The automated processing algorithm to correct the test result of serum neuron-specific enolase affected by specimen hemolysis.

INTRODUCTION: Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is an important tumor marker for small cell lung cancer and neuroblastoma. However, the test of serum NSE compromised by specimen hemolysis is presented as a falsely higher result, which seriously disturbs clinical decision. This study aimed to establish a solution integrated with laboratory information system to clear the bias from hemolysis on serum NSE test. METHODS: The reference range of serum hemolysis index (HI) was first established, and specimen hemolysis rate was compared between HI test and visual observation. NSE concentration in serum pool with normal HI was spiked with serial diluted lysates from red blood cells to deduce individual corrective equation. The agreement between individual corrective equation and original NSE test was assayed by Bland and Altman plots. RESULTS: The high HI existed in 32.6% of specimens from patients. The NSE median of hemolyzed specimens was significant higher than the baseline (p = 0.038), while the corrected NSE median had no difference compared with the baseline (p = 0.757). The mean difference of corrected NSE and initial NSE was 1.92%, the SD of difference was 5.23%, and furthermore, the difference was independent of tendency of HI (Spearman r = -0.069, p = 0.640). The 95% confidence interval of mean difference (from -8.33% to 12.17%) was less than the acceptable bias range (±20%). CONCLUSION: The agreement between individual correction equation and NSE assay was satisfied. Our automated processing algorithm for serum NSE could provide efficient management of posttest data and correct positive bias from specimen hemolysis.

Connecting METTL3 and intratumoural CD33+ MDSCs in predicting clinical outcome in cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is a member of the m6A methyltransferase family and acts as an oncogene in cancers. Recent studies suggest that host innate immunity is regulated by the enzymes controlling m6A epitranscriptomic changes. Here, we aim to explore the associations between the levels of METTL3 and CD33+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in tumour tissues and the survival of patients with cervical cancer (CC). METHODS: Specimens of paraffin embedded tumour from 197 CC patients were collected. The expression levels of METTL3 and CD33 were measured by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The clinical associations of the IHC variants were analysed by Pearson's or Spearman's chi-square tests. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Hazard ratios (HRs) and independent significance were obtained via Cox proportional hazards models for multivariate analyses. METTL3 in CD33+ cells or CC-derived cells was knocked down by METTL3-specific siRNA, and MDSC induction in vitro was performed in a co-culture system in the presence of METTL3-siRNA and METTL3-knockdown-CC-derived cells compared with that of the corresponding controls. RESULTS: We found that tumour tissues displayed increased levels of METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs compared with tumour-adjacent tissues from the same CC patients. Importantly, METTL3 expression was positively related to the density of CD33+ cells in tumour tissues (P = 0.011). We further found that the direct CD33+CD11b+HLA-DR- MDSC induction and tumour-derived MDSC induction in vitro were decreased in the absence of METTL3. The level of METTL3 in tumour microenvironments was significantly related to advanced tumour stage. The levels of METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs in tumour tissues were notably associated with reduced DFS or OS. Cox model analysis revealed that the level of METTL3 in tumour cells was an independent factor for patient survival, specifically for DFS (HR = 3.157, P = 0.022) and OS (HR = 3.271, P = 0.012), while the CD33+ MDSC number was an independent predictor for DFS (HR: 3.958, P = 0.031). Interestingly, in patients with advanced-disease stages (II-IV), METTL3 in tumour cells was an independent factor for DFS (HR = 6.725, P = 0.010) and OS (HR = 5.140, P = 0.021), while CD33+ MDSC density was an independent factor for OS (HR = 8.802, P = 0.037). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that CD33+ MDSC expansion is linked to high levels of METTL3 and that METTL3 and CD33+ MDSCs are independent prognostic factors in CC.

