Active post-transcriptional regulation and ACLY-mediated acetyl-CoA synthesis as a pivotal target of Shuang-Huang-Sheng-Bai formula for lung adenocarcinoma treatment.

Background: New therapeutic approaches are required to improve the outcomes of lung cancer (LC), a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Chinese herbal medicine formulae widely used in China provide a unique opportunity for improving LC treatment, and the Shuang-Huang-Sheng-Bai (SHSB) formula is a typical example. However, the underlying mechanisms of action remains unclear.

Promoter methylation of glutathione S-transferase pi1 and multidrug resistance gene 1 in bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and its correlation with DNA methyltransferase 1 expression.

Background: The presence of glutathione S-transferase (GST) pi1 (GSTP1) or multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) promoter methylation in lung cancer was studied for the first time to the authors' knowledge; and, to date, the clinical significance of methylation is not clear. The objective of the current study was to determine the promoter methylation status of GSTP1 and MDR1, which encode GST-pi and P-glycoprotein (Pgp), respectively, in patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) and to investigate whether methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-mediated GSTP1 or MDR1 methylation are responsible for disease progression and prognosis in patients with BAC.

Methods: Protein expression levels of DNTM1, GST-pi, and Pgp were determined by immunohistochemistry in samples from 36 patients with BAC.

[Development of a three-dimensional precise conformal radiotherapy treatment planning system based on a cobalt-60 teletherapy unit].

In this paper, a three-dimensional precise conformal radiotherapy treatment planning system based on a cobalt-60 teletherapy unit is introduced. With the help of additional precise target localization and conformal field-shaping devices, the TPS can greatly improve the performance of conventional cobalt-60 teletherapy units in precise target localization, radiotherapy planning and dose delivery. The clinical practices show that the TPS has advantages of reliable precision and an affordable price , and it is urgently needed in our country.

[DICOM in radiotherapy].

Digital Image Communication in Medicine (DICOM) defines a standard method to store and transmit digital medical image information, in which there is a piece of implemented protocol named DICOM-RT that specially addresses both the transmission of radiation therapy image data and the ancillary data. In this paper, we firstly introduce the DICOM-RT with the emphases on its components, relationship with radiotherapy and how to produce the DICOM-RT object that refer to some certain radiotherapy information. Then we expatiate on the impact that benefits from applying DICOM-RT to radiotherapy, with an aid to accelerate its application in China.

[Microvessel density and expressions of survivin and vascular endothelial growth factor in non-small cell lung cancer and their correlations to clinicopathologic features].

Background & Objective: Survivin, an anti-apoptosis gene, expresses in most tumors, and takes part in tumor angiogenesis. This study was to investigate microvessel density (MVD) and expressions of Survivin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and explore their correlations to clinicopathologic features of NSCLC.

Methods: MVD and expressions of Survivin and VEGF in 96 specimens of NSCLC tissues, 31 specimens of tumor adjacent tissues, and 20 specimens of benign lesions were detected by SP immunohistochemistry; their interrelations and correlations to clinicopathologic features of NSCLC were analyzed.

[Changes of serum interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-13 in asthmatic patients and regulatory effects of glucocorticoids on them].

Objective: To observe the changes of serum interleukin (IL)-12, IL-13 and lung function in asthmatic patients and to evaluate the influence of glucocorticoid on them.

Methods: The serum samples were obtained from (1) 25 asthmatic patients with acute asthma attack before and after one week course of oral prednisone, (2) 20 asthmatic patients in remission stage, and (3) 15 healthy volunteers. Serum IL-12 and IL-13 were determined with sandwich ELISA.