Secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1) is a gene that belongs to the secreted glycoprotein SFRP family. SFRP1 has been classified as a tumor suppressor gene due to the loss of expression in various human cancers, which is mainly attributed by epigenetic inactivation via DNA methylation or transcriptional silencing by microRNAs. Epigenetic silencing of SFRP1 may cause dysregulation of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, which lead to cancer cells formation, disease progression, poor prognosis, and treatment resistance. Hence, restoration of SFRP1 expression via demethylating drugs or over-expression experiments opens the possibility for new cancer therapy approach. While the role of SFRP1 as a tumor suppressor gene is well-established, some studies also reported the possible oncogenic properties of SFRP1 in cancers. In this review, we discussed in great detail the dual roles of SFRP1 in cancers—as tumor suppressor and tumor promoter. The epigenetic regulation of SFRP1 expression will also be underscored with additional emphasis on the potentials of SFRP1 in modulating responses toward chemotherapeutic and epigenetic-modifying drugs, which may encourage the development of novel drugs for cancer treatment. We also present findings from clinical trials and patents involving SFRP1 to illustrate its clinical utility, extensiveness of each research area, and progression toward commercialization. Lastly, this review provides directions for future research to advance SFRP1 as a promising cancer biomarker.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common cancer worldwide, a challenge for research, and a model for studying the molecular mechanisms involved in its development. Previously, bulk transcriptomics analyses were utilized to classify CRC based on its distinct molecular and clinicopathological features for prognosis and diagnosis of patients. The introduction of single-cell transcriptomics completely turned the table by enabling the examination of the expression levels of individual cancer cell within a single tumor. In this review, we highlighted the importance of these single-cell transcriptomics analyses as well as suggesting circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as the main focus of single-cell RNA sequencing. Characterization of these cells might reveal the intratumoral heterogeneity present in CRC while providing critical insights into cancer metastasis. To summarize, we believed the analysis of gene expression patterns of CTC from CRC at single-cell resolution holds the potential to provide key information for identification of prognostic and diagnostic markers as well as the development of precise and personalized cancer treatment.

RNA biology has risen to prominence after a remarkable discovery of diverse functions of noncoding RNA (ncRNA). Most untranslated transcripts often exert their regulatory functions into RNA–RNA complexes via base pairing with complementary sequences in other RNAs. An interplay between RNAs is essential, as it possesses various functional roles in human cells, including genetic translation, RNA splicing, editing, ribosomal RNA maturation, RNA degradation and the regulation of metabolic pathways/riboswitches. Moreover, the pervasive transcription of the human genome allows for the discovery of novel genomic functions via RNA interactome investigation. The advancement of experimental procedures has resulted in an explosion of documented data, necessitating the development of efficient and precise computational tools and algorithms. This review provides an extensive update on RNA–RNA interaction (RRI) analysis via thermodynamic- and comparative-based RNA secondary structure prediction (RSP) and RNA–RNA interaction prediction (RIP) tools and their general functions. We also highlighted the current knowledge of RRIs and the limitations of RNA interactome mapping via experimental data. Then, the gap between RSP and RIP, the importance of RNA homologues, the relationship between pseudoknots, and RNA folding thermodynamics are discussed. It is hoped that these emerging prediction tools will deepen the understanding of RNA-associated interactions in human diseases and hasten treatment processes.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly-diagnosed cancer in the world and ranked second for cancer-related mortality in humans. Microsatellite instability (MSI) is an indicator for Lynch syndrome (LS), an inherited cancer predisposition, and a prognostic marker which predicts the response to immunotherapy. A recent trend in immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment to provide medical alternatives that have not existed before. It is believed that MSI-high (MSI-H) CRC patients would benefit from immunotherapy due to their increased immune infiltration and higher neo-antigenic loads. MSI testing such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and PCR MSI assay has historically been a tissue-based procedure that involves the testing of adequate tissue with a high concentration of cancer cells, in addition to the requirement for paired normal tissues. The invasive nature and specific prerequisite of such tests might hinder its application when surgery is not an option or when the tissues are insufficient. The application of next-generation sequencing, which is highly sensitive, in combination with liquid biopsy, therefore, presents an interesting possibility worth exploring. This review aimed to discuss the current body of evidence supporting the potential of liquid biopsy as a tool for MSI testing in CRC.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening at the earlier stages could effectively decrease CRC-related mortality and incidence; however, accurate screening strategies are still lacking. Considerable interest has been generated in the detection of less invasive tests requiring a small sample volume with the potential to detect several cancer biomarkers simultaneously. Due to this, the ELISA-based method was undertaken in this study. Methods: Concentrations of neural cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM), carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9), mesothelin (MSLN), midkine (MDK), hepsin (HPN), kallikrein 6 (KLK6), transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member A1 (ALDH1A1), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) from blood serum of 36 primary CRC and 24 metastatic CRC (mCRC) were calculated via MAGPIX^® System (Luminex Corporation, USA). Results: Significantly increased concentration (p < 0.05) of three serum biomarkers (L1CAM, CA9, and HPN) were shown in mCRC when compared with primary CRC. HPN and KLK6 showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in concentration among different stages of CRC. In contrast, levels of HPN and ALDH1A1 were significantly elevated (p < 0.05) in chemotherapy-treated CRC patients as compared with nontreated ones. Conclusion: Serum biomarkers could act as a potential early CRC diagnostics test, but further additional testings are needed.

Breast cancer is the most common and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. It has two distinctive hallmarks: rapid abnormal growth and the ability to invade and metastasize. During metastasis, cancer cells are thought to form actin-rich protrusions, called invadopodia, which degrade the extracellular matrix. Current breast cancer treatments, particularly chemotherapy, comes with adverse effects like immunosuppression, resistance development and secondary tumour formation. Hence, naturally-occurring molecules claimed to be less toxic are being studied as new drug candidates. Ampelopsin E, a natural oligostilbene extracted from Dryobalanops species, has exhibited various pharmacological properties, including anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. However, there is yet no scientific evidence of the effects of ampelopsin E towards metastasis. Scratch assay, transwell migration and invasion assays, invadopodia and gelatin degradation assays, and ELISA were used to determine the effects of ampelopsin E towards the invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 cells. Strikingly in this study, ampelopsin E was able to halt migration, transmigration and invasion in MDA-MB-231 cells by reducing formation of invadopodia and its degradation capability through significant reduction (p < 0.05) in expression levels of PDGF, MMP2, MMP9 and MMP14. In conclusion, ampelopsin E reduced the invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 cells and was proven to be a potential alternative in treating TNBC.