Safety and efficacy of sorafenib therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: final outcome from the Chinese patient subset of the GIDEON study.

We report data from the final analysis of the Chinese subset of the GIDEON (the Global Investigation of therapeutic DEcisions in hepatocellular carcinoma and Of its treatment with sorafeNib) study, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of sorafenib in Child-Pugh A, B and C patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) in real-life clinical practice. Patient demographics, disease characteristics and treatment history were recorded at enrollment; dose, adverse events (AEs) and efficacy were recorded at follow-up. Of the 338 evaluable patients, 98.

Tumor deposits: markers of poor prognosis in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Tumor deposits (TDs) were reported to be poor prognoses in colorectal carcinoma, but the significance in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) (T3-4/N+) following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (neo-CRT) and surgery is unclear. Since adjuvant chemotherapy showed no benefit for LARC following neo-CRT, it is of great value to investigate whether TDs can identify the subgroup of patients who may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: Between 2004 and 2012, 310 LARC patients following neo-CRT and surgery were retrospectively reviewed.

, the extracts of -inoculated rabbit skin, effectively alleviates the chronic low back pain with little side effect - A randomized multi-center double-blind placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial.

Background: Chronic low back pain affects daily activities at home and workplaces and causes a huge economic burden. Current therapeutic options are very limited and the effects of available pharmacological agents are less than satisfactory. While NSAIDs might be effective for the short term and opioids might help with urgent pain relief and improving the life quality, their long-term use is associated with significant side effects and drug misuse or abuse.

Clinical characteristics and therapeutic analysis of 51 patients with Marjolin's ulcers.

Marjolin's ulcers, which are epidermoid carcinomas arising on non-healing scar tissue, may be of various pathological types, including squamous cell carcinoma. The pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma arising in an ulcer differs from that of the primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. This squamous cell carcinoma is aggressive in nature, and has a high rate of metastasis.

Elevated CA19-9 as the Most Significant Prognostic Factor in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Following Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

It remains controversial regarding the prognostic significance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) (T3-4/N+) patients with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (neo-CRT). And it is unknown whether CA19-9 can identify patients who may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.Overall, 303 LARC patients with neo-CRT between 2004 and 2010 were recruited.

Pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in China: Data and trends during 1998-2012.

The success of treating a wide variety of pediatric diseases with HSCT, hematologic malignancies in particular, has resulted in an increased number of long-term survivors. This study is the first large-scale, multicentre report that describes the evolution of pediatric HSCTs in China during the period of 1998-2012. Of all 1052 patients, 266 cases were treated with autologous HSCs and 786 used allogeneic HSCs.

The prognostic impact of preoperative blood monocyte count in pathological T3N0M0 rectal cancer without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

It remains controversial whether adjuvant therapy should be delivered to pathological T3N0M0 rectal cancer without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Thus identification of patients at high risk is of particular importance. Herein, we aimed to evaluate whether the absolute peripheral blood monocyte count can stratify the pathological T3N0M0M0 rectal cancer patients in survival.

Influence of cyclophilin D protein expression level on endothelial cell oxidative damage resistance.

We examined the influence of cyclophilin-D (CypD) protein expression level on endothelial cell oxidative damage resistance. A model of CypD protein expression or high expression in endothelial cells was established through gene silencing or cloning. The comparable groups were normal endothelial cells cultured in phosphate-buffered solution in liquid handling cells containing 500 mM H2O2 for 90 or 120 min, and then the medium was replaced with common nutrient solution and cultured again for 24 h.

Association between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in erythrocytes and metabolic syndrome in Chinese men and women.

Purpose: Evidence of an association between n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and metabolic syndrome (MS) is limited and inconsistent. We investigated the association between n-3 PUFAs in erythrocytes and the presence of MS in Chinese adults.

Methods: The levels of α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in erythrocytes were measured using gas chromatography in 3072 participants (900 men and 2172 women) aged 30-75 years from Guangzhou, China.

High expression of AFAP1-AS1 is associated with poor survival and short-term recurrence in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still a lethal malignancy. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play a critical role in cancer development and progression. Here we identified overexpression of the lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 in PDAC patients and evaluated its prognostic and functional relevance.

The long non-coding RNA HOTTIP promotes progression and gemcitabine resistance by regulating HOXA13 in pancreatic cancer.

Background: The human genome encodes many long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, their biological functions, molecular mechanisms, and the prognostic value associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain to be elucidated. Here, we identify a fundamental role for the lncRNA HOXA transcript at the distal tip (HOTTIP) in the progression and chemoresistance of PDAC.

Advanced glycation end products induce glomerular endothelial cell hyperpermeability by upregulating matrix metalloproteinase activity.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of advanced glycation end‑products (AGEs) on the permeability of glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs) and determine whether enhanced permeability was due to degradation of tight junction (TJ) complexes by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Cultured monolayers of GEnCs were exposed to AGEs at different doses and treatment durations in the presence or absence of the organic MMP‑2/9 inhibitor (2R)‑2‑((4‑biphenyl sulfony‑l)amino)‑3‑phenylproprionic acid) (BiPs). Expression of the TJ proteins occludin and claudin‑5 was determined by western blot analysis and immunofluorescence, while the permeability of the GEnCs was measured using transendothelial electrical resistance and by diffusion of 4 kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‑dextran.

Effective suppression of the Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene in pancreatic tumor cells via targeted small interfering RNA delivery using nanoparticles.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish an efficient carrier for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery targeting pancreatic tumor cells.

