A clinical and long-term follow-up study of perioperative sequential triple therapy for gastric cancer

INTRODUCTIONAlthough the long-term postoperative survival rateof gastric cancer(GC) patients has been improvedsignificantly since the local dissection of lymph nodewas widely used in China,yet the low curativeresection rate and the high recurrence rate fromperitoneal and hepatic metastases hinder it fromfurther improvement.To alter the currentunsatisfactory status of GC treatment,a

Effect of preoperative regional artery chemotherapy on proliferation and apoptosis of gastric carcinoma cells

AIM: To study the effects of preoperative regional arterychemotherapy (PRACT) in inducing growth inhibition andapoptosis of gastric carcinorna (GC) calls.METHODS: TUNEL ( terminal-deoxynucleotidyl-transferaseTdT-mediated dUTP-fluorescein and labeling) method andimmunohistochemical techniques were used to detect thestate of apoptosis and proliferation of GC cells inhistopathologic sections. A total of 110 cases of GC and 68cases of metastatic lymph node with or without PRACT wereadopted. Correlations between apoptosis index (Al),proliferation index (PI) and PRACT and prognosis wereanalysed.RESULTS: The apoptosis index (Al) was significantly higherin the PRACT group (12.5 ‰ + 4.33‰) than in the untreatedgroup (7. 1‰ + 3. 43 ‰, P ＜ 0. 001 ), whereas theproliferation index (PI) in the PRACT group (33.8 % ± 8.8% ) was eignificantly lower than that in untreated group (43.6 % + 12.8 %, P＜0.01). Both Al and PI were correlated tothe differentiation degree of GC in PRACT group, the Al inthe differentiated group was higher than that inundifferentiated group (P＜0.001), but the PI was lower inthe differentiated group than that of the undifferentiatedgroup ( P ＜ 0.01 ). The Al of GC cells in metastatic lymphnode was also significantly higher in the PRACT group (7.9‰+ 3.41‰) than in the untreated group (3.6 ‰ + 2.93 ‰,P ＜ 0.01 ), though the PI of GC cells in metastatic lymphnodes in the PRACT group (17. 2 % + 6. 8 % ) wassignificantly lower than that in the untreated group (26.7 %+ 9. 3 %, P ＜ 0. 01 ). The severity of histopathologicchanges was significantly higher in the PRACT group than inthe untreated group ( P ＜ 0.05). In addition, postoperativesurveys demonstrated that the 5-year survival rate of GCpatients in the PRACT group was significantly higher than thatof patients in the untreated group (P＜0.01).CONCLUSION: Preoperative regional artery chemotherapy(PRACT) showed inhibitory action on the growth of GC cellsmainly through inhibiting proliferation and inducing theapoptosis of tumor cells. PRACT can improve the prognosisof GC patients also.

Role of BMP3 in progression of gastric carcinoma in Chinese people

AIM:To investigate the relation between gastric cancer and microsatellite instability(MSI),loss of heterozygosity(LOH)and promoter region methylation.METHODS:Fifty primary gastric carcinoma specimens were collected from patients with no family history of cancer.In addition,normal tissues were also collected from patients as controls.DNA was extracted by polymerase chain reaction for single-strand conformation polymorphism,bisulfite DNA sequencing,and methylation-specific band analysis.RESULTS:The positive rate for MSI and LOH in gastric carcinoma was 16%and 20%,respectively.According to the tumor,node and metastasis staging system,the LOH frequency was higher in gastric carcinoma at stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ than in gastric carcinoma at stagesⅠ and Ⅱ(P=0.01),which was also significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinicopathological characteristics of gastric carcinoma.Methylation of bone morphogenetic protein 3(BMP3)gene promoter was detected in 64.44% of gastric carcinoma tissue samples.However,no statistical significance was observed between promoter region methylation and carcinoma differentiation.Interestingly,the BMP3 gene methylation rate was 71.05% and 28.58%,respectively,in MSI positive and negative cases(P=0.031),suggesting that BMP3 genetic instability and promoter methylation are initiated during gastric carcinogenesis.LOH was detected mostly in the late stages of gastric carcinoma,indicating that gastric carcinoma at late stages has a higher infiltration and a poorer prognosis.CONCLUSION:Promotor region methylation of the BMP3 gene may cause gastric carcinoma in Chinese people.

