Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine nursing intervention in postoperative patients after gastrectomy.

Gastrectomy is a technically demanding procedure for gastric cancer patients that is associated with different degrees of postoperative complications (POCs). Perioperative traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nursing intervention presents benefits for improving the survival of patients with gastric cancer. However, the effects of TCM nursing intervention on POCs and the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer following surgery are far from clear. In the present study, the effects of TCM nursing intervention on POCs, postoperative physical capacity, metal status, long-term survival and recurrence were investigated in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy. In total, 1,032 patients with gastric cancer were included in the study. The patients underwent a gastrectomy and were randomly divided into two groups: The TCM nursing intervention group (TCM group; n=520) and the routine nursing intervention group (control group; n=512). Postoperative pain score, hospital stay, POCs, postoperative gastrointestinal function, frequency of postoperative symptoms, inflammatory index, quality of life, physical capacity, mental status, survival and recurrence were compared after gastrectomy in the TCM and control groups. The treatment-related adverse events of TCM in patients after gastrectomy were recorded in the TCM nursing intervention group. The outcomes showed that TCM nursing intervention decreased the postoperative pain score and hospital stay, improved gastrointestinal function, and decreased the POCs and the inflammation index compared with the control group. In addition, TCM nursing intervention improved physical capacity, quality of life, depression, anxiety, immune activity, long-term survival and recurrence in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy. Furthermore, TCM nursing intervention was only associated with a low number of adverse events. In conclusion, outcomes in this study indicate that perioperative TCM nursing intervention improves POCs, mental status, long-term survival and reduces the recurrence of patients with gastric cancer, suggesting that TCM nursing intervention is efficacious and safe with regard to improving the prognosis in these patients after gastrectomy (Retrospective clinical trial registration number, 2015001CW1; name of the register, The First Hospital of Harbin; date of registration, May 7, 2015).

Simvastatin induces breast cancer cell death through oxidative stress up-regulating miR-140-5p.

Statins, a class of hyperlipidemic drugs, are widely used cholesterol lowering drugs that selectively inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis, leading to decreasing of cholesterol biosynthesis. Statins exert anti-tumoral effects on various cancer, including breast cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms for the actions were not fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of statins on proliferation and apoptosis in the ER-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. Our results showed that simvastatin increased the expression of miR-140-5p in a dose dependent manner via activating transcription factor NRF1, reduced cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, and we also found that SLC2A1 was a new target of miR-140-5p. In conclusion, data in this study shed light on the potential anti-tumoral effects of simvastatin in breast cancer and presents a highly promising therapeutic option, using drug and miRNA for combined treating cancers.