Correlation of microsatellite status and EBV infection with clinical characteristics of patients with gastric cancer.

This study was designed to investigate the correlation of microsatellite status (MS) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection with the clinical characteristics of gastric cancer (GC) patients. MS was detected by immunohistochemistry. EBV was detected by in situ hybridization. There were 31.3% cases showed mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR)/ microsatellite instability (MSI) and 68.7% cases showed mismatch repair-proficient (pMMR)/ microsatellite stability (MSS). The dMMR/MSI was more common in the elderly, in patients with cardia GC, smaller tumor diameter or non-poorly differentiated carcinoma. The survival in dMMR/MSI patients tended to be longer than that in pMMR/MSS patients. Total 7.6% cases showed EBV-positive (EBV(+)) among 198 GC patients. EBV(+) was more common in patients with advanced GC or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. MSI was more common in EBV-negative (EBV(-)) patients than in EBV(+) patients. The dMMR/MSI patients with stage II GC benefited from chemotherapy. The survival of EBV(+) patients tended to be longer than that of EBV(-) patients.

[Oxymatrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B for one year: a multicenter random double-blind placebo-controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxymatrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: A multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 144 patients with chronic hepatitis B entered the study for 52 weeks; of them 72 received oxymatrine, and 72 received a placebo. Before and after the treatment, clinical symptoms, liver function, serum hepatitis B virus markers, and adverse drug reactions were observed. RESULTS: In 144 patients, 14 were dropped and excluded due to inconsistencies in the included standard. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of 130 patients were analyzed. After being treated for 52 weeks, 70.77% of the patients in the study group had a normal ALT level, and in 43.08% and 33.33% their HBV DNA and HBeAg became negative. In the placebo group, 39.68% had normal ALT level, and 12.31% and 3.33% had their HBV DNA and HBeAg become negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 23.08% and 58.46%, and in the placebo group they were 3.08% and 44.62%. They were significantly higher in the oxymatrine group than in the placebo group. In the oxymatrine treated patients, 12 weeks after its withdrawal, 60.00% had a normal ALT level, 41.54% and 23.33% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. In the placebo group, 31.75% had a normal ALT level, 3.08% and 1.67% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 21.54% and 47.69%, and in the placebo group they were 0 and 41.54%. They were significantly higher in the study group than in the placebo group. The adverse reaction rates of oxymatrine in the study and the placebo group were 7.69% and 6.15%, respectively, but there was no statistical significant difference between them. CONCLUSION: Oxymatrine is an effective and safe agent for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.