Examining the cross-sectional relationship of platelet/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with depressive symptoms in adults in the United States.

AIMS: Herein, we examined the correlation between platelet/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (PHR) and symptoms of depression among United States adults. METHODS: Data acquired from the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, involving individuals ≥ 20 years of age, with available PHR and depression diagnosis information. We employed weighted uni- and multivariable logistic regression analyses to assess the distinct correlation between PHR and depressive symptoms. Additionally, we conducted subgroup, interaction, and restricted cubic spline analyses. RESULTS: In all, 28,098 subjects were recruited for analysis, with 8.04% depression status and 19.31 ± 0.11 mean PHR value. Depressive symptoms increased with higher quartiles of PHR. Following fully confounder adjustments in model 2, participants with the largest PHR quartiles exhibited a 53% (OR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.00-2.33, P = 0.05) raised depressive symptoms, relative to participants with least PHR quartiles. Based on the two-piece-wise regression, the breakpoint was PHR = 23.76, and a positive association was more evident when PHR < 23.76 (OR = 1.06, 95%CI: 1.02-1.10, P = 0.01). When PHR ≥ 23.76, the correlation disappeared (P = 0.85). Using subgroup and interaction analyses, we revealed a positive relationship between PHR and depressive symptoms almost consistent among various population settings. CONCLUSIONS: A convenient biomarker, the PHR was independently associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms and may be a promising new bioindicator for the prediction of depression diagnosis.

Inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene formation in charcoal-grilled pork sausages by ginger and its key compounds.

BACKGROUND: Ginger and its extracts have been frequently used in food processing and pharmaceuticals. However, the influence of ginger and its key compounds on benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) production in meat processing has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of application of ginger and its important active ingredients on BaP formation and the mechanism of inhibiting BaP formation in charcoal-grilled pork sausages. RESULTS: The DPPH scavenging (23.59-59.67%) activity and the inhibition rate of BaP (42.1-68.9%) were significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing ginger addition. The active components extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide from ginger were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and 14 representative compounds (four terpenes, two alcohols, two aldehydes, four phenols and two other compounds, totaling 77.57% of the detected compounds) were selected. The phenolic compounds (eugenol, 6-gingerol, 6-paradol and 6-shogaol, accounting for 29.73% of the total composition) in ginger played a key role and had the strongest inhibitory effect on BaP (61.2-68.2%), whereas four other kinds of compound showed obviously feeble inhibitory activity (6.47-17.9%). Charcoal-grilled sausages with phenolic substances had lower values of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, carbonyl and diene (three classic indicators of lipid oxidation) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ginger and its key compounds could effectively inhibit the formation of BaP in charcoal-grilled pork sausages. Phenolic compounds make the strongest contribution to the inhibition of Bap formation, and the inhibitory mechanism was related to the inhibition of lipid oxidation. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Long non-coding RNA PSMA3-AS1 promotes glioma progression through modulating the miR-411-3p/HOXA10 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Glioma is a common type of brain tumor and is classified as low and high grades according to morphology and molecules. Growing evidence has proved that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play pivotal roles in numerous tumors or diseases including glioma. Proteasome 20S subunit alpha 3 antisense RNA 1 (PSMA3-AS1), as a member of lncRNAs, has been disclosed to play a tumor-promoting role in cancer progression. However, the role of PSMA3-AS1 in glioma remains unknown. Therefore, we concentrated on researching the regulatory mechanism of PSMA3-AS1 in glioma. METHODS: PSMA3-AS1 expression was detected using RT-qPCR. Functional assays were performed to measure the effects of PSMA3-AS1 on glioma progression. After that, ENCORI ( http://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/ ) database was used to predict potential genes that could bind to PSMA3-AS1, and miR-411-3p was chosen for further studies. The interaction among PSMA3-AS1, miR-411-3p and homeobox A10 (HOXA10) were confirmed through mechanism assays. RESULTS: PSMA3-AS1 was verified to be up-regulated in glioma cells and promote glioma progression. Furthermore, PSMA3-AS1 could act as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-411-3p to regulate HOXA10 and thus affecting glioma progression. CONCLUSION: PSMA3-AS1 stimulated glioma progression via the miR-411-3p/HOXA10 pathway, which might offer a novel insight for the therapy and treatment of glioma.

