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IntroductionThis study aimed to describe the latest epidemiology of female breast cancer globally, analyze the change pattern of the incidence rates and the disease’s association with age, period, and birth cohort, and subsequently present a forecast of breast cancer incidence.MethodsData for analysis were obtained from Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 and World Population Prospects 2019 revision by the United Nations (UN). We described the age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) from 1990 to 2019 and then calculated the relative risks of period and cohort using an age-period-cohort model, and predicted the trends of ASIRs to 2035.ResultsIn 2019, the global incidence of breast cancer in women increased to 1,977,212 (95% uncertainty interval = 1 807 615 to 2 145 215), with an ASIR of 45.86 (41.91 to 49.76) per 100 000 person-year. Among the six selected countries facing burdensome ASIRs, only the USA showed a downward trend from 1990 to 2019, whereas the others showed an increasing or stable trend. The overall net drift was similar in Japan (1.78%), India (1.66%), and Russia (1.27%), reflecting increasing morbidity from 1990 to 2019. The increase in morbidity was particularly striking in China (2.60%) and not significant in Germany (0.42%). The ASIRs were predicted to continue to increase globally, from 45.26 in 2010 to 47.36 in 2035. In most countries and regions, the age specific incidence rate is the highest in those aged over 70 years and will increase in all age groups until 2035. In high-income regions, the age specific incidence rates are expected to decline in women aged over 50 years.ConclusionsThe global burden of female breast cancer is becoming more serious, especially in developing countries. Raising awareness of the risk factors and prevention strategies for female breast cancer is necessary to reduce future burden.

Coastal marsh vegetation plays an important role in coastal protection by attenuating waves and mitigating shoreline erosion. However, the different vegetations show wide variability in biophysical properties on seasonal and spatial scales, and the effectiveness of coastal vegetation on wave attenuation remains uncertain. In the spring, summer, and autumn seasons of 2019, we investigated the spatiotemporal variability in vegetation properties and wave attenuating ability of two dominant marsh species, Scirpus mariqueter (short and flexible Cyperaceae) and Phragmites australis (tall and stiff Poaceae), in a coastal wetland in the Yangtze Estuary. The wave parameters and water depth were measured at the two marshes and ranged from 25 to 100 m landward of the low mudflat edge. The results indicated that the aboveground biomass and height of vegetation are crucial properties determining the ability of wave attenuation, and the pioneer vegetation belt has the highest wave dissipation efficiency. Phragmites, with greater biomass and stem structure, were more effective in reducing wave height than Scirpus. This study further revealed the importance of seasonal variability in vegetation growth in species-specific wave attenuation. Most Scirpus stems senesced and broke up from autumn onwards, losing their wave attenuation ability. Although Phragmites could not colonize the low-lying flats such as Scirpus, most Phragmites stems remained stiff and high biomass at the later growing stage, maintaining wave attenuation ability and wave decay values consistent with those observed in summer. Moreover, Phragmites has a great capacity to capture sediments and raise flat elevations, which might enhance the wave attenuation efficiency with vegetation-sediment interactions. Information from this study is helpful in evaluating the dynamic effectiveness of wave attenuation in coastal marshes. Therefore, we suggest that a hierarchical mixed community of Scirpus and Phragmites be established as an effective natural defense to offset their individual biological limitations due to seasonality and spatial niches.

The randomness of wind power and the nonstationarity of gearbox vibration signals greatly increased the difficulty of wind turbine gearbox faults feature diagnosis. Studies proved that Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) has a satisfying performance when it be used to analyze nonlinear and non-stationary signals, but two troublesome problems in application of HHT are end effect problem and false intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). An improved solution method based on adaptive waveform matching endpoint extension is proposed to solve end effect problem. Meanwhile, an improved energy conservation method is proposed to eliminate false IMFs. Tests prove that improved HHT can greatly improve the accuracy of wind turbine gearbox faults diagnosis and with a balance efficiency.

