DNA damage is well recognized as a critical factor in cancer development and progression. DNA lesions create an abnormal nucleotide or nucleotide fragment, causing a break in one or both chains of the DNA strand. When DNA damage occurs, the possibility of generated mutations increases. Genomic instability is one of the most important factors that lead to cancer development. DNA repair pathways perform the essential role of correcting the DNA lesions that occur from DNA damaging agents or carcinogens, thus maintaining genomic stability. Inefficient DNA repair is a critical driving force behind cancer establishment, progression and evolution. A thorough understanding of DNA repair mechanisms in cancer will allow for better therapeutic intervention. In this review we will discuss the relationship between DNA damage/repair mechanisms and cancer, and how we can target these pathways.

Purpose. The study is aimed at exploring the popularity, impact, and usefulness of using YouTube in learning anatomy as perceived by Jordanian medical students studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology. Methods. The present work is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. First-, second-, and third-year medical students were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Students’ responses were numerically coded, and the results were analyzed to reveal any statistically significant differences related to gender or level of study. Results. The results showed that 96.4% of the students used YouTube in general, 91.2% used it as a source of information, and 83.9% used YouTube as a learning tool in medical school. Further, YouTube was used by 79.1% of the students as an anatomy-learning tool. Most of these students used this platform in learning gross anatomy. The study also revealed that dissection videos were the most viewed anatomy-related content. Regarding the perceived value of YouTube as an anatomy-learning tool, the majority of the students reported that YouTube offered them useful anatomical information and enhanced their understanding, memorization, and recall of anatomical information. In addition, most of them recommended using YouTube as an anatomy-learning tool. Statistical analysis of the results revealed the presence of gender-related significant differences in students’ perspectives. Such differences were also found among students of different levels of study. Conclusion. Medical students have positive attitudes toward using YouTube in augmenting their anatomy learning. For this, educators are encouraged to adopt YouTube as an educational tool in their anatomy instruction and to create new anatomy-related YouTube videos to enhance their students’ learning.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, predominantly caused by metastasis. It is generally accepted that the pattern of breast cancer metastasis is largely determined by the interaction between the chemokine receptors on cancer cells and the chemokines expressed at the sites of metastatic disease. Chemokine receptors belong to the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) family that appear to be implicated in inflammatory diseases, tumor growth and metastasis. One of its members, C-C Chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7), binds chemokines CCL19 and CCL21, which are important for tissue homeostasis, immune surveillance and tumorigenesis. These receptors have been shown to induce the pathobiology of breast cancer due to their ability to induce cellular proliferation and migration upon the binding of the cognate chemokine receptors. The underlying signaling pathways and exact cellular interactions within this biological system are not fully understood and need further insights. Thus, in this review, we summarize the essential roles of CCR7 and its receptors in breast cancer progression. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanisms of regulation that may lead to novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Despite the enormous advances in our knowledge of the nature of the chemokines in breast cancer metastasis, research about the involvement of CCR7 in cancer progression is still limited. Therefore, further studies are essential to illustrate the distinct roles of CCR7 in cancer progression and validate its potential as a preventive bio-factor for human breast cancer metastasis by targeting chemokine receptor genes.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that cooperative interaction between cutaneous fatty acid-binding protein (C-FABP) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) promotes the malignant progression of human prostate cancer. The expression of C-FABP, PPARβ/δ and PPARγ was measured by western blot analysis in prostate cell lines and by immunohistochemical staining in tissue sections of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatic carcinomas. The correlation between the expression of PPARs and C-FABP was assessed. The significance of increased expression of these proteins was analysed with respect to prognosis and compared with those of alternative biomarkers. The expression levels of C-FABP and PPARγ in prostate cancer cell lines and the cytoplasm and nuclei of carcinoma tissues were significantly (Student's t-test, p<0.05) higher compared to those in benign cell lines and BPH tissues. The raised expression level of C-FABP and PPARγ was significantly correlated with the increased combined Gleason scores (GS) of the carcinomas. Enhanced expression of cytoplasmic C-FABP significantly correlated with increased nuclear PPARγ (Student's t-test, p<0.005). While expression of PPARβ/δ in carcinomas did not correlate with patient outcome, the increased levels of both C-FABP and PPARγ were associated with shorter patient survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that C-FABP was independently associated with patient survival, whereas PPARγ was confounded by C-FABP in predicting patient survival. Thus, the increased C-FABP may interact with PPARγ in a coordinated mechanism to facilitate malignant progression in prostatic cancer. Both C-FABP and PPARγ are suitable as prognostic factors to predict the clinical outcome of prostatic cancer patients.

We recently performed two studies exploring the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 in human colorectal cancers from the Syrian population. Herein, we report that EBV and high-risk HPVs are co-present in colorectal cancers from Syria. We reveal that 17 (~17%) of 102 cancer samples are positive for both EBV and high-risk HPVs and their copresence is associated with high/intermediate grade invasive carcinomas. These data suggest that EBV and high-risk HPVs are co-present in human colorectal cancers where they might cooperate on the initiation and/or progression of these cancers. Thus, we believe that future studies are necessary to confirm the co-presence of these oncoviruses and their cooperative role in human colorectal carcinogenesis.