The Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog ( KRAS ) mutation is one of the most prevalent activating alterations in cancer. It indicates a poor overall prognosis due to its highly invasive nature. Although several KRAS inhibitors have been developed in recent years, a significant clinical challenge has emerged as a substantial proportion of patients eventually develop resistance to these therapies. Therefore, identifying determinants of drug resistance is critical for guiding treatment strategies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the mutation landscape and molecular mechanisms of KRAS activity in various cancers. Meanwhile, it summaries the progress and prospects of small molecule KRAS inhibitors undergoing clinical trials. Furthemore, this review explores potential strategies to overcome drug resistance, with the ultimate goal of steering toward patient-centric precision oncology in the foreseeable future.
Humans ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)/metabolism* ; Mutation/genetics* ; Neoplasms/genetics* ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use*

Objective:To investigate the dosimetric feasibility of cardiac stereotactic body radiotherapy (CSBRT) using volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT)-like technique on the Unity MR-linac.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 12 refractory arrhythmia patients who underwent CSBRT at West China Hospital, Sichuan University, from April 2021 to December 2022. Four different treatment plans were designed for each patient based on the average phase of 4DCT: VMAT plan based on a linear accelerator, VMAT-like plan with magnetic field based on Unity, VMAT-like plan without magnetic field based on a Unity, and static intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plan with 7 beams based on Unity. The VMAT-like plans used static IMRT beams evenly distributed at 30 angles. Evaluation metrics included conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), gradient index (GI), dosimetric parameters of organs at risk (OAR), optimization time, and monitor unit (MU). These metrics among groups were analyzed using the Wilcoxon paired signed-rank test.Results:The CI of the VMAT plan was better than that of the VMAT-like plan with magnetic field (0.84 vs. 0.81, P=0.005). The GI of the VMAT-like plan without magnetic field was significantly lower than that of VMAT-like plan with magnetic field ( P=0.015). The CI and HI of the IMRT plan were both inferior to VMAT-like plan with magnetic field ( P=0.034). The average dose to the heart and lungs in VMAT-like plan with magnetic field was higher than those in the VMAT plan and VMAT-like plan without magnetic field (both P<0.05). The magnetic field significantly increased the dose to the skin, tissue-lung interface, and outside the margins (all P<0.05). The optimization time of the VMAT-like plan with magnetic field was longer than that of the IMRT plan, but it required fewer MUs ( P=0.001). The quality of the IMRT plans was poor and did not meet clinical requirements. Conclusion:The quality of CSBRT plans based on VMAT-like techniques meets clinical requirements, but attention must be paid to the dosimetric effects of the magnetic field.

Objective:To investigate the screening values of immunocytochemical P16/Ki-67 double staining, P16 INK4α single staining and high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) testing for high-grade cervical lesions. Methods:The clinical data of 622 patients who underwent cervical thin-layer liquid-based cytology (TCT) and HR-HPV testing in General Hospital of Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co., Ltd. from March 2019 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The remaining cytological specimens were detected by P16/Ki-67 double staining and P16 INK4α single staining. Among them, 334 patients with TCT results suggesting atypical squamous cell of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and above and HPV-positive underwent colposcopy pathological biopsy. Using pathological results as reference, the positive predictive value, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of P16/Ki-67 double staining, P16 INK4α single staining and HR-HPV testing for screening of high-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL) and cervical cancer were compared. Results:Taking the results of histopathology as references, combined with the results of TCT, 31 of 622 patients were HSIL, of which 22 (71.0%) were positive for P16/Ki-67 double staining, 23 (74.2%) were positive for P16 INK4α single staining, and 25 (80.6%) were positive for HR-HPV testing; 4 cases were cervical cancer, and the positive rates of the three detection methods were all 100.0% (4/4). Among 622 patients, the positive