Risk factors,prognostic predictors,and nomograms for pancreatic cancer patients with initially diagnosed synchronous liver metastasis

BACKGROUND Liver metastasis(LM)remains a major cause of cancer-related death in patients with pancreatic cancer(PC)and is associated with a poor prognosis.Therefore,identifying the risk and prognostic factors in PC patients with LM(PCLM)is essential as it may aid in providing timely medical interventions to improve the prognosis of these patients.However,there are limited data on risk and prognostic factors in PCLM patients.AIM To investigate the risk and prognostic factors of PCLM and develop corresponding diagnostic and prognostic nomograms.METHODS Patients with primary PC diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 were reviewed from the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and Results Database.Risk factors were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis to develop the diagnostic mode.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model was used to determine the prognostic factors needed to develop the prognostic model.The performance of the two nomogram models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,calibration plots,decision curve analysis(DCA),and risk subgroup classification.The Kaplan-Meier method with a logrank test was used for survival analysis.RESULTS We enrolled 33459 patients with PC in this study.Of them,11458(34.2%)patients had LM at initial diagnosis.Age at diagnosis,primary site,lymph node metastasis,pathological type,tumor size,and pathological grade were identified as independent risk factors for LM in patients with PC.Age>70 years,adenocarcinoma,poor or anaplastic differentiation,lung metastases,no surgery,and no chemotherapy were the independently associated risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with PCLM.The C-index of diagnostic and prognostic nomograms were 0.731 and 0.753,respectively.The two nomograms could accurately predict the occurrence and prognosis of patients with PCLM based on the observed analysis results of ROC curves,calibration plots,and DCA curves.The prognostic nomogram could stratify patients into prognostic groups and perform well in internal validation.CONCLUSION Our study identified the risk and prognostic factors in patients with PCLM and developed corresponding diagnostic and prognostic nomograms to help clinicians in subsequent clinical evaluation and intervention.External validation is required to confirm these results.

Screening of Differently Expressed Genes in Human Prostate Cancer Cell Lines with Different Metastasis Potentials

In order to screen the genes differentially expressed in two human prostate cancer cells with different metastasis potentials, suppression subtractive hybridization （SSH） was done twice on human prostate cancer cell line with high potential of metastasis PC3M-IE8 and its synogenetic cell line PC3M-2B4 with low metastasis potential. In the first subtraction PC3M-2B4 was used as tester and PC3M-1E8 as driver and the forward subtractive library was constructed. In the second one the tester and driver were interchanged and the reverse subtractive library was constructed. The screened clones of both libraries were sequenced and Gene Bank homology search was performed. Some clones were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that two subtractive libraries containing 238 positive clones were constructed. Analysis of 16 sequenced clones randomly picked from two libraries showed that 4 differentially expressed gene fragments were identified as new EST with unknown functions. It was concluded that two subtractive libraries of human prostate cancer cell lines with different metastasis potentials were constructed successfully.

Factors contributing to lymph node occult metastasis in supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma cT2-T4 N0M0 and metastasis predictive equation

Objective： To investigate factors that contribute to lymph node metastasis（LNM） from clinical cT2-T4 N0M0（cN0） supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma（SLC）, and to predict the risk of occult metastasis before surgery.Methods： A total of 121 patients who received surgery were retrospectively analyzed. Relevant factors regarding cervical LNM were analyzed. Multivariate analyses were conducted to predict the region where the metastasis occurred and prognosis. Results： The overall metastatic rate of c N0 SLC was 28.1%. Metastatic rates were 15.4%, 32.5% and 35.7% for T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Metastatic rates for SLC levels II, III and IV were 19.6%, 17.2% and 3.6%, respectively. A regression equation was formulated to predict the probability of metastasis in cN0 SLC as follows： Pn=e（–3.874＋0.749T3＋1.154T4＋1.935P1＋1.750P2）/[1＋e（–3.874＋0.749T3＋1.154T4＋1.935P1＋1.750P2）]. Approximately 0.2% of patients experienced LNM with no recurrence of laryngeal cancer. Comparison of the intergroup survival curves between patients with and without LNM indicated a statistically significant difference（P=0.029）.Conclusions： Cervical lymph node metastatic rates tended to increase in tandem with T stage in patients with LNM in cN0 SLC, and neck dissection is advised for these patients. Moreover, cervical LNM in cN0 SLC showed a sequential pattern and may be predicted.

