Accuracy evaluation of mammography in the breast cancer screening in Asian women: a community-based follow-up study and meta analysis / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the accuracy of mammography in breast cancer screening in Asian women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>8718 community women in Chengdu were examined by mammography during the routine physical examination from Mar. 2002 to Sep. 2007. Pathological diagnosis and following up results were used as the gold standards for X-ray-positive and -negative findings. The sensitivity, specificity and diagnosis odds ratio were calculated as accuracy indexes. Large scale follow-up studies of breast cancer screening in community in Asian women were collected to evaluate the pooled accuracy of mammography. Diagnosis meta-analysis was conducted with Meta-Disc software to estimate the pooled sensitivity, specificity and DOR, and draw the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The data of seven studies were included with a total of 223 619 women received mammography for screening breast cancer. The sensitivity (95%CI) and specificity (95%CI) of mammography of community-based follow-up study in Chengdu were 0.889 (0.741 - 0.970) and 0.991 (0.987 - 0.993), respectively. Referring to meta-analysis, random effects models were adopted due to existed heterogeneity among studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, DOR with their 95% confidence intervals were 0.845 (0.821 - 0.870), 0.930 (0.929 - 0.931) and 117.271 (65.060 - 211.412), respectively. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) of SROC was 0.9144.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Due to its high accuracy, mammography deserves to be recommend in breast cancer screening in Asian women.</p>

Effects of Astragalus Membranaceus Injection on TNF-alpha-induced release of inflammatory factors from HUVECs and the molecular mechanisms / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effect of Astragalus Membranaceus Injection on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) against tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cultured passage 2 HUVECs were stimulated with TNF-alpha with or without a 2-h Astragalus Membranaceus Injection treatment. The expression of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) subunit p65 were evaluated by immuncytochemistical method, and the levels of p65 in the nuclei and the protein Ikappabetaalpha in the cytoplasm were evaluated by Western blotting. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in the cell culture were determined with ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TNF-alpha induced the activation of NF-kappaB and increased the expressions of IL-6 and sICAM-1 in HUVECs. The activation of NF-kappabeta by TNF-alpha was suppressed by Astragalus Membranaceus Injection in a dose-dependent manner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Astragalus Membranaceus Injection can inhibit the TNF-alpha-induced expression of IL-6 and sICAM-1 by suppressing NF-kappabeta activation, suggesting its protective effect on the endothelial function.</p>