Cancer medicine
-
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating malignancy with poor prognosis. Many preoperative biomarkers can predict postoperative survival of PDAC patients. In this study, we created a novel ratio index based on preoperative liver function test, γ-glutamyltransferase-to-albumin ratio (GAR), and evaluated its prognostic value in predicting clinical outcomes of PDAC patients following radical surgery. ⋯ In addition, integration of GAR, preoperative serum CA19-9, and tumor differentiation into TNM staging system could better stratify the prognosis for PDAC patients compared with TNM stage alone. Our study demonstrates that preoperative GAR is an independent prognostic factor for prediction of surgical outcomes in PDAC patients. Combination of TNM stage, GAR, preoperative serum CA19-9, and tumor differentiation can enhance the prognostic accuracy.
-
The effect of adjuvant radiotherapy in management for high-grade meningiomas, especially atypical meningiomas, remains controversial. We aimed to explore the role of adjuvant radiotherapy in this population. A total of 162 adults with high-grade meningiomas (99 atypical meningiomas and 63 anaplastic meningiomas) were treated from 2003 to 2008 at Huashan Hospital. ⋯ Adjuvant radiotherapy is associated with improved survival in patients with newly diagnosed anaplastic meningiomas and those high-grade meningiomas following subtotal resection. However, there was no significant correlation identified between postoperative radiation and outcome for recurrent high-grade meningiomas. Future prospective randomized trials may help clarify the optimal tailored treatment for patients with high-grade meningioma.
-
Epidermal growth factor-like domain multiple 6 (EGFL6) is a secreted protein, regulates maintenance and metastasis of cancer cells. Nevertheless, how EGFL6 participates in the progression and tumorigenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. In our study, EGFL6 was detected highly expressed in 20 NPC tissues compared with normal tissues by IHC assay. ⋯ Then, CNE2 cells were injected into the model and cells mass was observed, showing that EGFL6 enhanced the migration and metastasis of NPC. Currently, as the prognosis of NPC is severely affected by distant metastasis, it might be a new therapeutic target toward EGFL6. Taken together, our results suggested that EGFL6 acts as a potential positive regulator in the migration and proliferation of NPC.
-
Supportive care is a critical component of the treatment of cancer patients that is underutilized; patient lack of information about these services is an important barrier. Mobile technologies may be useful tools for delivering information, but cancer patient use of and interest in using them to learn about supportive care services have not been described. This study evaluates factors associated with cancer patient use of mobile technologies and interest in smartphone applications for information delivery about supportive care. ⋯ Many patients expressed interest in smartphone application-based information about supportive care services, especially those who are younger and non-white. Future studies should investigate the characteristics of patients and smartphones applications that will optimize information delivery through a mobile technology platform.
-
The anti-metastatic effect of ginsenoside Rb2 in colorectal cancer in an EGFR/SOX2-dependent manner.
Ginsenoside Rb2, a saponin from Panax ginseng, has been shown to have many functions. However, the effect of ginsenoside Rb2 on the metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. CRC cell lines HT29 and SW620 were used to determine the effects of ginsenoside Rb2 on the colony-forming, migration, invasion, and wound-healing abilities of CRC cells in vitro. ⋯ As a possible mechanism, we found that ginsenoside Rb2 down-regulated the expression of stemness and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes via the EGFR/SOX2 signaling axis; these were partially rescued by either exogenous EGF treatment or ectopic expression of SOX2. More importantly, ginsenoside Rb2 significantly reduced the number of metastatic nodules in the livers, lungs, and kidneys in a mouse model of metastasis. These results suggest that ginsenoside Rb2 could be used to treat the metastasis of CRC therapeutically or as a supplement.