[Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Algal Blooms and Its Driving Factors in Chaohu Lake Based on Multi-source Datasets].

Eutrophication and harmful algae blooms are one of the common ecological and environmental problems faced by freshwater lakes all over the world. As a typical inland freshwater lake, Chaohu Lake exhibits a high level of eutrophication and algae blooms year-round and shows a spatiotemporal difference in different regions of the lake. In order to understand the basic regularity of the development and outbreak of algal blooms in Chaohu Lake, the data from the comprehensive water observation platform and remote sensing were integrated to obtain the spatiotemporal distribution of algal blooms from 2015 to 2020. Then, an evaluation model based on Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) was constructed to quantitatively assess the importance and interactions of various environmental factors on algal blooms at different stages. The results indicated that:① The occurrence of algal blooms in Chaohu Lake exhibited significant seasonal variations, with the cyanobacteria beginning to recover in spring and bring about a light degree of algal blooms in the western and coastal areas of Chaohu Lake. The density of cyanobacteria reached its maximum in summer and autumn, accompanied by moderate and severe degrees of algal bloom outbreaks. ② During the non-outbreak period, the variation in the cyanobacteria density was greatly affected by physical and chemical factors, which explained 80.3% of the variance in the change in cyanobacteria density. The high concentrations of dissolved oxygen content in the water column and the weak alkalinity (7.2-7.6) and appropriate water temperature (about 3℃) provided a favorable environmental condition for the breeding and growth of cyanobacteria. In addition, the onset of algal blooms was closely related to the air temperature steadily passing through the threshold. According to the statistics, the date of first outbreak of algal blooms in Chaohu Lake was 11 days or so after the air temperature steadily remained above 7℃. ③ During the outbreak period, the occurrence of algal blooms was influenced by the combination of cyanobacterial biomass and meteorological conditions such as temperature, wind speed, and sunshine duration. The cumulative contribution ratio of the four factors was as high as 95%, and each factor had an optimal interval conductive to the outbreak of algal blooms. Furthermore, the results of multi-factor interaction analysis indicated a larger probability of the outbreak of algal blooms in Chaohu Lake under the combined effect of high cyanobacteria density, suitable temperature, and the breeze. This study analyzed and revealed the spatiotemporal characteristics and the dominant influencing factors of algal blooms in Chaohu Lake at different stages, which could provide the scientific basis for the prediction, early warning, and disposal of algal blooms under the context of climate change.

Association between suicide risk severity and sarcopenia in non-elderly Chinese inpatients with major depressive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is a skeletal muscle disorder. Recent studies have shown an association between muscle health and suicide. However, there have been no previous studies on the relationship between suicide risk severity and sarcopenia in major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to explore the association between suicide risk severity and sarcopenia in non-elderly Chinese inpatients with MDD. METHODS: The first-episode drug-naïve MDD inpatients aged 20-59 years with the 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-24) scores of >20 were included, who were then classified into low, intermediate, high and very high suicide risk groups according to the Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk (NGASR). The HAMD-24, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) and the SARC-F questionnaire were used to assess depression severity, anxiety severity and sarcopenia, respectively. The plasma levels of cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured. RESULTS: A total of 192 MDD inpatients (122 females, 70 males; aged 39.3 ± 11.7 years) were included, with 12.5% meeting criteria for sarcopenia. There were significant differences in gender, HAMD score and prevalence of sarcopenia among the suicide risk groups. Adjusted ordinal regression analysis showed that sarcopenia was significantly associated with more severe suicide risk (OR = 2.39, 95%CI 1.02-5.58, p = 0.044) independent of depression severity. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that sarcopenia was significantly associated with higher suicide risk in non-elderly Chinese MDD inpatients after adjustment for depression severity. Intervention of sarcopenia might be effective in reducing the risk of suicide in non-elderly MDD patients.

DHTKD1 Deficiency Causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease in Mice.