Downregulation of SCAI enhances glioma cell invasion and stem cell like phenotype by activating Wnt/ß-catenin signaling.

SCAI (suppressor of cancer cell invasion), has been recently characterized as a novel tumor suppressor that inhibits the invasive migration of several human tumor cells. However, the expression pattern, biological role and molecular mechanism of SCAI in human glioma remain unknown. In this study, we found that levels of SCAI protein and mRNA expression were significantly down-regulated in glioma tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of SCAI inhibited, but silencing of SCAI robustly promoted the invasive and cancer stem cell-like phenotypes of glioma cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SCAI downregualtion activated the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, and blockade of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway abrogated the effects of SCAI downregulation on glioma cell aggressiveness. Taken together, our results provide the first demonstration of SCAI downregulation in glioma, and its downregulation contributes to increased glioma cell invasion and self-renewal by activating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Expression of undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor-1 (UTF1) in breast cancers and their matched normal tissues.

OBJECTIVES: Undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor-1 (UTF1) plays a critical role in the developmental timing during embryonic development. However, there is little paper dealing with UTF1 expressed in adult tissues. In the present study, we evaluate the expression of UTF1 in breast cancer and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters. METHODS: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) was applied to detect the expression of UTF1 mRNA in the 55 pairs of samples of breast cancer tissues and match normal tissues. △△CT method was used to evaluate the relative quantity of target mRNA expression. RESULTS: Among the 55 pairs of samples of breast cancer tissues and match normal tissues adjacent to the tumor, the UTF1 mRNA levels in normal tissues were significantly higher than those observed in breast cancer tissues (p < 0.001). UTF1 mRNA levels expression correlated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.002) and tumor size (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Expression of UTF1 in breast cancer tissues were confirmed in this study. Decreased expression of UTF1 mRNA in breast cancer tissues was maybe one of the factors impact on tumorigenes in breast cancer patients.

Lin28 Mediates Cancer Chemotherapy Resistance via Regulation of miRNA Signaling.

Chemotherapy resistance is one of the major obstacles limiting the success of cancer drug treatment. Among the mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy treatment, there are those closely related to P-Glycoprotein, multidrug resistance-related protein, glutathione S-transferase pi and topoisomerase-II. Lin28 is a highly conserved RNA-binding protein, it consists of a cold shock domain and retroviral-type (CCHC) zinc finger motifs. In previous preclinical and clinical studies, positive Lin28 expression in cancer cells was correlated with decreased sensitivity to chemotherapy. And Lin28 could mediate cancer chemotherapy resistance via regulation of miR107 and Let-7 MiRNA. This article reviews current knowledge on predictive value of Lin28 in response to chemotherapy. Better understanding of its role may facilitate patient's selection of therapeutic regimen and lead to optimal clinical outcome.

Associations between the platelet/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and likelihood of nephrolithiasis: a cross-sectional analysis in United States adults.

Aims: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the platelet/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (PHR) and the prevalence of nephrolithiasis within the adult population of the United States. Methods: The data used in this study were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2007 and 2018. The analysis included a non-pregnant population aged 20 years or older, providing proper PHR index and nephrolithiasis data. The research utilized subgroup analyses and weighted univariate and multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the independent association between the PHR and the susceptibility to nephrolithiasis. Results: The study comprised 30,899 participants with an average PHR value of 19.30 ± 0.11. The overall prevalence rate of nephrolithiasis was estimated at 9.98% with an increase in the higher PHR tertiles (T1, 8.49%; T2, 10.11%; T3, 11.38%, P < 0.0001). An elevated PHR level was closely linked with a higher susceptibility to nephrolithiasis. Compared with patients in T1, and after adjusting for potential confounders in model 2, the corresponding odds ratio for nephrolithiasis in T3 was 1.48 (95% CI: 1.06 to 2.08), with a P-value = 0.02. The results of the interaction tests revealed a significant impact of chronic kidney disease on the relationship between PHR and nephrolithiasis. Furthermore, the restricted cubic spline analyses exhibited a positive, non-linear correlation between PHR and the risk of nephrolithiasis. Conclusion: A convenient biomarker, the PHR, was independently associated with nephrolithiasis and could be a novel biomarker in predicting occurrence in clinical decision.

