67 odds ratio (OR) of incomplete response in patients with higher miR-21 levels (p = 0.04). Although with no significance, patients treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) presented reduced odds of incomplete response compared with those treated with capecitabine (OR = 0.19; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-1.12, p = 0.05). Moreover, significant differences were seen in overall survival (OS) in relation to clinical TNM stage (p = 0.0004), cT (p = 0.0001), presence of distant disease (p = 0.002), mesorectal tumor deposits (p = 0.003), and tumor regression grade (p = 0.04). Conclusion miR-21 may predict response to CRT in rectal cancer (RC).Cancer remains the second leading cause of mortality worldwide. In the course of this multistage and multifactorial disease, a set of alterations takes place, with genetic and environmental factors modulating tumorigenesis and disease progression. Metabolic alterations of tumors are well-recognized and are considered as one of the hallmarks of cancer. Cancer cells adapt their metabolic competences in order to efficiently supply their novel demands of energy to sustain cell proliferation and metastasis. At present, there is a growing interest in understanding the metabolic switch that occurs during tumorigenesis. Together with the Warburg effect and the increased glutaminolysis, lipid metabolism has emerged as essential for tumor development and progression. Indeed, several investigations have demonstrated the consequences of lipid metabolism alterations in cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis, three basic steps occurring during metastasis. In addition, obesity and associated metabolic alterations have been shown to augment the risk of cancer and to worsen its prognosis. Consequently, an extensive collection of tumorigenic steps has been shown to be modulated by lipid metabolism, not only affecting the growth of primary tumors, but also mediating progression and metastasis. Besides, key enzymes involved in lipid-metabolic pathways have been associated with cancer survival and have been proposed as prognosis biomarkers of cancer. In this review, we will analyze the impact of obesity and related tumor microenviroment alterations as modifiable risk factors in cancer, focusing on the lipid alterations co-occurring during tumorigenesis. The value of precision technologies and its application to target lipid metabolism in cancer will also be discussed. The degree to which lipid alterations, together with current therapies and intake of specific dietary components, affect risk of cancer is now under investigation, and innovative therapeutic or preventive applications must be explored.Treatment of brain metastases often includes surgical resection, chemotherapeutics and radiotherapy. Given the difficulty in obtaining therapeutic levels of medications within the immune-privileged central nervous system, chemotherapy as a stand-alone treatment modality for brain metastases is an uncommon option. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that immunomodulatory agents can induce a robust immune response in the central nervous system. Here, we describe a 68-year old male who presented with radiographic evidence of new and enlarging lung nodules with mediastinal adenopathy. Lung biopsy was consistent with adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated high expression of programmed cell death protein 1 with a tumor proportion score of 100%. Surveillance magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated a single enhancing 11 × 7 × 12 mm lesion along the mesial surface of the right frontal lobe. The patient deferred surgical resection as well as stereotactic radiosurgery but agreed to treatment with pembrolizumab. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging at 3-months after initiation of treatment demonstrated complete radiographic resolution of the brain lesion. To our knowledge, this is one of only a few reports in the current literature to document complete resolution of non-small cell lung cancer brain metastasis with pembrolizumab alone. We discuss the emerging literature regarding the efficacy of pembrolizumab in the treatment of brain metastases, central nervous system penetration, and emerging new treatment paradigms involving novel immunotherapy agents.ONC206 (Oncoceutics) is an imipiridone with nanomolar potency and analogue of ONC201, a selective dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist currently being investigated in phase II clinical trials for serous endometrial cancer (SEC). This study investigated the anti-proliferative efficacy of ONC206 in SEC cell lines as well as its impact on cellular stress and adhesion/invasion. ONC206 inhibited cellular proliferation in a dose-dependent manner and was more potent than ONC201 in the ARK1 (IC50 = 0.33µM vs. IC50 = 1.59uM) and SPEC-2 (IC50 = 0.24uM vs. IC50 = 0.81uM) cell lines. Treatment with ONC206 resulted in induction of ROS production and reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, accompanied by an increase in cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity (p less then 0.01). ONC206 also significantly inhibited cellular adhesion and migration in both cell lines (p less then 0.01). Pretreatment with the stress inhibitor N-acetylcysteine (NAC) significantly attenuated the efficacy of ONC206 on cell proliferation, ROS production and cellular invasion. ONC206 demonstrates nanomolar potency for the inhibition of proliferation in SEC cells.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/su5402.html  Specifically, ONC206 utilizes ISR activation as a significant pathway in the propagation of its anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects. Thus, ONC206 may be a promising agent in future SEC clinical trials as was its predecessor ONC201.Cutaneous melanoma is the most life-threatening skin malignant tumor due to its increasing metastasis and mortality rate. The abnormal competitive endogenous RNA network promotes the development of tumors and becomes biomarkers for the prognosis of various tumors. At the same time, the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is of great significance for tumor outcome and prognosis. From the perspective of TIME and ceRNA network, this study aims to explain the prognostic factors of cutaneous melanoma systematically and find novel and powerful biomarkers for target therapies. We obtained the transcriptome data of cutaneous melanoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, 3 survival-related mRNAs co-expression modules and 2 survival-related lncRNAs co-expression modules were identified through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WCGNA), and 144 prognostic miRNAs were screened out by univariate Cox proportional hazard regression. Cox regression model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were employed to identify 4 hub prognostic mRNAs, and the prognostic ceRNA network consisting of 7 lncRNAs, 1 miRNA and 4 mRNAs was established.