Rationale: Tumor energy metabolism has been a well-appreciated target of cancer therapy; however, the metabolism change of cancer cells between oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis poses a challenge to the above. In this study, we constructed an innovative mitochondrion-targeted supramolecular “nano-boat” based on peptide self-assembly for tumor combined chemo-radiotherapy by simultaneously inhibiting the dual energy metabolism.

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) constitutes a novel approach for tumour blood supply and contributes to tumour metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with melanoma. Myoferlin (MYOF), a type II membrane protein involved in membrane regeneration and repair, is elevated in several malignant tumours, especially in advanced melanomas. This study aims to investigate the role and mechanism of MYOF in the regulation of VM. VM structures were found in 14 of 52 tested melanoma samples, and high MYOF expression correlated with VM structures. According to Kaplan–Meier survival curves, VM channels and elevated MYOF expression both correlated with poor prognosis in melanoma patients. Down‐regulation of MYOF by siRNA severely impaired the capability of A375 cells to form VM structures in vitro. Further studies demonstrated MYOF knockdown inhibited cell migration and invasion, which is required for VM formation, via decreasing MMP‐2 expression as evidenced by Western blotting, RT‐RCP and ELISA results. SB‐3CT, a specific inhibitor of MMP‐2, showed similar inhibiting effects with siMYOF, further supporting that MYOF down‐regulation inhibits MMP‐2 expression to affect VM formation. Moreover, MYOF knockdown suppress VM formation by A375 cells by inducing mesenchymal‐to‐epithelial transition (MET). After down‐regulating MYOF, focal adhesions were enlarged and A375 cells developed into a clear epithelial morphology. Such cells acquired the expression of E‐cadherin at adherens junctions along with a loss of mesenchymal markers, such as Vimentin and Twist1. In conclusion, MYOF plays an important role in VM and knockdown of MYOF suppresses VM formation via decreasing MMP‐2 and inducing MET in A375 melanoma cells.

ICG-loaded and ¹²⁵I-labeled theranostic nanosystem with high biocompatibility for FLI/SPECT-navigated PTT/PDT of breast cancer.

The use of a novel coassembled peptide hydrogel enhanced the radiosensitization effect of cisplatin by increasing the number of Pt–DNA adducts, arresting the cell cycle, and promoting the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2.

Background: Craniospinal irradiation (CSI) is essential for treating pediatric medulloblastoma (MB) but causes significant long‐term toxicities. Existing dose‐reduction or partial‐sparing strategies improve neurocognitive outcomes but may compromise survival or fail to address other late effects. Methods: A new functional preservation CSI (FP‐CSI) technique was developed to spare the hippocampus, hypothalamic‐pituitary axis (HPA), cochlea, and scalp while ensuring homogeneous vertebral coverage. Eight pediatric patients with average‐risk MB were retrospectively planned with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) using both FP‐CSI and standard CSI (S‐CSI). Dosimetric parameters for the planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs), radiobiological effects, plan robustness, plan complexity, and plan quality assurance (QA) were compared. Results: FP‐CSI significantly reduced mean doses to the hippocampus (12.4 vs. 23.9 Gy), hypothalamus (14.7 vs. 23.9 Gy), and pituitary gland (15.4 vs. 24.1 Gy, all p < 0.01). Vertebral dose gradients were halved (4.7 vs. 8.7 Gy). Moderate dose reductions were also achieved for the cochlea and scalp. Compared with S‐CSI, FP‐CSI exhibited slightly inferior PTV homogeneity (HI: 0.16 vs. 0.07) and conformity (CI: 0.88 vs. 0.93), but coverage remained clinically acceptable. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) modeling showed pronounced decreases in predicted neurocognitive and endocrine toxicity risks, with probability of neurocognitive impairment reduced from 84.5% to 24.9% and probability of endocrine dysfunction from 44.7% to 27.3%. FP‐CSI increased modulation complexity and produced slightly lower gamma passing rates for cranial beams, while spinal beam deliverability remained similar to S‐CSI. Robustness analysis indicated greater sensitivity of FP‐CSI to setup and rotational errors. Nevertheless, 3D dose reconstruction confirmed accurate delivery, with volumetric dose deviations generally below 1 Gy. Conclusion: FP‐CSI effectively spares critical functional structures while maintaining clinically acceptable target coverage, and offers a promising strategy to reduce long‐term radiotherapy‐induced toxicities in pediatric MB.