Emerging role of necroptosis, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis in breast cancer: New dawn for overcoming therapy resistance.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the primary causes of death in women worldwide. The challenges associated with adverse outcomes have increased significantly, and the identification of novel therapeutic targets has become increasingly urgent. Regulated cell death (RCD) refers to a type of cell death that can be regulated by several different biomacromolecules, which is distinctive from accidental cell death (ACD). In recent years, apoptosis, a representative RCD pathway, has gained significance as a target for BC medications. However, tumor cells exhibit avoidance of apoptosis and result in treatment resistance, which emphasizes further studies devoted to alternative cell death processes, namely necroptosis, pyroptosis, and ferroptosis. Here, in this review, we focus on summarizing the crucial signaling pathways of these RCD in BC. We further discuss the molecular mechanism and potentiality in clinical application of several prospective drugs, nanoparticles, and other small compounds targeting different RCD subroutines of BC. We also discuss the benefits of modulating RCD processes on drug resistance and the advantages of combining RCD modulators with conventional treatments in BC. This review will deepen our understanding of the relationship between RCD and BC, and shed new light on future directions to attack cancer vulnerabilities with RCD modulators for therapeutic purposes.

Endoscopic thyroidectomy via chest-collarbone approach versus conventional open thyroidectomy: a retrospective comparative study.

OBJECTIVE(S): Endoscopic thyroidectomy, such as axillary, areola and transoral approaches, offer the advantage of a good cosmetic outcome, but it requires a wider dissection field compared to open thyroidectomy. Recently, chest-collarbone approach thyroidectomy has been widely developed in China because of its shorter anatomical route compared to other endoscopic approaches. This study retrospectively evaluated endoscopic thyroidectomy via chest-collarbone approach in patients with thyroid nodules to determine its feasibility. METHODS: A total of 46 patients with thyroid disease who underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy between January 2022 and December 2022 were enrolled in the study and randomly matched to patients with thyroid disease who underwent open thyroidectomy at the same time based on nodule size and pathology. Postoperative bleeding, hoarseness situation, hospital stay, postoperative drainage volume, laryngeal nerve palsy, hypoparathyroidism and wound infection were assessed in both groups. RESULTS: Forty-four patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy successfully and two patients changed to open thyroidectomy. The amount of postoperative drainage for the endoscopic thyroidectomy group was 102.78 ±â€¯28.04 mL, and which was 71.91 ±â€¯19.20 for open thyroidectomy group (p < 0.001). The postoperative hospital stay for the endoscopic thyroidectomy group was 8.78 ±â€¯2.57 days, and which was 7.22 ±â€¯1.13 for open thyroidectomy group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in postoperative bleeding, hoarseness situation, and wound infection between the two groups. Laryngeal nerve palsy, supraclavicular nerve injury and hypoparathyroidism were not observed in any patient during this study. CONCLUSION: Chest-collarbone endoscopic thyroid surgery is acceptable. This treatment improves in a good cosmetic outcome in patients with thyroid disease. To assess patients with preoperative nodule size and nature of the case is the impact of the success rate, which is particularly important.

tRF-1:30-Gly-CCC-3 inhibits thyroid cancer via binding to PC and modulating metabolic reprogramming.

tRFs and tiRNAs (tRNA-derived fragments) are an emerging class of small noncoding RNAs produced by the precise shearing of tRNAs in response to specific stimuli. They have been reported to regulate the pathological processes of numerous human cancers. However, the biofunction of tRFs and tiRNAs in the development and progression of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has not been reported yet. In this study, we aimed to explore the biological roles of tRFs and tiRNAs in PTC and discovered that a novel 5'tRNA-derived fragment called tRF-1:30-Gly-CCC-3 (tRF-30) was markedly down-regulated in PTC tissues and cell lines. Functionally, tRF-30 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of PTC cells. Mechanistically, tRF-30 directly bound to the biotin-dependent enzyme pyruvate carboxylase (PC), downregulated its protein level, interfered with the TCA cycle intermediate anaplerosis, and thus affected metabolic reprogramming and PTC progression. These findings revealed a novel regulatory mechanism for tRFs and a potential therapeutic target for PTC.

