In this issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pierce et al present some of the most persuasive evidence yet that chronic inflammation might increase the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In a multisite study of 734 women treated successfully for early stage breast cancer, high levels of circulating acute phase proteins (APPs) approximately 3 years after treatment were associated with a two-fol...

In this issue of Clinical Cancer Research, Walker et al. (1) report a comprehensive analysis of metabolic rate, tumor grade, contrast enhancement, and molecular genetic alterations in oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas. Brain tumor metabolism was assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using two radiolabeled tracers, thallium (Tl) and [F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Tl...

My lab has shown that Stat3, an oncogenic protein constitutively-activated in tumor cells, is also persistently activated in tumor stromal cells, including diverse immune subsets. We have further demonstrated that Stat3 signaling coordinates multiple levels of interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment, affecting tumor growth, apoptosis and angiogenesis. Importantly, our recent...

The first report of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be traced back to 1869 when Thomas Ashworth, an Australian physician, observed tumor cells in the blood of a patient who succumbed to advanced metastatic cancer. Since then cancer research has proved the critical roles played by CTC in the metastatic spread of carcinomas. In addition, CTCs contain key information of how tumor genotypes evol...

In recent years the tumor microenvironment has emerged as an important target for cancer therapy. The tumor microenvironment facilitates tumor progression and metastasis by providing a matrix for the integration of intricate networks suitable to maintain and nourish tumor cells, as well as suppress the normal immunologic antitumor defenses. However, the details of the pathways in the tumor micr...

Deregulated TGF-b signaling in pancreatic cancer promotes tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and a potent immunosuppressive network. A strategy for disrupting this tumor-promoting pathway is silencing TGF-b by siRNA. By introducing a triphosphate group at the 50 end of siRNA (ppp-siRNA), gene silencing can be combined with immune activation via the cytosolic helicase retinoic acid-inducible ge...

In this issue of Clinical Cancer Research, Walker et al. (1) report a comprehensive analysis of metabolic rate, tumor grade, contrast enhancement, and molecular genetic alterations in oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas. Brain tumor metabolism was assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using two radiolabeled tracers, thallium (Tl) and [F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Tl...

Deregulated TGF-b signaling in pancreatic cancer promotes tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, and a potent immunosuppressive network. A strategy for disrupting this tumor-promoting pathway is silencing TGF-b by siRNA. By introducing a triphosphate group at the 50 end of siRNA (ppp-siRNA), gene silencing can be combined with immune activation via the cytosolic helicase retinoic acid-inducible ge...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most common B-cell malignancies in adults, characterized by an accumulation of monoclonal CD5 mature B-cells in lymphoid tissues and peripheral blood (PB). Clonal expansion and invasive migration typically lead to CLL cell involvement in the lymph nodes (LNs), spleen and bone marrow (BM). Signaling from the B-cell antigen receptor regulates multi...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most common B-cell malignancies in adults, characterized by an accumulation of monoclonal CD5 mature B cells in lymphoid tissues and peripheral blood. The complex interplay between malignant CLL cells and their surrounding bystander tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical for their survival and facilitates both their resistance to drug therapy a...