Development and Optimization of A Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patient-Derived Organoid Model for Potential Target Identification and Drug Discovery.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly prevalent and lethal tumor worldwide and its late discovery and lack of effective specific therapeutic agents necessitate further research into its pathogenesis and treatment. Organoids, a novel model that closely resembles native tumor tissue and can be cultured in vitro, have garnered significant interest in recent years, with numerous reports on the development of organoid models for liver cancer. In this study, we have successfully optimized the procedure and established a culture protocol that enables the formation of larger-sized HCC organoids with stable passaging and culture conditions.

The tumor immune microenvironment transcriptomic subtypes of colorectal cancer for prognosis and development of precise immunotherapy.

Background: Biomarkers based on immune context may guide prognosis prediction. T-cell inactivation, exclusion, or dysfunction could cause unfavorable tumor microenvironments, which affect immunotherapy and prognosis. However, none of the immuno-biomarkers reported to date can differentiate colorectal-cancer (CRC) patients.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: A review of serum biomarkers, staging, and management.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors with complicated treatment options that depend on pathological grading, clinical staging, and presence of symptoms related to hormonal secretion. With regard to diagnosis, remarkable advances have been made: Chromogranin A is recommended as a general marker for pNETs. But other new biomarker modalities, like circulating tumor cells, multiple transcript analysis, microRNA profile, and cytokines, should be clarified in future investigations before clinical application.

Identification of prognostic claudins signature in hepatocellular carcinoma from a hepatocyte differentiation model.

Background: Loss of terminal differentiation markers and gain of stem cell-like properties are a major hallmark of cancer malignant progression. Identification of novel biomarkers representing tumor developmental progeny and predictive of patients' prognosis would greatly benefit clinical cancer management.

Methods: Human embryonic stem cells were induced to differentiate into hepatocytes along hepatic lineages.

A hepatocyte differentiation model reveals two subtypes of liver cancer with different oncofetal properties and therapeutic targets.

Clinical observation of the association between cancer aggressiveness and embryonic development stage implies the importance of developmental signals in cancer initiation and therapeutic resistance. However, the dynamic gene expression during organogenesis and the master oncofetal drivers are still unclear, which impeded the efficient elimination of poor prognostic tumors, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, human embryonic stem cells were induced to differentiate into adult hepatocytes along hepatic lineages to mimic liver development in vitro.

Laparoscopic Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Perfusion Chemotherapy for Patients With Malignant Ascites Secondary to Unresectable Gastric Cancer.

Background: To compare the efficacy of 3 chemotherapeutic combinations for laparoscopic hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (HIPPC) in the treatment of malignant ascites secondary to unresectable gastric cancer (GC).

Materials And Methods: From January 2010 to December 2013, 38 GC patients were randomly divided into 3 groups and treated by laparoscopic HIPPC with 1 of the 3 following chemotherapy combinations: raltitrexed (Ra) with oxaliplatin (L-OHP), Ra with cisplatin (DDP), and Ra with mitomycin C (MMC). Perioperative complications, patients' quality of life, and survival were recorded and compared among the 3 groups.

Development of an oncogenic dedifferentiation SOX signature with prognostic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Gradual loss of terminal differentiation markers and gain of stem cell-like properties is a major hall mark of cancer malignant progression. The stem cell pluripotent transcriptional factor SOX family play critical roles in governing tumor plasticity and lineage specification. This study aims to establish a novel SOX signature to monitor the extent of tumor dedifferentiation and predict prognostic significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Vessels That Encapsulate Tumor Clusters (VETC) Pattern Is a Predictor of Sorafenib Benefit in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Sorafenib is the most recommended first-line systemic therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Yet there is no clinically applied biomarker for predicting sorafenib response. We have demonstrated that a vascular pattern, named VETC (Vessels that Encapsulate Tumor Clusters), facilitates the release of whole tumor clusters into the bloodstream; VETC-mediated metastasis relies on vascular pattern, but not on migration and invasion of cancer cells.

Aberrant MCT4 and GLUT1 expression is correlated with early recurrence and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy.

The tumor microenvironment is a key determinant of cancer cell biology. The microenvironment is a complex mixture of tumor cells, stromal cells, and proteins, extracellular matrix, oxygen tension, and pH levels surrounding the cells that regulate the tumor progress. This study identified the prognostic factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and MCT4 and GLUT1 expression levels in HCC specimens.

Optimized construction of MUC1-VNTR DNA vaccine and its anti-pancreatic cancer efficacy.

Considering mucin 1-variable number tandem repeat (MUC1-VNTR) as a novel target for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy, the present study aimed to screen and identify the pVAX1-MUC1-VNTR DNA vaccine with the strongest immunogenicity. Following construction of a pVAX1-MUC1-VNTR plasmid, immature dendritic cells (DCs) were subjected to transfection, and mature DCs were then co-cultured with autologous T-cells. The numbers of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) secreting interferon (IFN)-γ were determined using an enzyme-linked immunospot assay, and CytoTox was also used to examine the MUC1-VNTR-specific Lethal effect of CTLs on Capan2 cells.

Port-Site Metastases and Chimney Effect of B-Ultrasound-Guided and Laparoscopically-Assisted Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Perfusion Chemotherapy.

Purpose: CO₂ leakage along the trocar (chimney effect) has been proposed to be an important factor underlying port-site metastasis after laparoscopic surgery. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by comparing the incidence of port-site metastasis between B-ultrasound-guided and laparoscopically-assisted hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (HIPPC).

Materials And Methods: Sixty-two patients with malignant ascites induced by gastrointestinal or ovarian cancer were divided into two groups to receive either B-ultrasound-guided or laparoscopically-assisted HIPPC.

