S-Adenosylmethionine suppresses the expression of Smad3/4 in activated human hepatic stellate cells via Rac1 promoter methylation.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) was able to suppress activated human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Human LX-2 HSCs were cultured with SAM or NSC23766, and were transfected with plasmids encoding ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) protein or an empty expression vector. Cell proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8.

Green tea and liver cancer risk: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies in Asian populations.

Objectives: The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether an association existed between green tea consumption and the risk for liver cancer in prospective cohort studies in Asian populations.

Methods: Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and the Chinese Bio-medicine Database published before April 2015. Study-specific risk estimates for the highest versus non- or lowest and increment of daily cup of green tea consumption levels were combined based on fixed- or random-effects models.

Metformin inhibits gastric cancer via the inhibition of HIF1α/PKM2 signaling.

Recent evidence suggests that anti-diabetic drug metformin prevents cancer progression, but the mechanism by which metformin inhibits tumor growth remains elusive. In this study, we investigated the anticancer role of metformin in gastric cancer and explored the underlying mechanism. The expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) in different stages of gastric cancer tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry.

Report of China's innovation increase and research growth in radiation oncology.

Aims: To investigate the research status of radiation oncology in China through survey of literature in international radiation oncology journals and retrospectively compare the outputs of radiation oncology articles of the three major regions of China-Mainland (ML), Taiwan (TW) and Hong Kong (HK).

Methods: Radiation oncology journals were selected from "oncology" and "radiology, nuclear & medical image" category from Science Citation Index Expand (SCIE). Articles from the ML, TW and HK were retrieved from MEDLINE.