Nanotechnology boosts the efficiency of tumor diagnosis and therapy.

The incidence and mortality of cancer are gradually increasing. The highly invasive and metastasis of tumor cells increase the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment, so people pay more and more attention to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Conventional treatment methods, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, are difficult to eliminate tumor cells completely. And the emergence of nanotechnology has boosted the efficiency of tumor diagnosis and therapy. Herein, the research progress of nanotechnology used for tumor diagnosis and treatment is reviewed, and the emerging detection technology and the application of nanodrugs in clinic are summarized and prospected. The first part refers to the application of different nanomaterials for imaging in vivo and detection in vitro, which includes magnetic resonance imaging, fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic imaging and biomarker detection. The distinctive physical and chemical advantages of nanomaterials can improve the detection sensitivity and accuracy to achieve tumor detection in early stage. The second part is about the nanodrug used in clinic for tumor treatment. Nanomaterials have been widely used as drug carriers, including the albumin paclitaxel, liposome drugs, mRNA-LNP, protein nanocages, micelles, membrane nanocomplexes, microspheres et al., which could improve the drug accumulate in tumor tissue through enhanced permeability and retention effect to kill tumor cells with high efficiency. But there are still some challenges to revolutionize traditional tumor diagnosis and anti-drug resistance based on nanotechnology.

Can Aspirin Use Be Associated With the Risk or Prognosis of Bladder Cancer? A Case-Control Study and Meta-analytic Assessment.

Aspirin, widely used to prevent cardiovascular disease, had been linked to the incidence of bladder cancer (BCa). Existing studies focusing on Chinese populations are relatively rare, especially for Northeast China. Meanwhile, relevant studies on the effects of aspirin on the occurrence or prognosis of BCa are inconsistent or even controversial. First, in the case control study, logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between aspirin intake and risk of BCa including 1121 patients with BCa and the 2242 controls. Subsequently, Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression analyses were applied to explore the association between aspirin intake and clinicopathological factors which may predict overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) of BCa patients. Finally, we quantificationally combined the results with those from the published literature evaluating aspirin intake and its effects on the occurrence, outcome of surgery and prognosis of BCa by meta-analysis up to May 1, 2021.Our case-control study demonstrated that the regular use of aspirin was not associated with a reduced incidence of BCa (P=0.175). Stratified analyses of sex showed that aspirin intake did not lead to a lower risk of BCa in female patients (P=0.063). However, the male population who regularly took aspirin had a lower incidence of BCa (OR=0.748, 95% CI= 0.584-0.958, P=0.021). Subgroup analyses stratified by smoking found a significant reduction in the risk of BCa in current smokers with aspirin intake (OR=0.522, 95% CI=0.342-0.797, P=0.002). In terms of prognosis of BCa, patients with a history of aspirin intake did not had a markedly longer OS or RFS than those with no history of aspirin intake by Kaplan-Meier curves. Stratified analysis by sex showed no correlation between aspirin intake and the recurrence or survival of BCa for either male or female patients. However, in people younger than 68, aspirin intake seemed to have prolonged effects for overall survival (HR=3.876; 95% CI=1.326-11.325, P=0.019). Then, we performed a meta-analysis and the combined results from 19 articles and our study involving more than 39524 BCa cases indicated that aspirin intake was not associated with the occurrence of BCa (P=0.671). Subgroup analysis by whether regular use of aspirin, by the mean duration of use of aspirin, by sex, by smoking exposure, by research region and by study type also supported the above results. In terms of the impact of aspirin intake on the prognosis of patients with BCa, 11 articles and our study involving 8825 BCa cases were eligible. The combined results showed that patients with aspirin intake did not have significantly influence on survival, recurrence, progression and metastasis than those without aspirin intake. On the whole, both our retrospective study and literature meta-analysis suggested a lack of a strong relevant association between the use of aspirin and the incidence or prognosis of BCa. Thus, additional long-term follow-up prospective research is warranted to clarify the association of aspirin with BCa incidence and prognosis.

Relationship between homocysteine levels and post-stroke cognitive impairment in female and male population: from a prospective multicenter study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between homocysteine levels and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in Chinese female and male populations with minor acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1070 participants with clinically confirmed acute minor ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack and baseline homocysteine information from a nationwide multicenter prospective registry study in China were included in this study. Of these, 919 patients had cognitive assessments at 3-month follow-ups and 584 participants had cognitive assessments at 12-month follow-ups. The incidence of PSCI was defined as a Montreal Cognitive Assessment score ≤22. The differences in homocysteine levels and the incidence of PSCI were compared between female and male populations. Relationships between homocysteine levels and the incidence of PSCI in female and male populations were analyzed using multiple logistic regression, respectively. RESULTS: Females had lower baseline homocysteine levels than males. Compared to males, females had lower education levels, lower rates of smoking and alcohol intake, and higher rates of diabetes and hypertension. No relationship was observed between elevated homocysteine level and 3-month PSCI incidence in either females or males. After adjusting the confounders, elevated baseline homocysteine significantly increased the 12-month PSCI risk (odds ratio 3.28, 95% confidence interval 1.47-7.34, P = 0.004) in females, but not in males (odds ratio 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.49-1.49, P = 0.586). CONCLUSION: Elevated homocysteine levels increased the 12-month PSCI risk in females, but not in males with minor acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack.

MicroRNA­21 contributes to renal cell carcinoma cell invasiveness and angiogenesis via the PDCD4/c­Jun (AP­1) signalling pathway.

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs are associated with malignant biological behaviour, including tumorigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis via the regulation of target gene expression. Our previous study demonstrated that programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4), which is a tumour suppressor gene, is a target of microRNA­21 (miR­21), which affects the proliferation and transformation capabilities of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. However, the role of miR­21 in the molecular mechanism underlying the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of RCC remains poorly understood. The effects of miR­21 on the invasion, migration and angiogenesis of RCC cells was determined through meta­analysis and regulation of miR­21 expression in vitro. After searching several databases, 6 articles including a total of 473 patients met the eligibility criteria for this analysis. The combined results of the meta­analysis revealed that increased miR­21 expression was significantly associated with adverse prognosis in patients with RCC, with a pooled hazard ratio estimate of 1.740. In in vitro experiments, we demonstrated that a miR­21 inhibitor decreased the number of migrating and invading A498 and 786­O RCC cells, along with a decrease in PDCD4, c­Jun, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2 and MMP9 expression. Additionally, inhibition of miR­21 was revealed to reduce tube formation and tube junctions in the endothelial cell line HMEC­1 by affecting the expression of angiotensin­1 and vascular endothelial growth factor A, whereas PDCD4 small interfering RNA exerted opposite effects on the same cells. Overall, these findings, along with evidence­based molecular biology, demonstrated that miR­21 expression promoted the migration, invasion and angiogenic abilities of RCC cells by directly targeting the PDCD4/c­Jun signalling pathway. The results may help elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the development and progression of RCC and provide a promising target for microRNA­based therapy.