogenesis-associated genes. Thus, our results indicate that T. cruzi P21 is an attractive target for the development of innovative therapeutic agents against CCC.