This randomized phase III study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPE

It has been recognized that cancer is not merely a disease of tumor cells, but a disease of imbalance, in which stromal cells and tumor microenvironment play crucial roles. Extracellular matrix (ECM) as the most abundant component in tumor microenvironment can regulate tumor cell behaviors and tissue tension homeostasis. Collagen constitutes the scaffold of tumor microenvironment and affects tumor microenvironment such that it regulates ECM remodeling by collagen degradation and re-deposition, and promotes tumor infiltration, angiogenesis, invasion and migration. While collagen was traditionally regarded as a passive barrier to resist tumor cells, it is now evident that collagen is also actively involved in promoting tumor progression. Collagen changes in tumor microenvironment release biomechanical signals, which are sensed by both tumor cells and stromal cells, trigger a cascade of biological events. In this work, we discuss how collagen can be a double-edged sword in tumor progression, both inhibiting and promoting tumor progression at different stages of cancer development.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most effective cytotoxic anticancer drugs used for the treatment of hematological malignancies, as well as a broad range of solid tumors. However, the clinical applications of this drug have long been limited due to its severe dose‑dependent toxicities. Therefore, DOX derivatives and analogs have been developed to address this issue. A type of DOX prodrug, cleaved by cathepsin B (Cat B), which is highly upregulated in malignant tumors and premalignant lesions, has been developed to achieve a higher DOX concentration in tumor tissue and a lower concentration in normal tissue, so as to enhance the efficacy and reduce toxicity to normal cells. In this review, we focused on Cat B-cleavable DOX prodrugs and discussed the efficacy of these prodrugs, demonstrated by preclinical and clinical developments.

Objectives The therapeutic efficacy of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer (CRC) is still under debate. This meta-analysis and systematic review of published literature on this comprehensive strategy aims to evaluate its efficacy on CRC patients with PC.

As the most common metastatic disease of abdomen pelvic cavity cancer, peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) renders significant negative impact on patient survival and quality of life. Invasive peritoneal exfoliated cancer cells (PECCs) preferentially select the omentum as a predominant target site for cancer cell colonization and proliferation compared with other tissues in the abdominal cavity. The precise pathogenic mechanism remains to be determined. As omental milky spots (MSs) are the major implantation site for malignant cells in peritoneal dissemination, researches on mechanisms of PC have been mainly focused on MS, primitive lymphoid tissues with unique structural features, and functional characteristics. To date, extensive biophysical and biochemical methods have been manipulated to investigate the MS exact function in the peritoneal cavity. This review summarized MS as hotbeds for PECC. The anatomical distribution was briefly described first. Then, MS histology was systematically reviewed, including morphological features, cellular constituents, and histological staining methods. At last, the roles of MS in PC pathological process were summarized with special emphasis on the distinct roles of macrophages.