Vessel disease is a kind of severe complication in diabetic patients. However, few pharmacologic agents can directly recover diabetic vascular function. Salidroside (SAL), a major ingredient from Rhodiola rosea, has been found to have an obvious hypoglycemic effect and a beneficial protection on vascular function in diabetes. However, whether SAL is a suitable treatment for diabetes has not so far been evaluated and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The present work aims to (1) investigate the potential effects of SAL on cerebrovascular relaxation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats or when exposed to acute hyperglycemia condition and (2) examine whether function of the BK

Background In recent years, studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms in the promoters of Fas and FasL are significantly associated with breast cancer risk. However, the results of these studies were inconsistent. This case–control study was performed to explore the associations between Fas rs1800682 and FasL rs763110 polymorphisms and breast cancer. Materials and methods A hospital-based case–control study of 560 Han Chinese females with breast cancer (583 controls) was conducted. The MassARRAY system was used to search for a possible association between the disease risk and the two single nucleotide polymorphisms, Fas rs1800682 and FasL rs763110. Statistical analyses were performed using SNPStats software to conduct Pearson’s chi-square tests in five different genetic models. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated after adjustment to age and body mass index. PHASE v2.1 software was used to reconstruct all common haplotypes. Results A statistically significant association was found between Fas rs1800682 and increased breast cancer risk (AG vs AA: OR =1.37, 95% CI =1.06–1.78; AA+AG vs GG: OR =1.32, 95% CI =1.04–1.66), and also it was found that the FasL rs763110 polymorphism may decrease the risk. Stratified analyses demonstrated that the rs763110 polymorphism was associated with lower breast cancer risk among postmenopausal females (heterozygote model: OR =0.69, 95% CI =0.49–0.97; dominant model: OR =0.70, 95% CI =0.51–0.96). The T allele of rs763110 was also associated with a decreased risk of lymph node metastasis (allele model: OR =0.75, 95% CI =0.57–0.97) and an increased risk of the breast cancer being human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (allele model: OR =1.37, 95% CI =1.03–1.18). Moreover, haplotype analysis showed that Ars1800682Trs763110 was associated to a statistically significant degree with lower risk of breast cancer (OR =0.70, 95% CI =0.53–0.91). Conclusion These data suggest that the presence of Fas rs1800683 is an important risk factor for breast cancer, whereas FasL rs763110 may exert a protective effect against the onset of breast cancer.

Background Vascular dysfunction is a distinctive phenotype in diabetes mellitus. Current treatments mostly focus on the tight glycemic control and few of these treatments have been designed to directly recover the vascular dysfunction in diabetes. As a classical natural medicine, berberine has been explored as a possible therapy for DM. In addition, it is reported that berberine has an extra-protective effect in diabetic vascular dysfunction. However, little is known whether the berberine treatment could ameliorate the smooth muscle contractility independent of a functional endothelium under hyperglycemia. Furthermore, it remains unknown whether berberine affects the arterial contractility by regulating the intracellular Ca2+ handling in vascular smooth cells (VSMCs) under hyperglycemia. Methods Sprague–Dawley rats were used to establish the diabetic model with a high-fat diet plus injections of streptozotocin (STZ). Berberine (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/day) were intragastrically administered to control and diabetic rats for 8 weeks since the injection of STZ. The intracellular Ca2+ handling of isolated cerebral VSMCs was investigated by recording the whole-cell L-type Ca2+ channel (CaL) currents, assessing the protein expressions of CaL channel, and measuring the intracellular Ca2+ in response to caffeine. Our results showed that chronic administration of 100 mg/kg/day berberine not only reduced glucose levels, but also inhibited the augmented contractile function of cerebral artery to KCl and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in diabetic rats. Furthermore, chronic administration of 100 mg/kg/day berberine significantly inhibited the CaL channel current densities, reduced the α1C-subunit expressions of CaL channel, decreased the resting intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) level, and suppressed the Ca2+ releases from RyRs in cerebral VSMCs isolated from diabetic rats. Correspondingly, acute application of 10 μM berberine could directly inhibit the hyperglycemia-induced CaL currents and suppress the hyperglycemia-induced Ca2+ releases from RyRs in cerebral VSMCs isolated from normal control rats. Conclusions Our study indicated that berberine alleviated the cerebral arterial contractility in the rat model of streptozotocin-induced diabetes via regulating the intracellular Ca2+ handling of smooth muscle cells.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the thermal shock property of Tungsten through finite element method and laser irradiation experiments. A finite element model is developed to simulate the thermal shock behavior of Tungsten irradiated by a laser beam. An axis-symmetric model is adopted to perform the numerical simulation with the finite element code ABAQUS. The element removal and reactivation methods are used to simulate the melting and solidification processes, where the latent heat of Tungsten is introduced to consider the additional heat due to phase change. Distributions of the radial and circumferential stresses are discussed in detail. In addition, a three dimensional finite element model is also developed to calculate the value of K I . Variations of K I at the tip points of a radial crack with time in the cooling process are obtained. The critical power density curves are presented by taking the tensile strength criterion. Finally the thermal shock experiments are performed. Good agreements between the numerical solutions and the experimental results are achieved. It is concluded that the critical power density curves can be a measure to evaluate the thermal shock strength of Tungsten.

