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Translational Oncology

Global cancer occurrence has increased from 12.7 million new cases in 2008 to 14.1 million in 2012, and it is expected that the incidence will rise by around 70% over the next two decades. A comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiological processes underlying cancer development is of utmost importance for the development of detection techniques, diagnostic and prognostic markers, new therapies, risk assessment tools, and cancer prevention strategies.

Characterizing the molecular basis of cancer is a rapidly progressing area of research, with many laboratory discoveries translating into important advances that impact patient care. This cross-journal article collection on Translational Oncology showcases the results of novel research findings that bridge the gap between basic science and cancer medicine.

Guest Edited by Prof Tommaso Dragani (Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Italy), the journals included in this collection are BMC Medicine, BMC Cancer, Cancers of the Head and Neck, Clinical Sarcoma Research and Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research.

  1. Cancer/testis antigen MAGEC2 (also known as HCA587) is highly expressed in a wide variety of tumors and plays an active role in promoting growth and metastasis of tumor cells. However, little is known for the ...

    Authors: Xiao Song, Chengli Guo, Yutian Zheng, Ying Wang, Zhongtian Jin and Yanhui Yin
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2018 18:971
  2. The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays critical roles in modulating embryogenesis and maintaining tissue homeostasis, with glioma-associated oncogene (GLI) transcription factors being the main mediators. Ab...

    Authors: Dengliang Huang, Yiting Wang, Linlin Xu, Limin Chen, Minzhang Cheng, Wei Shi, Huanting Xiong, Detina Zalli and Shiwen Luo
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2018 37:247
  3. In the last decade, several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which disrupt pathways involved in the proliferation and tumorigenesis of thyroid cancer, have been extensively studied. Two different TKIs, lenva...

    Authors: Soo Young Kim, Seok-Mo Kim, Ho-Jin Chang, Bup-Woo Kim, Yong Sang Lee, Cheong Soo Park, Ki Cheong Park and Hang-Seok Chang
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2018 18:956
  4. ERRα, a constitutive transcription factor that regulates energy metabolism, plays an important role in the progression of various tumours. However, its role in cell survival and proliferation and its implicati...

    Authors: Sheng Zhou, Hongwei Xia, Huanji Xu, Qiulin Tang, Yongzhan Nie, Qi yong Gong and Feng Bi
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2018 37:218
  5. Synchronous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a rare clinical scenario. It is unknown whether the R-CHOP chemotherapy for lymphoma would also be active against ...

    Authors: Ting Martin Ma, Hyunseok Kang, Steven P. Rowe and Ana P. Kiess
    Citation: Cancers of the Head & Neck 2018 3:2
  6. Docetaxel-based chemotherapy failure in advanced prostate carcinoma has partly been attributed to the resistance of prostate cancer (PC) cells to docetaxel-induced apoptosis. Hence, there is an urgent need to ...

    Authors: Zhan Yang, Jin-Suo Chen, Jin-Kun Wen, Hai-Tao Gao, Bin Zheng, Chang-Bao Qu, Kai-Long Liu, Man-Li Zhang, Jun-Fei Gu, Jing-Dong Li, Yan-Ping Zhang, Wei Li, Xiao-Lu Wang and Yong Zhang
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2017 36:178
  7. Dysregulation of miRNAs is associated with cancer development by coordinately suppressing abundant target genes. Emerging evidence indicates that miR-31 plays a dual role in tumorigenicity. However, whether mi...

    Authors: Yanping Gao, Jun Yi, Kai Zhang, Fan Bai, Bing Feng, Rui Wang, Xiaoyuan Chu, Longbang Chen and Haizhu Song
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2017 36:161
  8. Epigenetic abnormalities play important roles in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), however, the epigenetic changes associated with abnormal cell proliferation remain unclear.

    Authors: Jian Zhang, Xin Wen, Na Liu, Ying-Qin Li, Xin-Ran Tang, Ya-Qin Wang, Qing-Mei He, Xiao-Jing Yang, Pan-Pan Zhang, Jun Ma and Ying Sun
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2017 36:147

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2021 40:394

  9. Advances in deep sequencing technology have led to developments in personalized medicine. Here, we describe the implications of a recent investigation that sequenced ctDNA from the plasma of non-small cell lun...

    Authors: Clare Fiala and Eleftherios P. Diamandis
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:157
  10. Elucidation of mechanisms regulating bone metastasis has progressed significantly in recent years and this has translated to many new therapeutic options for patients with bone metastatic cancers. However, the...

    Authors: Andrew S. Gdowski, Amalendu Ranjan and Jamboor K. Vishwanatha
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2017 36:108
  11. Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Ibrutinib, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, is a novel anticancer drug used for treating several types of cancers....

