Clinical epidemiology of gastric cancer in Hehuang valley of China:A 10-year epidemiological study of gastric cancer

AIM:To investigate the clinical epidemiological characteristics of gastric cancer in the Hehuang valley,China,to provide a reference for treatment and prevention of regional gastric cancer.METHODS:Between February 2003 and February2013,the records of 2419 patients with gastric cancer were included in this study.The patient’s characteristics,histological and pathological features,as well as the dietary habits of the patients,were investigated.RESULTS:The clinical data showed that adenocarcinoma was the leading histological type of gastric cancer in this area.Characteristics of gastric cancer in different ethnic groups and age showed that the 60.55-65.50years group showed the high incidence of gastric cancer in all ethnic groups.There were more male gastric cancer patients than female.Intestinal was the most common type of gastric cancer in the Hehuang valley.There was no significant difference in the proportion of sex in terms of Helicobacter pylori infection.The impact of dietary habits on gastric cancer showed that regular consumption of fried or grilled food,consumption of high-salt,high-fat and spicy food and drinking strong Boiled brick-tea were three important factors associated with gastric cancer in males and females.CONCLUSION:Differences existed in race,sex,and age of patients according to the epidemiology of gastric cancer in the Hehuang valley.Moreover,dietary habits was also an important factor contributing to gastric cancer.

Neurological adaptations to hypoxia in Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) with a view of molecular biology of respiratory globin-neuroglobin

Neuroglobin(Ngb) is a respiratory protein that is preferentially expressed in brain of mouse and man.In this article,Tibetan antelope,living at altitude of 3 000～5 000 m for millions of years,was selected as the model of hypoxia-tolerant adaptation species.Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot techniques,expression of Ngb gene was amplified and analyzed in antelope brain tissue.Our results showed that Ngb homology protein in Tibetan antelope was identified with more sequence similarity with cattle(96%),sheep(95%),and human(95%).We detected that there were some mutations occurred in the Open Reading Frame of Ngb in Tibetan antelope compared with sheep.Phylogenetic analysis of Ngb chain showed that it was closer to cattle than the others.This study suggests possible roles of central nervous system enriched Ngb in adaptation of Tibetan antelope to extremely high altitude.

Energy power in mountains:difference in metabolism pattern results in different adaption traits in Tibetans

Energy metabolism plays an important role in life survival for species living in high altitude hypoxia condition.Air-breathing organisms require oxygen to create energy.Tibetans are the well-adapted highlanders in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.It was thought that different metabolic approaches could lead to different adaptation traits to high altitude hypoxia.Recently identified hypoxia inducible factors pathway regulators,endothelial PAS domain protein1(EPAS1)/HIF-2α and PPARA,were involved in decreasing hemoglobin concentrations in Tibetans.Because EPAS1 and PPARA also modulated the energy metabolism during hypoxia,we hypothesized that positive selected EPAS1 and PPARA genes were also involved in unique energy metabolisms in Tibetans.In this brief review,we take a look into genetic determinations to energy metabolisms for hypoxia adaptations traits in Tibetans and mal-adaptive conditions such as high altitude diseases.