A protective factor against lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer: Female gender.

OBJECTIVE: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common pathological type of thyroid cancer, with good prognosis, but the rate of lymph node metastasis (LNM) is high, and the difference between men and women is significant. Therefore, the related risk factors for LNM of PTC based on gender were examined in this study in order to draw attention to gender factor in PTC. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 2103 patients with surgically confirmed PTC at the Fourth affiliated Hospital of Hebei Medical University West Side between January 2016 and December 2019. RESULTS: LNM was detected in 1124 of the 2103 cases of PTC. Logistic regression analysis showed that LNM was associated with age (p < 0.001, OR:0.547), gender (p < 0.001, OR:2.609), tumor diameter (p < 0.001, OR:2.995), bilaterality (p=0.003, OR:1.683), and extrathyroid extension (p < 0.001, OR:1.657). After propensity score matching, female gender (p < 0.001, OR: 0.393) remained an independent factor of LNM in patients with PTC. LNM in men was only associated with diameter (p < 0.001, OR: 3.246). LNM in woman was associated with menopausal history (p = 0.012, OR=0.684), reproductive history (p < 0.001, OR=0.360), abortion history (p = 0.011, OR=0.725), tumor diameter >1 cm (p < 0.001, OR=2.807), bilaterality (p =0.006, OR:1.728), and extrathyroid extension (p < 0.001, OR=1.879). CONCLUSION: Although the invasion is high in female patients, the rate of LNM is significantly reduced due to the influence of sex hormones and reproductive factors. For female patients of childbearing age who were not pregnant and did not have children, it is suggested to take a positive attitude towards their lymph nodes.

LncRNA HOXA-AS2 Promotes Oral Squamous Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion via Upregulating EZH2 as an Oncogene.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Accumulating evidence has shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve important roles in the development of OSCC. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological function and underlying regulatory mechanism of lncRNA homeobox A cluster antisense RNA2 (HOXA-AS2) in OSCC. RT-qPCR was performed to analyze the HOXA-AS2 expressions in human immortalized oral epithelial cell (HIOEC) line, human OSCC cell lines, and plasma. The expression of HOXA-AS2 and enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit (EZH2) in Tca-8113 cells were knocked down or overexpressed by transfection with shRNA-HOXA-AS2 or pcDNA-EZH2, respectively. The interaction between HOXA-AS2 and EZH2 was validated by RNA immunoprecipitation assay. In addition, cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 and EdU assays. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cell migration and invasion were detected using wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining. The protein expression levels of cell cycle and apoptosis-related proteins were measured by western blot analysis. Compared with HIOEC cells, HOXA-AS2 expression in OSCC cells was upregulated. HOXA-AS2 knockdown significantly inhibited Tca-8113 cell proliferation, blocked the cell cycle by arresting cells in the G0/G1 phase, promoted apoptosis, and suppressed migration and invasion. In addition, HOXA-AS2 was predicted to directly target EZH2 and positively regulate EZH2 expression. EZH2 overexpression could reverse the inhibitory effect of HOXA-AS2 knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of Tca-8113 cells. In summary, the findings suggested that HOXA-AS2 may inhibit cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, induce cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, and increase cell apoptosis by targeting EZH2. The research indicated that HOXA-AS2/EZH2 axis may play a key role in the development of OSCC.

[The expression and significance of SDF-1/CXCR4 biological axis in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and lymph node metastasize].

OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation between the stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) and the receptor fusin (CXCR4) in carcinoma of larynx, and investigate some mechanisms of SDF-1/CXCR4 during the development, invasion and lymph node metastasis of laryngocarcinoma. METHOD: Detecting the expression of SDF-1 and CXCR4 by immunohistochemical method (SP) in laryngocarcinoma, paraneoplastic tissues, normal laryngeal mucosa and cervical lymph node. Using Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi2 test, Spearman rank correlation analysis and so on to do statistical analysis. RESULT: The positive expression rate of SDF-1 and CXCR4 in laryngocarcinoma was obviously higher than in paraneoplastic tissues and normal laryngeal mucosa tissues (P < 0.01). And the expression of two proteins was correlated with lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01), clinical stage (P < 0.01) and pathological grading of tumor (P < 0.05). The positive expression rate of SDF-1 and CXCR4 protein in metastasis lymph node tissue was higher than that in non metastasis lymph node tissue (P < 0.01). The expression of SDF-1 is correlated positively with the expression of CXCR4 in laryngocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: SDF-1 and CXCR4 protein are highly expressed in laryngocarcinoma and in metastasis lymph node tissue. And they are correlated with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage and pathological grading of the tumor. According to the results, the two proteins may relate to infiltration and metastasis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and play a role of synergistic action in the development and invasion of carcinoma of larynx.

[The clinical observation of early oral feeding following total laryngectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the feasibility of oral feeding 48-72 hours after total laryngectomy of carcinoma of the larynx or pyriform sinus. METHOD: Forty-two patients underwent total laryngectomy (included 34 patients of larynx carcinoma and 8 patients of pyriform sinus carcinoma) were random categorized into control group and experimental group. The experimental group of 21 patients who received oral feeding 48 to 72 h after total laryngectomy was compared with the control group of 21 patients who received oral feeding 10 to 12 days. RESULT: Pharyngocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient (4.8%) in the experimental group and in two patients (9.5%) in the control group. These differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorted. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that in the patient population initiation of oral feeding 48 to 72 h after total laryngectomy of carcinoma of the larynx or pyriform sinus is a safe clinical practice.