Curcuma zedoaria petroleum ether extract reverses the resistance of triple-negative breast cancer to docetaxel via pregnane X receptor.

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by its aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Docetaxel is the common chemotherapeutic drug used in the treatment of TNBC. However, resistance to docetaxel has limited the effectiveness of TNBC treatment. Petroleum ether extracts of Curcuma zedoaria (PECZ) can inhibit the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells. However, the effect of PECZ on docetaxel resistance is not clear. METHODS: A docetaxel-resistant MDA-MB-231 (MDA-MB-231/docetaxel) cell line was established, and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and western blotting assays were used to evaluate the effect of docetaxel resistance in MDA-MB-231 cells. Next, CCK-8 was also performed to detect the effect of docetaxel or the combination treatment of docetaxel and PECZ on the proliferation of MDA-MB-231/docetaxel cells. Thereafter, MDA-MB-231/docetaxel cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice to induce a TNBC xenograft model, and the mice were divided into a model group, docetaxel group, PECZ group, and combination of docetaxel and PECZ group. Subsequently, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemical, qRT-PCR, and western blotting were used to estimate the effect of pre-treatment with PECZ on docetaxel tolerance reversal. RESULTS: PECZ significantly inhibited the expression of pregnane X receptor (PXR), multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and cytochrome P-450 (CYP3A4) in MDA-MB-231/docetaxel cells. Only higher concentrations of docetaxel could inhibit the viability of MDA-MB-231/docetaxel cells. When pre-treated with PECZ, lower concentrations of docetaxel could significantly inhibit cell viability. Meanwhile, combination treatment also reduced the tumor volume, ameliorated the pathological change of tumor tissues, and down-regulated the expressions of PXR, MDR1, BCRP, and CYP3A4 (according to HE staining, immunohistochemical, qRT-PCR and western blotting results in vivo). CONCLUSIONS: Our research showed that PECZ reversed docetaxel resistance in TNBC by PXR both in vitro and in vivo, which provides the basis for further investigations into the potential therapeutic impact of docetaxel resistance in TNBC.

Effect of cimicifuga racemosa on menopausal syndrome caused by LHRH-a in breast cancer.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cimicifuga racemose is previously proved effective on nature menopausal syndrome (MPS). However, its clinical value in treating with MPS induced by luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRH-a) therapy of pre-/peri-menopausal breast cancer patients is still unknown. AIM OF STUDY: This perspective randomised-design study is to investigate the effect and safety of cimicifuga racemosa on MPS induced by LHRH-a in breast cancer (clinical trial registered: NCT03339882). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Breast cancer patients planning for LHRH-a treatment were randomly divided into 2 groups. The control group which was being treated with the standard treatment of LHRH-a. The other group was being treated with Remifemin, the commercialized product of cimicifuga racemose extract, combined with LHRH-a, called Remifemin group. Our main endpoint was Kupperman menopause index (KMI). Hormone levels in peripheral blood and gynecological complications were also evaluated. RESULTS: Totally, 85 patients (42 in Remifemin group and 43 in control group) were enrolled in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. At the 4th, 8th and 12th week after using LHRH-a, the KMI were all significantly lower in Remifemin group than in control group (P < 0.01), while the hormone levels, including estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were similar in the two groups. In addition, the incidence of cervical cyst in Remifemin group was higher than that in control group (P = 0.02), and there was no significant difference in the other gynecological complications, including endometrial thickening, ovarian cyst or uterine fibroid (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cimicifuga racemose is effective, oncological safe and reliable for treatment of MPS caused by LHRH-a in breast cancer.

