Comparison of ultrasound-guided puncture drainage and incision drainage for deep neck abscess.

BACKGROUND: Deep neck space abscess is a common disease in otolaryngology-head, and neck surgery emergencies that result in significant morbidity with potential mortality. Traditional incision drainage with antibiotics is widely accepted worldwide. Recent studies have shown that ultrasound-guided drainage is an effective strategy and is less invasive for patients. The present study aimed to explore the difference between puncture and drainage guided by B-ultrasound and traditional surgical incision in treating deep neck space abscess. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with deep neck abscess were enrolled in the present study; 43 were distributed to the B-ultrasound puncture drainage group and 17 to the incision drainage group. Clinical data were collected, and differences between the 2 treatment options were compared. RESULTS: There were no differences in patients' systemic illness, age, and clinical features (diameter of an abscess, amount of drainage in first 3 days, and body temperature). The cure rate of both groups was 100%; the number of hospitalization days of the B-ultrasound-guided puncture group (8 days) was significantly less than that of the incision drainage group (10.8 days). CONCLUSIONS: Puncture drainage of neck abscess guided by B-ultrasound is a safe and effective treatment method and can reduce the patient's hospital stay.

Association of MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC5B genes with the recurrence of nasal polyps.

Although mucins were suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis, the correlation between the expression levels of MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC2, and the recurrence of nasal polyps, has not been extensively investigated. The present study aimed to investigate the association of the levels of mucin (MUC) 2, MUC5AC and MUC5B with the recurrence of nasal polyps. A total of 56 patients with nasal polyps who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery at the Tianjin Third Central Hospital (Tianjin, China) between June 2007 and June 2010 were included and baseline characteristics were recorded. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis was used to determine the expression levels of the MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC5B genes at six months following the operation. The recurrence rate was calculated at one year following the operation. Spearman's rank correlation was used to determine the association between the reduction in the expression levels of MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC5B, and the recurrence rate of nasal polyps. There were no significant differences observed in the baseline characteristics between patients with and without the recurrence of nasal polyps. Prior to treatment, the expression levels of MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC2 in patients with nasal polyps were significantly increased compared with those in the paranasal tissues and normal nasal mucosa. The expression levels of MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC2 were similar between patients with and without recurrent nasal polyps. In addition, significantly decreased MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC2 gene expression levels were observed in patients without recurrence of nasal polyps compared with those with recurrence of nasal polyps at six months following the operation. The decreased values of MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC2 in patients with recurrence and without recurrence of nasal polyps compared with baselines were significantly negatively correlated with the recurrence rate of nasal polyps. In conclusion, the present results provided novel data for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with recurrent nasal polyps.

An Integrated Analysis of mRNAs and miRNAs Microarray Profiles to Screen miRNA Signatures Involved in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: We aim to identify several microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs)-messenger RNAs (mRNAs) biomarkers correlated to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) based on an integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNAs microarray expression profiles. METHODS: The available mRNA and miRNA microarray datasets were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database according to pre-determined screening criteria. Differentially expressed miRNA and mRNAs (DEmiRNAs and DEmRNAs) were extracted between NPC and noncancerous nasopharyngeal tissues. The target genes of DEmiRNAs were predicted with miRTarBase followed by the construction of DEmiRNAs-target DEmRNAs network, and functional analyses were performed. The DEmiRNAs expressions were validated and the performance of these DEmiRNAs was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) values. Finally, the correlations between DEmiRNAs and specific clinical factors were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 1140 interaction pairs (including let-7d/f-MYC/HMGA2 and miR-452-ITGA9) in DEmiRNAs-target DEmRNAs network. The GO annotation analysis showed that several genes such as MYC, HMGA2 and ITGA9 primarily participated in cellular process. KEGG analysis showed that these targets were associated with cell cycle and cancer-related pathways. Down-regulated let-7(-d and -f) and up-regulated miR-452 were verified in datasets. The AUC values of these 3 DEmiRNAs (let-7d, let-7-f and miR-452) was 0.803, 0.835 and 0.735, respectively. Besides, miR-452 was significantly related to survival rate of NPC patients. CONCLUSION: The findings implied let-7d/f-MYC/HMGA2 and miR-452-ITGA9 might be promising targets for the detection and treatment of NPC.

Circ_0058124 Aggravates the Progression of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma by Activating LMO4 Expression via Targeting miR-370-3p.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant tumor in the endocrine system. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for the vast majority of cases in this cancer. Recently, the vital role of circular RNA (circRNA) has been acknowledged in various cancers, and this study aimed to investigate the role of circ_0058124 and related mechanism of its action in PTC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of circ_0058124, miR-370-3p and LIM domain only (LMO4) was detected by qRT-PCR in tissue samples (PTC tissues or normal tissues, n=20) and cell lines (non-cancer cell line, Nthy-ori 3-1, and PTC cell lines, IHH-4 and TPC-1). For functional analysis, cell proliferation was investigated using CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay. Cell migration and invasion were determined using transwell assay, and cell migration was also assessed by wound healing assay. Cell apoptosis was monitored by flow cytometry assay. For mechanism analysis, the interaction between miR-370-3p and circ_0058124 or LMO4 predicted by the bioinformatics analysis was validated by dual-luciferase reporter assay or RIP assay. The effect of circ_0058124 on tumor growth in vivo was identified by establishing the Xenograft model. RESULTS: The expression of circ_0058124 was enhanced in PTC tissues and cells. Circ_0058124 knockdown inhibited viability, colony formation, migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis of PTC cells. Besides, circ_0058124 knockdown also blocked tumor growth in vivo. miR-370-3p was a target of circ_0058124, and circ_0058124 regulated the expression of LMO4, a target of miR-370-3p, by targeting miR-370-3p. Rescue experiments presented that miR-370-3p inhibition reversed the inhibitory effects of circ_0058124 knockdown on PTC development, and LMO4 overexpression reversed the effect of miR-370-3p restoration on PTC development. CONCLUSION: Circ_0058124 promoted the development of PTC by mediating the miR-370-3p/LMO4 axis, and circ_0058124, functioned as an oncogene in PTC, might be used as a promising biomarker for PTC diagnosis and treatment.

Association between interferon gamma 13-CA-repeats polymorphism and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a population of Northern China.

Interferon Gamma gamma (IFN-γ) 13-CA-repeats polymorphism is associated with a variety of diseases; here we report its association with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis in a retrospective analysis of a cohort of 220 NPC patients in the northern China. The results showed that the distributions of CA13-/CA13-genotypes were significantly higher in the patients with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05) and distant metastasis (P<0.001); there was a significant difference between NPC patients with stage I+II and those with stage III+IV regarding CA13+/CA13-(P<0.001) and CA13-/CA13- genotypes (P<0.001); further analysis showed a more pronounced difference between NPC patients with stage I+II+III and those with stage IV for CA13-/CA13-genotype (P<0.001), whereas no difference was found for CA13+/CA13- genotype (P=0.790). Thus, we identify that IFN-γ 13-CA-repeat polymorphism is significantly associated with the metastasis of NPC, which may provide insights into its prognosis and individualized treatment.