Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Microenvironment-Induced Pten Loss By Exosomal Microrna Primes Brain Metastasis Outgrowth, Lin Zhang
Microenvironment-Induced Pten Loss By Exosomal Microrna Primes Brain Metastasis Outgrowth, Lin Zhang
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Development of life-threatening cancer metastases at distant organs requires disseminated tumor cells’ adaptation to and co-evolution with the drastically different microenvironments of metastatic sites. Cancer cells of common origin manifest distinct gene expression patterns after metastasizing to different organs. Clearly, the dynamic interplay between metastatic tumor cells and extrinsic signals at individual metastatic organ sites critically impacts the subsequent metastatic outgrowth. Yet, it is unclear when and how disseminated tumor cells acquire the essential traits from the microenvironment of metastatic organs that prime their subsequent outgrowth. Here we show that primary tumor cells with normal expression of PTEN, an important …
The Notch Target Hes4 Promotes Osteosarcoma Tumor Growth And Metastasis By Inhibiting Osteogenic Differentiation, And Has Potential As A Prognostic Biomarker For Newly Diagnosed Patients With High Grade Osteosarcoma., Madonna Mcmanus
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Currently, there are no well-established prognostic biomarkers for osteosarcoma (OS) at the time of diagnosis. Although response to preoperative chemotherapy correlates with metastasis risk and overall survival, this information is obtained 3-4 months after the initial diagnosis. The major purpose of this study is to identify clinically relevant biomarkers that will allow for the stratification of patients into good or poor responders to chemotherapy at diagnosis. We also aim to understand the biology of these markers in OS pathogenesis. Because the development of OS is caused by genetic disruptions of osteogenic differentiation, we sought to identify pathways that are involved …
Genomic Drivers Of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development, Vida Chitsazzadeh
Genomic Drivers Of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development, Vida Chitsazzadeh
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in humans. Annually, in U.S. there are over 3 million cases with an estimated overall economic impact of $2 billion. Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cuSCC) comprises 15-20% of all skin cancers. cuSCC has the best-defined progression from a distinct precancerous lesion, the Actinic Keratosis (AK), to invasive cuSCC. Destructive therapies for AK treatment must be used repetitively, causing significant morbidity. There is a tremendous need for targeted diagnostics and therapy for AKs, representing an important opportunity for secondary skin cancer prevention. Our knowledge of the molecular and cellular events that lead to the …