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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequently causing cancer-related deaths worldwide. Previous evidence suggests that the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 gene (XRCC1) is an important candidate gene for influencing the risk of HCC. The aim of this study was to assess the association of XRCC1 genetic polymorphisms with the risk of HCC in Chinese Han population. A total of 1314 subjects, including 651 HCC patients and 663 healthy controls, were enrolled in this case-control study. Two genetic variants (c.1254C>T and c.1517G>C) in XRCC1 gene were genotyped by created restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (CRS-PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. Our data indicated that the allele and genotype frequencies of these two genetic variants were statistical difference in HCC cases and healthy controls. Association analyses suggested that these two genetic variants were statistically associated with the increased risk of HCC in all genetic models (for c.1254C>T, TT versus CC: OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.61-3.28; CT versus CC: OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.05-1.67; TT/CT versus CC: OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.20-1.86; TT versus CT/CC: OR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.43-2.80; T versus C: OR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.25-1.73; for c.1517G>C, CC versus GG: OR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.34-2.69; GC versus GG: OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.24-1.97; CC/GC versus GG: OR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.31-2.03; CC versus GC/GG: OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.10-2.11; C versus G: OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.23-1.70). The allele-T of c.1254C>T and allele-C of c.1517G>C genetic variants may contribute to HCC susceptibility in Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: P-glycoprotein, the product of the MDR1 gene, is a transmembrane active efflux pump for a variety of environmental toxins and xenobiotics. Epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between MDR1 C3435T polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. However, published data are still inconclusive. Methods: To derive a more precise assessment of this relevance, we performed a meta-analysis, up to September 2010, of 5,196 cases with different cancer types and 6,827 controls from 34 published case-control studies. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for MDR1 C3435T polymorphism and cancer were estimated using fixed- and random-effects models when appropriate. Results: The overall results suggested that the variant was associated with a moderately increased cancer risk in all comparison models tested (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.06-1.50 for TT vs. CC; OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.04-1.37 for CT vs. CC; OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01-1.32 for recessive model; OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06-1.38 for domain model, and OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04-1.26 for allele contrast). In the subgroup analysis by cancer types, significant associations were found in breast cancer (OR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.24-2.21 for TT vs. CC; OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.14-1.82 for recessive model; OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.10-1.81 for domain model; and OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.13-1.52 for allele contrast) and renal cancer (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.37-2.90 for TT vs. CC; OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.25-2.42 for domain model; OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.09-1.88 for recessive model; and OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.17-1.68 for allele contrast). However, no significant associations were found in colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia for all genetic models. In the ethnicity subgroup analysis, a significant association with cancer among Caucasians was found under the dominant model, homozygote comparison, CT versus CC comparison, and allele comparison. Conclusions: In summary, this meta-analysis suggests that the MDR1 C3435T polymorphism is associated with cancer susceptibility, increasing the risk of breast and renal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great prospect of sewage sludge self-recycling as a conditioner supports the research. A synergetic conditioning effect and mechanism were reflected after the synergistic conditioning experiment, and the corresponding separated experiment of biochar, K 2 FeO 4 or acid treatment on WAS. All of the biochar, K 2 FeO 4 and acid treatment could reduce the water content of sludge cake. Biochar had good effect on WAS settleability, although the influence of the biochar dosage was weak. Similar to K 2 FeO 4, acid treatment also could reinforce the disintegration degree effectively, but it deteriorated the filter property of WAS. In the situation of synergistic condition, owing to the strong oxidation of K 2 FeO 4 , most of the sludge flocs was disintegrated, thus the settleability and filter property of WAS were still bad, even the biochar worked as a skeleton builder. It is encouraging to find that, even without acid treatment, there is a great decline of water content of sludge cake in the situation of synergistic condition. • K 2 FeO 4 and sewage sludge–derived biochar as composite conditioning agent is feasible and effective. • The mechanism of the improved dewater was illustrated. • Self-recycling of sewage sludge as skeleton builder is a novel approach for utilization of sewage sludge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This prospective trial was performed to verify whether microwave ablation (MWA) in combination with chemotherapy could provide superior survival benefit compared with chemotherapy alone.Materials and Methods: From March 1, 2015, to June 20, 2017, treatment-naïve patients with pathologically verified advanced or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were randomly assigned to MWA plus chemotherapy group or chemotherapy group. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), while the secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), time to local progression (TTLP), and objective response rate (ORR). The complications and adverse events were also reported.Results: A total of 293 patients were randomly assigned into the two groups. One hundred forty-eight patients with 117 stage IV tumors were included in the MWA plus chemotherapy group. One hundred forty-five patients with 113 stage IV tumors were included in the chemotherapy group. The median follow-up period was 13.1 months and 12.4 months, respectively. Median PFS was 10.3 months (95% CI 8.0-13.0) in the MWA plus chemotherapy group and 4.9 months (95% CI 4.2-5.7) in the chemotherapy group (HR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.28-0.53; p < 0.0001). Median OS was not reached in the MWA plus chemotherapy group and 12.6 months (95% CI 10.6-14.6) in the chemotherapy group (HR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.27-0.53; p < 0.0001) using Kaplan-Meier analyses with log-rank test. The median TTLP was 24.5 months, and the ORR was 32% in both groups. The adverse event rate was not significantly different in the two groups.Conclusions: In patients with advanced NSCLC, longer PFS and OS can be achieved with the treatment of combined MWA and chemotherapy than chemotherapy alone.Key Points: • Patients treated with MWA plus chemotherapy had superior PFS and OS over those treated with chemotherapy alone. • The ORR of patients treated with MWA plus chemotherapy was similar to that of those treated with chemotherapy alone. • Complications associated with MWA were common but tolerable and manageable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor which examines the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy for treating patients with colorectal cancer (CRC)-induced liver metastases is presented.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Prognostic impact of intratumoural invasion and microlymphatic permeation on node-negative non-small-cell lung cancer: which indicator is the stronger prognostic factor?," by T. Hishida et al, published in a previous issue.

Inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A through methylation of the CpG islands within its promoter region as a prognostic factor for survival in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) remains controversial. A meta-analysis of published studies investigating the effects of RASSF1A methylation on both relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) among NSCLC patients was performed. A total of 2802 patients from 19 eligible studies were included in the systematic review and 17 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In all, 32.6% of NSCLC patients had the methylated RASSF1A allele. Four of these studies investigated the correlation between RASSF1A methylation and RFS using univariate analysis. The univariate estimate for RFS was 1.87 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41–2.49; P < 0.0001] with no evidence of significant heterogeneity. Thirteen studies undertook univariate analyses of RASSF1A methylation and OS and 12 undertook multivariate analyses of RASSF1A methylation and OS. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) estimate for OS was 1.52 (95% CI: 1.33–1.74; P < 0.0001) by univariate analysis and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.15–1.57; P < 0.0001) by multivariate analysis. No significant heterogeneity was detected. For stages I–II NSCLC, the meta-risk remained highly significant by both univariate (HR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.54–2.44; P < 0.0001) and multivariate analysis (HR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.02–1.90; P = 0.039). This study shows that RASSF1A methylation appears to be an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in surgically treated NSCLC. However, the present findings require confirmation though adequately designed prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]