Measles, mumps, and rubella revaccination in children after completion of chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a single-center prospective efficacy and safety analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can damage the immune system, and may result in a loss of protection from infectious diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of these treatments on the decrease in antibody titers of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and seroconversion post-revaccination of MMR. METHODS: After completion of treatment for primary diseases, participants received an MMR revaccination. Antibody titers for MMR before revaccination were analyzed for all 110 children. After revaccination, 68 participants received a follow-up evaluation of  antibody titer and adverse reaction. RESULTS: Multivariable analysis showed that therapeutic schedules were the only factor correlated with lack of antibody titers for measles after completing treatment (P = 0.008), while for mumps and rubella, no statistically significant difference was observed. Importantly, our study clearly demonstrated positive seroconversion rates for measles (97.5%), mumps (81.0%), and rubella (93.2%), with antibody levels rising across the board and peaking at around 6 months following revaccination. However, 6 months after revaccination, a downtrend of antibody titer levels was observed, which is comparatively earlier than the waning immunity observed in healthy children. Furthermore, we found MMR revaccination to be safe, with only a single adverse reaction (local pain at the injection site) reported. CONCLUSIONS: MMR revaccination is immunogenic for the population. We suggest periodic monitoring of antibody titers, in addition to a booster vaccination, although the optimal timing of booster vaccination remains to be investigated further.

GALNT14 regulates ferroptosis and apoptosis of ovarian cancer through the EGFR/mTOR pathway.

Background: Chemoresistance usually occurs in ovarian cancer. We aimed to explore the mechanisms of chemoresistance. Methods: Western blotting assay was used to detect the expression of GALNT14. Further cell function experiments were performed to investigate the effect of GALNT14 in ovarian cancer. Results: GALNT14 is significantly upregulated in ovarian cancer. Downregulation of GALNT14 significantly inhibits both apoptosis and ferroptosis of ovarian cancer cells. A further mechanism assay illustrated that downregulation of GALNT14 suppresses the activity of the mTOR pathway through modifying O-glycosylation of EGFR. Finally, an additive effect promoting cell death occurs with a combination of an mTOR inhibitor and cisplatin. Conclusion: Our study might provide a promising method to overcome cisplatin resistance for patients with ovarian cancer.

Association of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes hospital admission with extreme temperature in Nanchang, China-A case-crossover study.

Despite consistent evidence of a higher short-term risk of stroke mortality associated with ambient temperature, there are no findings on the association between extreme temperature and stroke. A total of 16,264 stroke hospital admissions were observed in three hospitals of Nanchang between 2008 and 2015. The case-crossover design was utilized for our study. Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratios. Extreme high temperature exposure during the 3days before the stroke was associated with both ischemic (OR=1.18; 95% CI: 1.07-1.36) and hemorrhagic stroke admissions (OR=1.34; 95% CI: 1.26-1.42) as compared to 3-day control periods (1-3days last week before the onset of stroke). Extreme low temperature was associated with hemorrhagic stroke admission (OR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.28-1.58) but not ischemic stroke (OR=1.06; 95% CI: 0.93-1.13). This study suggests that extreme high temperature might be a risk factor for both hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes, and that extreme low temperature might be a risk factor of hemorrhagic stroke. Further studies are necessary in order to clarify this relationship and provide evidence for stroke prevention.

Paris saponin-induced autophagy promotes breast cancer cell apoptosis via the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Paris saponins possess anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects. However, the anticancer effect of Paris saponins has not been well elucidated and the mechanisms underlying the potential function of Paris saponins in cancer therapy are needed to be further identify. In this study, we report that saponin compounds isolated from Paris polyphylla exhibited antitumor activity against breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. Paris saponin XA-2 induced apoptosis in both cell lines, as evidenced by the activation of caspases and cleavage of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. The ability of XA-2 to induce autophagy was confirmed by acridine orange staining, accumulation of autophagosome-bound Long chain 3 (LC3)-II, and measurement of autophagic flux. XA-2-induced autophagy was observed to promote apoptosis by the combined treatment of breast cancer cell lines with XA-2 and autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine and bafilomycin A1, respectively. Moreover, we report a decrease in the levels of Akt/mTOR signaling pathway proteins, such as the phosphorylated forms of Akt, mTOR, P70S6K, and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4EBP1). Taken together, these results provide important insights explaining the anticancer activity of Paris saponins and the potential development of XA-2 as a new therapeutic agent.

[Analysis of recurrence pattern and prognosis of patients with cervical carcinoma and pelvic lymph node metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pattern of disease relapse and prognostic risk factor of patients with cervical carcinoma and pelvic lymph node metastasis. METHODS: A total of 124 cases of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Ib1-IIa cervical carcinoma with pelvic node metastasis who were treated at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University during January 1994 to December 2001 were selected for this study. Prognosis and recurrence were retrospectively analyzed using the clinico-pathological data RESULTS: The overall 5 year survival and 5 year disease-free survival were 63.3% and 61.4%, respectively. Overall recurrence rate was 39.5% (49/124), among which intra-pelvic relapse (61.0%, 25/41) was significantly more common than extra-pelvic relapse (31.7%,13/41; P=0.008). Multivariate analysis identified involvement of common iliac node as an independent prognostic factor (P=0.035). According to this factor, node-positive patients could be divided into low risk group (without common iliac node involvement, 104 cases) and high risk group (with common iliac node involvement, 20 cases). The 5 year disease-free survival were 69.4% and 24.5% respectively, with a significant difference (P=0.003). Intra-pelvic relapse was observed in 22.1% (23/104) of low risk and 25.0% (5/20) of high risk group respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05). However extra-pelvic relapse was seen in 7.7% (8/104) of low risk and 40.0% (8/20) of high risk group, with a significant difference (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Common iliac node involvement is a significant factor influencing the prognosis of patients with cervical carcinoma and pelvic lymph node metastasis. Patients with positive common iliac nodes have significantly decreased 5 year disease-free survival and higher extra-pelvic disease recurrence rates compared with those whose common iliac nodes are negative. These findings provide important data for design of individualized treatment mode.