Remote Monitoring App for Endocrine Therapy Adherence Among Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) use among women with early-stage, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer reduces the risk of cancer recurrence, but its adverse symptoms contribute to lower adherence.

Objective: To test whether remote monitoring of symptoms and treatment adherence with or without tailored text messages improves outcomes among women with breast cancer who are prescribed AET.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This nonblinded, randomized clinical trial (RCT) following intention-to-treat principles included English-speaking women with early-stage breast cancer prescribed AET at a large cancer center with 14 clinics across 3 states from November 15, 2018, to June 11, 2021.

Simple monocyclic pyrimidine analogs as microtubule targeting agents binding to the colchicine site.

Complex natural products that bind to tubulin/microtubules come under the broad category of microtubule binding agents. The design of simplified analogs of previously reported bicyclic, microtubule depolymerizer, pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine, provided valuable structure-activity relationship data and led to the identification of novel monocyclic pyrimidine analogs of which 12 was 47-fold more potent (EC 123 nM) for cellular microtubule depolymerization activity and 7.5-fold more potent (IC 24.

Improving palbociclib adherence among women with metastatic breast cancer using a CONnected CUstomized Treatment Platform: A pilot study.

Objective: To pilot test a mobile health intervention using a CONnected CUstomized Treatment Platform that integrates a connected electronic adherence monitoring smartbox and an early warning system of non-adherence with bidirectional automated texting feature and provider alerts.

Methods: In total, 29 adult women with hormone-receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer and a prescription for palbociclib were asked to complete a survey and participate in a CONnected CUstomized Treatment Platform intervention, including use of a smartbox for real-time adherence monitoring, which triggered text message reminders for any missed or extra dose, and referrals to (a) participant's oncology provider after three missed doses or an episode of over-adherence, or (b) a financial navigation program for any cost-related missed dose. Use of smartbox, number of referrals, palbociclib adherence, CONnected CUstomized Treatment Platform usability measured by System Usability Scale, and changes in symptom burden and quality of life were assessed.

Mobile application to support oncology patients during treatment on patient outcomes: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cancer treatment requires substantial demands on patients and their caregivers. Mobile apps can provide support for self-management during oncology treatment, but few have been rigorously evaluated.

Methods: A 3-month randomized controlled trial was conducted at a large cancer center to evaluate the efficacy of an app (LivingWith®) that provides self-management support during cancer treatment on quality of life and health care utilization.

PARP1-MGMT complex underpins pathway crosstalk in O-methylguanine repair.

DNA lesions induced by alkylating agents are repaired by two canonical mechanisms, base excision repair dependent on poly(ADP) ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) and the other mediated by O-methylguanine (OmeG)-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) in a single-step catalysis of alkyl-group removal. OmeG is the most cytotoxic and mutagenic lesion among the methyl adducts induced by alkylating agents. Although it can accomplish the dealkylation reaction all by itself as a single protein without associating with other repair proteins, evidence is accumulating that MGMT can form complexes with repair proteins and is highly regulated by a variety of post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and others.

PEGylated talazoparib enhances therapeutic window of its combination with temozolomide in Ewing sarcoma.

Current therapy is ineffective for relapsed and metastatic Ewing sarcoma (EwS) owing to development of drug resistance. Macromolecular prodrugs potentially lead to lower drug exposure in normal tissues and reduced toxicity. We evaluated the efficacy of PEGylated talazoparib (PEG∼TLZ), a PARP1 inhibitor, alone or in combination with the DNA-alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ) in EwS and other pediatric tumors using conventional testing or single-mouse trial (SMT).

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of 5,6,7,8-Tetrahydrobenzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-]pyrimidines as Microtubule Targeting Agents.

A series of eleven 4-substituted 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobenzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-]pyrimidines were designed and synthesized and their biological activities were evaluated. Synthesis involved the Gewald reaction to synthesize ethyl 2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylate ring, and SAr reactions. Compound was 1.

Altertoxin II, a Highly Effective and Specific Compound against Ewing Sarcoma.

A screening program designed to identify natural products with selective cytotoxic effects against cell lines representing different types of pediatric solid tumors led to the identification of altertoxin II as a highly potent and selective cytotoxin against Ewing sarcoma cell lines. Altertoxin II, but not the related compounds altertoxin I and alteichin, was highly effective against every Ewing sarcoma cell line tested, with an average 25-fold selectivity for these cells as compared to cells representing other pediatric and adult cancers. Mechanism of action studies revealed that altertoxin II causes DNA double-strand breaks, a rapid DNA damage response, and cell cycle accumulation in the S phase.

Evaluation of Eribulin Combined with Irinotecan for Treatment of Pediatric Cancer Xenografts.

Purpose: Vincristine combined with camptothecin derivatives showed synergy in preclinical pediatric cancer models, and the combinations are effective in treatment of childhood solid tumors. We determined whether the synergy between vincristine and irinotecan extends to eribulin, another microtubule inhibitor.

Experimental Design: Vincristine or eribulin, alone or combined with irinotecan, was studied in 12 xenograft models.

