Ovarian cancer (OC) is a major global health problem. The main treatments are surgery and chemoradiotherapy. A drawback of the latter is that repeated treatments are likely to lead to cancer cells developing resistance to the drug, resulting in recurrence, development of metastases, and poor prognosis for patients. Consequently, there is interest in combining chemoradiotherapy with treatment using active components extracted from natural products. One such component is resveratrol (RVT), which is a natural anti-tumor ingredient extracted from plants. Although there are many reviews on the biological activity of RVT, only a few studies have been performed to investigate the diversity of protein binding of RVT with OC and the application of various novel drug formulations containing RVT to treat OC. The review presented here may provide some ideas for the prevention and treatment of OC.

Paired Box 3 (PAX3) is a protein that plays a critical role in the formation of tissues and organs during embryonic development and can positively (and less frequently, negatively) regulate gene expression. While progress has been made to advance our understanding of this critical and multi-faceted protein, there is still much that is unknown about the mechanisms by which PAX3 controls such a wide array of key cellular functions.

 

In a new review in the journal Biomolecules, researchers report that PAX3 is essential for the development of nerves, muscles, and melanocytes in embryos, and also plays a role in maintaining adult tissues in stem cells. Additionally, in some cancers, such as some muscle tumors and melanoma, researchers found that PAX3 is present in abnormally high levels and  promote tumor progression.

A significant step toward the potential prevention of stomach cancer: Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have increased the effectiveness of a standard antibiotic by a factor of 60 through targeted chemical modifications. In laboratory and animal studies, the new drug candidate successfully combats the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is closely associated with the development of stomach cancer. The study findings were published in the journal Nature Microbiology.

Detection of a bowel cancer marker (CDH1) in wastewater may offer a new community level early warning system for the disease, suggests a proof of concept study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.