Photoinduced Copper-Catalyzed Site-Selective C(sp2)-C(sp) Cross-Coupling via Aryl Sulfonium Salts.

The classical Sonogashira reaction of aryl electrophiles in the presence of Pd catalysts has been well established as a potent method for arylalkyne synthesis. However, the site-selective C(sp2)-C(sp) cross-coupling strategy using a non-noble-metal catalyst is rare. An efficient alternative approach for the synthesis of arylalkynes via a Cu-catalyzed Sonogashira-type reaction promoted by visible light is described. This method enables site-selective alkynylation from aryl sulfonium salts derived from diverse arenes to a set of arylalkynes with high selectivity and high functional-group compatibility. Moreover, rapid alkynylation of drug molecules is demonstrated.

Eosinophilic granuloma of bilateral humerus with unusual diagnostic process.

A 15-year-old boy presented with a right shoulder pain and the inability to use his right upper limb after carrying a heavy object. Physical examination and local imaging revealed a benign tumor or tumor-like lesion in the upper ends of both humeri and a pathologic fracture in the right humerus. An initial biopsy was reported as fibroblastic osteosarcoma. But the CT-guided biopsy was diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma (EG). Bone curretage and grafting confirmed diagnosis of EG. This case illustrates the importance of combining a clinical impression with imaging and pathology in bone and soft tissue tumors.

Expression change of ezrin as a prognostic factor in primary osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is a life-threatening malignancy that most often occurs in teenagers. Ezrin is a cytoskeleton linker protein that is actively involved in the metastatic capacity of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the expression change of ezrin after preoperative chemotherapy and its prognostic value in patients with primary osteosarcoma. Ezrin mRNA expression level of initial biopsy specimens and resected tumor specimens after preoperative chemotherapy of 25 patients who had primary osteosarcoma with ezrin expression was detected by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to evaluate the expression change of ezrin. In addition, the prognostic factors and the relationship between the expression change of ezrin and the clinical characteristics were analyzed. Expression change of ezrin was found in 64% of all 25 patients. The expression change of ezrin had good relation with histology (P = 0.037), grade (P = 0.006), chemotherapy response (P = 0.017), and metastasis or recurrence (P = 0.041). The 2-year overall survival and event-free survival were associated with expression change of ezrin (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively) and response to preoperative chemotherapy (P = 0.001 and P = 0.012, respectively). Our findings suggest that expression change of ezrin is an independent positive prognostic factor in non-metastatic osteosarcoma.