The reflection and transmission of an incident plane wave at an interface between water and a fluid-saturated double porosity solid are investigated. The properties of the three compressional waves and one shear wave in double porosity media are discussed in detail. The effect of the viscosity, permeability, and porosity on the phase velocity and attenuation of four bulk waves is presented. Comparison between the double porosity theory and the Biot theory reveals that there exists obvious difference in the phase velocity, attenuation and the reflection and transmission coefficients. Two cases of boundary conditions, i.e., the sealed-pore and the open-pore boundaries, are introduced in the numerical calculation. At last, the effect of the fracture permeability and porosity on the reflection and transmission coefficients considered. It is revealed that the amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted waves strongly depend the boundary condition, fracture permeability, and porosity.

Based on the governing equations of double-porosity media extended from Biot's theory, the propagation characteristics of Rayleigh waves are discussed in this paper. Characteristic equations of Rayleigh waves in a double porosity half-space with the pervious boundary are derived by assuming that both the coupling mass coefficient ρ23 and coupling permeability term k(12) are equal to zeros. The dispersion and attenuation properties of Rayleigh waves in a double porosity medium are analyzed numerically. The effects of the porosity and fracture permeability on the behavior of the propagation of Rayleigh waves are investigated. It is found that Rayleigh waves in a double porosity half-space are dispersive and attenuated during propagation. The Rayleigh wave speed is always less than the phase velocity of P1 and shear waves, and always higher than the phase velocity of P3 wave.

The reflection and transmission characteristics of an incident plane P1 wave from the interface of a fluid-saturated single porous solid and a fluid-saturated double porosity solid are investigated. The fluid-saturated porous solid is modeled with the classic Biot’s theory and the double porosity medium is described by an extended Biot’s theory. In a double-porosity model with dual-permeability there exist three compressional waves and a shear wave. The effects of the incident angle and frequency on amplitude ratios of the reflected and transmitted waves to the incident wave are discussed. Two boundary conditions are discussed in detail: (a) Open-pore boundary and (b) Sealed-pore boundary. Numerical results reveal that the characteristics of the reflection and transmission coefficients to the incident angle and the frequency are quite different for the two cases of boundary conditions. Properties of the bulk waves existing in the fluid-saturated porous solid and the double porosity medium are also studied.

Based on the control equations for double-porosity media extended from Biot's theory, the propagation of Love waves is discussed in this paper. Dispersion equations of Love waves in double porosity medium are obtained by utilizing the usual assumption of Love waves in elastic solid with the coupling mass coefficient ρ 23 and coupling permeability term k (12) being equal to zero. The dispersion and attenuation properties of Love waves in double porosity medium are analyzed. The approximate limit of the Love wave speed is also given. The effects of fracture porosity and fracture permeability on the behavior of the propagation of Love waves are investigated in detail.

Previous studies have investigated the associations between the two polymorphisms (prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) rs2294008 C/T and c-MYC rs9642880 G/T) and bladder cancer (BC) risk. However, the results are inconsistent. We therefore carried out a meta-analysis to estimate the relationship between PSCA/c-MYC polymorphisms and BC risk. We searched PubMed up to November 2014 to identify potentially eligible literatures. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength of the associations, the data were further stratified by ethnicity. Heterogeneity was evaluated by Q test and I(2) statistics. Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test were used to assess the publication bias. 11 studies from 9 articles were identified, including a total of 16,814 cancer cases and 52,868 case-free controls. We found a significant association between PSCA rs2294008 polymorphism and BC risk (the allele contrast model: OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.11-1.18; homozygote comparison: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.20-1.37; heterozygote comparison: OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.17-1.30; dominant model: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.19-1.31 and recessive model: OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.07-1.20). Moreover, a significant increased risk of BC was confirmed both in Caucasian and in Asians. For c-MYC rs9642880 polymorphism, significant increased BC risk was detected under the following genetic models (the allele contrast model: OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.13-1.27; homozygote comparison: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.21-1.55; heterozygote comparison: OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.09-1.32; dominant model: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.14-1.37 and recessive model: OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.13-1.40). Further stratified analysis by ethnicity also observed the same results. This meta-analysis suggested that PSCA rs2294008 and c-MYC rs9642880 polymorphisms may increase the BC risk. Further studies are needed to clarify the effects.

Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, Changsha 410128, P. R. China Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Changsha 410128, P. R. China E-mail : zhmyuan@sina.com Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410125, P. R. China Manuscript received online 06 June 2014, revised 01 July 2014, accepted 02 July 2014 The 1123 topological structure parameters of DNA bases were directly used as descriptors to characterize the sequence of 38 E. coli promoters. For the correspondingly generated high-dimensional feature set, the correlation analysis and binary matrix shuffling filter (BMSF) were successively used to remove the redundancy or useless features, and only 20 features were finally reserved, with definite meanings. Based on reserved features and support vector regression (SVR), a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was established for the analysis of 38 E. coli promoters, and the leave-one-out (LOO) prediction accuracy of this model was of 0.838, superior to that of reference model, i.e. partial least squares (PLS). Referring to the SVR interpretation system, the established QSAR model in this work has extremely significant nonlinear regression, and the relationship between real promoter strength and 11 significant reserved features was directly given out. This work provides an efficient tool for the QSAR analysis of promoters and other similar molecular sequences.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been indicated to be correlated with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) susceptibility. However, the results of these studies on the association remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis was conducted to derive a more accuracy estimation of the association between the common SNPs (rs1800890, rs1800896, rs1800871 and rs1800872) in IL-10 and NHL risk. Meta-analyses were performed on 21 studies with 7,749 cases and 8584 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the NHL risk. Meta-analyses showed that rs1800890, rs1800871 and rs1800872 polymorphisms had no association with NHL risk. However, rs1800896 polymorphism has association with NHL risk based on the following comparison models (G vs. A: OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.00-1.29; AG vs. AA: OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.05-1.37; GG+AG vs. AA: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08-1.39). In the ethnic subgroup analysis, rs1800896 had an increased NHL risk in Caucasians based on the heterozygote model (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.04-1.41) and dominant model (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.00-1.48). When stratified by subtypes, rs1800890, rs1800896 and rs1800872 polymorphisms were found significant association with an increased risk of diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) in different comparison models, whereas negative results were obtained for Follicular Lymphoma (FL) and chronic lymphocytic Leukemia/small lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL) in all genetic models. Our meta-analysis suggested that the rs1800896 polymorphism had an increased risk with NHL susceptibility, where as the rs1800890, rs1800871 and rs1800872 had no association with NHL risk. Among the common subtypes of NHL, three polymorphisms (rs1800890, rs1800896 and rs1800872) had significant association with DLBCL risk.

Scutellaria barbata D. Don (S. barbata), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat cancers, inflammation, and urinary diseases. This study aimed to determine any protective effects of S. barbata crude extract (CE-SB) against rat liver tumorigenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine (DENA). Liver malfunction indices in serum were measured by biochemical examination. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to examine liver pathology. Contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured in liver homogenates to evaluate oxidative stress. The levels of liver malfunction indices in the CE-SB groups, especially in the CE-SB high dose group, were lower than that of the model group (P

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive cancer with a dismal outcome largely due to metastasis and postsurgical recurrence. Thus, the inhibition of invasion and metastasis is of great importance in its therapies. Medicinal plants or ethnopharmacology used in folklore medicine continue to be an important source of discovery and development of novel or potential therapeutic agents for treatment of cancer. Chrysanthemum indicum, one of the medicinal plants or ethnopharmacology, is being used for treatment of many diseases including cancer. However, this plant molecular mechanisms underlining the anti-metastatic effects have not been well documented. In this study, Chrysanthemum indicum ethanolic extract (CIE) significantly suppressed proliferation and invasion of MHCC97H cells, one of the HCC cell lines with high metastatic potential, in a dose-dependent manner. CIE markedly decreased MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression, increased simultaneously TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 expression further restoring their balance in the cancer cells. The present study indicates that CIE reduced MHCC97H cell metastatic capability, in part at least, through decrease of the MMP expression, simultaneous increase of the TIMP expression, further restoring their balance as therapeutic target in HCC. It is suggested that Chrysanthemum indicum is a potential novel therapeutic medicinal plant for treatment of HCC or cancer invasion and metastasis.