DHTKD1, a part of 2-ketoadipic acid dehydrogenase complex, is involved in lysine and tryptophan catabolism. Mutations in DHTKD1 block the metabolic pathway and cause 2-aminoadipic and 2-oxoadipic aciduria (AMOXAD), an autosomal recessive inborn metabolic disorder. In addition, a nonsense mutation in DHTKD1 that we identified previously causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) type 2Q, one of the most common inherited neurological disorders affecting the peripheral nerves in the musculature. However, the comprehensive molecular mechanism underlying CMT2Q remains elusive. Here, we show that Dhtkd1-/- mice mimic the major aspects of CMT2 phenotypes, characterized by progressive weakness and atrophy in the distal parts of limbs with motor and sensory dysfunctions, which are accompanied with decreased nerve conduction velocity. Moreover, DHTKD1 deficiency causes severe metabolic abnormalities and dramatically increased levels of 2-ketoadipic acid (2-KAA) and 2-aminoadipic acid (2-AAA) in urine. Further studies revealed that both 2-KAA and 2-AAA could stimulate insulin biosynthesis and secretion. Subsequently, elevated insulin regulates myelin protein zero (Mpz) transcription in Schwann cells via upregulating the expression of early growth response 2 (Egr2), leading to myelin structure damage and axonal degeneration. Finally, 2-AAA-fed mice do reproduce phenotypes similar to CMT2Q phenotypes. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that loss of DHTKD1 causes CMT2Q-like phenotypes through dysregulation of Mpz mRNA and protein zero (P0) which are closely associated with elevated DHTKD1 substrate and insulin levels. These findings further indicate an important role of metabolic disorders in addition to mitochondrial insufficiency in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies.

Pulmonary enteric adenocarcinoma with pancreatic metastasis: A case report.

Pulmonary enteric adenocarcinoma is a markedly rare pathological type of lung adenocarcinoma. As the pancreas is a relatively uncommon site for metastasis, the present case is even more unusual. A 62-year-old male was admitted to hospital following the identification of masses in the left chest wall, right abdominal wall and right upper limb, but with no respiratory symptoms. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest revealed a lump in the lung and a mass in the left chest wall, and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake by the lumps was increased. An enhanced abdominal CT revealed a hypodense and homogeneous mass on the head of the pancreas, which was slightly enhanced compared with normal pancreatic tissue. In addition, the 18F-FDG uptake of the lesion was increased and the standardized uptake value (SUV) delayed was not evidently decreased compared with SUVearly. A number of other abnormal metabolic lesions were also identified using positron emission tomography/CT, whereas no abnormal 18F-FDG uptake was identified in the gastrointestinal organ. Furthermore, rectocolonoscopy was performed to exclude diagnosis of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. The hematoxylin- and eosin-stained smears of the masses in the right lung and left chest demonstrated an enteric pattern, which shared morphological and immunohistochemical (IHC) features with those of colorectal adenocarcinoma. The IHC detection revealed that the lesions in the right lung were positive for cytokeratin 7 (CK7), and negative for CK20 and thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1), and the expression of caudal type homeobox 2 (CDX2) was weakly positive; the masses in the left chest wall were positive for CK7, negative for TTF-1, and CK20 and CDX2 were weakly expressed.

Characterization of Somatic Mutations in Air Pollution-Related Lung Cancer.

Air pollution has been classified as Group 1 carcinogenic to humans, but the underlying tumorigenesis remains unclear. In Xuanwei City of Yunnan Province, the lung cancer incidence is among the highest in China attributed to severe air pollution generated by combustion of smoky coal, providing a unique opportunity to dissect lung carcinogenesis of air pollution. Here we analyzed the somatic mutations of 164 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) from Xuanwei and control regions (CR) where smoky coal was not used. Whole genome sequencing revealed a mean of 289 somatic exonic mutations per tumor and the frequent C:G â†’ A:T nucleotide substitutions in Xuanwei NSCLCs. Exome sequencing of 2010 genes showed that Xuanwei and CR NSCLCs had a mean of 68 and 22 mutated genes per tumor, respectively (p < 0.0001). We found 167 genes (including TP53, RYR2, KRAS, CACNA1E) which had significantly higher mutation frequencies in Xuanwei than CR patients, and mutations in most genes in Xuanwei NSCLCs differed from those in CR cases. The mutation rates of 70 genes (e.g., RYR2, MYH3, GPR144, CACNA1E) were associated with patients' lifetime benzo(a)pyrene exposure. This study uncovers the mutation spectrum of air pollution-related lung cancers, and provides evidence for pollution exposure-genomic mutation relationship at a large scale.

