Endocrine Abstracts

Transient activation of Src oncoprotein can mediate an epigenetic switch from immortalized breast cells to a stably transformed line that forms self-renewing mammospheres that contain cancer stem cells (CSCs). Src activation triggers an inflammatory response mediated by NF-kB that directly activates Lin28 transcription and rapidly reduces the level of let-7 microRNAs. Let-7 inhibits IL6 expression, and IL6 activates STAT3. Importantly, IL6 activates NF-kB, thereby completing a...

Insulin and the IGFs, the IGFBPs and the insulin and IGF-1 receptors play an important role in cancer progression. Higher levels of circulating total IGF-1 is often associated with an increased risk of developing cancer. Furthermore, the IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) is often overexpressed in tumor tissues. This overexpression has been shown to be due to mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as p53, WT1 and BRCA genes. Inhibition of the IGF-1R in culture and preclinical studies l...

By 2008, we1 and others had established that excess body mass index (BMI), as an approximation of general body adiposity and excess calorie intake, is associated with increased risk of several cancer types. These associations exist for both common (colon, endometrial, post-menopausal breast cancers, oesophageal adenocarcinoma) and less common malignancies (thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma). Given the plausibility of the biological explanations (including insulin...