The protective effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist on ovarian functions in breast Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

In recent decades, the incidence rate of breast cancer has increased dramatically worldwide and has become one of the most prevalent cancers in women. According to the global data provided by the WHO, there were more than 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer in 2012, accounting for 25% of all reported cancer cases and 15% of all reported deaths among females. To most young patients, especially those younger than 40 years of age, chemotherapy should be taken into consideration as a treatment modality, even if the tumor size is small or without lymphatic metastasis. A significant portion of the patients will suffer from the side effects that result from long-term chemotherapy regimens, such as myelosuppression, heart failure, and development of a second primary malignancy. Ovarian suppression and premature ovarian failure (POF) are the most common side effects reported as they have notable clinical symptoms; the incidence rates have been reported to be in a range of 10-90%. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a), also termed luteinizing hormone release hormone agonists (LHRH-a), may very well offer a solution to treating these side effects. This article aims to summarize advanced studies concerning protective effects of GnRH-a on ovarian functions in the setting of breast cancer under chemotherapy.

The effect of adjuvant chemotherapy in male breast cancer: 134 cases from a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Male breast cancer (BC) is a kind of rare tumour. There were few researches concerning the effect of chemotherapy for it. The purpose of this study is to estimate the value of chemotherapy on prognosis in male BC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Complete clinical and pathological information of male BC were collected from January 1990 to January 2008 in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital in China. 134 cases of male BC were included for analysis and separated into two groups based on receiving chemotherapy or not receiving chemotherapy. The disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between chemotherapy group and non-chemotherapy group were compared with Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Stratified analysis was used to evaluate the strength of the association between chemotherapy and each risk factor. Multivariate analysis was conducted by using COX proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS: There were 58.21% (78/134) cases who underwent chemotherapy and 41.79% (56/134) cases without chemotherapy. There were 20 cases (25.64%) with recurrence/metastasis in patients with chemotherapy and six cases (10.71%) in patients without chemotherapy. The mean DFS time of male BC with chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy is 150.87 and 154.13 months, respectively (χ2=3.825, p=0.050). The mean OS time of male BC with chemotherapy and non-chemotherapy is 155.33 and 154.26 months, respectively (χ2=2.542, p=0.111). COX proportional hazard regression model showed that the two groups had similar DFS (HR=0.386, p=0.165), while chemotherapy might be a protective fact on OS (HR=0.140, p=0.026). CONCLUSION: The utility of chemotherapy should be considered in the high risk level of recurrence/metastasis in male BC.

CK19 mRNA in blood can predict non-sentinel lymph node metastasis in breast cancer.

Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is used to detect CK19 mRNA in sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) tissues from breast cancer patients. We examined whether CK19 mRNA in peripheral blood is predictive of non-sentinel lymph node (nSLN) metastasis. Breast cancer cases diagnosed with clinical stage cT1-3cN0 and registered in our medical biobank were identified retrospectively. This study then included 120 breast cancer cases treated at Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from Aug 2014 to Aug 2015, including 60 SLN-positive and 60 SLN-negative cases. CK19 mRNA levels in peripheral blood samples were assessed using RT-PCR prior to tumor removal. During surgery, if SLNB tissue showed evidence of metastasis, axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was performed. No ALND was performed if SLNB and nSLN tissues were both negative for metastasis. CK19 expression was higher in nSLN-positive patients than in nSLN-negative patients (p < 0.05). Logistic regression indicated that lymphatic vessel invasion and CK19 levels were predictive of nSLN status (p < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve for CK19 was 0.878 (p < 0.05). We conclude that high CK19 levels in peripheral blood may independently predict nSLN metastasis in breast cancer patients.

