Impact of 11q Loss of Heterozygosity Status on the Response of High-Risk Neuroblastoma With MYCN Amplification to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether 11q loss of heterozygosity (LOH) aberration would impact the response of the primary tumor to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or to the degree of surgical resection in neuroblastoma (NB) patients with MYCN amplification. Methods: The clinical data of 42 NB patients with MYCN amplification who were newly diagnosed and received treatments at our hospital from 2011 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the results of the segmental chromosome aberration analysis, the patients enrolled were assigned to an 11qLOH positive group and an 11qLOH negative group. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean number of chemotherapy courses completed before surgery between the 11qLOH positive and 11qLOH negative groups (p = 0.242). Each of the 42 patients had metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scans both before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The percentage of patients who had a clinical MIBG change in the 11qLOH positive group was lower than the percentage in the 11qLOH negative group (27.27 vs. 66.67%, p = 0.030). The 11qLOH negative group seemed to have a higher rate of surgical resection (≥90%); however, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.088). Furthermore, the 11qLOH negative group did not show significantly superior event-free survival and overall survival rates compared with the 11qLOH positive group. Conclusions: This study showed that patients with NB and MYCN amplification in combination with 11qLOH might be less likely to respond to neoadjuvant chemotherapy when compared with patients with NB and MYCN amplification without 11qLOH.

CRMP4 CpG Hypermethylation Predicts Upgrading to Gleason Score ≥ 8 in Prostate Cancer.

Background: This study determined the predictive value of CRMP4 promoter methylation in prostate tissues collected by core needle biopsies for a postoperative upgrade of Gleason Score (GS) to ≥8 in patients with low-risk PCa. Method: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data was conducted from 631 patients diagnosed with low-risk PCa by core needle biopsy at multiple centers and then underwent Radical Prostatectomy (RP) from 2014-2019. Specimens were collected by core needle biopsy to detect CRMP4 promoter methylation. The pathologic factors correlated with the postoperative GS upgrade to ≥8 were analyzed by logistic regression. The cut-off value for CRMP4 promoter methylation in the prostate tissues collected by core needle biopsy was estimated from the ROC curve in patients with a postoperative GS upgrade to ≥8. Result: Multivariate logistic regression showed that prostate volume, number of positive cores, and CRMP4 promoter methylation were predictive factors for a GS upgrade to ≥8 (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91-0.98, P=0.003; OR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.81-5.53, P<0.001; and OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.32-1.55, P<0.001, respectively). The positive predictive rate was 85.2%, the negative predictive rate was 99.3%, and the overall predictive rate was 97.9%. When the CRMP4 promoter methylation rate was >18.00%, the low-risk PCa patients were more likely to escalate to high-risk patients. The predictive sensitivity and specificity were 86.9% and 98.8%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.929 (95% CI: 0.883-0.976; P<0.001). The biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival, progression-free survival (PFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were worse in patients with CRMP4 methylation >18.0% and postoperative GS upgrade to ≥8 than in patients without an upgrade (P ≤ 0.002). Conclusion: A CRMP4 promoter methylation rate >18.00% in prostate cancer tissues indicated that patients were more likely to escalate from low-to-high risk after undergoing an RP. We recommend determining CRMP4 promoter methylation before RP for low-risk PCa patients.

Long Noncoding RNA SNHG12 Promotes Prostate Tumor Occurrence and Progression via AKT Regulation.

The small nucleolar RNA host gene 12 (SNHG12) has been reported to play an important role in the tumorigenesis and progression of PCa, but the functional underlying mechanism has not been studied clearly. We detected the expression level of SNHG12 in PCa tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues that were collected from 85 patients. Then, colony formation assays, MTT experiments, and flow cytometry were used to examine the effect of SNHG12 on proliferation, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis of DU145 cells. Further, Transwell invasion assay was utilized to assess whether SNHG12 participates in PCa cell invasion and affects the secretion of VEGF secretion in DU145 cells. Finally, we investigated the effect of SNHG12 on tumor growth in vivo. We found that SNHG12 promoted cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis in PCa cells, which suggests that SNHG12 is probably a novel PCa biomarker and therapy target of PCa.

Changing indications for lamellar keratoplasty in Shandong, 1993 - 2008.

BACKGROUND: With the advancement of microsurgical techniques, lamellar keratoplasty (LK) has been more valued and performed to treat corneal blindness. This study aimed to evaluate the indications and changing trends for LK during the past 16 years in Shandong Eye Institute, an eye center in China. METHODS: A total of 1529 eyes, predominantly from male (70.7%) patients undergoing LK between January 1993 and December 2008, were enrolled in this study. Data were collected by reviewing patient medical records for demographic characteristics, clinical diagnosis, laboratory findings and risk factors. Surgical times, initial diagnoses and causes of regrafting were recorded. All LKs were sequentially divided into period 1 (from 1993 to 2000) and period 2 (from 2001 to 2008). RESULTS: Rural-dwelling patients in this study numbered 1089 (71.2%); in all cases of infectious keratitis, rural patients accounted for 90.5%. The leading indications for LK were infectious keratitis (31.0%), corneal trauma (21.1%), keratoconus (18.7%), corneal dystrophy and degeneration (7.3%), regrafting (7.1%), immunologic disorders (6.7%), congenital abnormalities and corneal tumor (4.1%) and corneal scarring (3.1%). The most common subcategory of infectious keratitis was fungal keratitis (67.5%). Fusarium solani was the most morbigenous fungi. Among the patients, 73.1% of thermal burns were caused by hot molten metal, and 47.8% of alkali burns by lime. Dermoid was the most common indication for congenital abnormalities. The two main initial diagnoses from 109 regrafting cases were corneal trauma (45.9%) and Mooren's ulcer (27.5%). The most common cause for regrafting was immune rejection (35.8%). Infectious keratitis was the most common indication for LK from 16.0% in period 1 to 41.1% in period 2, followed by keratoconus (16.8%) and corneal trauma (14.5%). CONCLUSIONS: During the past 16 years, there have been major changes in the constituent ratios of leading indications for LK in Shangdong. Infectious keratitis has become the most common indication for LK. Fungal keratitis was the most common subcategory of infectious keratitis.