To investigate the inhibitory effects of Scutellaria barbate extracts on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinoma in rats.Hepatocarcinoma model rats were induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Sixty SD male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group, hepatocarcinoma model group, ESB of high dose group and ESB of low dose group. All rats were killed in the 18th week, the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GT) and alpha-L-fucosidase (AFU) in serum were measured by biochemical examinations; Hematoxy and eosin (HE) methods were used to examine the changes of liver pathology.The levels of ALT, AST, TBIL, ALP, gamma-GT, AFU in hepatocarcinoma model group and ESB groups were higher than that of control group (P0.05). ESB could relieve hepatic injures. The levels of liver function indexes in ESB groups were lower than that of model group. Histological examination demonstrated that the number of liver cancer nodus in ESB groups were lower than that of model group. Furthermore, ESB could attenuate the grade of cancer cell differentiation.ESB could inhibit experimental hepatocarcinoma and relieve hepatic injures in rats.

To investigate the effects of Scutellaria barbata extract (ESB) in suppressing tumor growth and modulating the immune functions in mice bearing tumors derived from hepatocarcinoma H22 cells.Fifty mice inoculated subcutaneously with H22 cells were equally divided into the model group, high-, moderate-, and low-dose ESB groups, and 5-Fu group, with corresponding treatments for 10 days. Another 10 mice with only saline injection served as the normal control group. The body weight, tumor mass, thymus index and spleen index of the mice were measured, and the lymphocyte proliferation activity, NK cell activity and interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by the splenocytes were detected.Moderate- and high-dose ESB significantly suppressed the tumor growth with tumor inhibition rate of 28.68% and 36.98%, respectively. ESB treatment at moderate and high doses significantly increased the thymus index and spleen index (P0.01), which were decreased significantly in 5-Fu group. The lymphocyte proliferation activity, NK cell activity and IL-2 production by the splenocytes were significantly lower in the model group than in the normal group (P0.05). Compared with the model group, ESB at the high dose obviously increased the three indexes above mentioned. The NK cell activity was also significantly improved in moderate-dose ESB group (P0.05).ESB can suppress the growth of H22 implant tumor and enhance the immune function of the tumor-bearing mice.

To investigate the mechanism of gastric carcinoma cells apoptosis induced by matrine injection in vitro.Effects of 24, 48, 72, 96 h incubation with different concentrations (0.25-1.5 g/L) of matrine injection on proliferation of SGC-7901 cells were evaluated using 3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The cellular morphology of SGC-7901 cells was observed by transmission electron microscope (EM). Flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells by staining with annexin V-FITC/PI. The expression of Fas/FasL was examined by flow cytometry using specific antibody. The activity of caspase-3 was measured by spectrofluorometry.Matrine injection could inhibit the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The typical morphological changes of apoptosis were observed after incubation with 1.0 g/L matrine injections for 48 h. The apoptosis rates of 0.5 g/L, 1.0 g/L and 1.5 g/L groups were 39.80%, 58.11% and 79.00% respectively. The apoptotic cells in matrine injection group were mainly early apoptotic cells, and those in 5-FU group were mainly late apoptotic cells and necrotic cells. Spectrofluorometry revealed FI levels of Fas and FasL were equal, which were both correlated with apoptosis rate. The activity of caspase-3 increased with the elevation of matrine concentration, and was correlated with the apoptosis rate.Matrine injection can induce apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells through the up-regulation of Fas/FasL expression and activation of caspase-3.

To investigate the effect of matrine injections on invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells in vitro.MTT assay was used to examine the effect of matrine injections on proliferation of SGC-7901 cells after 24, 48, 72, 96 hours treatment; Transwell chamber assay was performed to determine the effect of matrine injection on invasion and migratory capacity of the cells; Effect on adhesion potential of SGC-7901 cells was tested by cell matrigel adhesion assay.Matrine injec-tions could inhibit the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells, with obvious dose-dependent and time-dependent effects. Matrine injections sig-nificantly inhibited adhesion, invasion and migration capacity of SGC-7901 cells in vitro. The inhibitory rate of them after treatment with 1.5 mg/ml matrine injections for 24 h were (45.32 +/- 3.10)%, (32.66 +/- 2.82)%, (38.35 +/- 3.41)% respectively. After treat-ment of matrine injections (1.5 mg/ml)for 24 h, the expression level of CD44(V6) in SGC-7901 cells was decreased compared with the untreated group.Matrine injections can inhibit the migration, invasion and adhesion capacity of SGC-7901 cells in vitro. The inhibition effect may be related to down-regulating the expression of CD44(V6) protein.

