Search

Conclusions: In addition to the correlation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 levels to the radiation toxicity, both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and postoperative status play roles in the change in plasma TGF-beta1 levels in patients with head and neck cancers., Objectives: To assess the parameters involved in the change in plasma TGF-beta1 level during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT)., Patients and Methods: Blood samples (n=307) before, during, and after treatment were obtained from 39 patients with head and neck cancers treated with definitive or adjuvant CCRT. In situ hybridization (ISH) was used to identify EBV-encoded RNA (EBER) in tissues from the primary tumor or metastatic lymph nodes. Plasma TGF-beta1 level, white blood cell (WBC), and platelet count were assayed immediately before the first fraction of radiotherapy (RT), once a week during RT, and at the end of the RT course. The grades of mucositis and dermatitis were recorded weekly during CCRT., Results: Pretreatment TGF-beta1 level and radiation toxicity were found to be significantly correlated with the increase of the plasma TGF-beta1 level during CCRT (p<0.05), but correlation of platelet count was only found in patients whose tumors were EBV-positive (p=0.0042), and WBC count in those treated with postoperative adjuvant CCRT (p=0.004).

Background: The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of osteopontin (OPN) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) by comparing the OPN mRNA level in ESCC tumor tissue and matched normal tissue and by determining the prognostic significance of the gene expression., Methods: Initially, by an oligo-nucleotide microarray hybridization technique, OPN expressions were found to consistently elevate at least twofold in three ESCC tissues compared with their adjacent normal ones. Subsequently, the expression of OPN mRNA was detected by real-time QRT-PCR among the 58 fresh surgical ESCC specimens. The clinical information was obtained by chart review., Results: OPN mRNA expression was detectable in 58 of 58 (100%) tumor specimens and 57 of 58 (98.3%) nonmalignant esophageal specimens. OPN expression was higher in tumor tissue than in the matched normal tissue in 54 of 58 (93.1%) individual cases. The overall median mRNA expression level of OPN was approximately 8.8-fold higher in tumor tissues (4.1; range: 0.02-247) compared with matched normal esophageal tissues (0.5; range, 0.0-21.4; p < 0.001). Overexpression of OPN mRNA was significantly associated with clinical stage (p = 0.01). The more severe the clinical stage (from I-II, III, to IV) was the higher frequency of overexpression of OPN mRNA. No significant associations were found between overexpression of OPN mRNA and the patients' survival (p = 0.27)., Discussion: Our findings suggest OPN is associated with esophageal tumorigenesis and progression, but not patients' survival.

Background: Our aim was to evaluate the accuracy of the stool antigen test and the optimal time point for detecting Helicobacter pylori infection in a Mongolian gerbil model., Methods: We inoculated 8-week-old Mongolian gerbils with H. pylori (Vac A (+)/CagA(+)). The gerbil-infected model was developed as follows: H. pylori was put into broth (about 10(9) CFU/ml), and 50 gerbils were then fed with 1 ml intragastrically twice within a 3-day interval. Another ten gerbils were fed broth only. Twenty-six weeks after the inoculation, the gerbils were killed. The gastric mucosa was sampled for a series of examinations including culture, histology, rapid urease test, and polymerase chain reaction. Stool samples for a stool antigen test, H. pylori-specific stool antigen assay (HpSA), were collected during weeks 4, 6, 8, 12, and 26 after inoculation. Of the 50 gerbils inoculated with H. pylori, the inoculation was successful in 88%. Severe active gastritis, ulceration, and intestinal metaplasia were obvious., Results: The HpSA test results were sensitivity, 88.6%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value (PPV), 100%; negative predictive value (NPV), 54.5%, and accuracy, 90%. The HpSA test began to be more sensitive and accurate (P < 0.05) beginning during week 6 after inoculation. We also found that H. pylori could be detected earlier and more easily in the group with high H. pylori density., Conclusions: HpSA seems to be suitable for confirming colonization of gerbils with H. pylori. The optimal testing time point is around 6 weeks after inoculation. This test is a good choice for long-term observation of H. pylori infection in Mongolian gerbils.