Long-term effect of adaptive servo ventilation on patients with chronic heart failure and sleep-disordered breathing: Meta analysis / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To evaluate the long-tem effect of adaptive servo ventilation (ASV) on patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Methods The controlled clinical articles were searched included in PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE and CBM, CJFD, WangFang Database from Jan. 1970 to Dec. 2015. Included standard: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤55%, apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ≥15/h, follow up period over 4 weeks. After quality assessment (modified Jadad score) and data extraction by two independent reviewers, mete analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3 software. Results Thirteen studies were recruited including 442 cases being followed over 4 weeks [ASV group 233 cases and control group 216 cases (corssover design 7)]. Compared to control group, LVEF increased [weighted mean difference (WMD)=3.72, 95%CI: 1.80-5.64, PP<0.01] and AHI decreased significantly (WMD=–18.63, 95%CI: –26.19-–11.08), the distance walked in 6 minutes increased (WMD=28.72, 95%CI: 2.26-55.18, P=0.03) and plasma N terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-pro BNP) decreased significantly (WMD=–744.03, 95%CI: –1262.45-–225.62, P<0.05) in ASV group. Conclusion Over 4 weeks ASV may improve LVEF and AHI, increase 6-min walking distance and decrease NT-pro BNP in patients with CHF and SDB.

[Treatment of Chemotherapy Related Leukocytopenia by Oral Administration of Multiple Leucogenic Drugs Combined with G-CSF: an Experimental Study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacies of three commonly used oral drugs including Berbamine Hydrochloride Tablet (B), Qijiao Shengbai Capsule (Q), and Leucogen Tablet (L) (by single drug, two drugs or three drugs) combined with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) for treat ment of chemotherapy related leukocytopenia in mice. METHODS: Totally 156 Kunming male mice were divided into the normal control group (A, n=24), the model group (B, n=24), the G-CSF group (C, n =24), the G-CSF+Q group (D, n=12), G-CSF+ B (E, n=12), the G-CSF+L group (F, n=12), the G-CSF + Q + B group (G, n=12), the G-CSF + Q + L group (H, n=12), the G-CSF + L + B group (I, n=12), and the G-CSF + L + Q + B (J, n=12). Mouse models of chemotherapy related leukocytopenia were established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CTX). A G-CSF group was set up as a positive control. Mice were treated by a single oral drug, a single oral drug combined with G-CSF, and two or three drugs combined with G-CSF respectively, and the death rate calculated. Hemocytes [such as white blood cells (WBC) and its classification, red blood cells (RBC), platelet (PLT), hemoglobin (Hb)] were calculated by hematology analyzer. Mice were anatomized and important organs weighed. Organ indices were calculated. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in the mortality rate among all groups (P > 0.05). Compared with Group B, WBC was elevated in all other groups (P < 0.01). WBC and PLT were elevated most in Group J, Hb and RBC were also increased at the same time (P < 0.05, P < 0. 01). Compared with Group B, RBC increased in Group E, F, G, I, and J (P < 0.01); Hb obviously increased in Group C, E, F, H, I, and J (P<0.01). Compared with Group B and D, the promotion of erythroid hematopoiesis by G-CSF could be elevated in any group contained drug B and L (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The spleen index of model mice could be significantly improved in Group C, D, and G (P < 0.01). The thymus index of model mice could be significantly improved in Group H (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The best scheme to treat mice with chemotherapy related leukopenia or decreased three blood series was to administrate three commonly oral drugs combined with G-CSF. Authors speculated that G-CSF and Q might have a certain effect on CTX induced immune inhibition.

A Prognostic Analysis of Male Breast Cancer (MBC) Compared with Post-Menopausal Female Breast Cancer (FBC).