Chemokine CCL27 is a novel plasma biomarker for identification the nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from the Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen-specific IgA seropositive population.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the predictive value of chemokine CCL27 for identifying early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients within a population seropositive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen-specific IgA (VCA-IgA). METHODS: CCL27 in plasma samples from 104 NPC patients, 112 VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors, and 140 VCA-IgA-negative normal subjects was measured by ELISA. Expression of CCL27 in nasopharyngeal tissue from 20 VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors and 20 NPC patients was examined by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Levels of CCL27 in the plasma of VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors (607.33 ± 218.81 pg/ml) were significantly higher than the levels in all NPC patients (437.09 ± 217.74, P = < 0.0001) and in the subset of patients with early stage NPC (463.85 ± 226.17, P = 0.0126). Plasma CCL27 levels were significantly lower in the VCA-IgA-negative normal subjects (358.22 ± 133.15 pg/ml) than in either the VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors (P < 0.0001) or the NPC patients (P = 0.0113). CCL27 protein was detected in 16 of 20 (80%) nasopharyngeal tissue samples from VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors and in 3 of 20 (15%) tumor tissue samples from NPC patients. There was no relationship between CCL27 levels and VCA-IgA titers or plasma EBV DNA content. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated that plasma CCL27 levels had a sensitivity of 67.00%, a specificity of 73.10%, and an area under the ROC of 0.725 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.657-0.793) for distinguishing between NPC patients and VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors. Further analysis showed that CCL27 levels could distinguish between early stage NPC patients and VCA-IgA-positive healthy donors with an area under the ROC of 0.712 (95% CI: 0.560-0.865), a sensitivity of 59.80%, and a specificity of 84.60%. CONCLUSIONS: Chemokine CCL27 could successfully identify NPC patients within a VCA-IgA-positive population.

Influence of Preoperative Serum Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) Level on the Prognosis of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The purpose of this work is to analyze preoperative serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and their effect on the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgical operation. These analyses were performed retrospectively in patients with NSCLC followed by surgery; participants were recruited between January 2004 and January 2008. All clinical information and laboratory results were collected from medical records. We explored the association between preoperative serum AST and recurrence-free survival (RFS), and the overall survival (OS) of NSCLC patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox multivariate analysis, stratified by the AST median value, were used to evaluate the prognostic effect. A chi-squared test was performed to compare clinical characteristics in different subgroups. A p-value of ≤0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. A total of 231 patients were enrolled. The median RFS and OS were 22 and 59 months, respectively. The AST levels were divided into two groups, using a cut-off value of 19 U/L: High AST (>19 U/L), n = 113 vs. low AST (≤19 U/L), n = 118. Multivariate analysis indicated that preoperative serum AST > 19 U/L (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.685, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.493-0.994, p = 0.046 for RFS, HR = 0.646, 95% CI: 0.438-0.954, p = 0.028 for OS) was an independent prognostic factor for both RFS and OS. High preoperative serum AST levels may serve as a valuable marker to predict the prognosis of NSCLC after operation.

Establishment of using serum YKL-40 and SCCA in combination for the diagnosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Elevated serum YKL-40 levels have been observed in various cancers. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of serum YKL-40 alone or in combination with the CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCCA tumor markers for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: YKL-40 was detected in ESCC cell lines and tissues by real-time RT-PCR, Western blotting and ELISA. YKL-40 protein expression was determined in 20 ESCC tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry. Serum YKL-40 was measured by ELISA in 126 healthy donors, 59 patients with benign esophageal diseases and 150 patients with ESCC. Serum CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCCA were determined by electrochemiluminescence. RESULTS: YKL-40 mRNA and protein were observed in ESCC cancer cell lines, tissues and cell culture media, respectively. YKL-40 expression was observed in 17 of 20 ESCC samples (85%). Serum YKL-40 concentration was significantly elevated in patients with ESCC (Range: 6.95-502.10 ng/ml) compared with patients with benign diseases (Range: 1.21-429.30 ng/ml; P = 0.038) and healthy controls (Range: 2.56-132.26 ng/ml; P < 0.001). ROC curves demonstrated that serum YKL-40 has a sensitivity of 72.70%, a specificity of 84.13% and an AUC of 0.874 for the diagnosis of ESCC, which was superior to CEA (Sen: 8.00%; Spe: 96.80%, AUC = 0.652), CYFRA21-1 (Sen: 40.00%; Spe: 92.06%, AUC = 0.746) and SCCA (Sen: 32.67%; Spe: 94.44%, AUC = 0.789). The YKL-40 and SCCA combination was better for diagnosing ESCC (Sen: 82.00%, Spe: 79.37%, PPV: 82.55 and NPV: 78.74; AUC = 0.917) than the YKL-40 and CEA combination (Sen: 74.00%, Spe: 83.20%, PPV: 84.09 and NPV: 72.73; AUC = 0.877), the YKL-40 and CYFRA21-1 combination (Sen: 82.00%, Spe: 77.78%, PPV: 81.46% and NPV: 78.40%; AUC = 0.897) or the CEA, CYFRA21-1 and SCCA combination (Sen: 56.67%, Spe: 84.80%, PPV: 81.73 and NPV: 61.99; AUC = 0.831). Associations between serum YKL-40 levels and the clinic characteristics of ESCC were not significant, with the exception of age (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ESCC tumor cells and tissues express YKL-40. Serum YKL-40 may be a potential biomarker for ESCC. Serum YKL-40 in combination with SCCA significantly increases the sensitivity of detecting ESCC.

