Compound Taxus exerts marked anti-tumor activity and radiosensitization effect on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Background: Compound Taxus capsule, as an antineoplastic Chinese patent drug, has been increasingly applied as an adjunctive treatment for the management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and some other malignancies, but research about its antitumor activity and radiosensitization effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells is very rare. Purpose: To investigate the antitumor activity and radiosensitization effect of Compound Taxus on HCC cells and to preliminarily explore the possible molecule mechanisms involved. Methods: Cell viability, cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, DNA damage repair and protein expression levels were detected by CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence staining, western blotting analysis and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. The migration and invasion activities and vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation and angiogenesis were evaluated by tube formation and VM formation assay. Radiation survival curves were obtained from the colony formation assay in human HCC cell lines, Smmc7721 and Bel7402 cells, pretreated with or without Compound Taxus before receiving X-ray irradiation. A Bel7402 tumor-bearing mouse model was established and the radiosensitization effect of Compound Taxus in vivo was evaluated by analyzing tumor volume and tumor weight in different groups receiving different treatments. Results: Compound Taxus decreased viability, induced G2/M arrest, promoted apoptosis, suppressed migration and invasion, and inhibited VM formation and angiogenesis in Smmc7721 and Bel7402 cells. Furthermore, Compound Taxus inhibited irradiation-induced DNA damage repair, enhanced the radiosensitivity of Smmc7721 and Bel7402 cells and improved the anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy of irradiation in Bel7402 tumor-bearing mice. Radiotherapy in combination with Compound Taxus showed the best tumor inhibition compared to that of Compound Taxus alone or irradiation alone. In addition, Compound Taxus significantly down-regulated NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65 and Bcl-2, and up-regulated Bax in vitro and in vivo, yet NF-κB p65 overexpression reversed the proapoptotic effect of Taxus on HCC cells, indicating that the NF-κB signaling pathway might be an important signal mediator in the Compound-Taxus-modulated biological responses. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Compound Taxus shows marked antitumor activity and significant radiosensitization effect on HCC cells, making it possible for Compound Taxus to become a promising auxiliary modality for HCC management and a potential radiosensitizer of HCC in the future.

The Role of Cholinesterase in Differential Diagnosis between Gastric Cancer and Benign Gastric Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide. In early stages, no obvious symptoms are usually observed in gastric cancer patients, and it is especially hard to distinguish gastric cancer from benign gastric diseases, resulting in delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis. Common biomarkers of gastric cancer, such as CEA and CA19-9, are also elevated in benign diseases. There is an urgent need to develop a convenient and reliable biomarker for differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed the data of 126 patients, including 73 gastric cancer patients and 53 benign gastric disease patients. Patient characteristics collected for analysis included age, gender, laboratory data, and clinical staging. Unpaired t-test was used to check the difference of cholinesterase level between the gastric cancer group and the benign gastric disease group. Kruskal Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to check the difference of cholinesterase level among different stage groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess whether cholinesterase level can be used as a biomarker for differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases. RESULTS: Serum cholinesterase level was decreased significantly in the gastric cancer group in comparison to that of the benign gastric disease group (p < 0.001). In addition, cholinesterase level of stage IV patients was significantly lower than stage I patients. ROC curve analysis revealed that with a cutoff of 5,969.00 U/L, cholinesterase level showed an area under the curve of 0.819 (95% CI 0.732 - 0.905, p < 0.001) in differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases. No significant difference in the levels of CEA and CA19-9 was observed between gastric cancer patients and benign gastric disease patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that serum cholinesterase level could be considered as a potential biomarker for differentiating between gastric cancer and benign gastric diseases.

Neuroendocrine tumor of thoracic spine: case report and literature review.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) generally arise from endocrine cells of gut and bronchi. Primary NETs of spine are extremely rare and have been described in cervical spine, lumbar spine, sacrum, and coccyx. So far, primary NETs in thoracic spine have not been reported yet. Here we described a 46-year-old Chinese woman with NET in thoracic spine. Neuroimaging revealed a mass behind the vertebral body of T11, abnormal changes in the adnexa and surrounding soft tissue and compression of the spinal cord. She received a total resection of the tumor and T11 corpectomy. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining proved the tumor to be a rare spinal NET. PET-CT and other examinations ruled out the existence of tumors in any other site. So, she was diagnosed with NET of thoracic spine. The patient received postoperative etoposide and nedaplatin chemotherapy for four cycles, and she recovered well with no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis during six-month medical follow-up. Spine location of NETs should be first considered as a metastatic disease unless there is proof ruling out the possibility. Complete tumor resection is the most effective therapy in NETs of spine and should be considered in priority, and chemotherapy and radiotherapy should be considered on an individual basis.

Study of the radiotherapy sensitizea-tion of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis in patients by sodium glycididazole.