Hyperprolactinemia due to pituitary metastasis: A case report

BACKGROUND Pituitary metastasis is an uncommon manifestation of systemic malignant tumors.Moreover,hyperprolactinemia and overall hypopituitarism caused by metastatic spread leading to the initial symptoms are rare.CASE SUMMARY A 53-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital with complaints of bilateral blurred vision,dizziness,polyuria,nocturia,severe fatigue and somnolence,decreased libido,and intermittent nausea and vomiting for more than 6 mo.During the last 7 d,the dizziness had worsened.Laboratory investigations revealed overall hypofunction of the pituitary gland,but the patient had an elevated serum prolactin level(703.35 mg/mL).Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor in the sellar region,accompanied by intratumoral hemorrhage and calcification.Thus,transnasal subtotal resection of the lesion in the sellar region was performed.The histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations of the resected lesion revealed metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma to the pituitary gland.Oral hydrocortisone(30 mg/d)and levothyroxine(25 mg/d)were given both pre-and postoperatively.Postoperatively,the clinical symptoms were significantly improved.However,4 mo following the surgery,the patient succumbed due to multiple organ failure.CONCLUSION Hyperprolactinemia is one of the markers of poor prognosis in patients with carcinoma that metastasizes to the pituitary gland.Exogenous hormone supplementation plays a positive role in relieving the symptoms of patients and improving quality of life.

STUDY ON METASTASIS ASSOCIATED GENE SCREENED BY MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY HIL

The cDNA expression libraries derived from a highly metastatic cell subline Anip-973 and from its parental cell line, low metastatic AGZY-83a were screened by monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) seperately against these two cell lines. A positive clone(H4-D) from the Anip-973 cDNA library was isolated and its nucleotide sequence was determined. This clone contained 978 bp with an open reading frame of 318 bp encoding a polypeptide consisting of 106 amino acids. The H4-D cDNA sequence showed 85% homology with a human propionyl-CoA carboxylase α-chain. In Western bloting analysis, the MoAb H4 recognized 2 bands(15 KDa and 27 KDa) of Anip-973 cell membrane Protein. The mRNA expression of H4-D was higher in AniP-973 cells than that in AGZY-83a cells. The metastatic Potential of Anip-973 cells was markedly decreased after being pretreated with MoAb H4. The above findings indicated that H4-D has a certain relationship with the metastatic phenotype of AniP-973 cells.

Prevalence of Spinal Metastasis in Neurosurgical Procedures: A Descriptive Study

Objective: This study sought to identify the prevalence of operations for spinal epidural neoplastic metastases relative to other spine and neurosurgical operative procedures. Methods: This study was descriptive and involved a retrospective review of data collected from patients who underwent neurosurgeries between February 1997 and January 2015 at a single quaternary hospital. The examined population was distributed across five descriptive categories to perform numerical distributions among neurosurgical operative procedures. Results: A total of 12,802 neurosurgical procedures were identified. These procedures were classified as follows: Skull and brain, 11,192 (87.42%);spinal column and spinal nervous tissue, 1462 (11.42%);and peripheral nerves, 148 (1.16%). Surgical procedures for the 1462 (100%) cases of spinal column and spinal nervous tissue diseases were distributed by nosology as follows: Degenerative intervertebral disk and spondylosis, 768 (52.54%);neoplastic, 279 (19.08%);traumatic, 221 (15.11%);congenital, 163 (11.14%);infectious and inflammatory, 27 (1.85%);and vascular, 4 (0.28%). With respect to the distribution of the 279 (100%) surgical procedures for spinal column and spinal nervous tissue neoplastic diseases, 124 (44.44%) procedures were for intradural neoplasms, and 155 (55.56%) procedures were for epidural spinal column neoplasms. The 155 (100%) operations for epidural neoplastic diseases were distributed into two groups: Primary epidural neoplasms, 42 (27.10%);and secondary epidural neoplasms, 113 (72.90%). Spinal column epidural neoplastic metastases (secondary neoplasms) represented 0.88% of the 12,802 neurosurgical procedures. Conclusions: Surgical procedures for spinal metastasis are uncommon with respect to all neurosurgical operative procedures. Trend analysis reveals an unchanging trend of prevalence for these procedures.