Managing esophageal fistulae by endoscopic transluminal drainage in esophageal cancer patients with superior mediastinal sepsis after esophagectomy.

The management of postoperative leaks into the mediastinum after esophagectomy remains a challenge. We describe our clinical management of this complication through endoscopic transluminal drainage. Between 2008 and 2011, 4 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who underwent McKeown-type esophagectomy with two-field lymphadenectomy experienced complicated anastomotic fistulae in the presence of superior mediastinal sepsis. All 4 patients underwent endoscopic transluminal drainage, and all survived. The mean healing period was 50 days (range, 31 to 58 days), the mean stay in the intensive care unit was 7.3 days (range, 1 to 18 days), and the mean hospital stay was 64.5 days (range, 49 to 70 days). Endoscopically guided transluminal drainage should be considered for ESCC patients with superior mediastinal fistulae after esophagectomy.

Elevated levels of serum amyloid A indicate poor prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Increase of Serum amyloid A (SAA) level has been observed in patients with a variety of cancers. The objective of this study was to determined whether SAA level could be used as a prognostic parameter in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: SAA levels were measured by rate nephelometry immunoassay in 167 healthy controls and 167 ESCC patients prior to surgical resection. Statistical associations between clinicopathological observations and SAA levels were determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. The clinical value of SAA level as a prognostic parameter was evaluated using the Cox's proportional hazards model. RESULTS: SAA levels were significantly higher in patients with ESCC compared to levels in healthy controls (13.88 ± 15.19 mg/L vs. 2.26 ± 1.66 mg/L, P < 0.001). Elevation of SAA levels (≥ 8.0 mg/L) was observed in 54.5% (91/167) of patients with ESCC but not in healthy controls. SAA levels were associated with tumor size (P < 0.001), histological differentiation (P = 0.015), T classification (P < 0.001), clinical stage (P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001) and distant metastasis (P < 0.001), but not with the age and gender of the patients or tumor location. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with an elevated level of SAA (≥ 8.0 mg/L) had significantly lower 5-year survival rate than those with non-elevated SAA (< 8.0 mg/L, log-rank P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: An elevated level of preoperative SAA was found to associate with tumor progression and poor survival in patients with ESCC.

Distinct Prognostic Factors of Ground Glass Opacity and Pure-Solid Lesion in Pathological Stage I Invasive Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Ground glass opacity (GGO) is associated with favorable survival in lung cancer. However, the relevant evidence of the difference in prognostic factors between GGO and pure-solid nodules for pathological stage I invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) is limited. We aimed to identify the impact of GGO on survival and find prognostic factor for part-GGO and pure-solid patients. Methods: Between December 2007 and August 2018, patients with pathological stage I IAC were retrospectively reviewed and categorized into the pure-GGO, part-GGO, and pure-solid groups. Survival curves were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank tests. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and Cox regression models were used to obtained prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: The number of patients with pure-GGO, part-GGO, and pure-solid was 134, 540, and 396, respectively. Part-GGO patients with consolidation-tumor-ratio (CTR) > 0.75 had similar outcome to those with pure-solid nodules. In part-GGO patients, CTR was negatively associated with OS (P = 0.007) and solid tumor size (STS) was negatively associated with DFS (P < 0.001). Visceral pleural invasion (VPI) was negatively associated with OS (P = 0.040) and DFS (P = 0.002). Sublobectomy was negatively associated with OS (P = 0.008) and DFS (P = 0.005), while extended N1 stations examination was associated with improved DFS (P = 0.005) in pure-solid patients. Conclusions: Though GGO component is a positively prognostic factors of patients with pathological stage I IAC, a small proportion of GGO components is not associated with favorable survival. VPI, STS and CTR are the significant predictors for part-GGO patients. Sublobectomy, especially wedge resection should be used cautiously in pure-solid patients.

