Elevated NDC80 expression is associated with poor prognosis in osteosarcoma patients.

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma (OS) is a commonly diagnosed bone malignancy in children and adolescents. Nuclear division cycle 80 (NDC80) is a crucial regulator of the cell division cycle that has recently been identified as a novel oncoprotein in various solid tumors; however, its role in OS remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations between NDC80 expression in OS patients and clinicopathological features and prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We began this study by determining NDC80 expression in sarcoma patients using the Oncomine Platform. Then, we measured NDC80 mRNA expression by RT-PCR in 26-paired fresh OS and adjacent normal samples. Finally, we analyzed NDC80 expression by immunohistochemistry in a retrospective cohort of 154 OS patients. RESULTS: NDC80 mRNA was abnormally overexpressed not only in OS, but also in other sarcomas including liposarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma, and leiomyosarcoma. In the retrospective analysis, NDC80 expression was significantly correlated with TNM stage (p=0.023) and distant metastasis (p=0.008). OS patients with high NDC80 expression had a significantly worse OS-specific (p=0.002) and disease-free survival (p=0.001) compared with those with low NDC80 expression. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that NDC80 expression together with TNM stage, distant metastasis and preoperative chemotherapy response are significant independent prognostic factors affecting OS-specific and disease-free survival (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlighted a novel insight into the clinical significance of NDC80 expression in OS patients and suggested its potential as a clinically actionable biomarker for prognostic prediction and therapy decisions.

Dynamic changes of the various cytokines following carotid artery stenting.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the serum inflammatory and coagulation factors changes and clinical significance following carotid artery stenting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expressions of serum inflammatory factors including IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, sICAM-1, hs-CRP, and TNF-α and serum coagulation factors including prothrombin time (PT), active partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), D-dimer (DD), and fibrin degradation products (FDP) were determined in 92 patients who had undergone carotid artery stenting before, 24h, 48 h, 3 days and 1 week after the surgery. As well, 92 subjects who did not receive stenting were enrolled in the angiography group, amongst whom the same variables were determined. RESULTS: In the stenting group, the expressions of hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, IL-6, IL-8, FIB, and DD were significantly increased after the surgery (p < 0.05): hs-CRP reached a peak 48 h after the surgery; TNF-α, sICAM-1, and IL-6 maintained at high levels at days 3-7; and FIB and DD increased 48 h and 3d after the surgery. Compared with the angiography group, the expressions of hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, and IL-8 (24h after the surgery) as well as FIB and DD (48 h and 3d after the surgery) were significantly higher in the stenting group. CONCLUSIONS: The hs-CRP, TNF-α, sICAM-1, IL-8, FIB, and DD increased after carotid artery stenting and, therefore, can serve as important factors for monitoring for acute postoperative complications.