甲状腺髓样癌术后多脏器转移1例

1临床资料患者,男,58岁,于32年前发现左侧颈部肿物就诊于当地医院,穿刺活检为甲状腺髓样癌(medullary thyroid carcinoma,MTC),遂在外院行甲状腺左侧叶切除并淋巴结清扫,术后给予甲状腺素片治疗并规律复查;于18年前发现右侧肾上腺转移,在外院行右侧肾上腺切除术,术后未给予抗肿瘤治疗,继续规律复查。

Bone metastasis is a late-onset and unfavorable event in survivors of gastric cancer after radical gastrectomy:Results from a clinical observational cohort

Background The timing and incidence of recurrent bone metastasis(BM)after radical gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer(GC)as well as the survival of these patients were not fully understood.The aim of this study was to analyze the data of an observational GC cohort and identify patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and had recurrent BM to describe and clarify the pattern and profile of BM evolution after surgery.Methods Data were retrieved from a hospital-based GC cohort,and patients who underwent upfront radical gastrectomy were selected.The time points of specific organ metastatic events were recorded,and the person-year incidence rate of metastatic events was calculated.The latency period of BM events after gastrectomy was measured and compared with that of the other two most common metastatic events,liver metastasis(LM)and distant lymph node metastasis(LNM),using analysis of variance.Propensity score matching and subgroup analysis were used for sensitivity analysis.Results A total of 1324 GC cases underwent radical gastrectomy between January 2011 and December 2021.Of these,67 BM,218 LM,and 248 LNM occurred before the last follow-up.The incidence of BM events was 1.7/100 person-years,which was approximately 3-fold lower than that of LM and distant LNM events(5.5 and 6.3 per 100 person-years,respectively).BM events had a significantly longer latency(median time,16.5 months)than LM and LNM events(11.1 and 12.0 months,respectively).Recurrent BM led to a worse prognosis(median survival,4.5 months)than those of LM and LNM events(median survival,7.7 and 7.1 months,respectively).However,no difference in overall survival after gastrectomy was observed among the groups.Conclusions Compared with other common metastatic events,BM in GC after gastrectomy is a late-onset event indicating poor survival.

Serial stimulated thyroglobulin measurements are more specific for detecting distant metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer before radioiodine therapy

Objective: Preablative stimulated thyroglobulin (ps-Tg) has the potential to be used in identifying distant metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DM-DTC), but its single level can be affected by remnant thyroid tissue and thyrotropin (TSH). The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the value of serial ps-Tg measurements in identifying DM-DTC specifically. Methods: A total of 317 DTC patients with serial measurements of ps-Tg, TSH and anti-Tg antibody were divided into M1 (n=72) and M0 (n=245) according to the presence of distant metastasis (DM) or not. The initial psTg measurement, with a corresponding TSH exceeding 30 mu IU/mL, was marked as Tg1, and ps-Tg measured right before radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy was defined as Tg2, with a median interval of 8 days. Delta Tg denotes Tg2-Tg1, and Delta TSH denotes TSH2-TSH1. Tg1, Tg2, Delta Tg, and Delta Tg/Delta TSH were tested for efficacy in identifying DM-DTC using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and further compared with chest computed tomography (CT) and posttreatment whole-body RAI scan (RxWBS). Results: Compared with single ps-Tg measurement (Tg1 or Tg2), both Delta Tg and Delta Tg/Delta TSH were more narrowly distributed around zero in the M0 group, which made their distribution in the M1 group more distinguished in a relatively dispersed way. Delta Tg/Delta TSH manifested a higher accuracy (88.64%) and specificity (90.20%) in identifying DM-DTC than Tg1 or Tg2 measurements, with a much higher specificity than chest CT (90.20% vs. 66.00%) and a much higher sensitivity than RxWBS (83.33% vs. 61.11%). Conclusions: Serial ps-Tg measurements even over as short an interval as 8 days hold incremental value in identifying DM-DTC. Delta Tg/Delta TSH is a specific early biochemical marker for DM-DTC.