Involvement of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in impairing tumor-infiltrating CD8 T-cell functions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-(IDO-) mediated microenvironment plays an important role in tumor immune escape. However, the inhibitory effects of IDO on the CD8(+) tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (CD8(+) TILs) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not been clarified yet. Here, we found that the level of IDO expression in ESCC tumor specimens correlated with a reduction in the number of CD8(+) TILs. Patients with high IDO expression and a low number of CD8(+) TILs had significantly impaired overall survival time. IDO expression and functional enzyme activity in ESCC cell lines could be induced by IFNγ. When exposed to the milieu generated by IDO-expressing Eca109 cells, the CD8(+) TILs were suppressed in proliferation, and their cytolytic functions against target tumor cells were lost. These results suggested that impairing CD8(+) TIL functions by IDO expressed in ESCC possibly contributed to the finding that patients with higher IDO expression have more aggressive disease progression and shorter overall survival time.

Comparing Clinicopathologic Features and Surgical Treatment of Premenopausal Breast Cancer across Italy and China: Report from a Medical Exchange Program.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the differences in clinicopathologic features and surgical treatment between an Italian and a Chinese cohort of premenopausal women with breast cancer, and highlighted the potential advantages of international medical exchange projects. METHODS: Premenopausal women who underwent surgical treatment between 2012 and 2016 at one Italian and one Chinese institution participating in a medical exchange program were compared. Factors associated with the probability to receive mastectomy were determined via logistic analysis. Changes in surgical management at the Chinese institution in the period 2018-2019, after the exchange program, were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 505 patients, 318 from Italy and 187 from China, were evaluated. The Chinese patients had more frequently advanced-stage tumours, large tumour size (30.9 vs. 18.1 mm, p < 0.01), invasive carcinoma (92.5 vs. 83.3%, p < 0.01), positive axillary lymph nodes (54.5 vs. 27.4%, p < 0.01), Her-2 positivity (36.4 vs. 22.0%, p < 0.01), and high proliferative index (55.1 vs. 30.2%, p < 0.01). Positive oestrogen receptor status and rates of triple-negative breast cancer did not differ (77.0 vs. 69.5%, p = 0.09 and 14.2 vs. 16%, p = 0.56, respectively). Mastectomy rates were higher among Chinese women (85 vs. 41%, p < 0.001), whereas use of sentinel node biopsy was more frequent among Italian women (77 vs. 33%, p < 0.001). Chinese women had more than 4-fold higher risk of receiving mastectomy. In the last 2 years, the rates of breast-conserving surgery and sentinel node biopsy at the Chinese institution increased from 15 to 23%, and from 33 to 42%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Tumour features and surgical strategies for premenopausal breast cancer may differ significantly between Italy and China. Since the international exchange program, patients from the Chinese institution have been offered more frequently less invasive surgery. International exchange programs can help in designing epidemiological studies which may be useful for strategies to improve breast cancer management and control.

A retrospective discussion of the prognostic value of combining prothrombin time(PT) and fibrinogen(Fbg) in patients with Hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: The levels of coagulation system tests have been studied in various cancers. In this study, our aim is to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment plasma coagulation tests in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Patient and methods: A retrospective study was performed in 539 patients with HCC, and follow-up period was at least 60 months until recurrence or death. The prognostic significance of coagulation system tests (prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, fibrinogen) were determined by univariate and multivariate Cox hazard models. Then, according to the results of the multivariate analyses, we proposed the coagulation-Based Stage, which combined the independent risk factors (prothrombin time and fibrinogen). Results: Coagulation system tests including prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen (Fbg) were analyzed. Patients with prolonged PT (≥12.1 sec) levels had significantly poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), not only in the entire cohort (HR: 1.661, 95%CI: 1.125-2.451, p=0.011 vs. HR: 1.660, 95%CI: 1.125-2.451, p=0.011), but also in the subgroups stratified by pathological stage (stage I-II and stage III-IV). Additionally, high Fbg (≥2.83 g/L) levels experienced significantly decreased OS and DFS (HR: 2.158, 95%CI: 1.427-3.263, p<0.001 vs. HR: 2.161, 95%CI: 1.429-3.267, p<0.001), not only in the entire cohort but also in the subgroups stratified by pathological stage (stage I-II and stage III-IV). All the patients were then stratified (based on combined PT and Fbg) into three groups, The OS for HCC patients were (41.37±17.76), (31.83±19.84) and (18.68±18.41) months, and the DFS for HCC patients were (41.15±17.88), (31.65±19.81) and (18.66±18.39) months. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the combination of plasma PT and Fbg levels should be evaluated as the valuable predictor of survival in patients with HCC.

