A single institution, retrospective study of treatment experience in primary mediastinal germ cell tumors: elucidating the significance of systemic chemotherapy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Primary malignant germ cell tumors (GCTs) of mediastinum are rare neoplasms. We introduce our institutional experience in managing patients with primary malignant GCTs of the mediastinum, focusing on the analysis of therapeutic modalities.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective review was done in 39 consecutive patients with mediastinal malignant GCTs treated in our institution between 1991 and 2007.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 39 patients were enrolled in this study with a median age of 27 years. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates of the whole population were 60.2% and 57.7%, respectively. Stratified by the histology, 18 patients (46.2%) had seminoma and 21 patients (53.8%) had nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs). The 5-year OS rate of patients with seminoma was 87.4% as compared with 36.7% in patients with NSGCTs (P = 0.0004). The 5-year PFS rate was also significantly higher in seminoma patients (87.4% vs. 31.6%, P = 0.003). For 19 patients with NSGCTs managed with multi-modality treatment, chemotherapy exposure appeared to impact the prognosis. The 5-year OS rate was 44.9% in patients with chemotherapy exposure as compared with 20.0% in patients without it (P = 0.43).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our study confirmed the significance of systemic chemotherapy in the treatment of primary mediastinal GCTs.</p>

Correlation of tenascin-C degradation fragment with recurrence and/or metastasis in early non-small-cell lung cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the correlation of tenascin-c (TN-C) degradation with relapse and/or metastasis in stage-I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in order to search for a potential biomarker for predicting recurrence, and also to investigate the molecular mechanism of TN-C degradation. Methods The fragment of TN-C in 63 surgically treated stage-I NSCLC was detected by Western blotting, and the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) was also examined by gelatin zymography.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TN-C degradation fragment was positively detected in 12 of 63 patients, and 9 of these 12 patients (75.0%) were found to develope recurrence during follow-up. The recurrence-free survival at 4 years was 28.1% in patients with positive TN-C degradation versus 82.1% in those without (P < 0.001), and which was 76.6% at 10 years in the patients without TN-C degradation. The activity of MMP-2 in the patients with positive TN-C degradation was also found to be significantly higher than that in the patients without (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Tenascin-c degradation fragment may be a reliable biomarker for predicting recurrence and/or metastasis in the early NSCLC, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 may be a responsible proteinase for degradation of tenascin-c.</p>

Antitumor immune responses induced by idiotype-pulsed dendritic cells with cell-penetrating peptide vaccination in vivo / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To confirm the therapeutic effect of dendritic cell (DC) vaccine on treatment for mice with lymphoma and the protective effect of DC vaccine loaded with different antigens on the tumor-bearing BAL B/c mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Firstly, a mouse tumor model was set up by s. c. inoculation of 1 x 10(6)/mouse A20 tumor cells. Then different DC vaccines were injected, respectively, and the tumor size and survival time were observed. Secondly, the immunized mice with DC vaccines were challenged with A20 tumor cells, and observed whether a new tumor occurred in the mice and the time of survival.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The tumor of mice immunized with Id-DC vaccines grew slower than the controls (mean time of survival was 40.4 days vs. 33.4 days), but statistically not significantly different. The tumor of mice injected with CPP-Id-DC vaccines grew slower than that injected with Id-DC vaccines and controls, and one of 5 mice got CR and the tumor in another one mouse became stable. The median survival time was 70.8 days during a 90-days observation period. The difference was significant (P<0.01). The mice injected with Id-DC vaccines were challenged with A20 tumor cells showed new tumor occurred at 7 - 12 days, and 1 of the 5 mice survived for 60 days. The mice injected with CPP-Id-DC vaccines had no tumor.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The DC loaded with CPP-Id was better than that loaded with Id alone in treating B cell lymphoma, and It can enhance their antitumor responses and prolong the survival time of the A20 tumor animal models. The vaccine of DC loaded with CPP-Id can protect mice from A20 tumor cell challenge.</p>

Frequency of prothrombin gene G20210A variant in the 3'-untranslated region in Zhuang ethnic Chinese / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To ascertain the frequency of prothrombin (FII) gene 3'-untranslated region (3'-UT) G20210A variant and to explore whether this mutation is related to arterial thrombosis in Chinese Zhuang population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-six patients with cerebral thrombosis, 23 patients with myocardial infarction and 106 healthy Chinese Zhuang persons were studied. The G20210A mutant allele of the prothrombin gene in all blood specimens was investigated by DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction amplification, Hind III digestion and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patients and normal control subjects were all homozygous for the normal G20210G allele, and there was no FII G20210A variant.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Factor II gene 3'-UT G20210A mutant allele is absent in the 99 Chinese Zhuang ethnic patients with ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction and is absent in 106 normal healthy Zhuang people. FII G20210A mutation may not be a major risk factor for thrombogenesis in ethnic Chinese.</p>

Study on expression of cell surface L-selectin and soluble L-selectin in patients with acute leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

To study the relationship between the level of the soluble L-selectin (sL-selectin) in plasma and surface L-selectin expression on leukemic cells and episode and state of illness in acute leukemia patients, the plasma level of sL-selectin was measured by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the expressions of surface L-selectin and its gene (lyam-1) were detected by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. The results showed that the levels of sL-selectin were significantly higher in untreated and therapy-resistant acute leukemia patients, and expression of L-selectin mRNA and cell surface L-selectinin in untreated and NR patients were significantly lower than that in CR patients and control group (P < 0.05). The plasma levels of sL-selectin were significantly increased in patients with splenomegaly and hepatomegaly (extramedullary infiltration). The levels of sL-selectin were related to the clinical course of the acute leukemia patients. A significant correalation existed between expressions of L-selectin mRNA and surface L-selectin in acute leukemia patients (gamma = 0.782, P < 0.05). It is concluded that expression of L-selectin gene was down-regulated in level of mRNA and protein in acute leukemia patients and both changes were highly correlated. Monitoring of the plasma level of sL-selectin is possibly useful for early diagnosis of relapse and extramedullary infiltration in acute leukemia.