Liver-first approach of colorectal cancer with synchronous hepatic metastases: A reverse strategy

Recently, there has been a change in the strategy of how synchronous colorectal hepatic metastases are attributed to the development of more valuable protocols of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for neoadjuvant treatment of colorectal neoplasms and their hepatic metastases. There is a consensus that patients with synchronous colorectal hepatic metastases have lower survival than those with metachronous colorectal hepatic metastases. Currently, controversy remains concerning the best approach is sequence in a patient with colorectal cancer and synchronous hepatic metastases resection. To obtain a better patient selection, the authors have suggested the initial realization of systemic chemotherapy in the circumstance of patients with colorectal tumor stage Ⅳ, since these patients have a systemic disease. The rationale behind this liver-first strategy is initially the control of synchronous hepatic metastases of colorectal carcinoma, which can optimize a potentially curative hepatic resection and longstanding survival. The liver-first strategy procedure is indicated for patients with colorectal hepatic metastases who require downstaging therapy to make a curative liver resection possible. Thus, the liver-first strategy is considered an option in cases of rectal carcinoma in the early stage and with limited or advanced synchronous colorectal hepatic metastases or in case of patients with asymptomatic colorectal carcinoma, but with extensive liver metastases. Patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy and with progression of neoplastic disease should not undergo hepatic resection, because it does not change the prognosis and may even make it worse. To date, there have been no randomized controlled trials on surgical approach of colorectal synchronous hepatic metastases, despite the relatively high number of available manuscripts on this subject. All of these published studies are observational, usually retrospective, and often non-comparative. The patient selection criteria for the liver-first strategy should be individualized, and the approach of these patients should be performed by a multidisciplinary team so its benefits will be fully realized.

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor messenger RNA expression in gastric cancer

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Prognostic value of postoperative complication for early recurrence after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Postoperative complications may adversely affect oncological outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of postoperative complications on early-phase recurrence after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods: We included 145 HCC patients who underwent initial and curative resection between January2004 and December 2013. Postoperative complications of grade III or higher based on Clavien–Dindo classification were defined as clinically relevant postoperative complications. Recurrence within two years after hepatectomy was defined as early-phase recurrence.Results: Thirty-eight patients(26%) developed postoperative complications. The only predictive factor for postoperative complication was longer operative duration(P = 0.037). The disease-specific survival rate of patients with complication was lower than that of patients without complications(P = 0.015). Earlyphase recurrence was observed in 20/38(53%) patients who suffered postoperative complications and36/107(34%) patients with no complications, which was statistically significant(P = 0.039). Multivariate analysis identified four factors contributing to early-phase recurrence: high serum AFP level(P = 0.042),multiple tumors(P < 0.001), poor differentiation(P = 0.036) and presence of postoperative complication(P = 0.039).Conclusions: Postoperative complication is an independent prognostic factor for early-phase recurrence after curative resection of HCC. Close observation of patients with postoperative complications may be a necessary treatment strategy for HCC.

Surgery for gastrointestinal malignant melanoma:Experience from surgical training center

AIM:To characterize clinical features,surgery,outcome,and survival of malignant melanoma(MM) of the gastrointestinal(GI) tract in a surgical training center in Bangkok,Thailand. METHODS:A retrospective review was performed for all patients with MM of the GI tract treated at our institution between 1997 and 2007. RESULTS:Fourteen patients had GI involvement either in a metastatic form or as a primary melanoma. Thirteen patients with sufficient data were reviewed. The median age of the patients was 66 years(range:32-87 years) .Ten patients were female and three were male.Seven patients had primary melanomas of the anal canal,stomach and the sigmoid colon(5,1 and 1 cases,respectively) .Seven patients underwent curative resections:three abdominoperineal resections,two wide local excisions,one total gastrectomy andone sigmoidectomy.Six patients had distant metastatic lesions at the time of diagnosis,which made curative resection an inappropriate choice.Patients who underwent curative resection exhibited a longer mean survival time(29.7 mo,range:10-96 mo) than did patients in the palliative group(4.8 mo,P=0.0006) . CONCLUSION:GI MM had an unfavorable prognosis,except in patients who underwent curative resection(53.8%of cases) ,who had a mean survival of 29.7 mo.

Comparative Study on Cancer Cell Apoptosis between Gastric and Intestinal-type Human Gastric Carcinoma