[MRI outstands mammogram in sensitivity of breast ductal carcinoma in situ:an analysis of 122 cases].

OBJECTIVES: To compare the sensitivity of mammogram and breast dedicated MRI in detecting ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvaion (DCIS-MI) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions, and to further investigate the independent predictive factors of mammogram and MRI sensitivity. METHODS: From August 2009 to November 2011, 122 consecutive confirmed breast cancer patients who had received operations were recruited for this clinical research. These patients were divided into two groups including DCIS (72 cases) and DCIS-MI (50 cases) based on pathologic reports. All the patients were female, with mean ages of 52.6 years and 54.4 years. Preoperative bilateral breast mammogram, breast dedicated MRI depictions and reports as well as histopathological reports were collected. RESULTS: Sensitivity of MRI outstood mammogram in each subgroups: 84.7% vs. 42.4% in DCIS (χ(2) = 27.028, P = 0.000), 94.0% vs. 80.0% in DCIS-MI group (χ(2) = 4.540, P = 0.040). And further analysis showed that MRI was more sensitive to high nuclear grade DCIS and DCIS-MI lesions than low nuclear grade ones (OR = 3.471, P = 0.031). RESULTS: of logistic regression analysis proved microcalcification was an independent predictive factor of mammogram sensitivity (OR = 11.287, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sensitivity of breast dedicated MRI is superior to mammogram in detecting DCIS and DCIS-MI groups. Lesions with microcalcifiation is an independent predictive marker which meant that mammogram would achieve high detection rate in cancers presented calcification on mammogram image when compared with non-calcification. Diagnostic performance of breast MRI is less affected by clinical and pathological characteristics of the early stage breast cancer patients but further increased detection rate is observed in DCIS and DCIS-MI with high nuclear grade lesions which indicated that MRI could detect more early stage cancers with relative more aggression biological behaviour and provide these patients with early surgical interventions before possible progression to invasive breast cancers.

Prostate volume as an independent predictor of prostate cancer in men with PSA of 10-50 ng ml(-1).

Prostate volume (PV) has been shown to be associated with prostate cancer (PCa) detection rates in men with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the 'grey zone' (2.0-10.0 ng ml(-1)). However, the PSA 'grey zone' in Asian men should be higher because the incidence of PCa in Asian men is relatively low. Therefore, we evaluated the association between PV and PCa detection rates in men with PSAs measuring 10-50 ng ml(-1). Men who underwent a 13-core prostatic biopsy with PV documentation participated in the study. A multivariate stepwise regression was used to evaluate whether the PV at time of prostate biopsy could predict the risk of PCa. The rates of PCa among men in different PSA ranges, stratified by PV medians (<60 and ≥60 ml), were calculated. There were 261 men included in the final analysis. PV was the strongest predictor of PCa risk (odds ratio, 0.02; P<0.001) compared to other variables. The PCa rates in men with PVs measuring <60 and ≥60 ml in the 10-19.9 ng ml(-1) PSA group were 40.6% and 15.1%, respectively, while the rates for men with PSAs measuring 20-50 ng ml(-1) were 65.1% and 26.8%. PV is an independent predictor of PCa in men with PSA measuring 10-50 ng ml(-1). In clinical practice, particularly for those countries with lower incidences of PCa, PV should be considered when counselling patients with PSAs measuring 10-50 ng ml(-1) regarding their PCa risks.