    Authors: Jin Wang, Xiaoyang Liu, Yongzhi Hong, Songtao Wang, Pin Chen, Aihua Gu, Xiaoyuan Guo and Peng Zhao
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2017 36:96
  12. Metastatic clear cell renal cell cancer (mccRCC) portends a poor prognosis and urgently requires better clinical tools for prognostication as well as for prediction of response to treatment. Considerable inves...

    Authors: Alexander L. R. Lubbock, Grant D. Stewart, Fiach C. O’Mahony, Alexander Laird, Peter Mullen, Marie O’Donnell, Thomas Powles, David J. Harrison and Ian M. Overton
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:118
  13. Despite an early response to platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced stage high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the majority of patients will relapse with drug-resistant disease. Aberrant epigenetic alter...

    Authors: Tushar Tomar, Nicolette G. Alkema, Leroy Schreuder, Gert Jan Meersma, Tim de Meyer, Wim van Criekinge, Harry G. Klip, Heidi Fiegl, Els van Nieuwenhuysen, Ignace Vergote, Martin Widschwendter, Ed Schuuring, Ate G. J. van der Zee, Steven de Jong and G. Bea A. Wisman
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:116
  14. To evaluate a new UGT1A and DPYD polymorphism panel to better predict irinotecan-induced toxicity and the clinical response in Chinese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

    Authors: Dan Liu, Jian Li, Jing Gao, Yanyan Li, Rui Yang and Lin Shen
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2017 17:437
  15. A high rate of glycolysis leading to elevated lactate content has been linked to poor clinical outcomes in patients with head and neck and cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy. Although the biological exp...

    Authors: Eric Leung, Rob A. Cairns, Naz Chaudary, Ravi N. Vellanki, Tuula Kalliomaki, Eduardo H. Moriyama, Hilda Mujcic, Brian C. Wilson, Bradly G. Wouters, Richard Hill and Michael Milosevic
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2017 17:418
  16. Cutaneous melanoma is the deadliest skin cancer, with an increasing incidence and mortality rate. Currently, staging of patients with primary melanoma is performed using histological biomarkers such as tumor t...

    Authors: Jasper Wouters, Miguel Vizoso, Anna Martinez-Cardus, F. Javier Carmona, Olivier Govaere, Teresa Laguna, Jesuchristopher Joseph, Peter Dynoodt, Claudia Aura, Mona Foth, Roy Cloots, Karin van den Hurk, Balazs Balint, Ian G. Murphy, Enda W. McDermott, Kieran Sheahan…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:101
  17. The androgen receptor (AR) is a major driver of prostate cancer, and increased AR levels and co-activators of the receptor promote the development of prostate cancer. INhibitor of Growth (ING) proteins target ...

    Authors: Arash Nabbi, Urszula L. McClurg, Subhash Thalappilly, Amal Almami, Mahsa Mobahat, Tarek A. Bismar, Olivier Binda and Karl T. Riabowol
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:103
  18. Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are well-known proto-oncogenes in several human malignancies and are currently therapeutically targeted in clinical trials. Among glioma subtypes, activating FGFR1 al...

    Authors: Birgitta Lehtinen, Annina Raita, Juha Kesseli, Matti Annala, Kristiina Nordfors, Olli Yli-Harja, Wei Zhang, Tapio Visakorpi, Matti Nykter, Hannu Haapasalo and Kirsi J. Granberg
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2017 17:310
  19. Endocrine therapy is standard treatment for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. However, its efficacy is limited by intrinsic and acquired resistance. Here the potential of S100β as a biomarker and ...

    Authors: Sara Charmsaz, Éamon Hughes, Fiona T. Bane, Paul Tibbitts, Marie McIlroy, Christopher Byrne, Sinéad Cocchiglia, Jean McBryan, Bryan T. Hennessy, Róisín M. Dwyer, Michael J. Kerin, Arnold D. Hill and Leonie S. Young
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:79
  20. Characterizing and monitoring tumor genomes with blood samples could achieve significant improvements in precision medicine. As tumors shed parts of themselves into the circulation, analyses of circulating tum...

    Authors: Samantha Perakis and Michael R. Speicher
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:75
  21. Pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PAs) have very poor prognoses even when surgery is possible. Currently, there are no tissular biomarkers to predict long-term survival in patients with PA. The aims of this study we...

    Authors: S. Battini, F. Faitot, A. Imperiale, A. E. Cicek, C. Heimburger, G. Averous, P. Bachellier and I. J. Namer
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:56
  22. The development of resistance is a problem shared by both classical chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Patients may respond well at first, but relapse is inevitable for many cancer patients, despite many impro...

    Authors: Ian A. Cree and Peter Charlton
    Citation: BMC Cancer 2017 17:10
  23. Intra-tumour heterogeneity is a common molecular phenomenon in metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma (mRCC), representing the genetic complexity of a tumour with multiple metastatic sites. The present commenta...