Apoptosis of cancer cells between the gastric and intestinal-type human gastric carcinoma were compared in terms of the expression of oncogene MDM2 and CD68, the histological types, the infiltration depth, and lymph node metastasis. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling （TUNEL） assay was employed to stain apoptotic cells Histochemical method（AB-PAS） was applied to stain mucus that is neutral or acidic in nature, Immunohistochemical method （SABC） was used to detect expression of MDM2 and CD6. The results showed that the mean apoptosis index （AI） of total 48 cases was 8.60±2.60. AI in the 30 intestinal type cases was significantly higher than that in the 18 gastric type cases （t=4.67, P〈0.01）. In the 30 intestinal type cases, the spontaneous apoptosis index of MDM2 negative cases was significantly higher than that of the positive cases （t=-7.16, P〈0.01）. And in the 18 gastric type cases, the same result was found. （t=-11.39, P〈0.01）, The MDM2 positive ratio in gastric type cases was higher than that in intestinal type cases （x^2=4.68, P〈0.05）. There is no significant difference in AI between cases of lymph node metastasis and non-metastasis cases in intestinal type cases （t=0.26, P〉0.05）. But in the gastric type cases, a significant difference existed （t=-5.87, P〈0.01）. A significant difference in lymph node metastasis ratio was found between the two gastric carcinoma types （x^2=4.48, P〈0.05）. The CD68 expression ratio in the 30 intestinal type cases was much lower than that in the 18 gastric type cases （t=4.29, P〈0.01）. AI of 25 MDM2-positive cases was much lower than that of the 23 MDM2-negative cases （t=-7.80, P〈0.01）. CD68 positive ratio in the 25 MDM2-negative cases was much lower than that in the 23 negative cases. The difference was statistically significant （t=-10.90, P〈0.01 ）. Except for few cells scattering within the cancer nest, most CD68 positive cells infiltrated in the interstitium around the cancer tissue. In the high-AI cases, CD68-positive cells increased. And the CD68-positive cells decreased in low-AI cases （r=0.96, P〈0.01）. Logistic regression analysis suggested that among the control variables, only AI was a statistically significant factor in the regression model （x^2=9.64, P〈0.01 ）. We concluded that （1） the spontaneous apoptosis index in gastric-type cases of gastric carcinoma was significantly lower than that in intestinal type cases; （2） AI in the two types was influenced by the expression of MDM2 and lymph node metastasis, but no visible connection was found between AI and the infiltration depth or histological types; （3） in the intestinal type cases, AI and the CD68-positive cells increased in MDM2-negative cases.

UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR,ITS RECEPTOR AND INHIBITOR EXPRESSION IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA RELATION TO CANCER INVASIVENESS AND PROGNOSIS

Objective: To study the relevance of uPA, uPAR and PAI 1 to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Methods: The expression at protein level of uPA, uPAR and PAI 1 was determined in 48 cases of HCC and 12 cases of benign tumors of liver (as control) by immunohistochemistry Results: When compared to cancer adjacent liver tissue and the control, positive rate of immune staining for uPA, uPAR and PAI 1 on cell membrane were significantly higher in HCC cells ( P <0 05) Positive staining of uPA and uPAR was seen in 16 of 22 and 19 of 22 cases of HCC with invasion, respectively ( P <0 01 and P <0 001) In 8 of 8 cases with cancer embolus, and in 6 of 6 cases with lymph node metastasis was the expression of positive uPAR Compared with 2 of 17 cases without recurrence, uPAR was positive in 15 of 17 recurrent cases ( P <0 01) In 36 cases who survived, 17 was positive uPAR and 15 positive PAI 1, while in 12 cases who died 2 years after surgery, 12 were positive for uPAR and 9 positive PAI 1, respectively ( P <0 01 and P <0 05) In 15 positive cases for all three parameters, 11 had cancer invasion and 7 died within 2 years, while in negative cases, 2 had invasion and none died within 2 years ( P <0 05) Conclusion: Expression of uPA, uPAR and PAI 1 is increased in HCC, uPA and uPAR may contribute significantly to HCC invasion and metastasis uPAR and PAI 1 are associated with poor prognosis of HCC

ANTIMETASTATIC EFFECT OF INTEGRIN IIb/IIIa INHIBITORSON SALIVARY ADENOID CYSTIC CARCINOMA

Objectives: To investigate the relation between metastatic potential of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) and tumor cell-platelet adhesion, and the antimetastatic effect of integrin IIb/IIIa inhibitor on SACC. Methods: Tumor cell-platelet adhesion of highly metastatic SACC-LM, non-highly metastatic SACC-83 and effect of aspirin, arginine-aspartate (RD), magnesium acetylsalicylate on adhesion were studiedin vitro. Antimetastafic effect of aspirin, RD, magnesium acetysalicylate on experimental metastasis of SACC was observedin vivo. Results: The tumor cell-platelet adhesion was stronger in SACC-LM than in SACC-83. Aspirin, RD and magnesium acetylsalicylate could inhibit the adhesion of SACC-LM at the concentration of 1, 5 and 25 μg/ml. RD can inhibit experimental metastasis of SACC. Conclusion: Metastasis of SACC is related to platelet-tumor cell adhesion, RD could inhibit metastasis of SACC.

