Reinforcement of Sorafenib Anti-osteosarcoma Effect by Amentoflavone Is Associated With the Induction of Apoptosis and Inactivation of ERK/NF-κB.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Sorafenib has been reported to show anti-osteosarcoma (anti-OS) efficacy by inhibiting metastasis; however, a phase II trial suggested that further combination with other agents could be necessary to achieve permanent remission. Herein, we aimed to identify whether amentoflavone, an abundant natural bioflavonoid found in many medicinal plants, can improve the treatment efficacy of sorafenib in OS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell viability, metastasis, apoptosis, and nuclear translocation of NF-κB after amentoflavone combined with sorafenib were assayed by MTT, transwell migration/invasion, western blotting, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. RESULTS: The sorafenib-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis of U-2 OS was enhanced by combining treatment with QNZ (NF-κB inhibitor) or amentoflavone. NF-κB nuclear translocation, NF-κB phosphorylation, and metastasis capacity of U-2 OS cells were inhibited by amentoflavone combined with sorafenib. CONCLUSION: Amentoflavone may sensitize OS to sorafenib treatment by inducing intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis and inhibiting ERK/NF-κB signaling transduction.

Mammography and the risk of thyroid and hematological cancers: a nationwide population-based study.

To investigate the association between thyroid cancer as well as the most radiosensitive hematological cancers and radiation exposure from mammography. This study used information from a random sample of two million persons enrolled in the nationally representative Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database. The exposed group was composed of women aged 18-65 who had undergone diagnostic mammography between 2000 and 2007. The nonexposed control group was composed of women in the NHI database who had never undergone diagnostic mammography. There were 25,362 women in the exposed group and 203,317 women in the nonexposed group. After adjusting for age and comorbidities, the patients who had been exposed to radiation from mammography did not have a significantly higher risk of developing thyroid cancer and hematological cancers (adjusted HR, 1.201; 95% CI, 0.813-1.774 for thyroid cancer and adjusted HR, 1.228; 95% CI, 0.838-1.800 for hematological cancers). The scattered radiation dose delivered by mammography should be cautiously handled, but no additional concerns about the risk of thyroid cancer developing malignancy should be emphasized.