Comparison of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F with methotrexate in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (TRIFRA): a randomised, controlled clinical trial.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) with methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Design: a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. All patients were assessed by trained investigators who were unaware of the therapeutic regimen.

Clinical characteristics of patients with solitary pulmonary mass after radical treatment for primary cancers: pulmonary metastasis or second primary lung cancer?

We identified clinical characteristics of 30 pulmonary metastasis (PM) patients and 29 second primary lung cancer (SPLC) patients with feature of solitary pulmonary mass (SPM) after radical treatment of prior cancers. 6.7% and 44.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-RAS signaling pathway in penile squamous cell carcinoma.

Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is a rare cancer with poor prognosis and limited response to conventional chemotherapy. The genetic and epigenetic alterations of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR)-RAS-RAF signaling in penile SCC are unclear. This study aims to investigate four key members of this pathway in penile SCC.

Prognostic influence of metformin as first-line chemotherapy for advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: It has been reported that antidiabetic drugs affect the risk of cancer and the prognosis of patients with diabetes, but few studies have demonstrated the influence of different antidiabetic agents on outcomes after anticancer therapy among patients with cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the antidiabetic drugs metformin and insulin on the prognosis of patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) plus type 2 diabetes who received first-line chemotherapy.

Methods: Data on patients with NSCLC who had diabetes from 5 hospitals in China during January 2004 to March 2009 were reviewed retrospectively.

Interleukin-15 enhances T-cell responses by stimulation with dendritic cells.

Introduction: Cytokines play important roles in regulating immune responses. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has usually been used as an adjuvant to enhance antitumour immune responses. However, its crucial role in activation-induced cell death, inhibition of homeostatic proliferation of CD8+ memory T cells and its notable biological side effects impair its prospect of application.

Interaction of green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate with sunitinib: potential risk of diminished sunitinib bioavailability.

Sunitinib, a novel oral multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor, has a good prospect for clinical application and is being investigated for the potential therapy of other tumors. We observed the phenomenon that drinking tea interfered with symptom control in an mRCC patient treated with sunitinib and speculated that green tea or its components might interact with sunitinib. This study was performed to investigate whether epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major constituent of green tea, interacted with sunitinib.

Prevalence and characteristics of anemia in patients with solid cancers at diagnosis in southwest China.

Purpose: Cancer-related anemia is common and may have myriad causes, but the physiological consequences of a low hemoglobin level are similar. Besides chemotherapy-induced anemia, it is also important to understand the anemia in treatment-naive patients, which may represent a consequence of cancer itself and/or cancer complications, and this may help assess anemia risk and facilitate appropriate treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence and characteristics of anemia in solid cancer patients at diagnosis in a Chinese population.

[A novel strategy for development of universal tumor vaccine: a DC-targeted adenovirus encoding hTRT].

Objective: To explore the feasibility of constructing a dendritic cell targeted adenovirus as a possible universal tumor vaccine.

Methods: The cDNA of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTRT) from pBABE-PURO-hTERT was subcloned into pAdTrack-CMV. Recombinant adenovirus for hTRT was constructed in AdEasy system.

A recombinant DNA plasmid encoding the human interleukin-5 breaks immunological tolerance and inhibits airway inflammation in a murine model of asthma.

Background: Eosinophils play a pivotal role in the generation of asthma inflammation. Interleukin (IL)-5 is the major activator of eosinophils. We hypothesize that modulating IL-5 activity could be an effective strategy for asthma therapy.

Synergistic anti-tumor effect of recombinant human endostatin adenovirus combined with gemcitabine.

Endostatin is an important endogenous inhibitor of neovascularization, which has been widely used in anti-angiogenesis therapy for cancer. To fully explore the potential of endostatin, we evaluated the anti-tumor efficacy of the combination of recombinant human endostatin adenovirus and low-dose gemcitabine in nude mice. We injected recombinant human endostatin adenovirus intratumorally plus a low dose of gemcitabine i.

[Inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis via local administration of recombinant human endostatin adenovirus].

Objective: The growth and metastasis of solid tumors are dependent on angiogenesis. Endostatin, the C-terminal proteolytic fragment of collagen XVIII, is a potent endogenous angiogenesis inhibitor. The authors designed a topical antiangiogenic gene therapy with recombinant human endostatin adenovirus (Ad-hEndo) and assessed its effects on the inhibition of angiogenesis in vitro, and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo.

Induction of apoptosis and tumor regression by vesicular stomatitis virus in the presence of gemcitabine in lung cancer.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has been shown to replicate rapidly in vitro and kill selectively a variety of tumor cell lines. The present study was designed to determine whether gemcitabine potentiates the antitumor activity of VSV in vitro and in vivo. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells and LLC Lewis lung carcinoma cells were treated with VSV (0.

[Constructing the tumor cell vaccine based on homologous matrix metalloproteinase-2 and exploring its effects].

Objective: To construct the tumor cell vaccine based on homologous matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and explore its anti-tumor effects.

Methods: The tumor cell vaccine was constructed by transfecting chicken MMP-2 to tumor cells. MTT colorimetric assay was used to evaluate the activation of the transfectants.

[Prokaryotic expression, purification and refolding of extracellular ligand binding domains of chick Tie-2 and its immunogenicity].

Objective: To study the prokaryotic expression of extracellular ligand binding domains of chick Tie-2, the purification and refolding conditions of the recombinant protein, and to observe its immunogenicity in mouse.

Methods: A DNA fragment encoding extracellular ligand binding domains of chick Tie-2 was obtained by PCR from a previous constructed plasmid as a template. The amplified fragment was then inserted into prokaryotic expression vector PQE30, and was expressed in E.

Immunotherapy of tumors with vaccine based on quail homologous vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2.

The breaking of immune tolerance of "self-antigens" associated with angiogenesis is an attractive approach to cancer therapy by active immunity. We used vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) as a model antigen to explore the feasibility of the immunotherapy with a vaccine based on a xenogeneic homologous protein. To test this concept, we prepared a quail homologous VEGFR-2 protein vaccine (qVEGFR) based on quail VEGFR-2.

Inhibition of tumor growth with a vaccine based on xenogeneic homologous fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 in mice.

Angiogenesis is important for the growth of solid tumors. The breaking of the immune tolerance against the molecule associated with angiogenesis should be a useful approach for cancer therapy. However, the immunity to self-molecules is difficult to elicit by a vaccine based on autologous or syngeneic molecules due to immune tolerance.

Active immunogene therapy of cancer with vaccine on the basis of chicken homologous matrix metalloproteinase-2.

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family, in particular MMP-2, may play a key role in angiogenesis and tumor growth. It is conceivable that the breaking of immune tolerance of MMP-2 should be a useful approach to cancer therapy by active immunity. To test this concept, we constructed a plasmid DNA encoding chicken homologous MMP-2 (c-MMP-2) and control vectors.

Immunogene therapy of tumors with a vaccine based on the ligand-binding domain of chicken homologous integrin beta3.

The breaking of immune tolerance against angiogenesis-associated molecules should be a useful approach for cancer therapy by active immunity. We used chicken integrin beta3 as a model antigen to explore the feasibility of immunogene therapy of the tumors with a vaccine based on a single xenogeneic homologous gene, targeting the molecules associated with angiogenesis. To test this concept we constructed a plasmid DNA encoding the ligand-binding domain of chicken integrin beta3 (P-BD-C) and control vectors.