Clinical features and outcome of retinoblastoma at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the clinical features, treatment, and outcome of children diagnosed with retinoblastoma (RB) at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital. METHODS: The study enrolled all RB patients newly diagnosed at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to December 2022. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and the eye salvage rate. RESULTS: In total, 139 patients were enrolled, 51.8% patients were male. Median age was 18.9 months. Most patients presented with leukocoria (63.3%), followed by strabismus (14.4%), and 43.9% had bilateral disease. Of 200 eyes, 129 (64.5%) were classified as group E. Extraocular extension was noted in 10 of 139 patients (7.2%). About one-third of the patients lived more than 300 kilometers (km) away from these hospitals, and 17.3% of the patients belonged to minority groups, both of which were dominated by group E and extraocular or high-risk eyes at the time of consultation. Primary enucleation was done for 57 eyes (28.5%), and 51 of 61 patients (83.6%) received eye salvage therapy in bilateral RB group. At study closure, 127 children were alive at the last follow-up, 12 cases were confirmed dead. The 5-year OS and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 90.3% and 85.9%, respectively. In particular, ethnic minority, distance to hospital more than 150 km, and extraocular disease were significantly associated with higher mortality among children with RB treated in Vietnam National Cancer Hospital. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to support for screening RB with early symptoms in grassroots medical facilities and raise awareness among patients' families through health education programs. Besides, caring and supporting treatment for patients from the ethnic minority and who live far from hospitals are also extremely necessary.

Therapeutic effects of a standardized-flavonoid Diospyros kaki L.f. leaf extract on transient focal cerebral ischemia-induced brain injury in mice.

This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective and therapeutic effects of Diospyros kaki L.f. leaves (DK) on transient focal cerebral ischemic injury and underlying mechanisms using a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of mice. The animals received the MCAO operation on day 0. The daily administrations of DK (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o) and edaravone (6 mg/kg, i.v), a reference drug with radical scavenging activity, were started 7 days before (pre-treatment) or immediately after the MCAO operation (post-treatment) and continued during the experimental period. Histochemical, biochemical, and neurological changes and cognitive performance were evaluated. MCAO caused cerebral infarction and neuronal cell loss in the cortex, striatum, and hippocampus in a manner accompanied by spatial cognitive deficits. These neurological and cognitive impairments caused by MCAO were significantly attenuated by pre- and post-ischemic treatments with DK and edaravone, suggesting that DK, like edaravone, has therapeutic potential for cerebral ischemia-induced brain damage. DK and edaravone suppressed MCAO-induced changes in biomarkers for apoptosis (TUNEL-positive cell number and cleaved caspase-3 protein expression) and oxidative stress (glutathione and malondialdehyde contents) in the brain. Interestingly, DK, but not edaravone, mitigated an increase in blood-brain permeability and down-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor protein expression caused by MCAO. Although the exact chemical constituents implicated in the effects of DK remain to be clarified, the present results indicate that DK exerts neuroprotective and therapeutic activity against transient focal cerebral ischemia-induced injury probably by suppressing oxidative stress, apoptotic process, and mechanisms impairing blood-brain barrier integrity in the brain.

Prolonged response to first-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor in a metastatic non-small cell lung cancer harbouring complex G719X and S768I mutations: A case report from Vietnam and literature review.

A complex of G719X and S768I mutations is infrequently observed, constituting less than 0.3% of all EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the response to first-line TKIs is inconsistent in the literature. In this study, we report a patient with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer carrying rare EGFR compound mutations of G719X and S768I who benefited from first-line treatment with gefitinib in Vietnam. This patient had a prolonged response lasting over 44 months with first-generation TKI. He continued to take gefitinib without experiencing serious adverse events. NSCLC with a rare complex of G719X and S768I mutation revealed a good response to gefitinib.

Vitamin D intake and gastric cancer in Viet Nam: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Most recent laboratory studies have suggested a promising role of vitamin D and its analogs as novel chemotherapeutic agents for cancer treatment. However, epidemiological evidence, especially regarding the effects of vitamin D on gastric cancer is still inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: Our research aimed to evaluate the associations between vitamin D intake and the risk of developing gastric cancer through a case-control study in North Vietnam. METHODS: We accessed databases of the previous completed case-control studies to derive 1182 incident gastric cancer cases and 2995 hospital controls selected from hospitals in Hanoi from 2003 to 2019. Vitamin D intake was computed by multiplying the food frequency intake with nutrient content based on the Viet Nam Food Composition Tables. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews by trained interviewers using the validated semi-quantitative food frequency and demographic lifestyle questionnaires. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (OR and 95%CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We observed a continual decline in gastric cancer risk according to the level-up of vitamin D intake in both genders, men, and women [Fifth vs. bottom quintile, OR, 95%CI: 0.68 (0.53, 0.86), OR, 95%CI: 0.72 (0.53, 0.97), OR, 95%CI: 0.58 (0.38, 0.89), respectively. Per increment quintile, the statistically significant decreased risk was seen by 7% in men and 13% in women. The significant inverse association between vitamin D intake remained in the subgroups of ever and never tobacco smoking; negative and positive H. pylori infection. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that sufficient vitamin D intake was associated with a lower risk of Gastric Cancer in the Vietnamese population.

Ursolic acid and its isomer oleanolic acid are responsible for the anti-dementia effects of Ocimum sanctum in olfactory bulbectomized mice.