To observe the radiotherapy sensitization effect of retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis in patients by sodium glycididazole in recent clinical efficacy and toxicity. A total of 42 patients admitted with metastasis and recurrence of retroperitoneal lymph node from September 2006 to December 2009 were classified with the method of case-control. After three dimensional conformal radiation therapy with or without sodium glycididazole (800 mg/m²) for sensitization, the results of recent clinical efficacy, relief of pain, and Karnofsky score were obtained. Tumor remission rate of patients in sensitization group (with sodium glycididazole) at post-radiotherapy 3 months was significant higher than that in control group (without sodium glycididazole) (52% vs. 24%; P<0.05). Oral dose of morphine daily, and Karnofsky score in anterior-posterior radiotherapy of patients in the sensitization group were significant different with those in the control group (93 ± 12 and 42 ± 6 mg vs. 94 ± 12 and 20 ± 5 mg and (65 ± 4) and (90 ± 9) vs. (64 ± 5) and (80 ± 10), respectively; P<0.01). Sodium glycididazole has positive radiotherapy sensitization to the metastasis or recurrence of retroperitoneal lymph node for digestive tract cancer, which could obviously improve the life quality or release the pain for patients.

Factors related to survival rates for breast cancer patients.

This study is to analyze the relationship between clinical parameters and prognosis and survival rates of breast cancer patients. A total of 1541 cases of breast cancer were retrospectively reviewed with respect to clinical parameters and the correlation with prognosis and survival rates. Among these patients, follow-up investigation was performed for 1381 cases. Clinical parameters including disease sites (the lesion quadrant), incidences, the number of axillary lymph node metastasis, maximum diameter of tumor, tumor regional lymph node metastasis (TNM) stages, pathological types were investigated. The estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 levels were correlated with long term disease-free survival. Lymph node metastases, tumor diameter, TNM stage, and hormone receptor status are correlated with survival rates of breast cancer patients.

High expression of miR-21 in triple-negative breast cancers was correlated with a poor prognosis and promoted tumor cell in vitro proliferation.

The triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), with a particularly poor prognosis, is increasingly recognized as heterogeneous in molecular signatures. MicroRNA expression profiles have been used for the classification and prognostication of breast cancer, numerous significantly upregulated microRNAs, i.e. miR-21, have been verified oncogenic in non-TNBCs. In present study, we determined the miR-21 levels in TNBC specimens, and TNBC cell levels in vitro, and then identified the role of miR-21 on tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, and then identified PTEN as the possible target of the microRNA. It was shown that miR-21 expression is upregulated generally, and heterogeneous in TNBC specimens, posing a correlation with poor prognosis for TNBC patients. Further results demonstrated that the upregulated miR-21 promoted the tumor proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in vitro. And pro-apoptotic PTEN had been shown being targeted and downregulated. Therefore, our finding emphasized the oncogenic role of miR-21 in TNBC.

Variation in background intensity affects PET-based gross tumor volume delineation in non-small-cell lung cancer: the need for individualized information.

PURPOSE: Efficient tumor volume delineation by the combined use of PET/CT scanning is necessary for the proper treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To understand the effect of variation in background intensity on PET-based gross tumor volume (GTV) delineation, we determined the background standard uptake values (SUVs) in normal lung, aorta (blood pool), and liver tissues and determined GTVs using different methods. METHODS: Thirty-seven previously untreated patients with pathologically confirmed NSCLC underwent PET/CT scanning with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG). To obtain (18)F-FDG uptake values in normal tissues, regions of interest in the lung lobes (left upper, left lower, right upper, right middle, and right lower), aorta, and liver zones (left, intermediate, and right) were measured. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the SUV was measured for each normal structure. The CT-based GTV (GTV(CT)) was considered as the standard to which all PET-based GTVs were compared, and the correlation coefficient was analyzed to compare GTV obtained by the various delineation methods. Linear and logarithmic regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between GTV(CT) and GTV(PET). RESULTS: Normal lung tissue showed a significantly lower SUV and less stability than tissue of the aorta or liver. For the lung, aorta, and liver, the maximum SUV (SUV(max)) was 0.82 ± 0.32, 2.35 ± 0.37, and 3.24 ± 0.50 (CV: 38.79%, 15.82%, and 15.30%) and average SUV (SUV(ave)) was 0.49 ± 0.18, 1.68 ± 0.32, and 2.34 ± 0.36 (CV: 36.38%, 18.92%, and 15.44%), respectively. The SUVs of the lung varied from lobe to lobe. The GTV delineation method using the SUV(ave) of the lung lobe in which the tumor was found as background in the source-to-background ratio (SBR) method showed the best correlation with the volume of CT-based GTV (r=0.81). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show vast variation in the SUV among normal tissues, as well as in the different lung lobes. The tumor volume delineated using the SBR method correlated well with the CT-based tumor volume. We conclude that it is reasonable and precise to contour GTV in patients with NSCLC after taking into account the background intensity of the lung lobe in which the tumor is found.