Structure-Activity Relationships of New Natural Product-Based Diaryloxazoles with Selective Activity against Androgen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Cells.

Targeted therapies for ER+/PR+ and HER2-amplified breast cancers have improved patient survival, but there are no therapies for triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) that lack expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR), or amplification or overexpression of HER2. Gene expression profiling of TNBC has identified molecular subtypes and representative cell lines. An extract of the Texas native plant Amyris texana was found to have selective activity against MDA-MB-453 cells, a model of the luminal androgen receptor (LAR) subtype of TNBC.

Pharmacokinetic Analysis and in Vivo Antitumor Efficacy of Taccalonolides AF and AJ.

The taccalonolides are microtubule stabilizers that covalently bind tubulin and circumvent clinically relevant forms of resistance to other drugs of this class. Efforts are under way to identify a taccalonolide with optimal properties for clinical development. The structurally similar taccalonolides AF and AJ have comparable microtubule-stabilizing activities in vitro, but taccalonolide AF has excellent in vivo antitumor efficacy when administered systemically, while taccalonolide AJ does not elicit this activity even at maximum tolerated dose.

Maximiscin Induces DNA Damage, Activates DNA Damage Response Pathways, and Has Selective Cytotoxic Activity against a Subtype of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers are highly aggressive, and patients with these types of tumors have poor long-term survival. These breast cancers do not express estrogen or progesterone receptors and do not have gene amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; therefore, they do not respond to available targeted therapies. The lack of targeted therapies for triple-negative breast cancers stems from their heterogeneous nature and lack of a clear definition of driver defects.

Selective activity of deguelin identifies therapeutic targets for androgen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are aggressive malignancies with no effective targeted therapies. Recent gene expression profiling of these heterogeneous cancers and the classification of cell line models now allows for the identification of compounds with selective activities against molecular subtypes of TNBC. The natural product deguelin was found to have selective activity against MDA-MB-453 and SUM-185PE cell lines, which both model the luminal androgen receptor (LAR) subtype of TNBC.

Texas Native Plants Yield Compounds with Cytotoxic Activities against Prostate Cancer Cells.

There remains a critical need for more effective therapies for the treatment of late-stage and metastatic prostate cancers. Three Texas native plants yielded three new and three known compounds with antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against prostate cancer cells with IC50 values in the range of 1.7-35.

Addressing Risk and Reluctance at the Nexus of HIV and Anal Cancer Screening.

Anal cancer disproportionately burdens persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) regardless of natal sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, and ethnic identity. Culturally competent communications are recommended to address health disparities, with sociocultural relevance ensured through constituent dialogic processes. Results are presented from six provider focus groups conducted to inform the promotion/education component of a Hawai'i-based project on anal cancer screening tools.

Melampodium leucanthum, a source of cytotoxic sesquiterpenes with antimitotic activities.

A new tricyclic sesquiterpene, named meleucanthin (1), was isolated from an extract of the leaves and branches of Melampodium leucanthum, along with four known germacranolide sesquiterpene lactones, leucanthin-A (2), leucanthin-B (3), melampodin-A acetate (4), and 3α-hydroxyenhydrin (5). The chemical structure of 1 was elucidated by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectrometric data. All compounds exhibited antiproliferative and cytotoxic efficacy against PC-3 and DU 145 prostate cancer cells, as well as HeLa cervical cancer cells, with IC50 values ranging from 0.

Cytotoxic dimeric epipolythiodiketopiperazines from the ascomycetous fungus Preussia typharum.

Two new dimeric epipolythiodiketopiperazines, preussiadins A (1) and B (2), together with two known diastereomers, leptosins C (6) and A (7), were obtained from the mycelia of a Preussia typharum isolate. The structures of the new compounds were established by spectroscopic methods, and the absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were assigned by chemical transformations and comparisons of quantum chemical ECD and VCD calculations to experimental data. Compound 1 exhibited potent cytotoxic activity in the NCI-60 cell line panel with an average LC50 value of 251 nM.

Crowdsourcing natural products discovery to access uncharted dimensions of fungal metabolite diversity.

A fundamental component for success in drug discovery is the ability to assemble and screen compounds that encompass a broad swath of biologically relevant chemical-diversity space. Achieving this goal in a natural-products-based setting requires access to a wide range of biologically diverse specimens. For this reason, we introduced a crowdsourcing program in which citizen scientists furnish soil samples from which new microbial isolates are procured.

Design, synthesis and cytotoxicity of novel chalcone analogs derived from 1-cyclohexylpyrrolidin-2-one and 2,3-dihydrobenzo[f]chromen-1-one.

Two divergent series of novel chalcone analogs, one derived from 1-cyclohexylpyrrolidin-2-one and the other derived from 1-benzo[f]chromanone, were designed, synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against two murine cancer cell lines. Two 1-benzo[f]chromanone analogs, 4g and 4j yielded moderate toxicity against both melanoma B16 and lymphoma L1210 cell lines with IC(50) values between the range of 5 and 6 µM. With an IC(50) value of 3.