This study aims to clarify the bioactive constituents responsible for the anti-dementia effects of Ocimum sanctum Linn. ethanolic extract (OS) using olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) mice, an animal model of dementia. The effects of OS or its extract further fractionated with n-hexane (OS-H), ethyl acetate (OS-E), and n-butanol (OS-B) on the spatial cognitive deficits of OBX mice were elucidated by the modified Y-maze tests. The effects of the major constituents of the most active OS fraction were also elucidated using the reference drug donepezil. The administration of OS and OS-E ameliorated the spatial cognitive deficits caused by OBX, whereas OS-H or OS-B had no effect. Two major constituents, ursolic acid (URO) and oleanolic acid (OLE), and three minor constituents were isolated from OS-E. URO (6 and 12 mg/kg) and OLE (24 mg/kg) attenuated the OBX-induced cognitive deficits. URO (6 mg/kg) and donepezil reversed the OBX-induced down-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and choline acetyltransferase expression levels in the hippocampus. URO inhibited the ex vivo activity of acetylcholinesterase with similar efficacy to donepezil. URO inhibited the in vitro activity of acetylcholinesterase (IC50 = 106.5 µM), while the effects of OS, OS-E, and other isolated compounds were negligible. These findings suggest that URO and OLE are responsible for the anti-dementia action of OS extract, whereas URO possesses a more potent anti-dementia effect than its isomer OLE. The effects of URO are, at least in part, mediated by normalizing the function of central cholinergic systems and VEGF protein expression.

Protective effects of Bacopa monnieri on ischemia-induced cognitive deficits in mice: the possible contribution of bacopaside I and underlying mechanism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. (BM) is a medicinal plant which has been not only used as a traditional medicine to improve intelligence and memory but also taken as vegetables in Vietnam for a long time. We previously demonstrated that Bacopa monnieri (BM) alcohol extract attenuated olfactory bulbectomy-induced cognitive deficits and the deterioration of septo-hippocampal cholinergic neurons, suggesting the beneficial effects of BM for dementia patients. AIM OF STUDY: The present study was conducted to further clarify the anti-dementia effects of BM, using transient 2 vessels occlusion (T2VO)-induced cognitive deficits in mice, an animal model of vascular dementia, and also to investigate the constituent(s) contributing to the actions of BM, using oxygen- and glucose-deprivation (OGD)-induced hippocampal cell damage as an in vitro model of ischemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the in vivo experiments, T2VO mice were treated daily with a standardized BM extract (50mg/kg, p.o.) 1 week before and continuously 3 days after surgery. In the in vitro experiments, organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs) were incubated with triterpenoid saponins from BM (bacosides) or MK-801 1h before and during a 45-min period of OGD. Neuronal cell damage in OHSCs was analyzed by measurement of propidium iodide uptake 24h after OGD. RESULTS: The BM treatment significantly ameliorated T2VO-induced impairments in non-spatial short term memory performance in the object recognition test. Among the bacosides tested in the in vitro experiments using OHSCs, bacopaside I (25 µM) exhibited potent neuroprotective effects against OGD-induced neuronal cell damage. Double staining with TUNEL and PI revealed that OGD caused necrosis and apoptosis and that bacopaside I attenuated the effects of OGD. The neuroprotective effects of bacopaside I were blocked by the PKC inhibitor Ro-31-8220 and PI3K inhibitor LY294002, but not by the ERK inhibitor U0126. OGD reduced the level of phospho-Akt (p-Akt), an anti-apoptotic factor, in OHSCs. This decrease was reversed by bacopaside I. Moreover, the treatment with bacopaside I itself was able to elevate the level of p-Akt in OHSCs. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that BM was beneficial for the prevention of cognitive deficits related to cerebral ischemia and also that bacopaside I, via PKC and PI3K/Akt mechanisms, played a role in the neuroprotective effects of BM observed in the mouse model.

Bacopa monnieri ameliorates memory deficits in olfactory bulbectomized mice: possible involvement of glutamatergic and cholinergic systems.

This study investigated the effects of alcoholic extract of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. (BM) on cognitive deficits using olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) mice and the underlying molecular mechanisms of its action. OBX mice were treated daily with BM (50 mg/kg, p.o.) or a reference drug, tacrine (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.), 1 week before and continuously 3 days after OBX. Cognitive performance of the animals was analyzed by the novel object recognition test, modified Y maze test, and fear conditioning test. Brain tissues of OBX animals were used for neurochemical and immunohistochemical studies. OBX impaired non-spatial short-term memory, spatial working memory, and long-term fair memory. BM administration ameliorated these memory disturbances. The effect of BM on short-term memory deficits was abolished by a muscarinic receptor antagonist, scopolamine. OBX downregulated phosphorylation of synaptic plasticity-related signaling proteins: NR1 subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1), and calmodulin-dependent kinase II but not cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB), and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. OBX also reduced choline acetyltransferase in the hippocampus and cholinergic neurons in the medial septum, and enlarged the size of lateral ventricle. BM administration reversed these OBX-induced neurochemical and histological alterations, except the decrease of GluR1 phosphorylation, and enhanced CREB phosphorylation. Moreover, BM treatment inhibited ex vivo activity of acetylcholinesterase in the brain. These results indicate that BM treatment ameliorates OBX-induced cognition dysfunction via a mechanism involving enhancement of synaptic plasticity-related signaling and BDNF transcription and protection of cholinergic systems from OBX-induced neuronal damage.