Diagnostic value of serum human epididymis protein 4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND Numerous studies have demonstrated that human epididymis protein 4(HE4)is overexpressed in various malignant tissues including ovarian,endometrial,lung,breast,pancreatic,and gastric cancers.However,no study has examined the diagnostic impact of HE4 in patient with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)until now.AIM To analyze the value of four serum tumor markers for the diagnosis of ESCC,and examine the associations of serum levels of HE4 with ESCC patients’clinicopathological characteristics.METHODS The case group consisted of 80 ESCC patients,which were compared to a control group of 56 patients with benign esophageal disease.Serum levels of HE4,carcinoma embryonic antigen(CEA),alpha fetal protein,and carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA19-9)were detected by ELISA.The associations of serum HE4 levels with ESCC patients’clinicopathological characteristics such as gender,tumor location,and pathological stage were also examined after operation.RESULTS The result of ELISA showed that serum HE4 level was significantly higher in the patients with ESCC than in the controls,and the staining intensity was inversely correlated with the pathological T and N stages.Serum HE4 levels had a sensitivity of 66.2%and specificity of 78.6%when the cutoff value was set at 3.9 ng/mL.Moreover,the combined HE4 and CA19-9 increased the sensitivity to 83.33%,and interestingly,the combination of HE4 with CEA led to the most powerful sensitivity of 87.5%.Furthermore,A positive correlation was observed between HE4 serum levels and pathological T and N stages(P=0.0002 and 0.0017,respectively),but there was no correlation between HE4 serum levels and ESCC patient gender(P=0.4395)or tumor location(P=0.6777).CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that detection of serum HE4 levels may be useful in auxiliary diagnosis and evaluation of the progression of ESCC.

PIK3CA gene mutations in Northwest Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM To evaluate PIK3 CA gene mutational status in Northwest Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC) patients, and examine the associations of PIK3 CA gene mutations with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome.METHODS A total of 210 patients with ESCC who underwent curative resection were enrolled in this study. Pyrosequencing was applied to investigate mutations in exons 9 and 20 of PIK3 CA gene in 210 Northwest Chinese ESCCs. The associations of PIK3 CA gene mutations with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome were examined.RESULTS PIK3 CA gene mutations in exon 9 were detected in 48 cases(22.9%) of a non-biased database of 210 curatively resected Northwest Chinese ESCCs. PIK3 CA gene mutations were not associated with sex, tobacco use, alcohol use, tumor location, stage, or local recurrence. When compared with wild-type PIK3 CA gene cases, patients with PIK3 CA gene mutations in exons 9 experienced significantly better disease-free survival and overall survival rates.CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that PIK3 CA gene mutations could act as a prognostic biomarker in Northwest Chinese ESCC patients.

Progress in mechanisms of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is the most common causes of dementia in the elderly.Currently,only two classes of drugs,acetylcholinesterase inhibitors(AChEIs)and memantine are approved.AChEIs ameliorate cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in AD patients through activation of acetylcholine(ACh)receptors by increased synaptic ACh levels and also have protective effects against glutamate neurotoxicity and inflammation,whereas memantine appears to mainly protect against excitotoxicity and neurodegeneration.Herein,we review the pharmacologic properties of the available AChEIs and memantine,and focus on recent progress in the mechanisms of AD in relation to acetylcholinergic and glutamatergic involvement.