The Correlation of Centromere Protein Q with Diagnosis and Prognosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major types of liver cancer. Previous studies have shown that the centromere protein family is associated with malignant biological behaviors such as HCC proliferation. As a member of the centromere protein family, centromere protein Q (CENPQ) is closely associated with immunotherapy and immune cell infiltration in various tumors. However, the role and mechanism of CENPQ in HCC remain unclear. Methods: Multiple public databases and RT-qPCR were used to study the expression of CENPQ in HCC. Based on TCGA data, the correlation between CENPQ and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of HCC patients was analyzed, and its diagnostic value was evaluated. The potential biological functions of CENPQ in HCC were explored by functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes. The distribution of tumor-infiltrating immune cell types was assessed using single-sample GSEA, and immune checkpoint gene expression was analyzed using Spearman correlation. Subsequently, loss-of-function experiments were performed to determine the function of CENPQ on the cell cycle and proliferation of HCC cells in vitro. Results: CENPQ was found highly expressed in HCC and correlated with weight, BMI, age, AFP, T stage, pathologic stage, histologic grade, and prothrombin time (all p < 0.05). ROC and Kaplan-Meier analyses indicated that CENPQ may be potentially used as a diagnostic marker for HCC (AUC = 0.881), and its upregulation is associated with decreased OS (p = 0.002), DSS (p < 0.001), and PFI (p = 0.002). Functional enrichment analysis revealed an association of CENPQ with biological processes such as immune cell infiltration, cell cycle, and hippo-merlin signaling deregulation in HCC. Furthermore, knockdown of CENPQ manifested in HCC cells with G0/1 phase cycle arrest and decreased proliferative capacity. Conclusion: CENPQ expression was higher in HCC tissues than in normal liver tissues. It was significantly associated with poor prognosis, immune cell infiltration, cell cycle, and proliferation. Therefore, CENPQ may become a promising prognostic biomarker for HCC patients.

Orbital solitary fibrous tumours: clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence prediction.

BACKGROUND: SFTs are thought to have an unpredictable clinical course and currently have no recognized prognostic criterion. Our study aimed to determine the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of patients with orbital SFTs. METHODS: The clinicopathological features of these patients were extracted from clinical records. The relationships between these features and prognosis were analysed. RESULTS: The positive rates of CD34, CD99, Blc2, and STAT6 expression were 90.3%, 90.3%, 83.9%, and 100%, respectively. The tumour recurrence rate was 38.7%. A higher recurrence rate was observed in patients with Ki67 index ≥ 5 (56.25% vs. 20%, P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: A Ki67 index ≥ 5 was an effective parameter for predicting tumour recurrence of orbital SFTs. Close follow-up is needed for these patients.

Impacts of smoking status on the clinical outcomes of coronary non-target lesions in patients with coronary heart disease: a single-center angiographic study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary atherosclerotic plaque could go through rapid progression and induce adverse cardiac events. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of smoking status on clinical outcomes of coronary non-target lesions. METHODS: Consecutive patients with coronary heart disease who underwent two serial coronary angiographies were included. All coronary non-target lesions were recorded at first coronary angiography and analyzed using quantitative coronary angiography at both procedures. Patients were grouped into non-smokers, quitters, and smokers according to their smoking status. Clinical outcomes including rapid lesion progression, lesion re-vascularization, and myocardial infarction were recorded at second coronary angiography. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the association between smoking status and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 1255 patients and 1670 lesions were included. Smokers were younger and more likely to be male compared with non-smokers. Increase in percent diameter stenosis was significantly lower (2.7 [0.6, 7.1] % vs. 3.5 [0.9, 8.9]%) and 3.4 [1.1, 7.7]%, P = 0.020) in quitters than those in smokers and non-smokers. Quitters tended to have a decreased incidence of rapid lesions progression (15.8% [76/482] vs. 21.6% [74/342] and 20.6% [89/431], P = 0.062), lesion re-vascularization (13.1% [63/482] vs. 15.5% [53/432] and 15.5% [67/431], P = 0.448), lesion-related myocardial infarction (0.8% [4/482] vs. 2.6% [9/342] and 1.4% [6/431], P = 0.110) and all-cause myocardial infarction (1.9% [9/482] vs. 4.1% [14/342] and 2.3% [10/431], P = 0.128) compared with smokers and non-smokers. In multivariable analysis, smoking status was not an independent predictor for rapid lesion progression, lesion re-vascularization, and lesion-related myocardial infarction except that a higher risk of all-cause myocardial infarction was observed in smokers than non-smokers (hazards ratio: 3.00, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-8.62, P = 0.042). CONCLUSION: Smoking cessation mitigates the increase in percent diameter stenosis of coronary non-target lesions, meanwhile, smokers are associated with increased risk for all-cause myocardial infarction compared with non-smokers.

Comparison between total laparoscopy and laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. A meta-analysis based on Japanese and Korean articles.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the safety and feasibility of total laparoscopy distal gastrectomy (TLDG). METHODS: This meta-analysis was conducted between April and July 2013 in Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Chengdu, China. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database updated until May 2013. Eight retrospective studies and one prospective study involving 2,046 total patients were included. RESULTS: The results showed that TLDG was associated with lower blood loss (mean difference=-22.39, p=0.04). and a greater number of harvested lymph nodes (mean difference=2.74, p=0.02). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in operation time, time to first flatus, length of postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Compared with laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy, TLDG resulted in reduced blood loss, and a greater number of harvested lymph nodes. Total laparoscopy distal gastrectomy is safe and feasible for gastric cancer.