Pregabalin can decrease acute pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting in hysterectomy: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Whether the preoperative administration of pregabalin plays a beneficial role in controlling acute pain after hysterectomy is unknown. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the efficacy and safety of the preoperative use of pregabalin to treat acute postoperative pain following hysterectomy. METHODS: In April 2017, a systematic computer-based search was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google databases. RCTs comparing pregabalin with placebo in patients undergoing hysterectomy were retrieved. The primary endpoint was the visual analog scale (VAS) score with rest or mobilization at 2 h, 4 and 24 hours and cumulative morphine consumption at 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours. The secondary outcomes were complications of nausea, vomiting, sedation, and dizziness. After tests for publication bias and heterogeneity among studies were performed, the data were aggregated for random-effects models when necessary. RESULTS: Ten clinical studies with 1207 patients (pregabalin = 760, control = 447) were finally included in this meta-analysis. Preoperative administration of pregabalin was associated with a significant reduction of VAS with rest or mobilization at 2, 4, and 24 hours after hysterectomy. Further, the preoperative administration of pregabalin was associated with a reduction in total morphine consumption at 2, 4, 24, and 48 hours after hysterectomy. The occurrence of morphine-related complications (nausea and vomiting) was also reduced in the pregabalin group. However, the preoperative administration of pregabalin was associated with an increase in the occurrence of dizziness. There was no significant difference in the occurrence of sedation. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative use of pregabalin reduced postoperative pain, total morphine consumption, and morphine-related complications following hysterectomy. The doses of pregabalin were different, and large heterogeneity was the limitation of the current meta-analysis. Further studies should determine the optimal dose for controlling acute pain after hysterectomy.

[Clinical Efficacy of Cellular Immuotherapy Combined with Bortezomib for the Treatment of Patients with Multiple Myeloma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical efficacy of cellular immunotherapy combined with bortezomib for treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. METHODS: A total of 76 patients with multiple myeloma in our hospital from October 2012 to October 2013 were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups: the patients in 1 group (38 cases) were treated with cellular immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy including bortezomib (combined therapy group), the patients in other group(38 cases) were treated with only chemotherapy including bortezomib(single chemotherapy as control group). The treatment remission rate, the expression changes of immunophenotype, progression-free survival(PFS) and adverse reactions were compared in the 2 groups. RESULTS: The total remission rate of combined therapy group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05); the positive rates of CD38+, CD56+ and CD138+ in combined therapy group were all significantly lower than those in control group, and the CD19+ was significantly higher (P<0.05). The PFS rates of 1, 2 and 3 years in the combined therapy group were all significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of fatigue, rash, peripheral neuropathy, anemia and granulocyte deficiency in the combined therapy group was all significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Cellular immunotherapy combined with bortezomib can significantly improve the remission rate, prolong survival, and significantly decrease adverse event rate of multiple myeloma patients.

Hsa_circ_0101996 combined with hsa_circ_0101119 in peripheral whole blood can serve as the potential biomarkers for human cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Previous study suggests changes in circRNAs in tumor tissues from cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) patients. However, little is known about the diagnostic value of circRNAs in CSCC. To assess the potential application of circRNAs as diagnostic tools in CSCC, the circulating circRNAs in peripheral whole blood were carried out. METHODS: Five up-regulated circRNAs in peripheral whole blood from 87 patients with CSCC and 55 healthy controls were first identified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The diagnostic value was evaluated using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and the area under the ROC curves (AUC). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, hsa_circ_0101996, hsa_circ_0104649, hsa_circ_0104443 and hsa_circ_0101119 expression were significantly up-regulated in peripheral whole blood from CSCC patients. ROC analysis showed that hsa_circ_0101996 and hsa_circ_0101119 could distinguish CSCC patients from healthy controls with high AUC (0.906 and 0.887, respectively). Intriguingly, the combination of hsa_circ_0101996 and hsa_circ_0101119 markedly improved AUC (0.964). CONCLUSION: All of the findings suggest that hsa_circ_0101996 combined with hsa_circ_0101119 can serve as potential biomarkers for CSCC detection.

Gastric tumor-initiating CD44+ cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition are inhibited by γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT.

It has been proposed that the Notch signaling pathway may serve a pivotal role in cellular differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. However, the function of Notch signaling in gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) is largely unknown. The present study aimed to delineate the role of the Notch1 pathway in GCSCs and during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Flow cytometry was used to isolate CD44+ cells from the human gastric cancer cell line, MKN45. CD44+ cells displayed the characteristics of CSCs and exhibited higher Notch1 expression compared with CD44- cells. To investigate the role of the Notch1 pathway in GCSCs, CD44+ cells were treated with the γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT. DAPT treatment inhibited the expression of the Notch1 downstream target Hes1 and EMT markers, suppressed the properties of CSCs and impaired the invasion and proliferation capabilities of CD44+ cells. In addition, intraperitoneal treatment with DAPT effectively inhibited the growth of CD44+ cell xenograft tumors. The present study indicated that CD44+ GCSCs possess the characteristics of CSCs and that the Notch1 pathway serves a critical role in the maintenance of CSCs and EMT.

[Therapeutic and adverse effects of topotecan combined with cisplatin for treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic and adverse effects of topotecan combined with cisplatin in the treatment of advanced squamous cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer. METHODS: Totally 126 patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer, which were confirmed by tissue pathology or cytopathology, were treated with intravenous infusion of topotecan at the dose of 0.75-1.2 mg/m2 (for 5 consecutive days) combined with intravenous infusion of cisplantin at 25-30 mg/m2 for 3 consecutive days. Each treatment course consisted of two 21-day cycles of the treatment. RESULTS: No complete remission was achieved in these patients, and 61 patients had partial remission, 53 had clinically stabilized disease and 12 had progressive disease. The total response rate was 48.4% among the patients, with the median survival time of 10.1 months and one-year survival rate of 36.7%. The major adverse effects were bone marrow suppression and alopecia. CONCLUSION: Topotecan combined with cisplatin may achieve a favorable response in patients with advanced squamous cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer, and causes tolerable adverse effect without accumulative toxicity.