Association of endoscopic esophageal variceal ligation with duodenal ulcer

Objective: to determine the frequency of duodenal ulcer [DU], as well as other clinical characteristics occurring after endoscopic variceal ligation [EVL] of the esophagus

Study Design: descriptive study

Place and Duration of Study: the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China, from April 2012 to April 2013

Methodology: a total of 47 patients with esophageal varices [EVr] who had also undergone EVL and gastroscopic follow-up within 3 months of the procedure was retrospectively analyzed. The status of Helicobacter pylori [Hp] infection, Child-Pugh classification, and the grades of portal hypertensive gastropathy [PHG] were collected. Sixty EVr patients without EVL treatment, but with clinical data available, served as the control group

Results: the frequency of DU in the EVL group [29.8%, 14/47] was higher than the control group [6.7%, 4/60] [p=0.02]. Hp infection rate in EVL group was 19.15% [9/47], while in control group was 21.67% [13/60] [p=0.813]. Hp positive rate [12.5%, 1/8] in patients exhibited new DUs after EVL was comparable to the patients without DU in the EVL group [12.1%, 4/33] [p=1.00]. Patients with DU after EVL received 18.79 +/- 8.48 of ligating bands, while in those who did not exhibit DUs received 13.85 +/- 6.47 [z = -2.042, p = 0.041]. Logistic regression analysis showed that the occurrence of DU was not associated with age, gender, Child-Pugh classification, or the grade of PHG [p > 0.05]

Conclusion: esophageal EVL is associated with a higher frequency of developing DU, which is related to a larger number of applied bands but is not correlated with Hp infection status or other variables

Novel mutations of PRSS1 gene in patients with pancreatic cancer among Han population / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>A high mortality rate of pancreatic cancer becomes a bottleneck for further treatment with long-term efficacy. It is urgent to find a new mean to predict the early onset of pancreatic cancer accurately. The authors hypothesized that genetic variants of cationic trypsinogen (PRSS1) gene could affect trypsin expression/function and result in abnormal activation of protease activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), then lead to pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to elaborate some novel mutations of PRSS1 gene in the patients with pancreatic cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 156 patients with pancreatic cancer and 220 unrelated individuals as controls were enrolled in this study. The mutations of PRSS1 gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. K-ras Mutation Detection Kit was used to find the general k-ras gene disorder in the pancreatic cancer tissue. Then the clinical data were collected and analyzed simultaneously.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were two patients who carried novel mutations which was IVS 3 + 157 G > C of PRSS1 gene in peripheral blood specimens and pancreatic cancer tissue. What's more, it was surprising to find a novel complicated mutation of exon 3 in PRSS1 gene (c.409 A > G and c.416 C > T) in another young patient. The complicated mutation made No. 135 and No. 137 amino acid transfer from Thr to Ala and Thr to Met respectively. No any mutation was found in the normal controls while no mutations of k-ras gene were detected in the three patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Mutations of PRSS1 gene may be an important factor of pancreatic cancer.</p>

Novel mutation and polymorphism of PRSS1 gene in the Chinese patients with hereditary pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Mutations in the cationic trypsinogen gene (PRSS1) have been detected in patients with hereditary pancreatitis (HP). This study investigated the prevalence of the R122H (c.365 G > A), A121T (c.361 G > A) and D162D (c.488 C > T) mutations or polymorphisms in the common, non-hereditary forms of chronic pancreatitis and in an HP family.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>DNA was prepared from blood samples of 54 patients with chronic pancreatitis (35 alcoholic, 17 idiopathic and 2 hereditary) and 120 normal controls. The PRSS1 genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and their products were analyzed by sequencing and related clinical data were also collected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A new polymorphism (c.488 C > T) of PRSS1 was found in 25 patients with chronic pancreatitis (including one affected member of the HP family) and six members of the normal controls. The C/T genotype was significantly increased in chronic pancreatitis (OR: 16.379, 95% CI: 5.7522 - 52.3663), the frequency of c.488 C > T change was in according with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, but it doesn't affect the clinical phenotype. The commonly reported change of R122H (c.365 G > A) was not detected in any of the study subjects. c.361 G > A was found in 2 affected members and one unaffected carrier in an HP family. One of the affected members of an HP family had c.361 G > A mutation and polymorphism (c.488 C > T) in the PRSS1 gene at the same time. The patient's clinical values (C3, C4, CA19-9 and HbA1c) were higher than those of the other patients with chronic pancreatitis. The two patients with HP developed diabetes mellitus and their father died with pancreatic cancer.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A new polymorphism (c.488 C > T) in the PRSS1 gene is associated with chronic pancreatitis, but it did not affect the clinical phenotype while the A121T (c.361 G > A) mutation in the gene shows a significant correlation in the patients with HP.</p>

Comparative genomic hybridization: the profile of chromosomal imbalances in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma / 中华病理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To characterize the profile of chromosomal imbalances of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in Linzhou, the high prevalence area of Henan province.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) was used to examine 52 cases of primary SCC of esophagus.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Gains in part or in whole of chromosome 3q, 8q, 5p, 1q, 6q, 18p, 20q and losses of 3p, 1p, 9q, 19p, 4p, 8p were detected frequently in SCC (> 20%). Gain of 3q, 5p, 1q, 11q13-14 and loss of 4pq, 13q were all significantly correlated with pathologic staging (P < 0.05). Gains of 8q, loss of 4p were linked to nodal metastasis (P < 0.05). Gains of 2p and loss of 4pq, 11q14-qter were associated with distant organ metastasis (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These observations suggest that 3q, 8q, 5p, 1q, 6q, 18p, and 20q may contain SCC-related oncogenes; 3p, 1p, 9q, 19p, 4p and 8p may contain SCC-related tumor suppressor genes. It is likely that gain of 3q, 5p, 1q, 11q13-14 and loss of 4pq, 13q are the genetic aberrations critical for the development of esophageal carcinoma, whereas gains of 8q, 2p and loss of 4pq, 11q14-qter are considered later events associated with tumor progression and are thought to confer metastatic potential to esophageal carcinoma. Furthermore, nodal and distant organ metastases involve different genes.</p>

Comparative genomic hybridization of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma in high-incidence region of esophageal carcinoma, Linzhou Henan / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To characterize the profiles of chromosome imbalance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) from the high incidence area in Henan.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Chromosomal aberrations of 37 samples of SCC and 30 GCA were analyzed by comparative genomic hybridization comparative genomic hybridization (CGH).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>It was found that the most frequently detected gains were on chromosome arm 8q (78%), and followed by 3q, 5p, 6q and 7p. The most frequent loss was found on 3p (57%), and followed by 8p, 9q and 11q in SCC. For GCA, the most frequent gain was found on chromosome arm 20q (43%), and followed by 6q, 8q and 6p. The most frequent loss was on the chromosome 17p (57%), and followed by 19p, 1p and 4p.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The present findings demonstrate that gains of 8q, 3q and 5p, and losses of 3p, 8p, and 9q are characteristic profile of chromosome imbalance in SCC, and the gains of 20q, 6q and losses of 17p, 19p and 1p are characteristic profile of chromosome imbalance in GCA, which provide important theoretic information for identifying and cloning novel SCC/GCA-related genes.</p>