Evaluating the expression of CARMA3 as a prognostic tumor marker in renal cell carcinoma.

Increased expression of CARMA3 has been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression of several cancer types. The aim of our study is to investigate the prognostic role of CARMA3 expression in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect CARMA3 mRNA expression level in 31 paired samples of RCC and adjacent noncancerous renal tissues. Subsequently, extensive immunohistochemistry was performed to detect CARMA3 protein expression in 114 RCC cases. Clinicopathological data for these patients were evaluated. The prognostic significance was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and log-rank tests. CARMA3 mRNA expression was significantly higher in RCC tissues compared with adjacent noncancerous renal tissues (3.525 ± 1.233 vs. 1.512 ± 0.784, P < 0.001). In addition, high CARMA3 expression in RCC tissues was significantly associated with tumor size (P = 0.026), histological differentiation (P = 0.039), tumor stage (P = 0.006), and the presence of metastasis (P < 0.001). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high CARMA3 expression also had a significantly poorer prognosis than those with low CARMA3 expression (log-rank test, P < 0.001). Furthermore, multivariate analysis illustrated that CARMA3 overexpression might be an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with RCC. In conclusion, this work shows that CARMA3 may serve as a novel and prognostic marker for RCC and play a role during the development and progression of the disease.

[Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation relieves post-operative nausea and vomiting possibly by reducing serum motilin secretion in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) of different acupoint combinations on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and serum motilin (MTL) content in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, so as to provide evidence for clinical selection of suitable acupoint compatibility. METHODS: A total of 140 patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery were randomly divided into general anesthesia (GA) control, TG2 ［Neiguan (PC6) + Hegu (LI4)］, TG3 ［PC6 + LI4 + Zusanli (ST36)］, and TG4 ［PC6 + LI4 + ST36 + Sanyinjiao (SP6)］ groups, with 35 cases in each group. Patients of the TG2, TG3 and TG4 groups received TEAS (2 Hz/100 Hz, 3-8 mA) of the above mentioned acupoint (bilateral) groups for 30 min before the induction of anesthesia until the end of the operation. Patients of the GA control group received intravenous injection of Midazolam, Sufentanil, Propofol, Rocuronium Bromide, etc. The blood sample (4 mL) from the right median cubital vein was collected at the time of patient's entry, 12 and 24 h after surgery, respectively, for measuring MTL concentration by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The incidence of early and late PONV and changes of PONV degree within 24 h after surgery were recorded. RESULTS: The serum MTL concentrations were significantly decreased at 12 h after surgery in all the 4 groups (P<0.05), and decreased at 24 h after surgery in GA and TG2 groups vs their own pre-surgery (P < 0.05), and considerably higher at both 12 and 24 h after surgery in the TG2, TG3 and TG4 groups than in the GA control group (P<0.05), and also evidently higher in the TG3 and TG4 groups than in the TG2 group (P<0.05). The incidence of PONV was significantly lower in the TG2, TG3 and TG4 groups than in the GA control group in the early and late periods (except TG2 group) of surgery (P<0.05). The number of patients with PONV grade Ⅰ was significantly larger in the TG2, TG3 and TG4 groups than in the GA control group at 24 h after surgery (P<0.05), suggesting a mild PONV in more patients undergoing TEAS. CONCLUSION: TEAS has a preventive effect on PONV in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery, which may be related to its effect in reducing serum MTL concentration. The preventive effect of TEAS of PC6 + LI4 + ST36 and PC6 +LI4 + ST36 + SP6 is similar and better than TG2 (two acupoints) group.