Clinical Significance of Preoperative Albumin and Globulin Ratio in Patients with Gastric Cancer Undergoing Treatment.

Background. The pretreatment albumin and globulin ratio (AGR) was an inflammation-associated factor which was related to the overall survival in various malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of AGR in patients with gastric cancer. Method. This retrospective study included 862 cases pathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer. All patients were randomly divided into the testing group (431 cases) and validation group (431 cases). The relationships of AGR with clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. Results. In the testing group, the median overall survival was 26.90 months and the cutoff value of AGR was 1.50 based on R language. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that lower AGR was correlated with poorer overall survival. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that AGR was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR: 0.584, 95% CI = 0.351-0.973, and p = 0.039). In the validation group, the median overall survival was 24.10 months. Lower AGR (≤1.50) also had a significantly poorer overall survival by Kaplan-Meier analysis. According to multivariate analysis, the AGR was also confirmed to be an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR: 0.578, 95% CI = 0.373-0.897, and p = 0.015). Conclusions. Our study suggested that the pretreatment AGR could be a prognostic biomarker for overall survival in patients with gastric cancer.

[The discordant results in serum through reverse syphilis screening algorithm].

OBJECTIVE: The emerging reverse sequence on syphilis screening program generates special discordant results, characterized with the appearance of both positive treponemal test and negative nontreponemal test at the same time. The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of the discordant results among low syphilis prevalence population in China, to provide evidence for improving the process of reverse sequence syphilis screening program. METHODS: Laboratory data was retrospectively analyzed, under reverse sequence screening algorithm selecting ELISA as the initial screening test for syphilis. All the screening reactive samples were tested by TPPA for confirmation and by quantitative TRUST for the reactivity of syphilis. RESULTS: 666 out of a total of 21 049 serum samples were reactive under the screening program. Among the 666 reactive samples, 169 were reactive to TRUST. One in the 169 samples was confirmed negative on TPPA, and the faulse positive rate on ELISA was 0.6% (1/169). In those 666 reactive samples, 497 were nonreactive to TRUST. 74 in the 497 samples were confirmed negative to TPPA, with faulse positive rate of ELISA as 14.9% (74/497). In the group of 591 TPPA confirmed positive samples, the TRUST negative rate was found 71.6% (423/591), significantly higher than the TRUST positive rate(chi-square test, χ(2) = 110.025, P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: Among the results from reverse sequence syphilis screening program, majority of the samples which showed positive treponemal antibody, would have negative nontreponemal antibody. We therefore recommended a more reasonable reverse sequence syphilis algorithm to be used. Faulse positivity could be eliminated if TPPA was performed on all screening reactive samples by ELISA a first and then followed by quantitative TRUST on samples that were TPPA confirmed as positive.

