Comparing short-term outcomes of robot-assisted and conventional laparoscopic total mesorectal excision surgery for rectal cancer in elderly patients.

Background: Da Vinci Robotics-assisted total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery for rectal cancer is becoming more widely used. There is no strong evidence that robotic-assisted surgery and laparoscopic surgery have similar outcomes in elderly patients with TME for rectal cancer.

Aim: To determine the improved oncological outcomes and short-term efficacy of robot-assisted surgery in elderly patients undergoing TME surgery.

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with the co-occurrence of bacteria in the oral cavity and the gastric mucosa.

Background: Pathogens capable of impacting gastrointestinal tract tumor development are located in the oral cavity, but whether these oral bacteria are able to colonize the gastric mucosa in gastric cancer (GC) patients and whether Helicobacter pylori infection can influence this process remains to be established.

Methods: Microbial 16S rDNA deep sequencing was conducted to characterize bacteria present in paired gastric mucosa and tongue coating samples in 27 patients with superficial gastritis (SG) and 11 GC patients.

Results: While the overall composition of the gastric mucosa and tongue coating microbiomes differed substantially, certain bacteria were present in both of these communities.

A Comparison of Tumor-Associated and Non-Tumor-Associated Gastric Microbiota in Gastric Cancer Patients.

Background: How gastric cancer (GC) incidence is associated with changes in the gastric microbiome has not been firmly established. The present study therefore aims to investigate the microbial communities present within the gastric mucosa of patients with superficial gastritis (SG) or GC.

Methods: Paired tumor and paracancerous samples of the gastric mucosa were collected from 18 patients being surgically treated for GC and from 32 patients with SG being treated via gastroscopy.

Identification of RING-box 2 as a potential target for combating colorectal cancer growth and metastasis.

Development of cancer metastasis is a key contributor to mortality in patients with colorectal cancer. High expression of RING-box 2 (RBX2) in cancer cells is known to play a key role in tumor progression. However, the role of RBX2 in colorectal cancer progression is not well elucidated.

FOXQ1 promotes cancer metastasis by PI3K/AKT signaling regulation in colorectal carcinoma.

Colorectal cancer is one of the major health problems, with invade surrounding tissues, and migrate to distant organs being the most critical concern, thus identified metastasis associated hallmarks and more efficacious treatment are urgently needed. It found that forkhead box q1 (FOXQ1) is aberrant expression in variety of human cancers and FOXQ1 is involved in oncogenic pathways. However, the role of FOXQ1 has been unexplored in colorectal cancer metastasis to date.

Shenmai injection enhances the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs against colorectal cancers via improving their subcellular distribution.

Shenmai injection (SMI) is a Chinese patent-protected injection, which was mainly made of Red Ginseng and Radix Ophiopogonis and widely used for treating coronary heart disease and tumors by boosting Qi and nourishing Yin. In this study we examined whether SMI could produce direct synergetic effects on the cytoxicity of adriamycin (ADR) and paclitaxel (PTX) in colorectal cancers in vivo and in vitro, and explored the underlying pharmacokinetic mechanisms. BALB/c nude mice with LoVo colon cancer xenografts were intraperitoneally injected with ADR (2 mg·kg·3d) or PTX (7.

Identification of HRAS as cancer-promoting gene in gastric carcinoma cell aggressiveness.

Gastric carcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies of cancers and its prognosis remains dismal due to the paucity of effective therapeutic targets. Herein, we showed that HRAS is markedly up-regulated in gastric carcinoma. Prognostic analysis indicated that HRAS expression might be a prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with gastric carcinoma.

Regional Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy improves the Pathological Response rate for advanced gastric cancer with Short-term Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

To identify clinicopathologic and treatment variables that could predict pathologic tumor response to short-term neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 178 patients who underwent short-term NAC with EOX regimen followed by surgery from January 2008 to December 2010. Neoadjuvant treatment response was evaluated using tumor regression grade.

Formononetin, a novel FGFR2 inhibitor, potently inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth in preclinical models.

Most anti-angiogenic therapies currently being evaluated in clinical trials target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway, however, the tumor vasculature can acquire resistance to VEGF-targeted therapy by shifting to other angiogenesis mechanisms. Therefore, other potential therapeutic agents that block non-VEGF angiogenic pathways need to be evaluated. Here we identified formononetin as a novel agent with potential anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer activities.

Cyclooxygenase-2 knockdown using retinoic acid chalcone (RAC), a promising therapeutic strategy for colon cancer.

Retinoic acid is an effective agent in the treatment of epithelial and hematological malignancies. The present study demonstrates that retinoic acid chalcone (RAC), an analogue of retinoic acid inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in HCT-15 and CT26.WT colon cancer cell lines.

Prognosis after resection for hepatitis B virus-associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the prognostic factors after resection for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and to assess the impact of different extents of lymphadenectomy on patient survival.

Methods: A total of 85 patients with HBV-associated ICC who underwent curative resection from January 2005 to December 2006 were analyzed. The patients were classified into groups according to the extent of lymphadenectomy (no lymph node dissection, sampling lymph node dissection and regional lymph node dissection).

Insulin-like growth factor receptor-1 overexpression is associated with poor response of rectal cancers to radiotherapy.

Aim: To explore the potential correlation between insulin-like growth factor receptor-1 (IGF-1R) expression and rectal cancer radiosensitivity.

Methods: Eighty-seven rectal cancer patients (cTNM I-III) treated in our department between January 2011 and December 2012 were enrolled. All subjects were treated with preoperative radiotherapy and radical resection of rectal carcinoma.

Impact of occult hepatitis B virus infection on outcome after resection for non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with both hepatitis B virus-surface antigen and hepatitis C virus antibody negative hepatocellular carcinoma (non-B non-C HCC [NBNC-HCC]) and examine the impact of occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) on patients' survival.

Methods: All patients with OBI were identified from a database of patients with NBNC-HCC who underwent surgical resection between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2008. Their clinicopathologic and survival characteristics were compared with NBNC-HCC patients without OBI.

Growth hormone protects colorectal cancer cells from radiation by improving the ability of DNA damage repair.

The present study aimed to examine the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on the sensitivity of a colorectal cancer cell line to radiotherapy, and to investigate its association with DNA damage and repair. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were employed to detect growth hormone receptor (GHR) expression in nine human colorectal cancer cell lines. A colony forming assay was performed to measure the colorectal cancer cell proliferation post‑radiotherapy, as an indicator of radiotherapy sensitivity.

Significance of effector protease receptor-1 expression and its relationship with proliferation and apoptotic index in patients with primary advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the expression of effector protease receptor-1 (EPR-1), proliferative index ki-67 and apoptosis index in patients with primary advanced gastric adenocarcinoma and to clarify the significance of EPR-1 expression and its correlationship with the proliferation and apoptosis indexes.

Methods: Using immunohistochemical staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labelling (TUNEL) technique, we determined the expression of EPR-1, proliferative index (Ki-67) and apoptotic index (AI) in 120 paraffin-embedded specimens of primary advanced gastric adenocarcinoma as well as lymph node metastasis and adjacent normal tissues.

Results: EPR-1 expression was distributed in the cytoplasm of normal gastric mycoderma, carcinoma cells and smooth muscle cells.

[Expression of survivin in human gastric adenocarcinomas: correlation with proliferation and apoptosis].

Objective: To investigate the expression and significance of survivin, ki-67 and apoptosis index in patients with advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.

Methods: Immunohistochemical SP method for survivin expression as well as cell proliferative index (ki-67) and apoptosis index (TUNEL) was conducted on 120 gastric adenocarcinomas.

Results: The survivin was detected in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells in 59 (49.