To investigate the relationship between HER-2 expression and the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in local advanced breast cancer.Different neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens, namely CMF, CEF, and NEF, were administered in 132 patients with local advanced breast cancer for 2 cycles, each lasting for 28 days. According to the criteria recommended by WHO, the efficacy and safety of the regimens were evaluated after two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. HER-2 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry using specific monoclonal antibodies before chemotherapy and after surgery.The overall response rate (RR) of CMF, CEF, and NEF regimens were 39.5% (17/43), 54.3% (25/46) and 72.1% (31/43), with incidence of leukopenia of 34.9% (15/43), 58.7% (27/46) and 60.5% (26/43), respectively. Other adverse effects including decreased hemoglobin (Hb) level, thrombocytopenia, gastrointestinal irritation and alopecia were similar between the 3 groups (P0.05). No significant variation in HER-2 expression occurred after administration of the 3 regimens. The overall RR to CMF regimen in HER-2-negative breast cancer patients was significantly higher than that in HER-2-positive patients, but showed no significant difference with CEF and NEF regimens.HER-2 expression is not decreased after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients, and HER-2-positive breast cancer can be resistant to CMF regimen, but not to CEF and NEF regimens.

To evaluate the chemopreventive effect of celecoxib, a specific cyclooxegenease-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, on chemically induced breast cancer of rats and its effect on COX-2 expression.7, 12-dimethylbenz anthracene (DMBA) was administered intragastrically in SD female rats to establish breast cancer models, which were divided subsequently into control group, tamoxifen group and celecoxib group to receive different treatments accordingly. The occurrence rate of breast cancer was observed and the effect of celecoxib on COX-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expressions assayed by immunohistochemical SP method.The incidence of breast cancer in tamoxifen group (48.15%) and celecoxib group (50.00%) were both significantly lower than that in the control group (85.71%; P=0.003 and P=0.004, respectively). The positivity rate of COX-2 expression in celecoxib group (28.57%) was significantly lower than those of tamoxifen group (48.15%) and control group (83.33%; P=0.001 and P=0.035, respectively). The positivity rate of VEGF expression in celecoxib group (42.86%) was significantly lower than that of control group (79.17%, P=0.023), but comparable with that in tamoxifen group (46.15%, P=0.863).Celecoxib can significantly suppress DMBA-induced breast cancer in female rats possibly through down-regulation of COX-2 and VEGF expressions.

Breast cancer can be prevented partly by tamoxifen. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is expressed in many kinds of tumors, and correlated to the occurrence and progress of tumors. This study was to evaluate the chemopreventive effect of tamoxifen combined with celecoxib, a COX-2 selective inhibitor, on 7,12-dimethylbenz anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in rats.DMBA was irrigated into the stomach of SD female rats to build breast cancer model. The rats were divided into 4 groups: control group, tamoxifen group, celecoxib group, and combination group; each group contained 30 rats. Tumor occurrence, latency period, number and volume of breast cancer were observed.The tumor occurrence rates in tamoxifen group (48.15%, 13/27) and celecoxib group (50.00%, 14/28) were lower than that in control group (85.71%, 24/28), and higher than that in combination group (21.43%, 6/28). The latency periods of tamoxifen group [(97.54+/-1.85) days] and celecoxib group [(96.79+/-2.89) days] were longer than that of control group [(89.50+/-5.99) days], and shorter than that of combination group [(103.67+/-3.39) days]. The tumor numbers of tamoxifen group (1.77+/-0.73) and celecoxib group (1.71+/-0.61) were less than that of control group (3.50+/-1.62), and more than that of combination group (1.17+/-0.42). The tumor volumes of tamoxifen group [(1.78+/-0.71) cm(3)] and celecoxib group [(2.05+/-1.04) cm(3)] were smaller than that of control group [(6.42+/-3.96) cm(3)], and larger than that of combination group [(0.71+/-0.96) cm(3)]. All differences were significant (P0.05, respectively).Celecoxib and tamoxifen could effectively prevent the occurrence of DMBA-induced breast cancer in rats; the combination of them has better chemopreventive effect.