    Authors: Viktoria Stühler and Jens Bedke
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:201
  24. Release of exosomes have been shown to play critical roles in drug resistance by delivering cargo. Targeting the transfer of exosomes from resistant cells to sensitive cells may be an approach to overcome some...

    Authors: Xiaohong Wang, Chengfeng Xu, Yitong Hua, Leitao Sun, Kai Cheng, Zhongming Jia, Yong Han, Jianli Dong, Yuzhen Cui and Zhenlin Yang
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2016 35:186
  25. The integration of human papilloma virus (HPV) into host genome is one of the critical steps that lead to the progression of precancerous lesion into cancer. However, the mechanisms and consequences of such in...

    Authors: Jun-Wei Zhao, Fang Fang, Yi Guo, Tai-Lin Zhu, Yun-Yun Yu, Fan-Fei Kong, Ling-Fei Han, Dong-Sheng Chen and Fang Li
    Citation: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 2016 35:180
  26. A blood test that can detect human malignancy with high clinical sensitivity and specificity is highly desirable. To achieve this, a tumor marker is needed that correlates with tumor burden and that can be mea...

    Authors: Vathany Kulasingam and Eleftherios P. Diamandis
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:186
  27. Molecular intratumour heterogeneity (ITH) is common in clear cell renal carcinomas (ccRCCs). However, it remains unknown whether this is mirrored by heterogeneity of drug responses between metastases in the sa...

    Authors: Shanthini M. Crusz, Yen Zhi Tang, Shah-Jalal Sarker, Warner Prevoo, Irfan Kiyani, Luis Beltran, John Peters, Anju Sahdev, Axel Bex, Thomas Powles and Marco Gerlinger
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:185
  28. The spatial relationship of glioblastoma (GBM) to the subventricular zone (SVZ) is associated with inferior patient survival. However, the underlying molecular phenotype is largely unknown. We interrogated an ...

    Authors: Christine Jungk, Andreas Mock, Janina Exner, Christoph Geisenberger, Rolf Warta, David Capper, Amir Abdollahi, Sara Friauf, Bernd Lahrmann, Niels Grabe, Philipp Beckhove, Andreas von Deimling, Andreas Unterberg and Christel Herold-Mende
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:170
  29. While clinical outcomes following immunotherapy have shown an association with tumor mutation load using whole exome sequencing (WES), its clinical applicability is currently limited by cost and bioinformatics...

    Authors: Jason Roszik, Lauren E. Haydu, Kenneth R. Hess, Junna Oba, Aron Y. Joon, Alan E. Siroy, Tatiana V. Karpinets, Francesco C. Stingo, Veera Baladandayuthapani, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Jennifer A. Wargo, Ken Chen, Marie-Andrée Forget, Cara L. Haymaker, Jie Qing Chen, Funda Meric-Bernstam…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:168
  30. High-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) has a high risk of recurrence and progression to muscle-invasive forms, which seems to be largely related to the presence of tumorigenic stem-like cell pop...

    Authors: Margarida Ferreira-Teixeira, Daniela Paiva-Oliveira, Belmiro Parada, Vera Alves, Vitor Sousa, Obinna Chijioke, Christian Münz, Flávio Reis, Paulo Rodrigues-Santos and Célia Gomes
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:163
  31. The prognostic significance of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) in adult classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) remains controversial. Here, we report a meta-analysis of the association of CD68 and CD163 infiltrat...

    Authors: Baoping Guo, Hong Cen, Xiaohong Tan and Qing Ke
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:159
  32. Germline CYLD mutation is associated with the development of a rare inheritable syndrome, called the CYLD cutaneous syndrome. Patients with this syndrome are distinctly presented with multiple tumors in the head ...

    Authors: Krista Roberta Verhoeft, Hoi Lam Ngan and Vivian Wai Yan Lui
    Citation: Cancers of the Head & Neck 2016 1:10
  33. Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) identifies fetal aneuploidy by sequencing cell-free DNA in the maternal plasma. Pre-symptomatic maternal malignancies have been incidentally detected during NIPT based on a...

    Authors: Paul A. Cohen, Nicola Flowers, Stephen Tong, Natalie Hannan, Mark D. Pertile and Lisa Hui
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:126
  34. Translational oncology represents a bridge between basic research and clinical practice in cancer medicine. Today, translational research in oncology benefits from an abundance of knowledge resulting from geno...

    Authors: Tommaso A. Dragani, Antoni Castells, Vathany Kulasingam, Eleftherios P. Diamandis, Helena Earl, Wade T. Iams, Christine M. Lovly, J. P. Michiel Sedelaar and Jack A. Schalken
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:110