Comparison of therapeutic effectiveness of combined interventional therapy for 1126 cases of primary liver cancer

AIM： To verify the effect of combined interventiona therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）. METHODS： The clinical data of 1126 HCC patients who received combined interventional therapy for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization （TACE） before or after hepatectomy, TACE and radio-frequency ablation （RFA）, Chinese medicine treatment and biotherapy after TACE or transcatheter arterial infusion （TAI）, were reviewed according to the results of their liver function, alpha-fetoprotein, image data, color-ultrosonography finding and survival rate. RESULTS： A total of 874 patients were followed up for a period of 2 to 63 mo. The overall 1-, 3- and 5- year survival rates were 67.8%, 28.7% and 18.8% respectively. The 1- 3- and 5- year survival rates of patients who received TACE were 74.7%, 41.4%, 36.9% before hepatectomy and 78.9%, 40.4%, 37.5% after hepatectomy. The effective rate （PR ＋ NC） after TACE and RFA was 93.4%, the 1- and 3- year survival rates were 74.5% and 36.8% after TACE and RFA. The effective rate of PR ＋ NC after TACE was 83.2%. The 1-, 3- and 5- year survival rates were 69.3%, 21.7%, 8.4% after TACE. The effective rate of PR ＋ NC after TAI was 27.5%, the 1- and 2- year survival rates were 11.6% and 0% after TAI. The liver function, color-ultrosonography finding and alpha-fetoprotein after TACE ＋ RFA, TACE and TAI were compared. There was no significant difference in each index between TACE and RFA or TACE as well as in liver function between TACE and RFA or between TACE and TAI. CONCLUSION： The therapeutic effectiveness of TACE before or after hepatectomy is most significant, while the effect of TACE and RFA is better than that of TACE, and the effect of TAI is minimal.

Techniques for postmortem tenderisation in meat processing:effectiveness,application and possible mechanisms

Developing efficient and promising tenderising techniques for postmortem meat is a heavily researched topic among meat scientists as consumers are willing to pay more for guaranteed tender meat.However,emerging tenderising techniques are not broadly used in the meat industry and,to some degree,are controversial due to lack of theoretical support.Thus,understanding the mechanisms involved in postmortem tenderisation is essential.This article first provides an overview of the relationship of ageing tenderisation and calpain system,as well as proteomics applied to identify protein biomarkers characterizing tenderness.In general,the ageing tenderisation is mediated by multiple biochemical activities,and it can exhibit better palatability and commercial benefit by combining other interventions.The calpain system plays a key role in ageing tenderisation functions by rupturing myofibrils and regulating proteolysis,glycolysis,apoptosis and metabolic modification.Additionally,tenderising techniques from different aspects including exogenous enzymes,chemistry,physics and the combined methods are discussed in depth.Particularly,innovation of home cooking could be recommended to prepare relatively tender meat due to its convenience and ease of operation by consumers.Furthermore,the combined interventions provide better performance in controlled tenderness.Finally,future trends in developing new tenderising techniques,and applied consideration in the meat processing industry are proposed in order to improve meat quality with higher economical value.