美研究表明软组织癌幸存儿童易再患癌

美国国家癌症研究所的一项研究表明，软组织恶性肿瘤的儿童患者即使能够幸存，他们再次罹患癌症的可能性也会远高于正常水平。

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the pancreas with soft tissue metastasis

Neuroendocrine carcinoma(NEC) of the pancreas is rare.We report the case of a 34-year-old man with pancreatic NEC with soft tissue metastasis.The patient presented with right upper abdominal discomfort.Computed tomography revealed a low-density heterogeneous mass in the tail and body of the pancreas that encroached on the greater curvature of the stomach and spleen.We performed exploratory laparotomy and total pancreatectomy with splenectomy and total gastrectomy.Histopathological analysis showed spindleshaped cells with scanty cytoplasm and hyperchromatic nuclei,confirming a primary pancreatic NEC.One month after the surgery,the patient experienced leg swelling.Positron emission tomography-computed tomography revealed high uptake of fludeoxyglucose in the left leg,and the leg was amputated.Histopathological analysis confirmed metastasis of pancreatic NEC.The patient was followed up and received chemotherapy(etoposide and cisplatin).One month after amputation,the level of tumor marker neuron-specific enolase was 142.70 μg/L and computed tomography scan revealed an aggravated metastatic lesion.The patient suffered from unbearable pain and we treated him with odynolysis.Four months postoperatively,the patient died of respiratory failure.

Increased expression of chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans in rat hepatocellular carcinoma tissues

AIM:To investigate the expression of chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans(CSPGs)in rat liver tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS:Thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups:control group(n=10) and HCC model group(n=20).Rats in the HCC model groups were intragastrically administrated with 0.2%(w/v)N-diethylnitrosamine(DEN)every 5 d for 16 wk,whereas 0.9%(w/v)normal saline was administered to rats in the control group.After 16 wk from the initiation of experiment,all rats were killed and livers were collected and fixed in 4%(w/v)paraformaldehyde.All tissues were embedded in paraffin and sectioned.Histological staining(hematoxylin and eosin and Toluidine blue)was performed to demonstrate the onset of HCC and the content of sulphated glycosaminoglycan(sGAG).Immunohistochemical staining was performed to investigate the expression of chondroitin sulphate(CS)/dermatan sulphate(DS)-GAG,heparan sulphate(HS)-GAG,keratan sulphate(KS)-GAG in liver tissues.Furthermore,expression and distribution of CSPG family members,including aggrecan,versican,biglycan and decorin in liver tissues,were also immunohistochemically determined.RESULTS:After 16 wk administration of DEN,malignant nodules were observed on the surface of livers from the HCC model group,and their hepatic lobule structures appeared largely disrupted under microscope.Toluidine blue staining demonstrated that there was an significant increase in sGAG content in HCC tissues when compared with that in the normal liver tissues from the control group[0.37±0.05 integrated optical density per stained area(IOD/area)and 0.21± 0.01 IOD/area,P<0.05].Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that this increased sGAG in HCC tissues was induced by an elevated expression of CS/DS(0.28±0.02 IOD/area and 0.18±0.02 IOD/area,P< 0.05)and HS(0.30±0.03 IOD/area and 0.17±0.02 IOD/area,P<0.01)but not KS GAGs in HCC tissues.Further studies thereby were performed to investigate the expression and distribution of several CSPG components in HCC tissues,including aggrecan,versican,biglycan and decorin.Interestingly,there was a distinct distribution pattern for these CSPG components between HCC tissues and the normal tissues.Positive staining of aggrecan,biglycan and decorin was localized in hepatic membrane and/or pericellular matrix in normal liver tissues;however,their expression was mainly observed in the cytoplasm,cell membranes in hepatoma cells and/or pericellular matrix within HCC tissues.Semi-quantitative analysis indicated that there was a higher level of expression of aggrecan(0.43± 0.01 and 0.35±0.03,P<0.05),biglycan(0.32±0.01 and 0.25±0.01,P<0.001)and decorin(0.29±0.01 and 0.26±0.01,P<0.05)in HCC tissues compared with that in the normal liver tissues.Very weak versican positive staining was observed in hepatocytes near central vein in normal liver tissues;however there was an intensive versican distribution in fibrosis septa between the hepatoma nodules.Semi-quantitative analysis indicated that the positive rate of versican in hepatoma tissues from the HCC model group was much higher than that in the control group(33.61%and 21.28%,P <0.05).There was no positive staining in lumican and keratocan,two major KSPGs,in either normal or HCC liver tissues.CONCLUSION:CSPGs play important roles in the onset and progression of HCC,and may provide potential therapeutic targets and clinical biomarkers for this prevalent tumor in humans.