Structural Aberrations of Cellular Sialic Acids and Their Functions in Cancer Metastases

Sialic acids (neuraminic acids) are a special series of 9 carbon ring negatively charged carbohydrates, which has been found to be selectively changed in malignant cells from structures (both synthesis and structure modifications) to functions (up and down regulation in cells). Sialic acids, in single forms or conjugates, have been systematically studied both in lab and in clinics by GC, GC MS, NMR, HPTLC, HPLC and other modern analytical means. Sialic acids and related conjugates are predicted to be used in cancer diagnosis, cancer prognostic forecasting, designing of cancer chemotherapy regimens, uncovering carcinogenetic processes and neoplasm metastasis. Tumor cell regulative systems and pathways are correlated with sialic acids, which can be applied to prognostic evaluation of cancer patients, and antimetastatic chemotherapy by sialic acid derivatives and analogues. Searching for new biological characteristics of sialic acids in cells have also been extensively studied these days. In this paper, main stream discoveries and advancements are provided , also discussions of possible mechanisms and hypotheses are invoked.

Magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of postoperative intracranial dissemination of recurrent gliomas

Ten intracranial gliomas cases, that had postoperative intracranial dissemination, underwent magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） examinations, including T1 weighted imaging, fat-suppressed T1 weighted imaging, T2 weighted imaging and fluid attenuated inversion recovery （FLAIR）. Results showed that tumor metastasis had occurred via the cerebrospinal fluid, the brain white matter fibers and the surgical access site alone. On the plain MRI scans, 1/7 cases were linearly thickened with isointensity and 5/7 cases exhibited nodular foci on T1 weighted imaging; the cerebral sulci and cisterns in 2/7 cases had become shallow and five cases had nodular foci on T2 weighted imaging. FLAIR imaging revealed that the cerebral sulci and cisterns in 2/7 cases had become shallow and that six cases had affected nodular foci. The contrast-enhanced MRI scans revealed linear thickening in seven cases, nodules in seven cases, similarities to ＂mould-like＂ signs in six cases and hydrocephalus in six cases. These findings suggested that MRI with different sequences can diagnose glioma metastasis.

Inhibition of Probimane on Lipid Peroxidation of Rabbit and Human Erythrocytes

Lipid peroxide (LPO) plays pivotal roles in the process and development of many diseases. In this work, we studied the inhibitory effect of probimane (Pro), a Chinese anticancer agent, on erythrocyte LPO and the interaction of Pro with sialic acids (sia). Malondialdehyde (MDA) of erythrocytes activated by hydrogen peroxide was measured. Pro was found to inhibit the product of LPO induced by hydrogen peroxide in a non-enzyme system of both rabbit and human erythrocytes in the absence of doxorubicin. Sia were found to enhance LPO production and the activity of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc) was about 5 times higher than that of N-acetylneuraminic acid (5AcNeu) at equivalent concentrations. Pro inhibited the increased LPO production induced by sia and the activity of Pro against LPO with 5AcNeu was almost twofold higher than that of Pro alone. It suggests that Pro be an inhibitor of LPO (free radicals) and as a functional modulator of sia in body.

Molecular markers in prostate cancer. Part Ⅰ： predicting lethality

Assessing the lethality of ‘early,’ potentially organ-confined prostate cancer （PCa） is one of the central controversies in modem-day urological clinical practice. Such cases are often considered for radical ‘curative’ treatment, although active surveillance may be equally appropriate for many men. Moreover, the balance between judicious intervention and overtreatment can be difficult to judge. The patient＇s age, comorbidities, family history and philosophy of self-health care can be weighed against clinical features such as the palpability of disease, the number and percentage of biopsy cores involved with the disease, histological grade, presenting prostate-specific antigen （PSA） and possible previous PSA kinetics. For many years, scientists and physicians have sought additional molecular factors that may be predictive for disease stage, progression and lethality. Usually, claims for a ‘new’ unique marker fall short of true clinical value. More often than not, such molecular markers are useful only in multivariate models. This review summarizes relevant molecular markers and models reported up to and including 2008.