ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the soluble B7-H4 (sB7-H4) expression in serum and lymphoma tissues of patients with malignant lymphoma (ML) and its value for diagnosis and re-examination lymphoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The serum samples from 83 cases of ML were collected, among them 69 cases of newly diagnosed ML were enrolled in group A including 11 cases of Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL group) and 58 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL group), the serum samples from 14 cases of relapsed ML were enrolled in group B; at the same time the serum samples of 50 healthy persons conformed by physical examination were collected and enrolled in control group. The double antibody sandwich ELISA was used to detect the serum level of sB7-H4 in each group, and immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expression of sB7-H4 in malignant lymphoma and reactive lymphoid hyperplasia tissues.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum level of sB7-H4 in the group A was significantly increased in comparison with the group B and control group, and the level of group B was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05); the serum level of sB7-H4 in the NHL group was significantly increased in comparison with HL group and control group, and the level of HL group was higher than that of control group (P<0.05). The expression of sB7-H4 in reactive lymphoid hyperplasia tissues was negative, but the positive expression rate in malignant lymphoma tissues was 47.50%, suggesting the positive rate of sB7-H4 in malignant lymphoma tissues was significantly higher than that of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia tissues (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The high expression of sB7-H4 in serum and lymphoma tissues of patients with malignant lymphoma has a certain value for the diagnosis and re-examination of patients with malignant lymphoma.</p>
ABSTRACT
Men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) can achieve fertility by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) coupled with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), the key to which is the successful retrieval of sperm from the testis. Although improved testicular sperm extraction techniques have increased the chances of sperm retrieval, to predict preoperatively the success of sperm retrieval from NOA patients remains challenging. A non-invasive diagnostic technique predicting the presence of sperm in the testis would be useful for avoiding possible surgical intervention. At present, some preoperative variables, such as serum FSH, inhibin B level, testis volume, genetic analysis, histopathology on diagnostic biopsy, Raman Spectroscopy, and molecular and protein markers, have provided new insights into the chances of successful sperm retrieval in NOA males. This review aims to evaluate the preoperative factors currently available for predicting the outcomes of sperm retrieval from NOA patients.