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Galectin‑3 serves an important function in cancer development and progression. The present study aimed to explore the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in galectin‑3, and the susceptibility to chemotherapy drug resistance of gastric carcinoma. The present study was a case‑control study including 479 patients with gastric carcinoma and 458 cancer‑free controls in a population from the Fujian province in Southeast China. Matrix‑Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry was used to determine the genotype of rs4644 and rs4652, and immunohistochemistry was used to identify the expression level of various proteins associated with chemotherapeutic drug resistance. The results revealed that individuals exhibiting the rs4652 CA/AA genotype had a significantly increased risk of developing gastric carcinoma compared with the rs4652 CC genotype (adjusted odds ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.05‑2.18; adjusted P=0.03). In addition, it was demonstrated that there were significant differences in the P‑glycoprotein expression level depending on rs4652 genotypic distributions (Χ2=9.063; P=0.028). Therefore, the present study demonstrated that rs4652 single nucleotide polymorphisms of the galectin‑3 gene contribute to the susceptibility to and chemotherapeutic drug resistance of gastric carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the study: To determine the significance of expression of synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and Ki-67 and their association with clinicopathological parameters, and to find out the possible prognostic factors in gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma (G-NEC). Material and methods: We investigated the immunohistochemical features and prognosis of 62 G-NECs, and evaluated the association among expressions of synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and Ki-67, clinicopathological variables, and outcome. Results: Chromogranin A expression was found more commonly in smallcell NECs (9/9, 100%) than in largecell NECs (27/53, 51%) (p = 0.008). No statistical significance was found in Ki-67 (p = 0.494) or synaptophysin (p > 0.1) expression between NEC cell types. Correlation analyses revealed that Ki-67 expression was significantly associated with mid-third disease of stomach (p = 0.005) and vascular involvement (p = 0.006), and had a trend of significant correlation with tumour relapse (p = 0.078). High expression of chromogranin A was significantly associated with histology of small-cell NECs (p = 0.008) and lesser tumour greatest dimension (p = 0.038). The prognostic significance was determined by means of Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and log-rank tests, and as a result, early TNM staging and postoperative chemotherapy were found to be correlated with longer overall survival (p < 0.05). Univariate analysis revealed associations between poor prognosis in NECs and several factors, including high TNM staging (p = 0.048), vascular involvement (p = 0.023), relapse (p = 0.004), and microscopic/macroscopic residual tumour (R1/2, p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, relapse was identified as the sole independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: No significant correlation between survival and expression of synaptophysin, chromogranin A, or Ki-67 has been determined in G-NECs. Our study indicated that early diagnosis, no-residual-tumour resection, and postoperative chemotherapy were possible prognostic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is considered as a direct reason for the failure of clinic treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Growing evidences have demonstrated that miRNAs play an important role in regulation of stem cell proliferation, differentiation and self-renewal and their aberrances cause the formation of CSCs and eventually result in carcinogenesis. We recently identified miRNA-148b as one of the miRNAs specifically down-regulated in side population (SP) cells of PLC/PRF/5 cell line. However, it remains elusive how miRNA-148b regulates CSC properties in HCC. In the present study, we observed that overexpression or knockdown of miR-148b through lentiviral transfection could affect the proportion of SP cells as well as CSC-related gene expression in HCC cell lines. In addition, miR-148b blocking could stimulate cell proliferation, enhance chemosensitivity, as well as increase cell metastasis and angiogenesis in vitro. More importantly, miR-148b could significantly suppress tumorigenicity in vivo. Further studies revealed that Neuropilin-1 (NRP1), a transmembrane co-receptor involved in tumour initiation, metastasis and angiogenesis, might be the direct target of miRNA-148b. Taking together, our findings define that miR-148b might play a critical role in maintenance of SP cells with CSC properties by targeting NRP1 in HCC. It is the potential to develop a new strategy specifically targeting hepatic CSCs (HCSCs) through restoration of miR-148b expression in future therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Using a combination of autofluorescence from cells and second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal from collagen, multiphoton microscopy (MPM) imaging can provide detailed real-time information on tissue architecture and cellular morphology in live tissue without administration of exogenous contrast agents. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using MPM to histologically diagnose gastric cancer by using fresh, unfixed, unstained gastric specimens, compared with gold-standard hematoxylin-eosin (H-E)-stained histopathology. Methods: A pilot study was performed between June 2009 and December 2009. Ten cases with gastric carcinoma confirmed by preoperative endoscopic biopsy underwent radical gastrectomy. The fresh specimen was opened, and a piece of cancer tissue and a piece of normal tissue each with a size of 1-1.5 cm across and 0.2 cm in thickness were taken and snap-frozen. A 5-μm slide was sectioned for MPM examination, and the remainder of the tissue went through routine histopathological procedure. MPM images and H-E-stained images were compared by the same attending pathologist. Results: MPM images were acquired by two channels: broadband autofluorescence from cells, and SHG from tissue collagen. Peak multiphoton autofluorescence intensity was detected in mucosa excited at 800 nm. Cancer cells, characterized by irregular size and shape, enlarged nuclei, and increased nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, were identified by MPM images, which were confirmed by H-E-stained images. Regular architectures of gastric pits and gastric glands in the normal tissue of the same specimens were clearly revealed by MPM images, which were comparable to H-E-stained images. Conclusions: It is feasible to use MPM to diagnose gastric cancer by 'optical biopsy.' With miniaturization and integration of endoscopy, MPM has the potential to provide real-time histological diagnosis without invasive biopsy for gastric cancer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thymidine kinase 1 in serum (STK1) has been found to be a reliable proliferation marker in clinical trials. In this study, we examined the significance of STK1 in routine clinical settings. The concentration of STK1 was determined by a sensitive dot blot ECL assay. The STK1 value was correlated to clinical stage and reactions and used for monitoring the outcome of surgery and/or multidrug chemotherapy of 1,247 patients with five different types of carcinomas (lung, esophagus, gastric, head and neck, and thyroid) in routine clinical settings. The STK1 values correlated with the clinical stage in patients with lung, esophagus, thyroid, and gastric carcinomas. After treatment, STK1 declined in all tumor groups after treatments ( P < 0.01). The STK1 was low (<2 pM) or decreasing during treatment in patients with clinical reactions of complete response (CR) or partial response (PR), but high (>2 pM) or increasing in patients with stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD), some of them showing metastasis. STK1 also reflected the differences in clinical reactions when surgery and chemotherapy were compared. We concluded that the concentration of TK1 in serum correlates to clinical stages and clinical reactions and monitors the effect of tumor therapies, not only in controlled clinical trials, but also in routine clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]