BACKGROUND: Male breast cancer (MBC) is known to be rare compared with female breast cancer (FBC) and to account for only 1% of all breast cancers. To date, male patients diagnosed with breast cancer are normally treated based on the guidelines for FBC. Specifically, studies have found that diagnosing and treating MBC patients under the guidelines for the treatment of post-menopausal FBC are more favorable than are those of pre/peri-menopausal FBC from a physiological perspective because MBC and post-menopausal FBC patients show high estrogen receptor (ER) expression in the tumor and low estrogen expression in the body. In this medical study, we aimed to examine whether MBC actually has the same prognosis as post-menopausal FBC. METHOD: We identified MBC patients who were diagnosed as operable and who completed clinical treatment and we used follow-up data that were collected from January 2001 to January 2011. Each MBC patient was paired with four FBC patients who were diagnosed within the same period (two were pre/peri-menopausal, and two were post-menopausal). We compared disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) among three groups, i.e., pre/peri-menopausal FBC (group A), post-menopausal FBC (group B) and MBC (group M), using the Kaplan-Meier method and a Cox proportional hazards regression model. We also evaluated the clinical characteristics of breast cancer patients using t-tests and chi-square tests. We used ten consecutive years of data that were collected at Zhejiang Provincial Cancer Hospital. RESULTS: We identified 91 MBC cases for group M, 182 FBC cases for group A and 182 FBC cases for group B. The median follow-up period was 112 months. MBC cases were much more frequently ER positive than those of group A and group B (p<0.01); a similar trend was also found for progesterone (PR)-positive cases (p<0.01). The MBC group showed much lower human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) expression than did the other groups (p<0.01). The 10-year OS rates were 79.1% for group M (72/91), 79.1% (144/182) for group A, and 87.9% (160/182) for group B, log-rank test indicated that group M had similar mean OS time as group A and group B (GourpM vs group A: p = 0.709; group M vs group B: p = 0.042). The Cox proportional hazards regression model indicated that pre/peri-menopausal FBC had similar DFS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.706, p = 0.262) and OS (HR = 1.029, p = 0.941) values compared with MBC, whereas post-menopausal FBC had higher DFS (HR = 0.454, p = 0.004) and OS (HR = 0.353, p = 0.003) values than did MBC. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, we can conclude that MBC displayed higher ER- and PR-positive expression and lower HER2-positive expression than both post-menopausal and pre/peri-menopausal FBC. However, the DFS and OS values of MBC were similar to those of pre/peri-menopausal FBC and were worse than were those of post-menopausal FBC.

Overexpression of ILK1 in breast cancer associates with poor prognosis.

Integrin-linked kinase 1 (ILK1), a member of the serine/threonine kinases, has been demonstrated to be associated with numerous biological and pathological processes. However, the role of ILK1 in breast cancer has not been thoroughly elucidated. The purpose of this study was to assess ILK1 expression and to explore its contribution to breast cancer. The ILK1 mRNA expression was measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. In addition, ILK1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 163 clinicopathologically characterized breast cancer cases. The relationship between ILK1 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed by appropriate statistics. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to investigate the correlation between ILK1 expression and prognosis of breast cancer patients. The relative mRNA expression of ILK1 was significantly higher in breast cancer tissues than in adjacent noncancerous tissues (P < 0.001). In addition, ILK1 expression was significantly correlated with tumor size (P = 0.016), grade (P = 0.024), stage (P = 0.029), lymph node metastases (P = 0.007), and estrogen receptor status (P = 0.002). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high ILK1 expression had poor overall survival (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that high ILK1 expression was an independent predictor of overall survival. In conclusion, our data suggest for the first time that the increased expression of ILK1 in breast cancer is associated significantly with aggressive progression and poor prognosis. ILK1 may be an important molecular marker for predicting the carcinogenesis, progression, and prognosis of breast cancer.

The prognostic significance of molecular subtype for male breast cancer: a 10-year retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare. Molecular subtype has been utilized widely in female breast cancer. But the relationship between subtype and prognosis in MBC patients is still unknown. We aim to study the impact of molecular subtype on the prognosis of MBC. METHODS: We identified MBC cases from 1990 to 2011 retrospectively; molecular subtype was assigned by immunohistochemistry. We compared overall survival in different subtypes by Kaplan-Meier method and COX proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS: 68 patients with MBC were included in analysis with 115 months of a median follow-up time. Comparing to non-luminal A (subtypes of Luminal B, HER2 over-express and Basal-like) group, patients with luminal A had a lower recurrent rate and better overall survival (10-year survival rate was 78.0% vs 67.0%, mean survival time 197.46 ± 12.22 months vs 146.51 ± 16.88 months, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Molecular subtype may have prognosis-predicting value for MBC.