The association between the composite dietary antioxidant index and thyroid functionality among adults in the USA: NHANES 2007-2012.

Objective: Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) values serve as a summary of an individual's combined dietary antioxidant intake. Although specific antioxidants are known to reduce thyroid damage from oxidative stress, the relationship between the CDAI and thyroid function remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was thus to investigate this relationship in greater detail while focusing on a representative American adult population. Methods: A total of 6,860 subjects from the 2007-2012 NHANES cohort were included in this study. Associations between CDAI values and thyroid function were evaluated with weighted linear regression models and smoothed curve fitting. Subgroup analyses were also performed. Results: The weighted mean (SD) values for variables analyzed in this study included a CDAI of 0.13 (0.06), serum free T4 (FT4) levels of 0.80 (0.01) ng/dL, and serum total T4 (TT4) levels of 7.80 (0.03) ug/dL. Lower CDAI values were found to be associated with higher levels of FT4 and TT4 using both unadjusted and adjusted models that accounted for relevant confounders (adjusted model, FT4 ß = -0.003, p = 0.005; TT4 ß = -0.035, p < 0.001). This negative correlation persisted when CDAI was categorized into quartiles (FT4, p for trend = 0.014; TT4, p for trend = 0.003). Conclusion: These findings suggest that a diet rich in antioxidants, as reflected by higher CDAI scores, is associated with significant decreases in levels of free and total T4. Further analyses will be necessary to better clarify the underlying mechanisms behind these observations.

Emission characteristics and quantitative assessment of the health risks of cooking fumes during outdoor barbecuing.

Given the increasing popularity of outdoor barbecue activities and the disregard for barbecue fumes, this study systematically investigated barbecue fume emission characteristics for three types of grilled meats. Particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were continuously measured, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were isolated from the particulate matter. Cooking emission concentrations depended strongly on the type of meat being cooked. Fine particles were the main particles detected in this study. Low and medium-weight PAHs were the dominant species for all cooking experiments. The mass concentration of total VOCs in the barbecue smoke of the three groups showed significant differences (p < 0.05) and was 1667.18 ± 10.49 µg/m3 in the chicken wing group, 904.03 ± 7.12 µg/m3 in the beef steak group, and 3653.37 ± 12.22 µg/m3 in the streaky pork group. The results of risk assessment showed that the toxicity equivalent quality (TEQ) of carcinogenic PAHs in the particulate matter was significantly higher in the streaky pork group than in the chicken wing and beef steak groups. The carcinogenic risk of benzene exceeds the US EPA standard (1.0E-6) in all types of fumes. Although the hazard index (HI) was below one in all groups for noncarcinogenic risks, it was not cause of optimism. We conjecture that only 500 g of streaky pork would exceed the noncarcinogenic risk limit, and the mass required for carcinogenic risk may be less. When barbecuing, it is essential to avoid high-fat foods and strictly control the fat quantity. This study quantifies the incremental risk of specific foods to consumers and will hopefully provide insight into the hazards of barbecue fumes.

Expression and clinical significance of undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 in breast cancer.

Background: At present, due to the heterogeneity of breast cancer, common tumor markers have certain limitations in clinical prognostic evaluation. This suggests an unmet need for markers to predict clinical outcomes and potentially guide targeted therapies. The present study sought to explore the expression level and clinical significance of undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 (UTF1) in breast cancer. Methods: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression of UTF1 in 221 breast cancer samples. The clinical significance of UTF1 protein expression in breast cancer tissues was evaluated by combining clinicopathological parameters and UTF1 expression profile. We performed 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and clone formation assays to evaluate the effect of UTF1 on Bcap37 cell proliferation. Wound healing assay and transwell migration assay were used to evaluate the changes of cell invasion and migration ability, respectively. All experiments were performed with 3 biological replicates. Genomic differences after UTF1 overexpression were evaluated by RNA sequencing technology and the possible functions and regulatory mechanisms were elucidated. Results: The findings showed that UTF1 expression level was significantly correlated with tumor size (P=0.004), but not with patient age, tumor histological stage, lymph node metastasis, as well as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2), and Ki67 expression levels. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard model indicated that UTF1 expression was significantly associated with overall survival (OS) time of breast cancer patients. The median survival time of patients with high expression level of UTF1 was shorter compared with that of patients with low UTF1 expression level. The results of cell experiments showed that UTF1 overexpression could significantly promote the growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. The RNA sequencing results showed that UTF1 was not only closely related to apoptosis genes, but also closely related to the nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B pathway. Conclusions: The findings of the current study indicate that UTF1 is involved in occurrence and tumor progression and is significantly associated with prognosis of breast cancer patients.

