COOH-terminal deletion of HBx gene is a frequent event in HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM:To investigate the hepatitis B virus (HBV) x gene (HBx) state in the tissues of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Chinese patients and whether there were particular HBx mutations. METHODS: HBx gene was amplified and direct sequencing was used in genomic DNA samples from 20 HCC and corresponding non-cancerous liver tissues from HBsAg-positive patients. HBV DNA integration and HBx deleted mutation were validated in 45 HCC patients at different stages by Southern blot analysis and polymerase chain reaction methods. RESULTS: The frequencies of HBx point mutations were significantly lower in HCC than their corresponding non- cancerous liver tissues (11/19 vs 18/19, P = 0.019). In contrast, deletions in HBx gene were significantly higher in HCC than their non-cancerous liver tissues (16/19 vs 4/19, P < 0.001). The deletion of HBx COOH-terminal was detected in 14 HCC tissues. A specific integration of HBx at 17p13 locus was also found in 8 of 16 HCC, and all of them also exhibited full-length HBx deletions. Integrated or integrated coexistence with replicated pattern was obtained in 45.5% (20/45) - 56.8% (25/45) tumors and 40.9% (18/45) - 52.3% (23/45) non-tumor tissues. CONCLUSION: HBx deletion, especially the COOH- terminal deletion of HBx is a frequent event in HBV-associated HCC tissues in China. HBV integration had also taken place in partial HCC tissues. This supporting the hypothesis that deletion and probably integrated forms of the HBx gene may be implicated in liver carcinogenesis.

Interleukin-8, a promising predictor for prognosis of pancreatic cancer

AIM: To investigate the value of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a pro-inflammatory chemokine, in predicting the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. METHODS: Expression of IL-8 and its receptor CXCR1 was assessed by immunohistochemistry in pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis samples. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the serum IL-8 levels in pancreatic cancer patients. Human pancreatic cancer tissues were heterotopically transplanted to the immune-deficiency mice to evaluate the effect of serum IL-8 on the tumorigenesis of the cancer samples.RESULTS: IL-8 and CXCR1 proteins were both overexpressed in pancreatic adenocarcinoma samples (55.6% and 65.4%, respectively) compared with the matched para-cancer tissues (25.9% and 12.3%, P < 0.01), or chronic pancreatitis (0% and 25%, P < 0.05). Serum IL-8 levels in pancreatic cancer patients (271.1 ± 187.7 ng/mL) were higher than in other digestive system tumors, such as gastric cancer (41.77 ± 9.11 ng/mL, P = 0.025), colorectal carcinoma (78.72 ± 80.60 ng/mL, P = 0.032) and hepatocellular carcinoma (59.60 ± 19.80 ng/mL, P = 0.016). In vivo tumorigenesis analysis further proved that tumor tissues from patients with higher serum IL-8 levels grew faster than those with lower IL-8 levels. CONCLUSION: IL-8 can be a fine serum marker for predicting the prognosis pancreatic cancer.

Expression of fibroblast activation protein in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma and its clinicopathological significance

AIM: To examine fibroblast activation protein (FAP) expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and to analyze its relationship with the clinicopathology of PDAC. METHODS: FAP expression was examined in 134 PDAC specimens by immunohistochemistry, and in four pancreatic cancer cell lines (SW1990, Miapaca-2, AsPC-1 and BxPC-3) by Western blotting assay. We also analyzed the association between FAP expression in PDAC cells and the clinicopathology of PDAC patients. RESULTS: The results showed that the FAP was expressed in both stromal fibroblast cells (98/134, 73.1%) and carcinoma cells (102/134, 76.1%). All 4 pancreatic cancer cell lines expressed FAP protein at different levels. Protein bands corresponding to the proteolytically active 170-kDa seprase dimer and its88-kDa seprase subunit were identif ied. Higher FAP expression in carcinoma cells was associated with tumor size (P < 0.001), fi brotic focus (P = 0.003), perineural invasion (P = 0.009) and worse clinical outcome (P = 0.0085). CONCLUSION: FAP is highly expressed in carcinoma cells and f ibroblasts in PDAC tissues, and its expression is associated with desmoplasia and worse prognosis.

Primary lymphoblastic B-cell lymphoma of the stomach:A case report

Primary stomach lymphoblastic B-cell lymphoma (B-LBL) is a rare tumor. We describe a primary stomach B-LBL in a 38 years old female who presented with nonspecific complaints of fatigue and vomiting for 2 mo. Gastrofiberscopy revealed a large gastric ulcer, which was successfully resected. Pathology showed a lymphoblastic cell lymphoma arising from the stomach, and there was no evidence of disease at any extrastomach site. Immunohistochemical staining and gene rearrangement studies supported that the stomach tumor was a clonal B-cell lymphoma. Therefore, the diagnosis of B-LBL was made based on the stomach specimen.