Transfection of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by adeno-associated virus 2/1 vector / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to investigate the transfection efficacy of recombinant adeno-associated virus 2/1 (rAAV2/1) on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) at different multiplicities of infection (MOI) and time, and effect of transfection on growth of rat BMMSCs. The rat BMMSCs cultured in vitro were transfected by using rAAV2/1 with enhanced green fluorescent protein (rAAV2/1-EGFP) at MOI of 1 x 10(4), 1 x 10(5) and 1 x 10(6); the EGFP expression was observed by fluorescent microscopy at 3, 7 and 14 days. The viability, proliferation multiple, differentiation ability of daughter cells were detected for evaluating the effect of rAAV2/1 on survival, proliferation and differentiation of BMMSCs and the fluorescence index (FI) were determined by flow cytometry. The results indicated that after transfection with rAAV2/1 for 24 hours the green fluorescence in BMMSCs were observed, but also the fluorescence gradually was enhanced along with prolonging of time, and reached to steady level after 7 days; the viability, proliferation multiple, differentiation ability of BMMSCs transfected by rAAV2/1-EGFP at different MOI showed no significant changes at 3,7 and 14 days (p > 0.05), meanwhile at same MOI the proliferation multiple obviously increased in comparison between 7 day vs 3 day and 14 days vs 7 days (p < 0.01). The flow cytometric detection showed that the transfection efficacy of rAAV2/1-EGFP on BMMSCs and FI increased significantly as the multiplicity of infection and culture time increased (p < 0.05). It is concluded that rAAV2/1-EGFP is able to transfect into BMMSCs effectively, but the transfection efficiency and fluorescence index increase significantly along with increase of multiplicity of infection and culture time. rAAV2/1-EGFP do not affect viability, proliferation multiple and differentiation ability of BMMSCs. rAAV2/1 is a kind of active vector for gene transfer to reform BMMSCs.

The autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation by intracoronary route treat patients with severe heart failure after myocardial infarction / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the chronic effects of intracoronary autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (BM-MNCs) transplantation in patients with refractory heart failure (RIHF) after myocardial infarction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty patients with RIHF (LVEF < 40%) were enrolled in this nonrandomized study, autologous BM-MNCs (5.0 +/- 0.7) x 10(7) were transplanted with via infarct-related coronary artery in 16 patients and 14 patients received standard medical therapy served as control. Baseline and follow up evaluations included complete clinical evaluations, plasma BNP, ANP, ET-1 measurements, echocardiography, PET, and Holter monitoring.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Baseline characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. There were no major periprocedural complications. One patient developed ventricular premature contractions during cell infusion for several seconds and recovered spontaneously. Compared to pre-transplantation, plasma BNP and ET-1 significantly decreased and plasma ANP significantly increased at 7 days post transplantation; 6 minutes walking distance increased from (72.1 +/- 31.5) to (201.6 +/- 23.3) m (P < 0.01), LVEF increased 9.9% (P < 0.001) and FDG-PET revealed vital myocardium area increased (10.3 +/- 3.4)% (P < 0.01) at 3 months after BM-MNCs transplantation. At 6 months follow up, the NYHA class improved from (3.4 +/- 0.1 to 2.4 +/- 0.2, P < 0.001) and no patient died and 1 patient rehospitalized due to lower extremities edema. In control group, LVEF decreased 7.2% compared to baseline (P < 0.001) and was significantly lower than transplantation group at 3 months (P < 0.001). At 6 months follow up, the NYHA class increased from (3.5 +/- 0.1 to 3.9 +/- 0.1, P < 0.05), 2 patients died and 10 patients rehospitalized due to aggravated heart failure.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Present study demonstrates that intracoronary transplantation of autologous BM-MNCs is safe and effective for treating patients with RIHF after myocardial infarction.</p>