Development of a survival prediction model for gastric cancer using serine proteases and their inhibitors.

Proteolytic enzymes play a key role in the metastatic stage of gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we aimed to identify the serine proteases (SPs) and their inhibitors (serpins) as related to GC. The gene expression profiles of 40 cases of GC were initially detected by cDNA microarray. The results of the differentially expressed SPs and their inhibitor genes from the microarrays were confirmed by real-time PCR. The status of the immunohistochemical staining of the confirmed genes in patients with complete data was used to develop a survival prediction model. Finally, the prediction model was tested in different groups of GC patients. As a result, seven genes, SERPINB5, KLK10, KLK11, HPN, SPINK1, SERPINA5 and PRSS8, were considered as GC progression-related genes. A survival prediction model including the immunohistochemical scores of three genes and the tumor node metastasis (TNM) score was developed: Survival time (months) = 88.8607 + 2.6395 SERPINB5 - 12.0772 KLK10 + 13.7562 KLK11 - 7.0318 TNM. In conclusion, SERPINB5, KLK10, KLK11, HPN, SPINK1, SERPINA5 and PRSS8 were GC progression-related SPs or serpin genes. The model consisting of the expression profiles of three genes extracted from the microarray study accompanied by the TNM score accurately predicts surgery-related survival of GC patients.

Prognostic value of nuclear maspin expression for adjuvant 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.

To assess the prognostic and predictive value of maspin expression for the clinical response to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer (GC) patients, the expression of maspin in primary tumors from 127 patients with advanced GC was examined using immunohistochemistry. Of the 127 patients, 74 were treated with surgery alone and 53 received additional adjuvant 5-FU-based chemotherapy. Nuclear and cytoplasmic maspin expression was observed in 46.5 (59/127) and 68.5% (87/127) of patients, respectively. Nuclear maspin immunoreactivity was significantly associated with larger tumor size (p=0.036), the depth of tumor invasion (p=0.02) and lymph node metastasis (p=0.002). Cytoplasmic maspin immunoreactivity was associated with tumor cell differentiation but not with the other clinicopathological variables. Nuclear maspin immunoreactivity had a significant association with overall survival (OS). Among the nuclear maspin-expressing patients, those who were treated with 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy showed significantly longer OS than those without chemotherapy (p=0.0004). In conclusion, nuclear maspin expression is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with advanced GC. Patients with positive nuclear maspin expression may be more responsive to adjuvant 5-FU chemotherapy.

Accuracy of physical examination, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging in predicting response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Accurate evaluation of response following chemotherapy treatment is essential for surgical decision making in patients with breast cancer. Modalities that have been used to monitor response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) include physical examination (PE), ultrasound (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of PE, US, and MRI in predicting the response to NAC in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: According to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors guidelines, the largest unidimensional measurement of the tumor diameter evaluated by PE, US, and MRI before and after NAC was classified into four grades, including clinical complete response, clinical partial response, clinical progressive disease, clinical stable disease, and compared with the final histopathological examination. RESULTS: Of the 64 patients who received NAC, the pathologic complete response (pCR) was shown in 13 of 64 patients (20%). The sensitivity of PE, US, and MRI in predicting the major pathologic response was 73%, 75%, and 80%, respectively, and the specificity was 45%, 50%, and 50% respectively. For predicting a pCR, the sensitivity of PE, US, and MRI was 46%, 46%, and 39%, respectively, and the specificity was 65%, 98%, and 92% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with final pathologic findings, all these three clinical and imaging modalities tended to obviously underestimate the pCR rate. A more appropriate, universal, and practical standard by clinical and imaging modalities in predicting the response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in vivo is essential.

Expression of deleted in malignant brain tumours 1 (DMBT1) relates to the proliferation and malignant transformation of hepatic progenitor cells in hepatitis B virus-related liver diseases.