Methods: A copolymer consisting of a single-chain variable fragment targeted to human CD44 variant 6 (scFv(CD44v6)) functional group conjugated to polyethylene glycol-poly-L-lysine was synthesized and assembled into micelles encapsulating the siRNAs. Flow cytometry and Western blot assays were performed to evaluate the transfection efficiency and gene-silencing effect of the siRNAs.

Perineural Invasion and TAMs in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas: Review of the Original Pathology Reports Using Immunohistochemical Enhancement and Relationships with Clinicopathological Features.

Objectives: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are thought to be involved in the perineural invasion (PNI) process and to be associated with poor prognoses. The associations between TAMs, PNI, and clinicopathological features in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAs) remain to be elucidated.

Methods: Fifty-nine PDA patients who had undergone pancreaticoduodenectomy were retrospectively examined.

Tailored selection of the interval between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery for locally advanced rectal cancer: analysis based on the pathologic stage or chemoradiation response.

Background: The optimal interval between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery has yet to be established. Additionally, it is unknown whether patients with different pathologic stages or chemoradiation responses should undergo different intervals between CRT and surgery. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether this interval has a differential effect on the oncologic outcome of patients with different chemoradiation responses or pathologic stages.

Factors influencing adjustment to a colostomy in Chinese patients: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: We evaluated persons living with a colostomy in order to characterize and describe relationships among adjustment, self-care ability, and social support.

Subjects And Setting: One hundred twenty-nine colostomy patients from 5 hospitals in Guangzhou, capital city of the Guangdong province, were recruited by convenience sampling.

Instruments: Cross-sectional data were collected from a survey that included demographic and pertinent clinical data related to their ostomy.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and impairs insulin secretion function of β-cell.

Background: Understanding the pathogenic mechanism of pancreatic cancer associated diabetes (PCDM) might help yield biomarkers for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (PC) from population with new-onset diabetes. In the current study, we sought to determine the role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in PCDM pathogenesis.

Methods: The protein and mRNA levels of MIF in paraffin-embedded human PC samples, chronic pancreatitis specimens, and normal pancreas were measured by immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Erythrocyte membrane n-3 fatty acid levels and carotid atherosclerosis in Chinese men and women.

Objective: Prospective studies have supported the beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acid consumption on cardiac deaths, but limited data focused on atherosclerosis. We investigated the associations between n-3 fatty acids in erythrocytes and atherosclerosis in middle-aged and older Chinese.

Methods: 847 subjects (285 men and 562 women), aged 40-65 years, from Guangzhou, China were included in this community-based cross-sectional study between December 2005 and January 2008.

Combination of siRNA-directed Kras oncogene silencing and arsenic-induced apoptosis using a nanomedicine strategy for the effective treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Unlabelled: The synergetic inhibitory effects on human pancreatic cancer by nanoparticle-mediated siRNA and arsenic therapy were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-lysine) were prepared to form siRNA-complexed polyplex and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(DL-lactide) were prepared to form arsenic-encapsulated vesicle, respectively. Down-regulation of the mutant Kras gene by siRNA caused defective abilities of proliferation, clonal formation, migration, and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells, as well as cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, which substantially enhanced the apoptosis-inducing effect of arsenic administration.

Knockdown BMI1 expression inhibits proliferation and invasion in human bladder cancer T24 cells.

B cell-specific moloney murine leukemia virus integration site 1 (BMI1) is a transcriptional repressor of polycomb repressive complex 1, which is involved in the proliferation, senescence, migration, and tumorigenesis of cancer. Experimental researchers have convincingly linked BMI1 to tumorigenesis. However, there is no study about the issue on the role of BMI1 in the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of bladder cancer.

Optimal strategy of coronary revascularization in chronic kidney disease patients: a meta-analysis.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have high risks of coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary revascularization is beneficial for long-term survival, but the optimal strategy remains still controversial.

Methods: We searched studies that have compared percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) for revascularization of the coronary arteries in CKD patients.

Characterization of polyethylene glycol-grafted polyethylenimine and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (PEG-g-PEI-SPION) as an MRI-visible vector for siRNA delivery in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Background: Gene therapy is a promising therapeutic method but is severely hampered due to its lack of an ideal delivery system. Therefore, in this study, a nonviral and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visible vector, polyethylene glycol-grafted polyethylenimine and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (PEG-g-PEI-SPION) was used as a nanocarrier for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery in gastric cancer.

Methods: Biophysical characterization of PEG-g-PEI-SPION was systematically analyzed, including size, zeta potential, siRNA condensation capacity, cell viability, transfection efficiency, cellular uptake, and MRI-visible function in vivo.

Development of an MRI-visible nonviral vector for siRNA delivery targeting gastric cancer.

An antibody-directed nonviral vector, polyethylene glycol-grafted polyethylenimine functionalized with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and a gastric cancer-associated CD44v6 single-chain variable fragment (scFv(CD44v6),-PEG-g-PEI-SPION), was constructed as a gastric cancer-targeting and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-visible nanocarrier for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery. Biophysical characterization of PEG-g-PEI-SPION and scFv(CD44v6)-PEG-g-PEI-SPION was carried out, including siRNA condensation capacity, cell viability, and transfection efficiency. Both the targeting and nontargeting nanocarriers were effective for transferring siRNA in vitro.

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase 9 expression in rat dermal fibroblasts using small interfering RNA.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade extracellular matrix components. Increased MMP-9 content in diabetic skin contributes to skin vulnerability and refractory foot ulcers. To identify ways to decrease MMP-9 levels in skin, inhibition of MMP-9 expression in dermal fibroblasts using small interfering RNA was investigated in vitro.