[Experience of Integrative Palliative Care at Peking Union Medical College Hospital].

Objective To summarize the experience of integrative palliative care at Peking Union Medical College Hospital and provide a reference for promoting the integrative palliative care model. Methods Twenty cases receiving integrative palliative care at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were collected.The clinical characteristics,reasons for initiating integrative palliative care,the process of integrative palliative care,and feedback from these cases were summarized. Results Insomnia (11 cases,55%) and pain (9 cases,45%) were the most common symptoms requiring control in the 20 cases.The integrative palliative care team assisted in medical decision-making for 17 cases (85%),prepared end-of-life for 9 cases (45%),assisted in the transfer for 3 cases (15%),and provided comfort care for all the 20 cases (100%). Conclusions The integrative palliative care model can help alleviate suffering in end-of-life patients and provide support to patients' families and the original medical teams.This model is worth further promotion within class A tertiary hospitals.

Log odds of positive lymph nodes is superior to the number- and ratio-based lymph node classification systems for colorectal cancer patients undergoing curative (R0) resection.

The metastatic lymph node status (N classification) is an important prognostic factor for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the prognostic assessment of three different lymph node staging methods, namely standard lymph node (pN) staging, metastatic lymph node ratio (LNR) and log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in CRC patients who undergo curative resection (R0). Data were retrospectively collected from 192 patients who had undergone R0 resection. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, Cox proportional hazards model and accuracy of the three methods (pN, LNR and LODDS) were compared to evaluate the prognostic effect. Univariate analysis demonstrated that pN, LNR and LODDS were all significantly correlated with survival (P=0.001, P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). The final result of the 3-step multivariate analysis demonstrated that LODDS was superior to the other two N categories. Patients in the same pN or LNR classifications may be classified into different LODDS stages with different prognoses. Thus, LODDS may be a meaningful prognostic indicator and superior to the pN and LNR classifications in CRC patients who undergo curative (R0) resection.

MicroRNA-26a involved in Toll-like receptor 9­mediated lung cancer growth and migration.

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) has been shown to have a significant role in cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a group of small non-coding RNAs that fine tune translation of multiple target mRNAs, are involved in the development and progression of human cancers. The present study was undertaken to determine the roles of TLR9 on lung cancer and whether miR-26a is involved in TLR9­mediated lung cancer growth and migration. The lung cancer models were elicited by injecting human lung cancer cells into the left ventricle. The expression of TLR9 and miR-26a in lung cancer tissues obtained from lung cancer patients was increased. TLR9 ligand CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) caused an increase in the mean tumor weight and the size of tumor mass in nude mice, and the proliferation and migration of H460 human lung cancer cells. CpG-ODN also induced an increase in the expression of miR-26a in H460 cells. The overexpression of miR-26a increased the weight and size of the tumor mass in the nude mice, and the proliferation and migration of H460 cells. Expression of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) was increased after miR-26a overexpression in the H460 cells. PI3K inhibitor wortmannin (WM) or Akt inhibitor triciribine hydrate (TCN) eliminated the increase in the proliferation and migration induced by the overexpression of miR-26a in H460 cells. These results suggested that miR-26a is involved in the TLR9­mediated growth and migration of lung cancer through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.