AIMS: The molecular mechanisms underlying proliferation and malignant transformation of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the expression of deleted in malignant brain tumours 1 (DMBT1) and the biological behaviour of HPCs in different hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related human liver diseases. METHODS AND RESULTS: Expression of DMBT1 in HPCs was investigated by double immunofluorescence labelling in control-group and HBV-related liver diseases, including hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), non-tumoral liver tissue away from HCC, non-tumoral cirrhotic tissue adjacent to HCC, and non-HCC cirrhosis. DMBT1-positive HPCs were isolated by laser capture microdissection and subjected to duplex polymerase chain reaction in order to detect homozygous deletion of DMBT1. The number of DMBT1-positive HPCs increased in direct proportion to inflammation severity. Loss of heterozygosity for DMBT1 was more frequent in HCC tumour area and non-tumoral cirrhotic tissue adjacent to HCC, compared with other HBV-related liver diseases (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: DMBT1 may play an important role in the proliferation of HPCs in HBV-related liver diseases. Moreover, down-expression of DMBT1 might enhance the risk of malignant transformation of HPCs.

Paranuclear dot-like immunostaining for CD99: a unique staining pattern for diagnosing solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas.

Solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas is a rare tumor of uncertain histogenesis that is characterized by a cystic and solid growth pattern with pseudopapillary structures. The differentiation of solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm from other pancreatic tumors is of great importance. However, it is sometimes difficult because of similarities in morphologic features and immunophenotype. CD99 is a diagnostically useful marker for Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of CD99 in solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm. We investigated immunohistochemical staining for CD99 in tissue microarray blocks from 55 cases of pancreatic solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm, 51 cases of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, and 54 cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Biopsy specimens from 7 solid-pseudopapillary neoplasms, 6 acinar cell carcinomas, and 1 pancreatoblastoma were also investigated. All the solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm cells exhibited paranuclear dot-like immunoreactivity for CD99 regardless of the clinicopathologic or morphologic features. Forty of the 51 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors were positive for CD99. Staining here was membranous, or membranous and cytoplasmic. Four of the 54 pancreatic adenocarcinomas and 1 pancreatoblastoma showed faint membranous staining. None of the acinar cell carcinomas was reactive for CD99. Our study has identified for the first time that pancreatic solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm exhibits a unique dot-like staining pattern for CD99. This could prove to be the most useful aspect of its immunoprofile for the definitive diagnosis of solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm and differentiation from other pancreatic tumors.

Hepatic progenitor cell represents a transitioning cell population between liver epithelium and stroma.

Following an acute injury, the liver may maintain its structure and function through mitotic division of mature hepatocytes (i.e. hepatic regeneration). However, the regeneration ability of hepatocytes can be impaired in chronic liver diseases including chronic viral infection and alcohol abuse. Hepatic progenitor cells/oval cells (HPCs/OCs), capable of differentiation into both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, occur and proliferate during chronic injury. Unfortunately, a use of HPCs for clinical therapy is blocked by the difficulty of exact identity of HPCs in liver. Focusing on the links between phenotype of HPCs and real stem cells originating from fetal liver or bone marrow (BM), the recent studies of HPCs neglect functional analysis and the close relationship between activation of HPCs and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. It is currently widely accepted that mesenchymal-epithelial transition (EMT) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (MET) play important roles not only in liver development but also in healing of chronic injured adult liver. Co-expression of epithelial/mesenchymal and HPCs markers has been demonstrated in cells undergoing EMT/MET. These cells led to hepatic regeneration after transplanted into rats with chronic liver injury. Notably, there is an increased expression of mesenchymal markers in HPCs after exposure to transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-ß1). Based on these evidences, we hypothesize that HPCs represent a transitioning cell population undergoing EMT/MET, both parenchymal and mesenchymal cells of liver may be the direct sources of HPCs.

Two unusual cases of intractable hyperthyroidism responsive to octreotide: Munchausen syndrome or not?

