The clinical benefit noted with the epigenetic agents hydralazine and valproate in this selected patient population progressing to chemotherapy' and re-challenged with the same chemotherapy schedule after initiating hydralazine and valproate' lends support to the epigenetic-driven tumor-cell chemoresistance hypothesis (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00404508).

The concurrent use of radiotherapy and gemcitabine is effective but produces manageable severe mucositis in a high percentage of patients.

Obesity and overweight are established risk factors for the development of breast cancer. They are also associated with poor prognosis for higher risk of disease recurrence and lower overall survival (OS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of overweight and obesity in OS in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This is a retrospective analysis that included 819 patients diagnosed with LABC between January 2004 and December 2008. The patients were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAT) based on anthracyclines, taxanes, or both, followed by surgery. For comparison, patients were divided into the normal weight (NW) group or the overweight/obesity (OW/OB) group. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 74 %. General characteristics of the patients, including age, tumor size, clinical stage, nuclear grade, hormone receptors, and HER2 expression, were similar between both groups. At a median follow-up of 28 months, we found a statistically significant difference in OS between the two groups, achieving a 91.5 % in NW patients versus 85.9 % in the OW/OB group (P = 0.050). Cox multivariate analysis demonstrated that obesity was an independent factor for poor prognosis, with a hazard ratio of 1.79 (95 % CI (Confidence Interval) 1.09-2.96; P = 0.022). This is the first Mexican study that confirms the role of OW/OB as a risk factor for poor outcome among patients with LABC. Obesity in our country is a public health problem and requires strong preventive intervention strategies for its control, especially among patients diagnosed with breast cancer.

In last decades, the basic, clinical, and translational research efforts have been directed to the identification of standard biomarkers associated with the degree of malignancy. There is an increasingly public health concern for earlier detection of cancer development at stages in which successful treatments can be achieved. To meet this urgent clinical demand, early stage cancer biomarkers supported by reliable and robust experimental data that can be readily applicable in the clinical practice, are required. In the current standard protocols, when one or two of the canonical proliferating index biomarkers are analyzed, contradictory results are frequently reached leading to incorrect cancer diagnostic and unsuccessful therapies. Therefore, the identification of other cellular characteristics or signatures present in the tumor cells either alone or in combination with the well-established proliferation markers emerge as an alternative strategy in the improvement of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Because it is well known that several pathways and processes are altered in tumor cells, the concept of "single marker" in cancer results incorrect. Therefore, this review aims to analyze and discuss the proposal that the molecular profile of different genes or proteins in different altered tumor pathways must be established to provide a better global clinical pattern for cancer detection and prognosis.

The risk groups identified in our study are similar to the results of studies that used more conventional approaches. Usefulness of our approach in study of occurrence of second neoplasms should be confirmed in larger sample study, but user friendly presentation of results makes it attractive for further studies.

Since Warburg proposed in 1956 that cancer cells exhibit increased glycolysis due to mitochondrial damage, numerous researchers have assumed that glycolysis is the predominant ATP supplier for cancer cell energy-dependent processes. However, chemotherapeutic strategies using glycolytic inhibitors have been unsuccessful in arresting tumor proliferation indicating that the Warburg hypothesis may not be applicable to all existing neoplasias. This review analyzes recent information on mitochondrial metabolism in several malignant neoplasias emphasizing that, although tumor cells maintain a high glycolytic rate, the principal ATP production may derive from active oxidative phosphorylation. Thus, anti-mitochondrial drug therapy may be an adequate adjuvant strategy to arrest proliferation of oxidative phosphorylation-dependent neoplasias.

Background In Mexico, 80% women with cervical cancer are diagnosed at locally advanced stages and are treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy. The treatment modality and catabolic state confer a nutritional risk. The present study aimed to thoroughly evaluate the nutritional status and change in body composition of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) patients throughout treatment. Methods An observational prospective study, carried out at the Mexican National Cancer Institute, included 55 LACC patients. Nutritional status was evaluated before, during and after treatment, using anthropometric, dietary and biochemical measurements. Body composition was analysed using computed tomography images obtained at the time of diagnosis and approximately 4 months after treatment completion. Clinical outcomes were associated with changes in body composition. Results At the time of diagnosis, no patients were clinically malnourished, although 33.3% presented sarcopenia and most were overweight; by the end of treatment, 69% became clinically malnourished and 58% were sarcopenic. Average weight loss was 7.4 kg (P = 0.001). Adequacy of energy intake was reduced to 54%, obtained predominantly from carbohydrates. By the week 9, 62.8% patients became anemic and 34.5% had low albumin levels. Body composition analysis revealed that patients lost both, muscle and adipose tissues, although 27% patients were muscle depleted by the end of treatment. Patients who lost ≥10% skeletal muscle presented a higher tumour recurrence (hazard ratio = 2.957, P = 0.006) and a tendency towards diminished overall survival (hazard ratio = 2.572, not significant). Conclusions The nutritional status of cervical cancer patients deteriorates during treatment with concomitant chemoradiotherapy and, most importantly, muscle loss impacts the clinical outcome of patients.

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