Here, recognizing the significant growth of electronic cigarettes in recent years, the authors sought to test a hypothesis that three main components of the liquid solutions used in e-cigarettes might affect lung cancer cell viability. In a study performed by exposing A549 cells, human lung cancer cells, to different types of smoke extracts, the authors found that increasing levels of nicotine resulted in improve lung cancer cell viability up until the toxicity of nicotine resulted in cell death. They conclude that these results suggest that contrary to conventional thought e-cigarettes may be more dangerous than tobacco cigarettes in certain contexts.

The independent effects of metastasis-promoting gene CD151 in the process of metastasis are not known. This study aimed to isolate CD151 to discover what its role in metastasis would be uninfluenced by potential interactions with other components and pathways in human cells. Results showed that CD151 significantly increased the adhesion of the cells and decreased their motility. Thus, it may be that CD151 is upregulated in cancer cells for the last step of metastasis, and it increases the chances of success of metastasis by aiding in implantation of the cancer cells. Targeting CD151 in chemotherapeutic modalities could therefore potentially slow or prevent metastasis.

Mammographic screening is a common diagnostic tool for breast cancer among average-risk women. The authors hypothesized that adherence rates for mammographic screening may be lower among minorities (non-Hispanic black (NHB) and Hispanic/Latino) than among non-Hispanic whites (NHW) regardless of the guideline applied. The findings support other studies’ results that different racial/ethnic and socio-demographic factors can affect screening adherence. Therefore, healthcare providers should promote breast cancer screening especially among NHW/Hispanic women and women lacking insurance coverage.

Inefficient penetration of cancer drugs into the interior of the three-dimensional (3D) tumor tissue limits drugs' delivery. The authors hypothesized that the addition of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) would increase the permeability of the drug doxorubicin for efficient drug penetration. They found that 1 mM PLA2 had the highest permeability. Increased efficiency in drug delivery would allow lower concentrations of drugs to be used, minimizing damage to normal cells.

Here, recognizing that the immune response to cancer results in biomarkers that can be used to assess the immune status of cancer patients, the authors investigated the concentrations of key cytokines (TH1 and TH2 cytokines) in healthy controls and cancer patients. They identified significant changes in resting and activated cytokine profiles, suggesting that data of biomarkers such as these could serve as a starting point for further treatment with regard to a patient's specific immune profile.

This study follows the process of single-cloning and the growth of a homogeneous cell population in a superficial environment over the course of six weeks with the end goal of showing which of five tumor growth models commonly used to predict heterogeneous cancer cell population growth (Exponential, Logistic, Gompertz, Linear, and Bertalanffy) would also best exemplify that of homogeneous cell populations.

Using a convolution neural network, these authors show machine learning can clinically diagnose breast cancer with high accuracy.

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) play a role in tumor formation by differentiating into cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which enable metastasis of tumors. The process of conversion of MSCs into CAFs is not clear. In this study, authors tested the hypothesis that cancers cells secrete soluble factors that induce differentiation by culturing bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in media conditioned by a breast cancer cell line.

In this study, the authors investigate whether a new compound has anti-cancer properties. Using the crude extract from the Amaranthus spinosus plant, HeLa cancer cells were assessed for cell death. Findings reveal that the extract (AS20) has cytotoxic effects on HeLa cells. Their findings introduce a new compound to potentially pursue in the hunt for novel cancer treatments.

In this work the authors investigate new possible treatment methods for gastric and bladder cancers. They specifically targeted the transient receptor potential cation subfamily M member 7 (TRPM7), an ion channel that plays an important role in the survival of both of these cancers, and extracellular regulated kinases (ERKs),which contributes to the carcinogenesis of many cancers including gastric cancer. As a result, the authors consider the effects of Ginsenoside Rd, NS8593, curcumin, and icariin , known to inhibit TRPM7 and ERK. The authors found that these treatments decrease proliferation and induce apoptosis in studies of gastric and bladder cancer cells.