The relationship between sleep duration and thyroid function in the adult US population: NHANES 2007-2012.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbance is a common problem in the general population. Sleep deprivation or dysfunction can have profound health consequences. However, how sleep duration is associated with thyroid function remains unclear. This study was thus developed to examine the association between sleep duration and thyroid function in the US adult population. METHODS: A total of 8102 participants from the NHANES 2007-2012 dataset were included in this study. Weighted data analyses were conducted, and the link between sleep duration and thyroid function was probed using linear regression models with smoothed curve fitting. Stratified analyses were also performed. RESULTS: Weighted mean (standard deviation) values for study variables were as follows: sleep duration 6.85 (0.02) hours, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) 1.86 (0.03) mIU/ml, serum free T3 3.20 (0. 01) pg/mL, serum free T4 0.80 (0.01) ng/dL, serum total T3 115.12 (0.64) ng/dL, serum total T4 7.81 (0.04) ug/dL, TPOAb 16.20 (1.53) IU/mL, TgAb 5.75 (0.73) IU/mL, and Tg 15.11 (0.46) ng/mL. In unadjusted analyses, increased sleep duration was associated with higher serum TSH levels and decreased FT3 levels. After adjustment for potential confounders, a significant negative relationship was detected between sleep duration and FT3 levels in participants with ≤7 hours of sleep. When sleep duration exceeded 7 hours, no significant changes in FT3 levels were observed after further increases in sleep duration. CONCLUSION: Increased sleep duration was related to decreased FT3 levels, primarily at short sleep durations, and this correlation was no longer evident when participants reached the recommended healthy sleep duration.

LDC7559 inhibits microglial activation and GSDMD-dependent pyroptosis after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Mounting evidence indicates that inhibition of microglial activation and neuronal pyroptosis plays important roles in brain function recovery after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). LDC7559 is a newly discovered gasdermin D (GSDMD) inhibitor. Previous studies have demonstrated that LDC7559 could inhibit microglial proliferation and pyroptosis. However, the beneficial effects of LDC7559 on SAH remain obscure. Based on this background, we investigated the potential role and the mechanism of LDC7559 on SAH-induced brain damage both in vivo and in vitro. The findings revealed that microglial activation and neuronal pyroptosis were evidently increased after SAH, which could be markedly suppressed by LDC7559 both in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, LDC7559 treatment reduced neuronal apoptosis and improved behavior function. Mechanistically, LDC7559 decreased the levels of GSDMD and cleaved GSDMD after SAH. In contrast, nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation by nigericin increased GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and abated the beneficial effects of LDC7559 on SAH-induced brain damage. However, LDC7559 treatment did not significantly affect the expression of NLRP3 after SAH. Taken together, LDC7559 might suppress neuronal pyroptosis and microglial activation after SAH by inhibiting GSDMD, thereby promoting brain functional recovery.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy predicts lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Minimally invasive treatments have emerged as the frontline therapy for patients with early gastric cancer (EGC). However, some cT1N0 patients with EGC may have lymph node metastasis because of inadequate evaluation. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of sentinel lymph node (SLN) and tried to find out feasible criteria for SLN-guided minimally invasive surgery for EGC. METHODS: A solitary metastasis lymph node was taken as SLN, the features of lymph node metastasis were analyzed retrospectively in 255 patients with EGC, and the result was then compared with a SLN biopsy in 23 patients with EGC. RESULTS: Depth of invasion and tumor size were independent risk factors for lymph node metastasis in EGC. The lymph node metastasis rate for mucosal carcinoma with a diameter <4 cm was 2.5%, and it was 13.3% when the diameter was ≥ 4 cm (p = 0.040). For submucosal carcinoma, it was 25.4% when the tumor diameter was <3 cm and 50.5% when the diameter was ≥ 3 cm (p = 0.003). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of SLN biopsy in EGC was 100%, respectively. The distribution characteristics of SLN were consistent with those of lymph node metastasis in EGC. CONCLUSIONS: SLN-guided minimally invasive surgery could be safely performed in EGC according to feasible criteria.

