Expression of heparanase and nuclear factor kappa B in pancreatic adenocarcinoma / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the expressions of heparanase and nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-kappaB p65) in pancreatic adenocarcinomas and analyze their relation to patients' prognosis and the regulatory mechanism of NF-kappaB on heparanase expression.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Heparanase and NF-kappaB p65 proteins in the tumor and adjacent tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry in 48 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma and analyzed for their clinicopathological significance.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Heparanase and NF-kappaB p65 proteins were found in 30 (62.5%) and 22 (45.9%) tumor specimens, respectively, a rate significantly higher than that in the adjacent tissues. High heparanase expression was closely related to advanced TNM stage (P=0.031), lymph node metastasis (P=0.003) and decreased 3-year postoperative survival (20.0% vs 0%, P=0.001). NF-kappaB p65 expression was associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.017) and distant metastasis (P=0.031), but had a higher positive rate in heparanase-positive cases than in heparanase-negative cases (P=0.018). Multivariate analysis showed that neither heparanase nor NF-kappaB p65 was the independent prognostic factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Heparanase is overexpressed in pancreatic adenocarcinomas in association with decreased postoperative survival. NF-kappaB may up-regulate heparanase expression and promote heparanase-dependent tumor invasion and metastasis.</p>

Efficacy of activated charcoal-epirubicin suspension for treatment of breast cancer with axillary metastasis / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of activated charcoal-epirubicin suspension (Epi-CH) for treatment of breast cancer and clearance of axillary lymph node metastasis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty patients with breast cancer of stages II-III were randomized into Epi-CH group (n=40) receiving injection with 10 mg Epi-CH in the tissue around the primary tumor 72 h before modified radical resection and control group (n=20) with 10 mg of aqueous epirubicin injection in the same region. The dissected axillary lymph nodes and the staining lymph nodes were counted. The concentration of epirubicin in the lymph nodes was detected by high-performance liquid chorography, and the specimens of lymph nodes were observed microscopically.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In comparison with the control group, Epi-CH injection allowed dissection of 4.04 more lymph nodes (P<0.01) and resulted in the staining rate of the axillary lymph nodes of 86.9% (565/650). The proportion of the staining lymph nodes with diameter>1.0 cm was significantly lower than that with diameter <or=1.0 cm (96/131 vs 469/519, P<0.01). The metastatic rate of stained lymph nodes was similar with that in non-stained lymph nodes (214/565 vs 23/85, P>0.05). In Epi-CH group, the concentration of epirubicin in the stained lymph nodes was significantly higher than that in non-stained ones (443.0-/+123.1 vs 31.8-/+11.9 ng/g, P<0.01). Remarkable degeneration and necrosis could be observed microscopically in the stained lymph nodes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Epi-CH allows more effective treatment of breast cancer and clearance of axiliary metastasis by increasing the dissected lymph nodes and raising the concentration of epirubicin in the axillary lymph nodes.</p>