MRI diagnosis of bone and seminal vesicle metastasis in prostate cancer

Objective:To study the value of MRI in the diagnosis of bone and seminal vesicle metastasis of prostate cancer, and to provide reference for clinical diagnosis.Methods: A total of 136 cases of prostate cancer treated in our hospital in December 2017 December 2015 were collected. MRI prostate and peripheral tissue, pelvic and spinal scan were performed before the puncture biopsy, and systematic biopsy of the prostate was performed at the end. The specificity, accuracy and sensitivity of MRI scan in the diagnosis of bone and seminal vesicle metastasis of prostate cancer were compared with the pathological diagnosis as gold standard. Results: The pathological diagnosis of 136 cases of prostate cancer occurred in 34 cases (25%), including 16 cases of seminal vesicle metastasis (10.3%), and 20 cases of bone metastases (14.7%). A total of 42 cases of metastasis (30.9%) were diagnosed by MRI, of which 20 cases (14.7%) were metastases of seminal vesicle and 22 cases of bone metastases (16.2%). The specificity of MRI for the diagnosis of prostate cancer seminal vesicle and bone metastases was 95.7%, the sensitivity was 76.2%, and the accuracy was 89.7%.Conclusion: Compared with pathological biopsy, MRI has high specificity and accuracy in diagnosing seminal vesicle metastasis and bone metastasis in patients with prostate cancer, but the sensitivity is deficient. It is worth promoting in clinic.

IL-2-loaded Polypeptide Nanoparticles for Enhanced Anti-cancer Immunotherapy

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) is widely used as an active immunotherapeutic agent in clinical metastatic cancers. However, its therapeutic concentrations do not last long due to its short half-life. Thus, only a transient proliferation of the anti-cancer CD8+ T cells can be achieved, resulting in poor efficacy. Therefore, the aim of this work was to create a system that promotes CD8+ T cell proliferation at the tumor site using IL-2 persistently present and activates an anti-cancer immune response. This goal was achieved by the design of the IL-2-loaded polypeptide nanoparticles (P-IL-2) where methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) block poly-[(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-aspartamide] phenylboronic acid was used to encapsulate IL-2 through boron-nitrogen coordination with poly(L-lysine). P-IL-2 significantly prolonged the circulation time of IL-2 and achieved a selective drug release at the tumor site in the presence of high levels of reactive oxygen species, thus activating an anti-cancer immune response and exerting a better anti-cancer effect. The half-life of P-IL-2 was 3.15-fold higher than that of IL-2, and the quantity of CD8+ T cells after using P-IL-2 was 1.89-fold higher than that after using IL-2. In addition, the combination of P-IL-2 and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody resulted in an enhanced immune activation. Hence, this work provides a new approach to improve the efficacy of IL-2 in anti-cancer immunotherapy.

A Novel CA4P Polymeric Nanoparticle for Murine Hepatoma Therapy

Combretastatin A4 phosphate(CA4P)is a potent vascular disrupting agent with good water solubility.However,it is only effective at high doses,which decreases clinical applicability.Herein,we designed stable CA4P polymeric nanoparticles(CA4P NPs)consisting of various cholesterol derivatives,and with a drug loading efficacy of 93%.The nanoparticles released CA4P in a sustained manner and achieved a 72%inhibition rate in the murine H22 liver tumor model,which was about 2.9-fold higher than that of free CA4P(24.6%).Furthermore,the carrier components of CA4P NPs were metabolized to arginine,cholesterol,ethanol and poly(ethylene glycol)in vivo;therefore,the CA4P NPs are safe and have significant potential for clinical translation.

A Singlet Oxygen Reservoir Based on Poly-Pyridone and Porphyrin Nanoscale Metal-Organic Framework for Cancer Therapy

Here,a methacrylate-modified pyridone derivative(mPYR)was loaded into a porphyrin nanoscale metal-organic framework(porphyrin-nMOF).Then,the loaded mPYR was further polymerized to obtain poly-pyridone(poly-mPYR)to form poly-mPYR loaded porphyrin-nMOF,which is designated as PLP and used as a reservoir of singlet oxygen(^(1)O_(2)).It was found that PLP could quickly capture^(1)O_(2)in vitro and slowly release^(1)O_(2)in vivo to induce cancer cell death.The release of^(1)O_(2)was light and oxygen independent,and the entire process did not cause intracellular oxygen consumption.PLP also displayed good therapeutic effect in the treatment of both solid tumor and lung metastasis cancer.This strategy of oxygenand light-independent^(1)O_(2)treatment presents great potential for treating refractory cancer.Also,the form of^(1)O_(2)capturing polymer-loaded nMOF expands the biomedical applications of MOFs and polymers,which can be used as a platform for biomedical applications.