BACKGROUND: The effective treatment for patients with resistant hyperthyroidism is difficult. METHODS: In this case report with 4-year follow-up data, we present 2 unusual cases of hyperthyroidism that were unresponsive to almost all antithyroid treatments including total thyroidectomy, but both were controlled with octreotide. RESULTS: Cases 1 and 2 were both middle-aged women. They presented thyrotoxicosis with a low serum concentration of TSH and thyroidal radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU). The underlying causes, such as thyroiditis, metastatic thyroid cancer and struma ovarii were explored. Iodine-induced hyperthyroidism, particularly factitious hyperthyroidism was highly suspected, but there was no direct evidence to establish these diagnoses. In spite of good compliance, their thyrotoxicosis could not be controlled with large doses of PTU or MMI. ß-blocker, methylprednisolone, radio-iodine therapy and even thyroidectomy were all attempted and failed. Short-acting octreotide was first administered to case 1 and then to case 2. Thyroid function improved greatly within 3 days in both cases. The doses of octreotide were tapered down to twice a week with consistent efficacy. During the follow-up periods, case 1 required octreotide 0.1mg twice per week and case 2 is on thyroid replacement therapy due to hypothyroidism. The recurrences of hyperthyroidism in both cases were again rapidly controlled with the increased dose of octreotide in case 1 and re-started the usage of octreotide in case 2. CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of thyrotoxicosis in these 2 cases is not clear. In the absence of struma ovarii or wide-spread follicular thyroid cancer, factitious hyperthyroidism due to Munchausen syndrome should be considered first. The efficacy of the off-label use of octreotide in hyperthyroidism was highly effective (only) in these 2 cases.

Periostin, a matrix specific protein, is associated with proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer.

Overexpression of periostin is present in various malignant tumors and correlates with disease progression. However, its clinicopathological significance in pancreatic cancer is currently not known. Expression of periostin was analyzed by RT-PCR and western blotting in pancreatic cancers and cell lines. Using immunohistochemistry, expression of periostin in pancreatic cancers was evaluated according to factors influencing overall survival with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Ectopic expression of periostin was used to examine the effects of periostin on proliferation and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. There was no detectable periostin mRNA and protein expression in the 4 pancreatic cell lines. Expression of periostin was found to be up-regulated in pancreatic cancer compared to the adjacent tumor free (TF) tissues by western blotting. The positive ratio of periostin expression in the neoplastic stroma was significantly correlated with the depth of invasion (p=0.007) and lymph node metastasis (p=0.027). Survival analysis showed that stromal or epithelium expression of periostin was associated with poor survival (p=0.035, p=0.022, log-rank test, respectively). In vitro studies showed that periostin was able to promote proliferation and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells. These results suggest that periostin may be involved in the progression and invasion of pancreatic cancer.

Prognostic factors and outcome of resected patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors of small intestine.

We document the clinical behavior of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the small intestine and identify predictors for long-term disease-free survival (DFS) for small intestine GIST patients. From December 2001 to 2008, 114 consecutive patients with mesenchymal tumors involving the small intestine were enrolled. There were 54 male and 60 female (50.6%) patients. After a median follow-up period of 36 months (ranging from 12 to 96 months), recurrence was noted in 19 patients (16.7%) with a median time of 20 months (ranging from 7 to 50 months). There were 12 patients (10.5%) who died of GISTs with a median time from recurrence to death of 14 months (ranging from 8 to 22 months). Univariate analysis by log-rank test indicated that tumor size and mitotic activity were statistically significant for DFS (P = 0.001 and 0.036, respectively). Tumor size was the only significant predictive factor for DFS according to multivariate analysis (P = 0.006). Small tumor size, indicating low risk, predicted more favorable DFS of small intestine GIST patients who underwent curative resection.

