Recent evidence from large cohort studies suggests that there exists a higher cancer incidence in people with type 2 diabetes (DM2). However, to date, the potential reasons for this association remain unclear. Hyperglycemia, the most important feature of diabetes, may be responsible for the excess glucose supply for these glucose-hungry cells, and it contributes to apoptosis resistance, oncogenesis, and tumor cell resistance to chemotherapy. Considering associations between diabetes and malignancies, the effect of hyperglycemia on cancer progression in cancer patients with abnormal blood glucose should not be neglected. In this paper, we describe the role that hyperglycemia plays in cancer progression and treatment and illustrate that hyperglycemia may contribute to a more malignant phenotype of cancer cells and lead to drug resistance. Therefore, controlling hyperglycemia may have important therapeutic implications in cancer patients.

Ferroptosis is a new form of regulated cell death that is mediated by intracellular iron and ester oxygenase, and glutathione-dependent lipid hydroperoxidase glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) prevents ferroptosis by converting lipid hydroperoxides into nontoxic lipid alcohols. Although thiostrepton (TST) has been reported to exert antitumor effects, its role in pancreatic cancer and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we found that TST reduced the viability and clonogenesis of pancreatic cancer cell lines, along with intracellular iron overload, increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, malondialdehyde (MDA) overexpression, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) depletion. Mechanistically, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and dual luciferase reporter gene assays were used to confirm that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) binds to the GPX4 promoter region and promotes its transcription, whereas TST blocked GPX4 expression by regulating STAT3. Finally, in vivo experiments revealed that TST inhibited the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumours and had considerable biosafety. In conclusion, our study identified the mechanism by which TST-induced ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer cells through STAT3/GPX4 signalling.

Despite decades of research, the treatment and management of malignant tumors still remain a formidable challenge for public health. New strategies for cancer treatment are being developed, and one of the most promising treatment strategies involves the application of chemopreventive agents. The search for novel and effective cancer chemopreventive agents has led to the identification of various naturally occurring compounds. Xanthones, from the pericarp, whole fruit, heartwood, and leaf of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn., GML), are known to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacologic properties, including antioxidant, anti- tumor, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral activities. The potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities of xanthones have been demonstrated in different stages of carcinogenesis (initiation, promotion, and progression) and are known to control cell division and growth, apoptosis, inflammation, and metastasis. Multiple lines of evidence from numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that xanthones inhibit proliferation of a wide range of human tumor cell types by modulating various targets and signaling transduction pathways. Here we provide a concise and comprehensive review of preclinical data and assess the observed anticancer effects of xanthones, supporting its remarkable potential as an anticancer agent.

Purpose: Pancreatic cancer is characterized by stromal desmoplasia and perineural invasion (PNI). We sought to explore the contribution of pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) activated by paracrine Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) in pancreatic cancer PNI and progression. Experimental Design: In this study, the expression dynamics of SHH were examined via immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR, and Western blot analysis in a cohort of carcinomatous and nonneoplastic pancreatic tissues and cells. A series of in vivo and in vitro assays was performed to elucidate the contribution of PSCs activated by paracrine SHH signaling in pancreatic cancer PNI and progression. Results: We show that SHH overexpression in tumor cells is involved in PNI in pancreatic cancer and is an important marker of biologic activity of pancreatic cancer. Moreover, the overexpression of SHH in tumor cells activates the hedgehog pathway in PSCs in the stroma instead of activating tumor cells. These activated PSCs are essential for the promotion of pancreatic cancer cell migration along nerve axons and nerve outgrowth to pancreatic cancer cell colonies in an in vitro three-dimensional model of nerve invasion in cancer. Furthermore, the coimplantation of PSCs activated by paracrine SHH induced tumor cell invasion of the trunk and nerve dysfunction along sciatic nerves and also promoted orthotropic xenograft tumor growth, metastasis, and PNI in in vivo models. Conclusions: These results establish that stromal PSCs activated by SHH paracrine signaling in pancreatic cancer cells secrete high levels of PNI-associated molecules to promote PNI in pancreatic cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 20(16); 4326–38. ©2014 AACR.

Resveratrol (trans-3,4’,5-trihydroxystilbene), a natural polyphenolic compound detected in grapes, berries, and peanuts, possesses a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, including anti-tumor metastasis activities. However, the underlying mechanisms through which resveratrol inhibits the metastasis of pancreatic cancer are still not fully elucidated. As epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key player for metastasis in tumor, the aim of this study is to determine whether resveratrol affects EMT in pancreatic cancer cells and the related mechanism. The results showed that resveratrol not only inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in a dose-dependent manner, but also mediated the expression of EMT-related genes (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, MMP-2, and MMP-9) which are important for cancer cellular motility, invasiveness and metastasis during tumorigenesis. In addition, the levels of phospho-Akt and phospho- NF-κB in BxPC-3 and Panc-1 cells were reduced by both resveratrol and LY294002 (a PI3-K inhibitor). Furthermore, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced alterations in cell morphology that are characteristic of EMT as well as increased cell invasive ability could also be reversed by resveratrol. Taken together, these data indicate that resveratrol suppresses pancreatic cancer migration and invasion through the inhibition of the PI-3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. This study suggests that resveratrol may be a potential anticancer agent for pancreatic cancer.