International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Breast cancer is the most common and deadliest cancer among women. While overexpression of specific markers guides disease stratification and has enabled the development of targeted therapies, identifying new therapeutic targets remains critical, particularly for aggressive subtypes lacking effective treatments. This study evaluated the expression of α-Lactalbumin (LALBA) and nucleolin (NCL) in breast cancer tissues from Mexican patients using gene expression analysis and immunohistochemistry. LALBA, a major milk protein normally expressed only during late pregnancy and lactation, was detected in nearly all tumor samples and showed higher levels in aggressive subtypes, with overexpression displaying a slight trend toward poorer overall survival. NCL, a multifunctional nucleolar protein, exhibited predominantly nuclear localization, with moderate expression associated with improved survival. Both proteins correlated with tumor immune features, including increased tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and PD-L1 expression for LALBA, and elevated CD8⁺ T cells, PD-L1, and TIM-3 expression for NCL. Overall, these findings suggest that LALBA and NCL are associated with tumor aggressiveness, immune context, and survival trends in breast cancer. Additional studies in larger cohorts are needed to define their clinical relevance.

The uterus is a dynamic organ in which the endometrium undergoes cyclic processes of proliferation, shedding, and regeneration under the influence of estrogen and progesterone. In particular, estrogen regulates the proliferation and differentiation of the endometrium and plays an important role in the development of gynecological diseases such as endometrial cancer. Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FDPS) is a key enzyme involved in the mevalonate pathway, catalyzing the synthesis of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), which plays an essential role in cholesterol biosynthesis and protein prenylation. In this study, we demonstrated using an in vivo mouse model that the expression of FDPS is regulated by estrogen. FDPS expression was specifically elevated during the proestrus stage of the estrous cycle and subsequently decreased. In ovariectomized (OVX) mice, FDPS expression was significantly increased 24 h after estrogen treatment, whereas this response was suppressed by treatment with the estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) antagonist, ICI 182,780. Although FDPS expression has been reported in various cancers, its role in endometrial cancer remains unclear. Histological and cellular analyses revealed that FDPS is highly expressed in human endometrial cancer tissues and in the endometrial cancer cell line Ishikawa, where it contributes to cell proliferation. These findings suggest that FDPS may play a role in the survival and growth of endometrial cancer cells. This study provides new insights into the potential function of FDPS in the uterus and suggests that targeting FDPS may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for endometrial cancer.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive digestive neoplasms, especially due to late diagnosis. The aim of our study was to investigate cytokeratin-19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1), osteopontin (OPN), and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) clinical significance in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Our research is a single-center cross-sectional prospective study that included sixty hospitalized patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and fourteen controls. CYFRA 21-1, OPN, and HE4 were tested in all participants using Luminex x MAP technology. Serum CYFRA 21-1 levels were weakly correlated with those of OPN (r = 0.302; p = 0.009), HE4 (r = 0.485; p < 0.001), and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 125 (r = 0.376; p = 0.037). Similarly to CA 19-9 and CA 125, the serum OPN levels were higher in patients with pancreatic cancer when compared to controls, 3.37 (1.84; 9.12) ng/mL versus 1.59 (1.09; 2.51) ng/mL; p = 0.003. However, in multivariate analysis, the OPN was not an independent predictor for pancreatic cancer. Further, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified CA 19-9 as the biomarker with the highest diagnostic accuracy, while CYFRA 21-1, OPN, and HE4 did not reach clinically meaningful results. Further, the CYFRA 21-1 levels were significantly higher in cases subjected to significant weight loss before admission.