Evaluation methods for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer / 癌症

With the widespread clinical application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, it has become an essential part of combination therapy for patients with breast cancer. However, a rapid, accurate, and effective approach for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is unavailable. Routine physical examinations cannot provide effective clinical evaluation. Although imaging techniques play an important role in evaluating the therapeutic effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, this is limited because it only detects morphologic changes. Blood oxygen detection for breast diseases is an emerging diagnostic technique that has distinctive merit in assessing the efficacy of chemotherapy. Biologic markers are becoming more important in assessing the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with breast cancer. This review summarizes the principles and the current applied practice of these approaches to evaluate the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with breast cancer.

Clinical significance of cathepsin B expressions in cervical cancer in tissues / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>[corrected] To investigate cathepsin B (CB) expression in squamous cervical carcinoma and its relationship to the clinical and pathological condition.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CB expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in 56 cases of human invasive squamous cervical carcinoma (ISCC) tissues, 85 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 38 cases of normal cervical squamous epithelial tissue. The results were analyzed in relation to the grade of differentiation, depth of invasion and pelvic lymph node metastasis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The positive rates of CB were 87.5% (49/56), 48.3% (41/85) and 48.3% (41/85) in ISCC, CIN and normal tissue, respectively. CB expression in ISCC had significant differences from that ub the CIN and normal tissues (P<0.01). CB positive rates in the tissues with invasion of less than two thirds of the cervix and over two thirds of the cervix were 83.4% (28/34) and 95.5% (21/22) respectively, showing obvious differences between them (P<0.05). CB-positive rates also showed an obvious difference between the tissues with lymphatic metastasis and those without lymphatic metastasis [97.4% (37/38) vs 66.7% (12/18), P<0.05]. CB expression in ISCC was not related to the grade of differentiation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>High expression of CB is closely associated with tumor infiltration and lymphatic metastasis of cervical cancer.</p>

Application of liquid-based cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus DNA detection in cervical lesion screening / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the application of liquid-based cytology test (LCT) and high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA test in cervical lesion screening.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was conducted in 4264 patients with LCT, among whom 621 patients had colposcopic biopsy and HR-HPV test for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS and over).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 621 patients, 388 were identified to have ASCUS, 147 had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 75 had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 11 had squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Comparison of the diagnostic results of LCT and histopathology diagnosis suggested a rate of agreement of 72.41% (147/203) for LSIL, 92.60% (75/81) for HSIL, and 100% (11/11) for SCC. The infection rate of HR-HPV was 43.32%(269/621) in the 621 patients, 100.00% (11/11) in SCC patients, 84.85% (28/33) in CIN III patients, 70.83% (34/48) in CIN II patients, 84.073 (172/203) in CIN I patients, 7.32% (24/326) in patients with normal cervix/cervicitis, indicating increased rate of HR- HPV infection with aggravation of cervical lesion. The sensitivity and specificity of LCT test were 81.04% and 91.64% respectively, and those of HR-HPV were 90.47% and 93.14 respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combination of LCT and HR-HPV DNA test increases the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis in cervical dysplasia, and may help in better prophylaxis and treatment of cervical carcinoma.</p>