Elevated peripheral blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio predicts a favorable prognosis in the patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 癌症

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have variable survival outcomes. We have previously shown that an elevated peripheral blood lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is associated with an increased metastatic risk in patients with primary NPC. The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment LMR in a large cohort of metastatic NPC patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 672 patients with metastatic NPC diagnosed between January 2003 and December 2009 were analyzed. The peripheral lymphocyte and monocyte counts were retrieved, and LMR was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards analyses were performed to evaluate the association of LMR with overall survival (OS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Univariate analysis revealed that an elevated absolute lymphocyte count (≥1.390×10(9)/L) and LMR (≥2.475) as well as a decreased monocyte count (<0.665×10(9)/L) were significantly associated with prolonged OS. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that LMR (hazard ratio [HR]=0.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.41-0.60, P<0.001), absolute lymphocyte count (HR=0.77, 95% CI=0.64-0.93, P=0.007), and monocyte count (HR=1.98, 95% CI=1.63-2.41, P<0.001) were independent prognostic factors. By stratification analyses, only LMR remained a significant predictor of prognosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We identified pretreatment LMR as an independent prognostic factor for patients with metastatic NPC. Independent validation of our findings is needed.</p>

Comparative analysis of different cyclosporine A doses on protection after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the protective effect of different cyclosporin A (CsA) doses on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat models.@*METHODS@#A rat model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury was established in vivo and the rats were randomly divided into four groups: placebo (PBS; T1), low-dose (CsA dose: 1.0 mg/kg; T2), medium-dose (CsA dose: 2.5 mg/kg; T3), and high-dose (CsA dose: 5.0 mg/kg; T4) groups. Heart function indexes were monitored at different time points, the extent of myocardial infarction was assessed by Evans Blue-TTC staining, and creatine kinase MB mass and cardiac troponin I values were measured by biochemical assays.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the T1 and T2 groups, both the creatine kinase MB mass and cardiac troponin I were significantly lower in the T3 and T4 groups (P<0.05). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) and left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) decreased sequentially in each group, with the extending reperfusion time. Significant decreases in LVSP and MAP were observed in the T3 and T4 groups as compared to the T1 and T2 group (P<0.05), and the T2 group showed a significantly lower LVSP and MAP decline than the T1 group (P<0.05). Compared with the T1 group, the rats from the T2, T3, and T4 groups suffered from a significantly lower extent of myocardial infarction (P<0.05). Also, the animals in the T3 and T4 groups had a significantly smaller extent of myocardial infarction than those in the T2 group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Various CsA doses exert different degrees of protection against ischemia/reperfusion injury, and this protective effect peaks at approximately 2.5 mg/kg in rat models.

Intervention of rat models of chronic obstructive pulmonery disease with ω-3 fatty acids / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective To explore the effectiveness of ω-3 fatty acids in intervening rat models of chronic obstructive pulmonery disease (COPD).Methods The rat COPD models were established by cigarette smoking and intratracheal lipopolysaccharide instillation.Totally 90 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group (treated with normal saline),COPD group,and intervention group (the COPD rat models treated with ω-3 fatty acids).Lung tissues were obtained on the 7th,21st,and 28th day.The left lower lobes were analyzed to determine the expressions of nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)and the right lung lobes were sliced for detecting the cell apoptosis.Double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) was used to detect the serum IFN-γ and interleukin-6 (IL-6).Results (1) The pathological changes of lung tissue:there were a large number of inflammatory exudation,alveolar wall thickening,hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle and the alveolar structure destruction in the COPD model group,but the lung tissue were part of alveolar cavity and a little inflammatory exudate in ω-3 fatty fish acids treatment group,control rats were almost no alveolar inflammation on the 28th days.(2) On the 28th day,NF-κB protein expression of the lung tissue (18.91 ± 3.07) in rats of COPD model group was significantly higher than the control group and the intervention group (5.47 ±4.86 and 7.23 ±2.21) (P ＜0.01).On the 28th day,IFN-γ protein expression in lung tissue of the rats in the model group was 7.12 ±3.37,significantly lower than the intervention group (18.74 ± 2.65),the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.01).(3) The IL-6 levels of the blood-serum of model group rats were (13.43 ± 2.47) ng/L,significantly higher than the control group and the intervention group [(4.78 ± 1.93) and (4.98 ± 1.89) ng/L],the differences were statistically significant (P ＜ 0.01) on the 28th day,,but the IFN-γ level [(2.23 ± 0.63) ng/L] in COPD group was more poorer than ω-3 fatty acids group and the intervention group [(4.51 ± 0.71) and (7.05 ± 0.52) ng/L] (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The ω-3 fatty acids can lower NF-κB protein expressions in lung tissues and serum and IL-6 levels in COPD rats; aslo,it can increase the IFN-γ protein expression in lung tissue and serum.Thus,it can prevent the lung inflammation in COPD rats.