A strong correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer has been reported. Mongolian gerbils are regarded as the most suitable animal model in which to study carcinogenesis associated with H. pylori. The aim of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of the serologic test for detecting H. pylori infection in Mongolian gerbils. The model was developed as follows: the H. pylori colony (vacuolating cytotoxin A (+)/cytotoxin-associated gene A (+)) was cultured from the mucosas of previously H. pylori-fed gerbils. These colonies were cultured in broth. Then,we fed the gerbils with 0.5-1 mL of broth (about 10(9) CFU/mL) (intragastric administration) twice within a 3-day period. After inoculation for 6 or 26 weeks, the gerbils were sacrificed and their gastric mucosas were sampled for a series of examinations. Blood samples for serologic testing (STAT-PAK) were collected. H. pylori infection was confirmed. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test. Differences were regarded as significant when the p value was less than 0.05. A total of 50 gerbils were inoculated with H. pylori and the success rate reached 88%. All 10 gerbils in the control group showed a negative result. Damage to the mucosas was more obvious following increasing periods of inoculation. The rates of sensitivity and specificity, as determined by the STAT-PAK test, were 90.9% and 100%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 60%, respectively. The STAT-PAK test seemed to be more sensitive and accurate (p < 0.05) in high H. pylori densities. In conclusion, the STAT-PAK test (blood-sampling) showed acceptable results and was suitable for long-term observation of H. pylori infection.

Background: Constitutive activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 at tyrosine residue 705 (p-STAT3 (tyr705)) has been associated with many types of human cancers. However, its potential roles and biological effects in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not well established., Aim: To explore whether an altered p-STAT3 (tyr705) expression is associated with angiogenesis or proliferation and thereby plays a part in HCC development., Methods: Paraffin-wax-embedded sections from 69 patients with HCC were collected in this study. Using a semiquantitative immunohistochemical staining method, the expression patterns of p-STAT3 (tyr705) in both HCC lesions and the adjacent non-tumorous liver parenchyma were analysed. The results obtained were further correlated with intratumour microvessel density (MVD), Ki-67 expression, clinicopathological parameters and overall survival., Results: A strong p-STAT3 (tyr705) nuclear staining was observed in 49.3% of HCC lesions, but was reported only in 5.8% of the adjacent non-tumorous liver parenchyma (p<0.001). The expression of p-STAT3 (tyr705) in HCC lesions was significantly and positively correlated with the intratumour MVD (p = 0.002), but not with Ki-67 expression. No significant correlation of p-STAT3 (tyr705) was found in addition to histological grading (p = 0.019). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that p-STAT3 (tyr705) expression was a significant predictor of overall survival for HCC (p = 0.036), although the Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed no significant difference between the high and low p-STAT3 (tyr705) expression subgroups., Conclusions: The results showed that p-STAT3 (tyr705) expression was closely correlated with histological grading and intratumour MVD in HCC. Thus, the potential role of p-STAT3 (tyr705) in HCC development may be through these correlations.

Differential diagnosis of follicular adenoma (FA) and follicular carcinoma (FC) of the thyroid can be difficult in the routine practice of surgical pathology because the diagnosis of FC is strictly defined and determined by the presence of capsular and/or vascular invasion by the tumor. These features may be equivocal in the histologic sections. On the other hand, telomerase is expressed in many human cancers and is thought to contribute to their immortality. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the major determinant of human telomerase activity, and its expression is suggestive of capacity for unlimited replication. This case-control study examined the expression of hTERT using immunohistochemistry in 36 thyroid FC and 36 FA from patients who were matched by age and sex. The aim was to investigate the value of immunohistochemical staining for hTERT in the differential diagnosis of follicular neoplasms. The results revealed 23 cases of FC and 14 cases of FA that showed high expression of hTERT, with moderate to strong immunoreactivity. The remaining cases showed weak or negative staining. The difference between FA and FC was statistically significant (p < 0.05). In conclusion, immunohistochemical staining for hTERT can be considered an ancillary marker for differential diagnosis of FA and FC.

Darier's disease, also known as keratosis follicularis, is an uncommon autosomal dominant disorder that may also occur as a sporadic mutation. It is characterized by multiple eruptions of hyperkeratotic or crusted papules at seborrheic areas with histologic acantholysis and dyskeratosis. It usually begins in the first or second decade of life and is equally prevalent in men and women. Darier's disease is caused by mutations in the ATP2A2 gene, which maps to chromosome 12q23-q24.1 and encodes the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2). The co-occurrence of various neurologic and psychiatric diseases with Darier's disease has been reported, including mood disorders, epilepsy, mental retardation, slowly progressive encephalopathy, and schizophrenia. Linkage studies using the association between these disorders and Darier's disease to determine the gene locus of these psychiatric disorders inferred the presence of a bipolar susceptibility gene on chromosome 12q23-q24.1 in the region of the Darier's disease gene (DAR). We report a case of Darier's disease of more than 40 years' duration and bipolar I disorder of 30 years' duration in a 52-year-old man, and provide a brief review of the literature.