Prognostic value of preoperative mean corpuscular volume in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate whether preoperative mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is a prognostic indicator in patients with resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: A total of 298 consecutive, prospectively enrolled patients with histologically diagnosed ESCC who underwent surgery with curative intent from 2001 to 2011 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were excluded if they had previous malignant disease, distant metastasis at the time of primary treatment, a history of neoadjuvant treatment, had undergone non-radical resection, or had died of a non-tumor-associated cause. Survival status was verified in September 2011. Pathological staging was performed based on the 2010 American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria. Preoperative MCV was obtained from blood counts performed routinely within 7 d prior to surgery. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine a cutoff for preoperative MCV. RESULTS: The 298 patients consisted of 230 males and 68 females, with a median follow-up of 30.1 mo. ROC analysis showed an optimal cutoff for preoperative MCV of 95.6 fl. Fifty-nine patients (19.8%) had high (> 95.6 fl) and 239 (80.2%) had low (≤ 95.6 fl) preoperative MCV. Preoperative MCV was significantly associated with gender (P = 0.003), body mass index (P = 0.017), and preoperative red blood cell count (P < 0.001). The predicted 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 72%, 60% and 52%, respectively. Median OS was significantly longer in patients with low than with high preoperative MCV (27.5 mo vs 19.4 mo, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that advanced pT (P = 0.018) and pN (P < 0.001) stages, upper thoracic location (P = 0.010), lower preoperative albumin concentration (P = 0.002), and high preoperative MCV (P = 0.001) were negative prognostic factors in patients with ESCC. Preoperative MCV also stratified OS in patients with T3, N1-N3, G2-G3 and stage III tumors. CONCLUSION: Preoperative MCV is a prognostic factor in patients with ESCC.

Serum HER 2 extracellular domain level is correlated with tissue HER 2 status in metastatic gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: To explore the association between serum human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER 2) extracellular domain (ECD) levels and tissue HER 2 status in metastatic gastric cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HER 2 status was retrospectively analyzed in 219 advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) patients. Serum HER 2 ECD was measured by chemiluminescent assay and tissue HER 2 was assessed by fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. RESULTS: Significant associations were found between serum HER 2 ECD levels and tissue HER 2 status. Twenty-four patients had HER 2 ECD levels >16.35 ng/mL, which has a sensitivity of 51.4% and a specificity of 97.3% to predict tissue HER 2 status. When the cut-off value was increased to 22 ng/mL, then all 12 patients with serum HER 2 ECD levels>22 ng/mL were tissue HER 2 positive, corresponding to a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 32.4%. High serum HER 2 ECD levels were strongly associated with the intestinal histological type (Lauren's classification), liver metastasis, multiple metastasis (>2) and increased LDH levels, but not with overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: The high specificity of the serum HER 2 ECD assay in predicting tissue HER 2 status suggests its potential as a surrogate marker of the HER 2 status in gastric cancer.

Comparison between different reconstruction routes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM: To compare postoperative complications and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients treated with different routes of reconstruction. METHODS: After obtaining approval from the Medical Ethics Committee of the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, we retrospectively reviewed data from 306 consecutive patients with histologically diagnosed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were treated between 2001 and 2011. All patients underwent radical McKeown-type esophagectomy with at least two-field lymphadenectomy. Regular follow-up was performed in our outpatient department. Postoperative complications and long-term survival were analyzed by treatment modality, baseline patient characteristics, and operative procedure. Data from patients treated via the retrosternal and posterior mediastinal routes were compared. RESULTS: The posterior mediastinal and retrosternal reconstruction routes were employed in 120 and 186 patients, respectively. Pulmonary complications were the most common complications experienced during the postoperative period (46.1% of all patients; 141/306). Compared to the retrosternal route, the posterior mediastinal reconstruction route was associated with a lower incidence of anastomotic stricture (15.8% vs 27.4%, P = 0.018) and less surgical bleeding (242.8 ± 114.2 mL vs 308.2 ± 168.4 mL, P < 0.001). The median survival time was 26.8 mo (range: 1.6-116.1 mo). Upon uni/multivariate analysis, a lower preoperative albumin level (P = 0.009) and a more advanced pathological stage (pT; P = 0.006; pN; P < 0.001) were identified as independent factors predicting poor prognosis. The reconstruction route did not influence prognosis (P = 0.477). CONCLUSION: The posterior mediastinal route of reconstruction reduces incidence of postoperative complications but does not affect survival. This route is recommended for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

High expression of PSM-E correlated with tumor grade in prostate cancer: a new alternatively spliced variant of prostate-specific membrane antigen.