Effects of Xuebijing injection on vascular endothelial cell function in rats with heat stress / 中国中西医结合急救杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of protective effect of Xuebijing injection on vascular endothelial cells in rats with heat stress.Methods Ninety Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into control, model and Xuebijing injection treatment groups, 30 rats in each group. Heat stress model was reproduced by placing rats in constant temperature box at 40℃, 60% relative humidity for 1 hour, Xuebijing injection group was treated by intraperitoneal injection of Xuebijing 2.5 g/kg, while the control and model groups were treated by intraperitoneal injection of normal saline 2 mL/kg, once a day only in 1 day for both groups. After model establishment, the rectum temperature, heart rate and the mean arterial pressure(MAP) were recorded at 2, 6, 12 hours in each group. At the same time, the rat abdominal aortic blood was collected and serum was separated, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine the aortic serum levels of lipopolysaccharide(LPS), nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB) and p53, and the prothrombin time(PT), activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT) and D-dimer of venous blood were detected by automatic blood coagulation analyzer(ACLTOP).Results Compared with those in control group, the rectum temperature, heart rate, LPS, NF-κB, p53, PT, APTT, D-dimer were significantly increased, and MAP was obviously decreased in model group(P<0.05 orP<0.01). Compared with model group, the above indexes were improved significantly in Xuebijing injection treatment group at 2 hours〔rectum temperature(℃): 38.02±0.22 vs. 39.32±0.33, heart rate(bpm): 507±14 vs. 562±35, MAP(mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa): 98±6 vs. 87±13, LPS(ng/L): 0.65±0.03 vs. 0.82±0.05, NF-κB(ng/L): 1.10±0.04 vs. 1.33±0.05, p53(ng/L): 1.33±0.03 vs. 1.73±0.02, PT(s):15.47±1.03 vs. 20.28±2.01, APTT(s): 40.26±2.46 vs. 47.46±3.51, D-dimer(μg/L): 238.54±8.32 vs. 323.12±8.14,P<0.05 orP<0.01〕.Conclusion Xuebijing injection can correct the disorders of blood PT, APTT, D-dimer via decreasing the secretion of the levels of NF-κB, p53 from vascular endothelial cells in rats with heat stress, thus the integrity of the vascular endothelium can be protected, and LPS entering into the blood stream can be inhibited.

Favorable prognosis of female patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 癌症

The female sex is traditionally considered a favorable prognostic factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, no particular study has reported this phenomenon. To explore the prognostic impact of gender on patients with NPC after definitive radiotherapy, we reviewed the clinical data of 2063 consecutive patients treated between 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2003 in the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. The median follow-up for the whole series was 81 months. The female and male patients with early stage disease comprised 49.4% and 28.1% of the patient population, respectively. Both the 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rates of female patients were significantly higher than those of male patients (OS: 79% vs. 69%, P < 0.001; DSS: 81% vs. 70%, P < 0.001). For patients with locoregionally advanced NPC, the 5-year OS and DSS rates of female vs. male patients were 74% vs. 63% (P < 0.001) and 76% vs. 64%, respectively (P < 0.001). A multivariate analysis showed that gender, age, and TNM stage were independent prognostic factors for the 5-year OS and DSS of NPC patients. The favorable prognosis of female patients is not only attributed to the early diagnosis and treatment but might also be attributed to some intrinsic factors of female patients.

