Apoptosis is a physiological process vital for embryologic development and the maintenance of homeostasis in multicellular organisms, but it is also involved in a wide range of pathological processes, including cancer. In mammalian cells, apoptosis has been divided into two major pathways: the extrinsic pathway, activated by proapoptotic receptor signals at the cellular surface, and the intrinsic pathway, which involves the disruption of mitochondrial membrane integrity. Although many of the proteins vital for apoptosis have been identified, the molecular pathways of cellular death still remain to be elucidated. This review provides references concerning the apoptotic molecules, their interactions, the mechanisms involved in apoptosis resistance, and also the modulation of apoptosis for the treatment of cancer.

Due to the high death rate associated with gastric cancer, a great deal of research has been conducted on this disease. The goal of this paper was to start a trimestral review of 2024 for the year that had just started. The scientific literature from 1 January 2024 was chosen with consideration of the the guidelines of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), which are updated with new findings but not systematically reviewed annually. We used the search term “gastric cancer” to find the most current publications in the PubMed database related to the prognosis and treatment of gastric cancer. As previously said, the only articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria were those from 2024. Articles with case reports were eliminated since they had nothing to do with our research. The treatment of gastric cancer is the focus of the majority of articles from 2024. The primary research axes include surgery and immunonutrition, immunotherapy and Helicobacter pylori, and therapeutic targets. Patients with GC may experience less psychological, social, and financial hardship if the recently identified markers discovered in circulation are better assessed and validated. This could be achieved by either including the markers in an artificial intelligence-based diagnostic score or by using them in conjunction with traditional diagnostic methods. Due to the rising death rate associated with GC, funding for research into diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and therapeutic targets is essential.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy represents a new genetically engineered method of immunotherapy for cancer. The patient’s T-cells are modified to express a specific receptor that sticks to the tumor antigen. This modified cell is then reintroduced into the patient’s body to fight the resilient cancer cells. After exhibiting positive results in hematological malignancies, this therapy is being proposed for solid tumors like colorectal cancer. The clinical data of CAR T-cell therapy in colorectal cancer is rather scarce. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge, challenges, and future perspectives of CAR T-cell therapy in colorectal cancer. A total of 22 articles were included in this review. Eligible studies were selected and reviewed by two researchers from 49 articles found on Pubmed, Web of Science, and clinicaltrials.gov. This therapy, at the moment, provides modest benefits in solid tumors. Not taking into consideration the high manufacturing and retail prices, there are still limitations like increased toxicities, relapses, and unfavorable tumor microenvironment for CAR T-cell therapy in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent malignancy in Western countries and a major cause of death despite recent improvements in screening programs and early detection methods. In the last decade, a growing effort has been put into better understanding how the immune system interacts with cancer cells. Even if treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD1, anti-PD-L1, anti-CTLA4) were proven effective for several cancer types, the benefit for colorectal cancer patients is still limited. However, a subset of patients with deficient mismatch repair (dMMR)/microsatellite-instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer has been observed to have a prolonged benefit to immune checkpoint inhibitors. As a result, pembrolizumab and nivolumab +/− ipilimumab recently obtained the Food and Drug Administration approval. This review aims to highlight the body of knowledge on immunotherapy in the colorectal cancer setting, discussing the potential mechanisms of resistance and future strategies to extend its use.

When a cardiologist is asked to evaluate the cardiac toxic effects of chemotherapy, he/she can use several tools: ECG, echocardiography, coronary angiography, ventriculography, and cardiac MRI. Of all these, the fastest and easiest to use is the ECG, which can provide information on the occurrence of cardiac toxic effects and can show early signs of subclinical cardiac damage. These warning signs are the most desired to be recognized by the cardiologist, because the dose of chemotherapeutics can be adjusted so that the clinical side effects do not occur, or the therapy can be stopped in time, before irreversible side effects. This review addresses the problem of early detection of cardiotoxicity in adult and pediatric cancer treatment, by using simple ECG recordings.