Circular RNA detection methods: A minireview.

Circular RNA (circRNA), a novel type of covalently closed RNA, is implicated in several developmental and metabolic disease processes. CircRNAs exhibit tissue-specific expression, and are stable, abundant, and highly conserved, making them ideal biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Accurate profiling of circRNA, however, is a prerequisite for their clinical application. Traditional methods such as northern blotting, RT-qPCR, and microarray analysis provide useful but limited information. To address these issues, a number of novel assays have recently emerged, such as droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), isothermal exponential amplification, and rolling cycle amplification, which increase the sensitivity and specificity of circRNA detection. Herein, we summarize the advantages and limitations of the new detection methods and discuss the challenges as well as future directions.

Correlation between ultrasound features of refractory secondary hyperparathyroidism and lab indexes / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To analyze correlation between ultrasound features and clinical lab indexes of refractory secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT).Methods Two-dimensional ultrasound and CEUS were performed in 30 patients with refractory SHPT before operation.The sum volume of hyperplastic parathyroid glands and sum volume of enhanced area of parathyroid glands in each patient were measured and calculated.Clinical lab indexes,including serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH),serum calcium,serum phosphorus,serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were recorded,and corrected serum calcium and corrected serum calcium-phosphorus product were calculated 2 days before operation.The correlation between sum volume of parathyroid glands and lab indexes was analyzed.Results There were positive correlations (r=0.48,0.50,both P=0.01) between sum volume of parathyroid glands,sum volume of enhanced area of parathyroid glands and iPTH level.No correlation was found between the volume of hyperplastic parathyroid glands and serum calcium,serum phosphorus,ALP,corrected serum calcium,nor calcium-phosphorus product (all P＞0.05).Conclusion The sum volume of parathyroid can reflect active state of parathyroid glands,which is helpful to diagnosis and monitoring refractory SHPT.

Predictive factors associated with pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in rectal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore predictive factors associated with pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinicopathological data of 163 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who were treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgical resection from January 2007 to May 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze associated factors of pCR, including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, anemia, tumor diameter, distance of the tumor from the anal verge, circumferential extent of the tumor, tumor pathological types, tumor differentiation, pre-chemoradiotherapy T stage, pre-chemoradiotherapy N stage, pre-chemoradiotherapy CEA level, pre-chemoradiotherapy CA199 level, per-operation CEA level, pre-operation CA199 level, radiation dose, chemotherapy modality, time interval from completion of chemoradiotherapy to surgery, etc.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twenty-nine patients(17.8%) achieved pCR after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. Univariate analysis showed circumferential extent of tumor(≥1/2 cycle)(P=0.018), tumor pathological types(adenocarcinoma)(P=0.036), tumor differentiation (moderate or high)(P=0.021) and pre-chemoradiotherapy CEA level(≤2.5 μg/L)(P=0.007) were significantly correlated with pCR after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer. Logistic regression revealed that circumferential extent of tumor (≥1/2 cycle)(OR=2.901, P=0.020) and pre-chemoradiotherapy CEA level (≤2.5 μg/L)(OR=2.775, P=0.022) were independent predictive factors of pCR after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Patients with circumferential extent of tumor ≤1/2 and pre-chemoradiotherapy CEA level ≤2.5 μg/L are more likely to achieve pCR after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer, and these two indices can be used to predict pCR after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer.</p>