Influence of indomethacin on the effect of interferon alpha-2b combined with low dose cytarabine on chronic myeloid leukemia / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Objective To investigate the influence of indomethacin to the unite treatment effect on chronic phase myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) with interferon alpha-2b (IFNα-2b) and low dose cytarabine (LD-Ara-C).Methods 22 CML-CP patients were randomly divided into two groups.Control groups (10 cases) injected with IFNα-2b (3 million units),injection frequency was q.o.d,the duration of treatment was about 3-18 months,cytarabine (Ara-C) by slowly intravenous driped (30 mg/d).In this treatment schedule,every course of treatment sustained 10 days,and with a 2 weeks interval.During this process,patients in treatment group were treated with hydroxyl urea only when their WBC in peripheral blood exceed 20×109/L,otherwise,discontinue it.Treatment group (12 cases),on the first day of treatment with IFNα-2b and Ara-C,added indomethacin (25 mg) through oral administration,the frequency was t.i.d.During treatment in the two group,the end point of observation was completely hematology ease,at the same time,these indicators in the two groups needed to be compared,the time when WBC begin to fall,the time when WBC fall to normal range,the time when immature cells returned to normal,the time which complete hematological remission and the highest temperature of patients after IFNα-2b was subcutaneous injected.Results The time when WBC begin to fall in treatment group was (4.2±2.7) d,and the time was (5.0±2.5) d in control group (t =0.714,P ＞ 0.05).In treatment group,the time when WBC fall to normal range was(10.0±4.5) d,and the time was (12.0±4.5) d in control group (t =1.036,P ＞ 0.05).The time when immature cells returned to normal in treatment group was (14.2±4.8) d,and the time was (19.0±3.6) d in control group (t =2.609,P ＜ 0.02).The time which complete hematological remission was achieved in control group was (45.8±5.6) d,but it was (53.9±10.5) d in control group (t =2.314,· P ＜ 0.05).Meanwhile,the fever degree after IFNα-2b was subcutaneous injected obviously achieved improvement in treatment group (x2 =12.041,P ＜ 0.005).Conclusion The advantage of indomethacin to the unite treatment with IFNα-2b and LD-Ara-C on CML mainly lays in which cound alleviated the adverse reaction such as flu-like of IFN,and more,there are synergy effect in antagonist CML.

Comparison of the short-term efficacy of two inductive chemotherapy regimens for locally advanced nasopharyngeal caricinoma: docetaxal plus carboplatin versus 5-fluorouracil plus carboplatin / 癌症

<p><b>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE</b>The platinum-based chemotherapy combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is most frequently used for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the efficacy has been maintained at 50%-60%. Docetaxel is an effective drug for head and neck tumors, its administration is simple, and the administration time is short. This study was to compare the short-term efficacy and toxicity between TC regimen (inductive chemotherapy with docetaxol plus carboplatin) and FC regimen (5-FU plus carboplatin) in local advanced NPC so as to provide a new chemotherapeutic regimen for NPC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-eight local advanced NPC patients without previous treatment in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were randomly assigned to receive either TC or FC regimen inductive chemotherapy, followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with two cycles of carboplatin (AUC=6) plus radiotherapy of 60-78 Gy to the nasopharynx and 60-70 Gy to the neck. The short-term efficacy and adverse events were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>More chemotherapy cycles were finished in TC group than in FC group (3.31 vs. 2.83, P = 0.043). There was no significant difference in short-term efficacy and 1-year survival rate between the two groups (P > 0.05). More grades 3-4 neutropenia appeared in TC group than in FC group (72.4% vs. 37.9%, P < 0.05) , whereas less thrombocytopenia and emesis occurred in TC than in FC group (P = 0.013 and 0.018, respectively).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The short-term efficacy of TC regimen in local advanced NPC is similar to that of FC regimen with tolerable adverse events. But the long-term outcomes and toxicities need to be further investigated.</p>

Detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma using surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization mass spectrometry profiles of the serum proteome / 癌症

