Re-evaluation of ABO gene polymorphisms detected in a genome-wide association study and risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in a Chinese population / 癌症

Pancreatic cancer is a fatal malignancy with an increasing incidence in Shanghai, China. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) and other work have shown that ABO alleles are associated with pancreatic cancer risk. We conducted a population-based case-control study involving 256 patients with pathologically confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and 548 healthy controls in Shanghai, China, to assess the relationships between GWAS-identified ABO alleles and risk of PDAC. Carriers of the C allele of rs505922 had an increased cancer risk [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.98] compared to TT carriers. The T alleles of rs495828 and rs657152 were also significantly associated with an elevated cancer risk (adjusted OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.17-2.14; adjusted OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.09-2.10). The rs630014 variant was not associated with risk. We did not find any significant gene-environment interaction with cancer risk using a multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method. Haplotype analysis also showed that the haplotype CTTC was associated with an increased risk of PDAC (adjusted OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.12-1.91) compared with haplotype TGGT. GWAS-identified ABO variants are thus also associated with risk of PDAC in the Chinese population.

Effect of multiple-phase regional intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy on patients with resectable pancreatic head adenocarcinoma / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Regional intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy (RIAC) has been more valuable to improve prognosis and quality of life of patients with inoperable pancreatic adenocarcinomas, and adjuvant RIAC plays an important role in prolonging survival and reducing risk of liver metastasis after radical resection of pancreatic cancer, but the effect of preoperative or multiple-phase RIAC (preoperative combined with postoperative RIAC) for resectable pancreatic cancers has not been investigated. In this prospective study, the effect of multiple-phase RIAC for patients with resectable pancreatic head adenocarcinoma was evaluated, and its safety and validity comparing with postoperative RIAC were also assessed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients with resectable pancreatic head cancer were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients in group A (n=50) were treated with new therapeutic mode of extended pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with multiple-phase RIAC, and those in group B (n=50) were treated with extended pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with postoperative RIAC in the same period. The feasibility, compliance and efficiency of the new therapeutic mode were evaluated by tumor size, serum tumor markers, clinical benefit response (CBR), surgical complications, mortality and toxicity of RIAC. The disease-free survival time, median survival time, incidence of liver metastasis, survival rate at 1, 2, 3 and 5 years were also observed. Life curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The pain relief rate and CBR in group A was 80% and 84% respectively. Serum tumor markers decreased obviously and tumors size decreased in 26% of patients after preoperative RIAC in group A. No more surgical complications, mortality or severe systemic side effects were observed in group A compared with group B. The incidence of liver metastasis in group A was 34% which was lower than 50% in group B. The disease-free survival time and median survival time in group A were 15.5 months and 18 months respectively. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 54.87%, 34.94%, 24.51% and 12.25% respectively. There was no significant difference of survival time or survival rates between two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Multiple-phase RIAC is effective in combined therapy of resectable pancreatic head carcinomas by enhancing inhibition of tumor growth and reduction of liver metastasis, without negative effect on patients' safety or surgical procedure.</p>

The clinical study on application of using a novel blockade technique for gastric cancer to decrease blood-borne metastasis of cancer cells / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect of a novel blockade technique for gastric cancer on blood-borne metastasis of gastric cancer cells to portal vein.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-three cases of gastric cancer were divided into routine operation group (8 cases intraoperatively without blockade technique) and blockade group (15 cases with blockade technique). Blood samples from portal vein pre- and intraoperatively, as well as gastroepiploic vein limited within the blockade area were obtained to detect CK19 mRNA expression by using RT-PCR technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before the dissection of gastric lesion, the overall positive rate of CK19 mRNA expression in portal vein blood is 34.7% (9/23), including 37.5% (3/8) in routine operation group and 33.3% (5/15) in blockade group. While the course of tumor resection, those positive rates were 87.5% (7/8) in routine operation group and 6.7% (1/15) in blockade group respectively (P < 0.05). CK19 mRNA expression in the right gastroepiploic venous blood limited within the blocking area was all positive in 15 cases of blockade group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This blockade technique can be used effectively to block the intraoperative spread of gastric cancer cells, thus prevent blood-borne metastasis due to operative manipulation.</p>

The thymidine phosphorylase to dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase ratio in pancreatic cancer / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the contents of thymidine phosphorylase (TP) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) in pancreatic cancer to provide a basis for the clinical use of capecitabine in pancreatic cancer patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The contents of TP and DPD in pancreatic cancer and adjacent normal tissues from 20 patients were determined by ELISA and the TP to DPD ratios in the cancer and adjacent normal tissue were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TP content was 5- to 283-fold higher in tumor tissue (mean 74-fold) than in the adjacent normal tissue (P < 0.01). DPD in the cancer tissue increased significantly. So did the TP to DPD ratio, when compared to that in normal pancreatic tissue (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The increased TP to DPD ratio in pancreatic cancer suggests that capecitabine could be activated by the cancer, these capable of selectively kill the tumor cells.</p>