ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of time interval between diagnosis and surgical treatment on the prognosis of breast cancer.Methods A retrospective study that include a total of 252 female patients who underwent breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from April 2012 to August 2014 were included in the present study,the average age was (58.2 ± 10.8) years old,range from 31 to 67 years old.General demographic information and data of tumor were collected.Information on postoperative recurrence,metastasis,death,and disease-free survival status of breast cancer patients were followed up 5 years by outpatient follow-up or telephone follow-up.All participants were divided into four groups (＜2 weeks,2-4 weeks,4-8 weeks,≥8 weeks) by the time interval between diagnosis and surgical treatment,including 26,118,78 and 30 cases,respectively.In addition,according to the diameter of breast cancer tumors,all participants were divided into three groups (＜20 mm,20-40 mm,and ≥40 mm),including 99,124,and 29 cases,respectively.According to the results of pathological examination of the lymph nodes obtained during intraoperative dissection,the all participants were divided into three groups (lymph nodes without metastasis,1 to 3 metastasis,and ≥3 metastasis),including 66,124,and 62 cases,respectively.The Cox proportional regression risk models were used to assess the hazard ratio (HR) and its 95％ confidence interval (CI) of time interval between diagnosis and surgical treatment with the prognosis of breast cancer,with adjustment for age,education levels and body mass index.Further,stratified analysis by tumor characteristics,including pathological type,histological grade,tumor diameter,lymph node metastasis,and receptor expression were also conducted to evaluated the above association.Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to evaluate the effects of time interval between diagnosis and surgical treatment on the prognosis of breast cancer.Results The Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the five-year follow-up of total survival time between 4 different time intervals groups showed significantly different (P ＜0.001),and patients with a pre-treatment interval of ＜2 weeks had the longest survival time,while those with ≥8 weeks had the lowest survival time.With a one-week interval before treatment,the overall risk of death in breast cancer patients increased by 6％ (HR =1.06,95％ CI:1.01-1.1 l),and the risk of breast cancer death increased by 8％ (HR =1.08,95％ CI:1.02-1.14),the risk of distant metastasis of breast cancer cells increased by 10％ (HR =1.10,95％ CI:1.08-1.13).With the increase in breast cancer tumor diameter (＜20 mm,20-40 mm,≥40 mm),the overall risk of death due to prolonged treatment interval increased gradually,with HR (95％CI) were 1.06 (1.03-1.09),1.08 (1.02-1.12) and 1.11 (1.05-1.17),respectively.With the increase of lymph node metastasis in breast cancer (no metastasis,metastasis at 1-3,≥ 3 metastasis),the total mortality risk caused by prolonged treatment time interval also showed an increasing trend,with HR (95％CI) were 1.04 (1.02-1.08),1.06 (1.04-1.08) and 1.08 (0.99-1.11),respectively.The same results were also shown in the effect of tumor diameter or distant lymph node metastasis on the association between treatment time interval and breast cancer survival and distant metastasis of breast cancer cells.Conclusion With the prolongation of the time interval between the diagnosis of the breast cancer and the surgical treatment of breast cancer patients,the risk of postoperative death is significantly increased,and the association is more pronounced in breast cancer patients with larger tumor volume or higher distant lymph node metastasis.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical significance of phosphorylated caspase-8 by Src in patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Src and caspase-8 expressions were tested using immunohistochemistry in non-small cell lung cancer tissues and control lung tissues. The expression of phosphorylated caspase-8 at 380 tyrosine by Src was detected using Western blotting. The disease-free survival (DFS) of patients positive and negative for phosphorylated caspase-8 was analyzed with Kaplan-Meire survival curve.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No significant difference was found in the positivity rate of caspase-8 or Src between the cancer tissues and control lung tissues (76.3% vs 83.3%, P>0.05; 70.1% vs 66.4%, P>0.05). All the patients with Casp8- and Src-positive cancers were positive for phosphoryalted caspase-8, whose expression rate was significantly higher in the cancer tissues than in the paired control lung tissues (52.4% vs 7.1%, P<0.05). The 2-year DFS was significantly higher in patients negative for phosphorylated caspase-8 than in the positive patients (32.0% vs 60.3%, P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Phosphorylated caspase-8 may serve as a predictor for a poorer DFS in patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer.</p>