RESUMEN
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a global health problem that features a very high mortality rate. The UL16 binding protein 2 (ULBP2) is a new biomarker for PC detection. This study develops a simple, reliable, and inexpensive immunosensor for the detection of the ULBP2 antigen while also investigating the effects of an array configuration of connected sensors and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on the immunosensor's sensitivity. The ULBP2 antibody was immobilized onto the screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) surfaces of three different sensors: a simple SPCE (ULBP2-SPCE); an SPCE array, which is a series of identical SPCE connected to each other at different arrangements of rows and columns (ULBP2-SPCE-1x2 and ULBP2-SPCE-1x3); and an SPCE combined with ZnO nanoparticles (ULBP2-ZnO/SPCE). Impedance spectrum measurements for the immunosensors to ULBP2 antigen were conducted and compared. According to the result, the array configurations (ULBP2-SPCE-1x2 and ULBP2-SPCE-1x3) show an improvement of sensitivity compared to the ULBP2-SPCE alone, but the improvement is not as significant as that of the ULBP2-ZnO/SPCE configuration (ULBP2-ZnO/SPCE > ULBP2-SPCE: 18 times larger). The ULBP2-ZnO/SPCE immunosensor has a low limit of detection (1 pg/mL) and a high sensitivity (332.2 Ω/Log(pg/mL)), excellent linearity (R2 = 0.98), good repeatability (coefficients of variation = 5.03%), and is stable in long-term storage (retaining 95% activity after 28 days storage). In an array configuration, the immunosensor has an increased signal-to-noise ratio (ULBP2-SPCE-1x3 > ULBP2-SPCE: 1.5-fold) and sensitivity (ULBP2-SPCE-1x3 > ULBP2-SPCE: 2.6-fold). In conclusion, either the modification with ZnO nanoparticles onto the sensor or the use of an array configuration of sensors can enhance the immunosensor's sensitivity. In this study, the best immunosensor for detecting ULBP2 antigens is the ULBP2-ZnO/SPCE immunosensor.
RESUMEN
To determine whether epididymo-orchitis, a common infectious disease among men, is associated with subsequent prostate cancer (PCa) via a nationwide cohort study.This nationwide population-based study of patients treated from 2001 to 2013 included a total of 4991 patients with epididymo-orchitis as the study group and 19,922 matched patients without epididymo-orchitis as a control group. We tracked the patients in both groups for a 5-year period to identify any new cases of PCa. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of PCa during this 5-year follow-up period.Of the 24,913 patients in the study, 235 (0.9%) were newly diagnosed with PCa during the 5-year follow-up period; 77 (1.5%) of those were from the epididymo-orchitis group and 158 (0.8%) were from the control group. Compared to the patients without epididymo-orchitis, the adjusted HR for PCa for the patients with epididymo-orchitis was 1.56 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18-2.06) during the 5-year follow-up period. Ages of more than 70 years, higher incomes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were more strongly associated withPCa in the study group than in the control group.The results were associated with a 56% increased risk for PCa among patients with epididymo-orchitis. Epididymo-orchitis may play an etiological role in the development of PCa in Asian populations. Further studies are warranted, however, to investigate the relationship between epididymo-orchitis and PCa.