Laparoscopic Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Perfusion Chemotherapy for Patients with Malignant Ascites Secondary to Unresectable Gastric Cancer.

Background: To compare the efficacy of three chemotherapeutic combinations for laparoscopic hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (HIPPC) in the treatment of malignant ascites secondary to unresectable gastric cancer (GC).

Materials And Methods: From January 2010 to December 2013, 38 GC patients were randomly divided into three groups and treated by laparoscopic HIPPC with one of the three following chemotherapy combinations: raltitrexed (Ra) with oxaliplatin [trans-(±)-diaminocyclohexane oxalatoplatinum (l-OHP)], Ra with cisplatin (DDP), and Ra with mitomycin C (MMC). Perioperative complications, patients' quality of life, and survival were recorded and compared among the three groups.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata fuscata (Macaca, Cercopithecinae).

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Japanese macaque, Macaca fuscata fuscata, with the total length of 16,565 bp, is determined for the first time. This mitogenome harbors 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and 1 control region (D-loop). The overall base composition is A (31.

Multivariate comparison of B-ultrasound guided and laparoscopic continuous circulatory hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy for malignant ascites.

Objective: Clinical efficacy of B-ultrasound-guided and laparoscopy-assisted continuous hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (CHIPC) for treatment of malignant ascites was investigated.

Methods: Sixty-two patients with malignant ascites induced by ovarian or gastrointestinal cancers were randomly treated with B-ultrasound-guided CHIPC (therapeutic group) or laparoscopy-assisted CHIPC (control group) performed at the same center. Hospitalization costs and surgical duration were evaluated.

[Predicting value of serum CEA and CA19-9 in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced gastric carcinoma].

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of CEA and CA19-9 in tumor progression, prognosis and neoadjuvant chemotherapy of advanced gastric cancer.

Methods: Clinical data of 322 patients with advanced gastric cancer(54 cases undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy) from the Affiliated Oncologic Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College were reviewed. Serum CEA and CA19-9 levels were detected by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, while the expression of CEA and CA19-9 protein in 54 pairs of tumor tissues and matched biopsies neoadjuvant chemotherapy were determined by immunohistochemistry.

GP73 expression and its significance in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a review.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, and its incidence has been increasing worldwide. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and abdominal ultrasound have been widely used for diagnosis as well as surveillance of HCC. However, the sensitivity and specificity of both AFP levels and ultrasound for HCC surveillance have some shortcomings, particularly in the early stages of the disease.

[Literature review of the efficacy and safety of hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy after cytoreductive surgery in the treatment of pseudomyxoma peritonei].

Objective: To evaluated the safety and efficacy of hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy(HIPC) in the prevention and treatment of pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) recurrence after cytoreductive surgery(CRS).

Methods: Studies published in English before 2010 on HIPC after CRS for PMP were searched in PubMed database. Each study was carefully evaluated based on pre-determined criteria.

Chemotherapy with laparoscope-assisted continuous circulatory hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion for malignant ascites.

Aim: To investigate the procedure, feasibility and effects of laparoscope-assisted continuous circulatory hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (CHIPC) in treatment of malignant ascites induced by peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancers.

Methods: From August 2006 to March 2008, the laparoscopic approach was used to perform CHIPC on 16 patients with malignant ascites induced by gastric cancer or postoperative intraperitoneal seeding. Each patient underwent CHIPC three times after laparoscope-assisted perfusion catheters placing.

Resection of a giant hepatocellular carcinoma weighing over ten kilograms.

The authors report a giant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a diameter over 30 cm and weight over 10 kg that was resected completely. A 62-year-old man was admitted because of continuous abdominal uplift. A computed tomography scan demonstrated that the entire abdomen was filled with a giant tumor containing both cystic and solid components with a size of 29 cm x 22 cm.

[Study on three dimensional reconstruction and simulation surgery of spleen].

Objective: To study the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and the visualization simulation surgery of spleen based on the scanning data of 64-slice helical computed tomograph (CT).

Methods: The original data of 64-slice helical CT of spleen was collected, and then the CT image sequences were segmented and automatically extracted using auto-adapted region growth algorithm, and were conducted with the segmented images by adopt self-developed image processing software for 3D reconstruction. Finally, the 3D models were imported into FreeForm Modeling System for modifying and smooth.

[Preoperative intra-arterial chemotherapy for progressive lower rectal cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of preoperative regional intra-arterial chemotherapy (PRAC) on progressive lower rectal cancer.

Methods: Forty-five patients with progressive lower rectal cancer were divided into groups A (23 cases) and B (22 cases) for treatment with PRAC 1 to 2 weeks prior to surgical tumor resection or with surgical resection only, respectively.

Results: PRAC caused obvious tissue degeneration and necrosis of rectal cancer with a total effective rate of 95.

[Prevention and treatment of hepatitis B recurrence after liver transplantation].

Objective: To investigate the effect of the regimen of lamivudine (LAM) combined with hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) in prevention and treatment of re-infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and recurrence of hepatitis B after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for HBV related end stage liver disease.

Methods: The clinical data of 183 adult liver transplantation patients who lived more than 6 months and were followed up for 14.6 months with complete data were studied retrospectively.

[Establishment of a three-dimensional pancreas model for simulating surgical resection of pancreatic tail carcinoma using virtual-reality technique].

Objective: To assess the feasibility of visual-reality technique for simulating surgical resection of pancreatic tail carcinoma using a 3-dimensional pancreas model reconstructed on the basis of the CT data.

Methods: The original image data of 64-slice spiral CT was obtained from a patient with pancreatic tail carcinoma. Using adaptive region growing algorithm, the serial CT images were segmented and automatically extracted for 3-dimensional reconstruction of the pancreas and the anatomically related structures with a self-designed program.