Over-expression of both VEGF-C and Twist predicts poor prognosis in human breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is an indispensable step in the growth and invasiveness of breast cancers involving a series of exquisite molecular steps. Pro-angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), have been recognized as pivotal therapeutic targets in the treatment of breast cancer. More recently, a highly conserved transcription factor Twist has been reported to be involved in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. METHODS: The expression of VEGF-C and Twist was immunohistochemically determined in tissue samples of primary tumors from 408 patients undergoing curative surgical resection for breast cancer. The correlations of VEGF-C and Twist expressions with clinicopathologic parameters as well as survival outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 408 patients evaluated, approximately 70% had high expression of VEGF-C which was significantly associated with advanced tumor stages (P = 0.019). Similarly, VEGF-C expression was associated with the proliferation index Ki67, N3 lymph node metastasis, and D2-40-positive lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) in a univariate analysis. Furthermore, patients with high expressions of VEGF-C and Twist (V + T+) had significantly increased lymph node metastasis, higher clinical stage, and worse disease-free survival, DFS (P = 0.001) and overall survival, OS (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that co-expression of VEGF-C and Twist was associated with larger tumor size, higher numbers of lymph node involvement, D2-40-positive LVI, higher risk of distant metastasis, and worse DFS or OS in breast cancer patients.

Neuropathophysiology of paroxysmal, systemic, and other related movement disorders.

Movement disorders are neurological conditions affecting the ability to produce and control voluntary as well as involuntary movements, and may be categorized into akinetic/rigid and hyperkinetic disorders. The hyperkinetic disorders are generally perceived as being the most difficult to diagnose correctly. They are manifested by excessive, abnormal involuntary movements, and are referred to as dyskinesias. The conditions are further designated paroxysmal dyskinesias when the abnormal movements occur episodically, followed by a rapid return to normality without impaired consciousness between episodes. The events can be precipitated by sudden voluntary movements, or may occur spontaneously at rest, or precipitated by exertion or sleep. Most conditions are either inherited or sporadic, and some cases are associated with specific conditions. Although clinical scenarios can be confusing, considerable advances in the phenotype characterisation and genetic studies have provided important information that allowed simplifying the clinical definitions and diagnosis of the paroxysmal dyskinesias. These advances have helped understand the pathophysiology of these disorders and their variants.