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Background: Breast reconstruction is an effective technique to rebuild the appearance of the breasts in patients after mastectomy and improves the prognosis. The current study aimed to compare and analyze willingness for breast reconstruction after breast cancer between populations in China and the United States, from the perspective of social concern, using big data analysis. We also aimed to explore factors affecting surgical selection and to identify methods that can improve social cognition and acceptance of breast reconstruction. Methods: Using Baidu and Google, two representative Internet search engines in China and the United States as research tools, and using big data search volume as the benchmark, we compared and analyzed breast reconstruction willingness and attention characteristics between Chinese and American people, based on search heat, geographical distribution, age and sex, keyword distribution, ethnic group, and social development degree. Results: In both the long-term and short-term, Chinese people paid more attention towards searching about breast cancer, but less attention to breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. However, in both the short-term and long-term, people from the United States paid more attention towards breast cancer and breast reconstruction with the help of the Internet, showing a synchronous change relationship. There was a large regional difference in the search volume for breast cancer among the Chinese population, while no significant regional differences were noted in the search volume for breast cancer in the United States. However, a large regional difference was observed in the search volume for breast reconstruction between the two countries; people in the coastal and economically developed areas paid more attention to it. Most people who paid attention to breast reconstruction in China were women aged 20–39 years, while the attention among men was low. Search keywords were also limited to breast cancer-related information. However, between Asians and European Americans, Americans paid more attention to breast cancer and were affected by regional development, religious beliefs, and health facilities. Conclusion: Attention towards breast reconstruction after breast cancer was lower in the Chinese population than in the American population, and this difference was closely related to the level of regional development. There is insufficient information on breast reconstruction after breast cancer in recent Internet media. In addition to strengthening communication in clinics, media education is important to improve the cognitive level and social awareness of patients and their families, which is conducive to breast reconstruction.

Background: Artemis belongs to the SNM1 gene family, and plays a role in repairing ionizing-radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks and variable (diversity) joining recombination. S534, S538, S516, S645 represent four most rapid phosphorylation sites in Artemis, and serine phosphorylation at amino acid 516 is closely associated with activation. Artemis mutation is perceived as contributing to Omenn syndrome, which manifest features of severe combined immunodeficiency disease, associated with lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, erythroderma and baldness. In addition, Artemis phosphorylated at serine 516 (Artemis S516-P) was expressed in scalp hair follicles (HF) as well as other skin appendages, and its expression level is important to mouse hair cycling. However, whether Artemis participated in the regulation of HF growth still unclear. Methods: Using immunofluorescence double-staining, we assessed the association between Artemis S516-P with proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation markers in normal adult anagen scalp HF. Results: The results of double-staining immunofluorescence revealed overlapping expression pattern for Artemis S516-P and keratin16, similar pattern for c-myc and p21, while presenting opposite trends for keratin 10, phospho-p53, Bax, Bcl-2 and keratin 14. Conclusions: Our study provides the clues that Artemis may play roles in regulation of differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycling during HF growth and development.

Melanoma is one common skin cancer. In the present study, the potential anti-melanoma activity by a liposomal C6 ceramide was tested in vitro. We showed that the liposomal C6 (ceramide) was cytotoxic and anti-proliferative against a panel of human melanoma cell lines (SK-Mel2, WM-266.4 and A-375 and WM-115). In addition, liposomal C6 induced caspase-dependent apoptotic death in the melanoma cells. Reversely, its cytotoxicity was attenuated by several caspase inhibitors. Intriguingly, liposomal C6 was non-cytotoxic to B10BR mouse melanocytes and primary human melanocytes. Molecularly, liposomal C6 activated protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) to inactivate Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling in melanoma cells. On the other hand, PP1 shRNA knockdown or exogenous expression of constitutively activate Akt1 (CA-Akt1) restored Akt-mTOR activation and significantly attenuated liposomal C6-mediated cytotoxicity and apoptosis in melanoma cells. Our results suggest that liposomal C6 activates PP1 to inhibit melanoma cells.

Melanomas cause over 76% of skin cancer deaths annually. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is important for melanoma initiation and progression. In the current study, we evaluated the potential anti-melanoma effect of VS-5584, a novel and highly potent PI3K-mTOR dual inhibitor. We demonstrated that VS-5584 potently inhibited survival and proliferation of established (A375, A-2058 and SK-MEL-3 lines) and primary human melanoma cells, but was non-cytotoxic to non-cancerous human skin keratinocytes and B10BR murine melanocytes. At the meantime, VS-5584 induced caspase-dependent apoptotic death in melanoma cells, and its cytotoxicity was alleviated by the caspase inhibitors. At the molecular level, VS-5584 blocked AKT-mTOR activation and downregulated cyclin D1 expression in melanoma cells, while the expressions of Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 were not affected by VS-5584 treatment. On the other hand, a BH-3 mimetic Bcl-xL/Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-737, as well as siRNA-mediated knockdown of Bcl-xL or Bcl-2, enhanced the activity of VS-5584 in melanoma cells. In vivo, oral administration of VS-5584 suppressed A375 melanoma xenograft growth in nude mice, and its activity was further enhanced by co-administration of ABT-737. These results provide the rationale for the clinical assessment of VS-5584 in melanoma patients and development of ABT-737 and other Bcl-xL/Bcl-2 inhibitors as the possible adjuvants.