BACKGROUND: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) overexpressed in prostate cancer (PCa) has been targeted for therapy and diagnosis of PCa. In the current study, PSMA cDNA was cloned from PCa tissue by RT-PCR. After sequencing, a new spliced variant of PSMA (PSM-E) was discovered and its specificity in PCa was evaluated. METHODS: PSM-E and PSMA mRNA were measured in LNCaP, PC-3 and prostate or nonprostatic malignancies. Following transfection of PC-3 with PSM-E cDNA in the pcDNA3.0 vector, PSM-E expression was measured by immunofluorescence and Western-blot. PSM-E and PSMA mRNA levels were quantified by a real-time PCR assay in normal prostate (n = 7), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (n = 22) and PCa (n = 41). The correlation between their levels and tumor grade was analyzed. RESULTS: PSM-E cDNA is identical to PSMA except for a 97-nucleotide region and a 93-nucleotide region. PSM-E and PSMA mRNA were detected in PCa and LNCaP, not in PC-3; PSMA could be detected in some nonprostatic tumors whereas PSM-E not. The expression of PSM-E protein was detected in transfected cells. Significant difference of PSM-E mRNA levels was observed among normal prostate, BPH and PCa (P < 0.001), and PSM-E levels increased with increasing Gleason score (r = 0.514, P < 0.001). PSMA mRNA levels were higher in BPH and PCa than in normal prostate (P < 0.001), but no difference between BPH and PCa, no significant correlation was observed between PSMA levels and Gleason score (r = 0.229, P = 0.057). CONCLUSIONS: PSM-E may be a potential prognostic indicator for PCa progression and may be a new target antigen for therapy of PCa.

[Effect of cellular immune supportive treatment on immunity of esophageal carcinoma patients after modern two-field lymph node dissection].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Cellular immunity suppression is marked in patients with esophageal carcinoma, which may be resulted temporarily from surgical injury. This study was to evaluate the effect of cellular immune supportive treatment on cellular immunity of patients with esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with thoracic esophageal carcinoma, received two-field dissection, were randomized into control group and trial (immune supportive treatment) group. The patients in trial group were injected with Shenqi injection after operation; the patients in control group received no immune supportive treatment. Peripheral blood samples were obtained before operation, and 3 and 9 days after operation. AgNOR (argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions) activity in peripheral blood T lymphocytes was measured by tumor immune microphotometry. T cell subsets were measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The proportions of CD3+CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ cells were significantly higher in trial group than in control group at 3 days after operation (P < 0.05). The amount of AgNOR and proportions of CD3+, CD3+CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, and CD4+CD25+ cells were significantly higher in trial group than in control group at 9 days after operation (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in 1-year survival rate between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Shenqi injection could obviously improve cellular immunity of the esophageal carcinoma patients after modern two-field dissection.

[Perioperative changes of cellular immune response of patients with esophageal carcinoma evaluated through detecting AgNOR content in peripheral blood T lymphocytes and T cell subsets].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Patients with esophageal carcinoma often have immunosuppression. This study was to detect perioperative argyrophil nucleolar orgnizer region (AgNOR) content in peripheral blood T lymphocytes and T cell subsets of patients with esophageal carcinoma, investigate the influences of cellular immune condition and surgery on cellular immune function of these patients. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 75 healthy adults and 70 patients with esophageal carcinoma before surgery, 3 and 9 days after surgery. AgNOR content in peripheral blood T lymphocytes was measured by tumor immune microphotometry; T cell subsets was measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Before operation, AgNOR content, proportions of CD3(+)CD8(+) and CD8(+)CD25(+) T cells were significantly lower in patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.001); proportions of CD3(+) and CD3(+)CD4(+) T cells of patients were not significantly different from that of healthy controls (P > 0.05); proportions of CD4(+)CD25(+) and CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells were significantly higher in patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.05). In peripheral blood T lymphocytes of the patients after operation, AgNOR content, CD3(+), CD3(+)CD4+(+), and CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells were the lowest at the 3rd day, and the highest at the 9th day; CD3(+)CD8(+), CD4(+)CD25(+), and CD8+CD25+ T cells gradually ascended from the 3rd day. At the 9th day after operation, CD3(+) and CD3(+)CD4(+) T cells of patients were not significantly different from that of healthy controls (P> 0.05); AgNOR content, CD3(+)CD8(+) and CD8(+)CD25(+) T cells were still lower in patients than in healthy controls (P<0.05); CD4(+)CD25(+) and CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells were still higher in patients than in healthy controls (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Surgery injure may cause temporary cellular immunosuppression in patients with esophageal carcinoma, which slowly recovers early after operation.