Estrogen receptor α and hedgehog signal pathway developmental biology of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Recent analyses revealed that estrogen receptor? a and hedgehog signal pathway both play important roles in gastric adenocarcinoma. Estrogen receptor? a has been shown to be involved in the regulation of proliferation, differentiation and tumorigenesis of gastrointestinal tract epithelium. Hedgehog family which includes Sonic (Shh), Indian (Ihh) and Desert (Dhh) hedgehogs, is involved in the vast majority of cellular processes and is fundamentally important in regulating cell proliferation, tissue generation and cell differentiation in adenocarcinoma. Experimental and mechanistic findings indicate that down-regulation of expression ER can induce expression of Shh in ER positive cancer cell lines. In this review, we summarize the implications of cellular and molecular mechanisms of estrogen receptor? a and hedgehog signal pathway related to the biochemistry and cell biology in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Impact of malignant ulcer size on lymph node stages in gastric cancer with ulcerative growth.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although malignant ulcers have been documented in gastric cancer, the specific relationship between ulcer size and lymph node stages in gastric cancer remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ulcer size and lymph node stages in gastric cancer patients. METHODOLOGY: The diameter of the malignancy ulcer was measured, the patients were divided into three groups based on the presence of ulcer and its median size: U0 no ulcer; U1 ulcer size 0-3cm, U2 the ulcer size >3cm. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The distribution of lymph node stages differed significantly between U0 and U1+U2 (p<0.001), and the similar difference was present between U1 and U2 (p<0.001). In all patients, the presence of ulcer correlated with lymph node stages (pN- vs. pN+). In ulcerative gastric cancer patients the stage pN2-3 was more common in patients with U2 (14.1%, 19/135) than in U1 (6.4%, 12/188; p< 0.001). A logistic regression model revealed that lymph node metastases were associated with presence of malignant ulcer (p=0.002), and the ulcer size still emerges as a significant variable ulcer size in ulcerative cancer (p=0.022). CONCLUSIONS: For gastric cancer patients, the presence of ulcer and ulcer size might be a potential biomarker of lymph node metastasis.

Outcome of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy vs. open gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a retrospective comparative study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy is still controversial because of scant evidence of safety and feasibility. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using the laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy in treating gastric cancer and evaluate its outcome compared with conventional open gastrectomy. METHODOLOGY: Between November 2005 and November 2007, 31 patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy and 95 patients underwent open gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Clinicopathological characteristics, total number of lymph nodes retrieved and overall survival were retrospectively compared between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in the total number of retrieved lymph nodes (26.3±11.6 vs. 27.6±10.4) between the two groups. The mean follow-up and overall survival time after surgery was 30.8 (range 4-47) months and 40.9 months (95% confidence interval, 38.5-43.2 months), respectively. The mean survival time in patients of the laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy group was 42.4 months vs. 40.3 months in patients of the open surgery alone group (p=0.457). A logistic regression model revealed that node invasion (hazard ratio 1.149, p<0.001) and serosal invasion (hazard ratio 4.623, p=0.044) were associated with overall survival of gastric cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection is a safe and feasible procedure with adequate lymphadenectomy for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Transfer RNA-Derived Small RNAs: Novel Regulators and Biomarkers of Cancers.

Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are conventional non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) with a length between18 and 40 nucleotides (nt) playing a crucial role in treating various human diseases including tumours. Nowadays, with the use of high-throughput sequencing technologies, it has been proven that certain tsRNAs are dysregulated in multiple tumour tissues as well as in the blood serum of cancer patients. Meanwhile, data retrieved from the literature show that tsRNAs are correlated with the regulation of the hallmarks of cancer, modification of tumour microenvironment, and modulation of drug resistance. On the other side, the emerging role of tsRNAs as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis is promising. In this review, we focus on the specific characteristics and biological functions of tsRNAs with a focus on their impact on various tumours and discuss the possibility of tsRNAs as novel potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.