rates of P16/Ki-67 double staining, P16 INK4α single staining and HR-HPV testing for screening of HSIL and cervical cancer were 13.99% (87/622), 25.40% (158/622) and 21.38% (133/622); the positive predictive values were 29.89%, 17.09% and 21.08%; the accuracies were 91.19%, 78.94% and 83.28%; the specificities were 89.77%, 77.98% and 82.46%; the sensitivities were 74.29%, 77.14% and 82.86%. The positive rate, positive predictive value, specificity and accuracy of P16/Ki-67 double staining were higher than those of P16 INK4α single staining and HR-HPV testing, and the differences were statistically significant ( z values were -5.062 and -3.418, 2.328 and 2.450, 5.436 and 3.570, 6.043 and 4.161, all P < 0.05); the sensitivity of HR-HPV testing was higher than that of P16/Ki-67 double staining and P16 INK4α single staining, but the differences were not statistically significant ( z values were -0.890 and 1.017, both P > 0.05). Conclusions:HR-HPV testing is more suitable for primary cervical lesion screening; P16/Ki-67 double staining can be used as a potential combined cell screening tool or an effective triage tool; P16 INK4α single staining has certain limitations.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the setup errors of thermoplastic head and shoulder molds alone or combined with vacuum pad in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (HFSRT) for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with brain metastases.Methods:Fifty-four NSCLC patients with brain metastases who received HFSRT from 2017 to 2019 were enrolled in this study. Twenty-four patients were fixed with thermoplastic head and shoulder molds (group A), and 30 patients were fixed with thermoplastic head and shoulder molds plus vacuum pad (group B). The interfraction and intrafraction setup errors were acquired from cone-beam CT online image registration before and after the HFSRT. Optical surface system was applied in monitoring the intrafraction setup errors. The setup errors in each direction between two groups were analyzed by independent samples t-test. Results:For the interfraction setup errors of the whole group, the proportion of the horizontal setup errors of ≥3mm was 7.0% to 15.4% and 7.0% to 12.6% for the rotation setup errors of ≥2°. In group A, the anteroposterior setup error was (1.035±1.180)mm, significantly less than (1.512±0.955)mm in group B ( P=0.009). In group A, the sagittal rotation setup error was 0.665°±0.582°, significantly less than 0.921°±0.682° in group B ( P=0.021). For the intrafraction setup errors of the whole group, the proportion of horizontal setup errors of ≥1mm was 0% to 0.7%, whereas no rotation setup error of ≥1° were observed. In group B, bilateral, anteroposterior and sagittal rotation setup errors were (0.047±0.212)mm, (0.023±0.152)mm and 0.091°±0.090°, significantly less compared with (0.246±0.474)mm, (0.140±0.350)mm and 0.181°±0.210° in group A ( P=0.004, P=0.020, P=0.001), respectively. Optical surface monitoring data were consistent with the obtained results. Conclusions:Thermoplastic head and shoulder molds (with or without vacuum pad) combined with online image registration and six-dimensional robotic couch correction can be applied in HFSRT for brain metastases from NSCLC. The intrafraction setup errors in group B are smaller than those in group A. Optical surface system has certain value in monitoring the intrafractional movement.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide; however, the molecular mechanism in tumorigenesis still needs exploration. BCL2L11 belongs to the BCL-2 family, and acts as a central regulator of the intrinsic apoptotic cascade and mediates cell apoptosis. Although miRNAs have been reported to be involved in each stage of cancer development, the role of miR-24 in GC has not been reported yet. In the present study, miR-24 was found to be up-regulated while the expression of BCL2L11 was inhibited in tumor tissues of GC. Studies from both in vitro and in vivo shown that miR-24 regulates BCL2L11 expression by directly binding with 3'UTR of mRNA, thus promoting cell growth, migration while inhibiting cell apoptosis. Therefore, miR-24 is a novel onco-miRNA that can be potential drug targets for future clinical use.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; genetics ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; deficiency ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Bcl-2-Like Protein 11 ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; genetics ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; Down-Regulation ; genetics ; Gene Silencing ; Male ; Membrane Proteins ; deficiency ; genetics ; Mice ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; deficiency ; genetics ; Rats ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology