Effect of microwave ablation treatment of hepatic malignancies on serum cytokine levels.

BACKGROUND: Microwave ablation (MWA) is widely used to treat unresectable primary and secondary malignancies of the liver, and a limited number of studies indicate that ablation can cause not only necrosis at the in situ site but also an immunoreaction of the whole body. This study aimed to investigate the effects of MWA on cytokines in patients who underwent MWA for a hepatic malignancy. METHODS: Patients admitted to the Oncology Department in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between June 2015 and February 2019 were selected. Peripheral blood was collected from patients with a hepatic malignancy treated with MWA. The levels of cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-12 p40, IL-12 p70, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) were detected with a Milliplex® MAP Kit. The comparison times were as follows: before ablation, 24 h after ablation, 15 days after ablation, and 30 days after ablation. Data were analyzed using a paired sample t-tests and Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients with hepatic malignancies were assessed. There were significant differences in IL-2, IL-12 p40, IL-12 p70, IL-1ß, IL-8, and TNF-α at 24 h after MWA. Significant increases (> 2-fold vs. before ablation) were observed in IL-2, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α after MWA. Elevated IL-2 and IL-6 levels after ablation were positively correlated with energy output during the MWA procedure. CONCLUSIONS: WA treatment for hepatic malignancies can alter the serum levels of several cytokines such as IL-2 and IL-6.

A novel multiplex rt-PCR assay for the detection of four chromosomal translocations of leukemia.

AIMS: The object of the present study was to develop a novel multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based assay to detect four common recurrent chromosomal translocations t(9;22)(q34;q11), t(15;17)(q22;q12), t(8;21)(q22;q22), and t(1;19)(q23;q13). RESULTS: This novel multiplex RT-PCR method can specifically detect these six positive plasmids with known transcripts, and the sensitivities were up to 10 copies. In the diagnosis of clinical specimens, four chromosomal translocations, including seven transcripts, were actually specifically detected. CONCLUSIONS: This newly developed multiplex RT-PCR system can be used to detect these four recurrent chromosomal translocations specifically and sensitively. It is novel, accurate, and time and cost effective in the detection of leukemia-specific chromosomal translocations. Assays with this new strategy will have a potential in detecting other chromosomal translocations in leukemias.