[Severe fungal corneal ulcer resulting in infectious endophthalmitis].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze causes of serious fungal corneal ulcer resulting in infectious endophthalmitis and explore clinical strategies of avoiding the failure of antifungal therapy. METHODS: Etiological factors, pre-hospital treatments, clinical features and laboratory findings of 47 inpatients with fungal corneal ulcer resulting in endophthalmitis from January 1999 to December 2008 in Qingdao eye hospital were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Rural residents (95.7%) dominated in 47 cases with a mean age of (49.8 ± 10.1) years. Ocular trauma was the leading cause of fungal corneal ulcer (66.0%). Three patients were ever treated with hormone drugs after the fungal infection. Primary, secondary and tertiary hospital accounted for 68.1%, 17.0% and 14.9% among first medical consultation sites. Diagnostic accuracies of fungal corneal ulcer in three grade hospitals were 31.3%, 62.5% and 71.4% respectively. The average interval from the onset of disease to the admission into our hospital was (29 ± 23) days. The dominating pathogen was genus Fusarium (91.5%) with F. solani (48.9%), F. oxysporum (31.9%) and F. moniliforme (8.5%). Antifungal drug sensitivity tests were performed in 21 patients. The first three sensitive drugs were natamycin (88.9%), voriconazole (78.6%) and amphotericin B (61.9%). The first three drug-resistant ones were miconazole (90.5%), fluconazole (66.7%) and itraconazole (61.9%). CONCLUSION: Main causes of fungal corneal ulcer resulting in infectious endophthalmitis included lower diagnostic accuracies of first medical consultation in primary hospitals, abuses of non-sensitive drug and delayed treatment of patients. Improving clinical capabilities of doctors in primary hospitals, emphasizing antifungal drug susceptibility tests, and consummating the social security system and the referral system could be effective measures to avoid therapeutic failures.

Comparison of the microvessel diameter of hyperplastic prostate and the coagulation depth achieved with mono- and bipolar transurethral resection of the prostate. A pilot study on hemostatic capability.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hemostatic capability of mono- and bipolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) by comparing the microvessel diameter of hyperplastic prostate with the coagulation depth achieved with mono- and bipolar TURP. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The microvessel diameters of 22 hyperplastic prostate tissues obtained from open surgery were measured using a microscope. Thirty prostatic chips harvested from monopolar TURP and 30 from bipolar TURP were sectioned, stained with hematoxylin-eosin and the coagulation depth measured using a microscope. RESULTS: The minimum, maximum and mean diameters of hyperplastic prostates were 6.33, 139.04 and 21.19+/-12.80 microm, respectively. The coagulation depths with mono- and bipolar TURP were 122.54+/-22.22 and 141.35+/-24.27 microm, respectively (p<0.01). The coagulation depths with mono- and bipolar TURP were significantly greater than the mean diameter of microvessels. However, the mean coagulation depth with monopolar TURP was smaller than the maximum diameter of microvessels, whereas the coagulation depth with bipolar TURP was bigger than that. CONCLUSIONS: The coagulation depths with mono- and bipolar TURP were bigger than the mean diameter of prostatic microvessels. However, the mean coagulation depth with bipolar TURP was bigger than the maximum microvessel diameter, which indicates that the hemostatic capability of bipolar TURP may be better than that of monopolar TURP.

Bipolar versus monopolar transurethral resection of prostate: pathologic study in canines.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the coagulation depth and pathologic changes of the prostate after bipolar and monopolar transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in a canine model. METHODS: The prostates of 25 dogs were treated in vivo with bipolar TURP (bipolar group, n = 12), monopolar TURP (monopolar group, n = 12), or sham operation (sham-operated group, n = 1). The prostate specimens were evaluated pathologically, and the depth of the coagulation zones was measured after the dogs were killed at 0, 7, 14, and 60 days postoperatively. RESULTS: At day 0, the coagulation zones of the bipolar group were deeper than those of the monopolar group (P <0.01). At 7 days postoperatively, the coagulation zones had become much thinner in both groups, and the coagulation zones of the monopolar group were thicker than those of the bipolar group (P <0.01). At 14 days, no significant differences were found between the two groups (P >0.05). The pathologic examinations revealed inflammatory reactions in the bipolar and monopolar groups at 0, 7, and 14 days postoperatively. Also, some glandular lumina were expanded and the epithelia destroyed beneath the coagulation zones. At 60 days, the coagulation zones had completely peeled off, and the urothelium had regenerated, covering the surgical wound. None of these pathologic changes were found in the sham-operated group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study have shown that the pathologic changes in the prostate after bipolar and monopolar TURP are similar. However, the intraoperative coagulation zones of bipolar TURP are deeper and become thinner early after the operation than those of monopolar TURP.