Cancer Research and Treatment

Original Articles

Gynecologic cancer

Combination of Niraparib and Lapatinib for Ovarian Cancer Treatment: Feiyun Jiang, Xingyu Liu, Yalan Wei, Yeping Ding, Wen Cai, Shanshan Xu, Bin Tang; Cancer Res Treat. 2026;58(3):906-922. Published online July 29, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2025.553

Purpose
Ovarian cancer is characterized by high malignancy, frequent recurrence with drug resistance, and poor 5-year survival rates. Although poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors like niraparib show efficacy in homologous recombination repair-deficient ovarian cancer, resistance often develops. This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic therapeutic potential of combining the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor lapatinib and the PARP inhibitor niraparib to evaluate combinatorial effects and enhance antitumor effects in ovarian cancer.
Materials and Methods
Lapatinib (EGFR inhibitor) and niraparib (PARP inhibitor) were screened from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration/China Food and Drug Administration–approved drug library. In vitro assays assessed ovarian cancer cell proliferation, clonogenicity, metastatic ability, and apoptosis. Mechanistic studies analyzed phosphorylation levels of EGFR, AKT, and ERK via biochemical assays. In vivo experiments were conducted to validate the antitumor efficacy of the drug combination.
Results
The lapatinib-niraparib combination synergistically suppressed ovarian cancer cell proliferation, inhibited clonogenic formation and metastasis, and induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, the dual therapy reduced phosphorylation of EGFR, AKT, and ERK, indicating suppression of downstream signaling pathways. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated significant inhibition of ovarian cancer growth with the combination treatment.
Conclusion
EGFR/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–expressing ovarian cancer cells responded to lapatinib and that a synergistic effect was observed when combined with niraparib. These findings highlight its promising clinical potential for improving outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.

Citations

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Single versus dual EGFR/PARP inhibition: Mechanistic rationale, synthetic approaches, pharmacophoric features, structure–activity relationships, and therapeutic perspectives
Eman M. Elkafoury, Tarek F. El-Moselhy, Mervat H. El-Hamamsy, Eman A. El-Bastawissy, Esraa Y. Rabea, Kamyar Afarinkia, Peter A. Sidhom
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.2026; 316: 119047. CrossRef

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Breast cancer

Elevated Expression of RIOK1 Is Correlated with Breast Cancer Hormone Receptor Status and Promotes Cancer Progression: Zhiqi Huang, Xingyu Li, Tian Xie, Changjiang Gu, Kan Ni, Qingqing Yin, Xiaolei Cao, Chunhui Zhang; Cancer Res Treat. 2020;52(4):1067-1083. Published online May 8, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2020.187

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material PubReader ePub

Purpose
RIOK1 has been proved to play an important role in cancer cell proliferation and migration in various types of cancers—such as colorectal and gastric cancers. However, the expression of RIOK1 in breast cancer (BC) and the relationship between RIOK1 expression and the development of BC are not well characterized. In this study, we assessed the expression of RIOK1 in BC and evaluated the mechanisms underlying its biological function in this disease context.
Materials and Methods
We used immunohistochemistry, western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the expression of RIOK1 in BC patients. Then, knockdown or overexpression of RIOK1 were used to evaluate the effect on BC cells in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we predicted miR-204-5p could be a potential regulator of RIOK1.
Results
We found that the expression levels of RIOK1 were significantly higher in hormone receptor (HR)–negative BC patients and was associated with tumor grades (p=0.010) and p53 expression (p=0.008) and survival duration (p=0.011). Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested a tendency for the poor prognosis. In vitro, knockdown of RIOK1 could inhibit proliferation, invasion, and induced apoptosis in HR-negative BC cells and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo, while overexpression of RIOK1 promoted HR-positive tumor progression. MiR-204-5p could regulate RIOK1 expression and be involved in BC progression.
Conclusion
These findings indicate that RIOK1 expression could be a biomarker of HR-negative BC, and it may serve as an effective prognostic indicator and promote BC progression.

Citations

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Phospho-Regulatory Network of the Right Open Reading Frame Kinase 1 (RIOK1), Its Functional Relevance, and Cancer Treatment Prospects
Amal Fahma, Leona Dcunha, Suhail Subair, Athira Perunelly Gopalakrishnan, Levin John, Samseera Ummar, Prathik Basthikoppa Shivamurthy, Poornima Ramesh, Rajesh Raju, Yashwanth Subbannayya
OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.2025; 29(10): 515. CrossRef
Establishment of a 5-gene risk model related to regulatory T cells for predicting gastric cancer prognosis
Gang Hu, Ningjie Sun, Jiansong Jiang, Xiansheng Chen
Cancer Cell International.2020;[Epub] CrossRef

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14 Web of Science
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