Expression of cortactin correlates with a poor prognosis in patients with stages II-III colorectal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to specifically investigate the clinicopathological role of expression of cortactin, as well as the correlation with clinical outcomes in stages II-III colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Two hundred and five stages II-III CRC patients were included in this study. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens were stained for cortactin and the correlation between the staining, its clinicopathological parameters, and its prognostic power were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: Of the 205 patients studied, 113 cases (55.1%) were strongly positive for cortactin. Cortactin expression correlated with tumor invasion (P = 0.018), histological grade (P = 0.004), and preoperative CEA level (P < 0.001). In univariate analysis, tumor invasion, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, lymphovascular invasion, preoperative CEA level, and cortactin expression were significant prognostic factors for disease-free survival (P = 0.034, 0.009, 0.043, 0.004, and 0.004, respectively), while for overall survival, tumor invasion, AJCC stage, pathologic grade, preoperative CEA level, and cortactin expression were significant prognostic factors (P = 0.003, 0.008, 0.038, 0.017, and <0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, tumor invasion, preoperative CEA level, and cortactin expression maintained their independent prognostic influence on disease-free survival (P = <0.001, 0.003, and 0.008, respectively). However, tumor invasion, AJCC stage, and cortactin expression influenced overall survival (P = 0.036, <0.001, and 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Cortactin may be a good biomarker to be applied in the clinical setting to predict the prognosis of patients with completely resected pathologic stages II-III CRC.

Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the esophagus.

Lymphoma is a malignant neoplasm classically involving the lymph and reticuloendothelial tissues. According to the World Health Organization classification (2000) for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), there are over 20 different subtypes, each with its own characteristics and behavior. Gastrointestinal lymphoma is a less common type of NHL, usually affecting the stomach, colon and small intestines. The esophagus, however, is rarely involved. Here the investigators report a case of primary NHL of the esophagus so that this may be of help to physicians in future encounters.

A primary right atrium paraganglioma in a 15-year-old patient.

Thoracic pheochromocytomas account for less than 2% of reported cases, while primary cardiac paragangliomas are even rare. The following case illustrates a 15-year-old patient with primary right atrium paraganglioma. This patient was referred for paroxysmal hypertension and excessive perspiration. Pheochromocytoma was suspected and then confirmed by very high serum nor-metanephrine which increased more than 30-fold above the upper limit of normal. 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy showed high uptake only in the middle mediastinum, but not in the adrenal glands or elsewhere. Both contrast CT and gated MRI of the chest disclosed a 5.0 x 4.0 cm2 mass in the right atrium. Coronary angiography demonstrated the mass with feeding vessels from the right coronary artery. When the patient's blood pressure was well controlled with doxazosin and metoprolol, surgery was then performed. A 6.0 x 4.9 x 4.0 cm3 round solid right atrium paraganglioma weighing 41.7 g was resected. The second day after surgery, serum nor-metanephrine and urinary noradrenaline levels dropped rapidly to normal range, and the patient was free of clinical symptoms with normal BP. Postoperative cardiac function, as measured by echocardiogram, was normal. Although cardiac paraganglioma may be difficult to resect, it can be cured.

Expression and significance of intratumoral interleukin-12 and interleukin-18 in human gastric carcinoma.

AIM: To explore the effect of intratumoral expressions of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) on clinical features, angiogenesis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma. METHODS: The expressions of IL-12 and IL-18 from 50 samples of gastric cancer tissue were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and microvessel density (MVD) was determined with microscopic imaging analysis system. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of IL-12 and IL-18 were 44% (22/50) and 26% (13/50), respectively. IL-12 was significantly associated with pathologic differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and TNM stage, and IL-18 was closely related to distant metastasis. Intratumoral IL-12 and IL-18 expressions were not statistically related to MVD scoring. IL-12-positive patients survived significantly longer than those with IL-12-negative tumors, but there was no significant difference between IL-18-positive patients and IL-18-negative ones. The multivariate analysis with Cox proportional hazard model revealed IL-12, MVD and T stage were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: The positive expressions of IL-12 and IL-18 can play an important role in progression and metastasis of gastric cancer, and IL-12 might be an independent factor of poor prognosis in gastric carcinoma.