Small intestinal lipomas:Diagnostic value of multi-slice CT enterography

AIM:To analyze the clinical and imaging features of the small intestinal lipomas and to evaluate the diagnostic value of multi-slice computed tomography(CT) enterography.METHODS:Fourteen cases(one had two intestinal lesions) of surgically confirmed lipomas of the small intestine were retrospectively analyzed.The location,size,clinical and radiological aspects were discussed.RESULTS:Twelve patients presented with abdominal pain,of whom three complained of paroxysmal colic.Melena or bloody stools was mentioned in five cases.One lesion was detected incidentally during routine physical examination.One lesion was found unexpectedly during the preoperational evaluation for cholecystitis.Examination of the abdomen revealed palpable masses in four cases.Precontrast CT scan showed round or oval well-defined hypo-intense intraluminal masses with the attenuation ranging from-130 HU to-60 HU.On contrast enhancement CT scan,no striking enhancement was seen.CONCLUSION:The small intestinal lipomas are rare and difficult to diagnose merely based on clinical manifestations,while the characteristic features at small intestinal CT enterography can help establish reliable prospective diagnoses.

Effect of combination therapy with alginate dressing and mouse epidermal growth factor on epidermal stem cells in patients with refractory wounds

Background The aim of this research was to determine the efficacy of combination therapy using an alginate dressing and mouse epidermal growth factor （mEGF） on proliferation and differentiation of epidermal stem cells （ESCs） in patients with refractory wounds.Methods Eighteen patients （12 males and 6 females,aged from 18 to 61 years （mean 36.4 years）） with various skin wounds,were treated by dressing changing for one month.The wounds were located in the foot （11）,calf （3）,thigh （2）and forearm （2）.The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups：alginate dressing and mEGF （group A; n=6）,mEGF （group B; n=6） and control （group C; n=6）.Wound closure indexes were measured at 7,14,21 and 28 days.Samples were harvested for pathologic examination,at 7 and 14 days following treatment.Cytokeratin 10 （CK10） and cytokeratin 15 （CK15） positive cells were evaluated using the super-sensitivity （SP） immunohistochemical staining technique.Results Wound healing was promoted in groups A and B.In group A,the wound closure index was increased significantly （P 〈0.05）,and in one case the maximum cure area reached 102 cm2.Pathological examination identified a thicker epidermis,active angiogenesis and enhanced granulation in group A compared with groups B and C.Using the SP immunohistochemical staining technique,we showed that ESCs in group A were bigger in size and larger in number than in groups B and C.Overall,there was a significant difference in ESCs proliferation and differentiation between group A and group B （or C）.Conclusions Combination therapy using an alginate dressing and mEGF shows increased proliferation and differentiation of ESCs in patients with refractory wounds compared with those treated with mEGF alone.

Effect of coixenolide on Foxp3^+ CD4^+ CD25^+ regulatory T cells in collagen-induced arthritis mice

Objective To study the effect of coixenolide on Foxp3+CD4+CD25+regulatory T cells(Treg)in collagen induced arthritis(CIA)mice,and to explore its possible mechanism for treating rheumatoid arthritis.Methods Five mice were recruited as a normal control group from 25 mice,and the rest 20 were used in CIA modeling.After successful modeling they were

Effects of Wenhua Juanbi recipe on the expressions of miRNA-146a and DNA methyltransferases in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective To observe the effects of Wenhua Juanbi Recipe ( WJR) on the expressions of miRNA-146a and DNA methyltransferases ( DNMTs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs) of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis ( RA), and the correlation between miRNA- 146a and DNMTs.

Asymptomatic hydrocephalus and subdural hygroma after successful resection of hypothalamic hamartoma with central precocious puberty

To the editor： A 12-month-old boy presenting with a three-month history of precocious puberty was admitted to our department in December 2009. Apart from an unremarkable medical history, he was found to have pubic hair and noted to be more aggressive than other children of his age. Physical examination revealed a premature penile development （stage 3 according to Tanner stages）1 and slight development of pubic hair （stage 3）, but without any development of laryngeal prominence. The patient had no focal neurological deficit.