<p><b>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE</b>Early diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is difficult due to the insufficient specificity of the conventional examination method. This study was to investigate potential and consistent biomarkers for NPC, particularly for early detection of NPC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A proteomic pattern was identified in a training set (134 NPC patients and 73 control individuals) using the surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization-mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS), and used to screen the test set (44 NPC patients and 25 control individuals) to determine the screening accuracy. To confirm the accuracy, it was used to test another group of 52 NPC patients and 32 healthy individuals at 6 months later.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Eight proteomic biomarkers with top-scored peak mass/charge ratios (m/z) of 8605 Da, 5320 Da, 5355 Da, 5380 Da, 5336 Da, 2791 Da, 7154 Da, and 9366 Da were selected as the potential biomarkers of NPC with a sensitivity of 90.9% (40/44) and a specificity of 92.0% (23/25). The performance was better than the current diagnostic method by using the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen IgA antibodies (VCA/IgA). Similar sensitivity (88.5%) and specificity (90.6%) were achieved in another group of 84 samples.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SELDI-MS profiling might be a potential tool to identify patients with NPC, particularly at early clinical stages.</p>

Using extended Wilson model to study the relationship between critical relative humidity and solubility of electrolytes / 药学学报

Based on thermodynamic principle, the critical relative humidity of electrolytes is closely related to their solubility. The authors explored the relationship theoretically and calculated critical relative humidity of 21 electrolytes from their solubility in the light of Raoult's law and extended Wilson model. The results indicate that the critical relative humidity values calculated by Raoult's law can not accord with the reported ones and there is a systematic error in the high concentration range; while these calculated by extended Wilson model are comparable to the reported ones.

Laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection for low rectal cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the advantage and disadvantage of laparoscopic abdomino-perineal resection and open abdominoperineal resection for low rectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients with low rectal cancer, collected from July 2003 to April 2006, were randomly divided into laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection group (37 cases) and open abdominoperineal resection group (37 cases). Operation time, number of lymph node removed, intra-operative blood loss, time to pass flatus, time to ambulate, time to discharge, complications, early recurrence, and economical cost were compared between the 2 groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All patients were performed successfully. For the first 10 patients, operation time of laparoscopic group was significantly longer than that of open group, but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Intra-operative blood loss of laparoscopic group was significantly less than that of open group, but it was reverse for the first 10 patients. There was no significant difference in time to pass flatus between the 2 groups. Time to ambulate in laparoscopic group was significantly earlier than that in open group. There was no significant difference in time to discharge between the 2 groups, but it was earlier for perineum closure in laparoscopic group. Relative complications of laparoscopic group, including pulmonary infection, abdominal wound infection or split, were significantly less than those of open group. There was no significant difference in number of lymph nodes removed, early recurrence between the 2 groups. Operation cost of laparoscopic group was significantly higher than that of open group, but there was no significant difference.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Advantages of laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection were characterized for not only minimal invasion and good cosmetic outcome but also less blood loss, complications, and earlier postoperative recovery. The operation time, total costs and oncological clearance of laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection patients were comparable with those of open procedure patients.</p>

Factors related to chronic hepatitis B relapse after interferon-alpha treatment: a follow-up study / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the related to relapse of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) after recombinant interferon-alpha (rIFN-alpha) treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This investigation involved 523 pathologically confirmed CHB patients including 403 HBeAg-positive and 120 HBeAg-negative patients, who were treated with 5 MU rIFN-alpha subcutaneously thrice a week for 6-25 months. For each patient, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was measured biochemically, serum HBV DNA level detected with quantitative fluorescent PCR, and HBeAg level with enzyme immuoassay every 1-3 months during therapy and every 3-6 months during the follow-up period.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Early response to rIFN-alpha treatment was observed in 302 (57.7%) patients at the end of treatment, among whom 39.4% (119/302) suffered relapse during the follow-up for 39.2-/+21.5 months. Age, HBeAg status before treatment, and follow-up duration were the predictive factors for post-treatment relapse. The mean age of patients with CHB relapse was significantly higher than that of the sustained responders (P<0.001), and the relapse rates in HBeAg-negative group (55.8%, 43/77) were significantly higher than that in HBeAg-positive group (33.8%, 76/225) at the end of follow up (P<0.001). The relapse rate and accumulative relapse rates at each year during the follow-up (for 5 years as the longest) differed significantly (P<0.001, P=0.000), but the accumulative relapse rates differed little between the years after the initial 2 of the follow-up (P=0.670). The relapse was not related to the patient's gender, pretreatment serum ALT, HBV DNA, grade of liver inflammation, stage of liver fibrosis, or duration of treatment. In HBeAg-positive patients, however, the mean HBV DNA was significantly higher in relapse group than in sustained response group (P=0.017).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Age, pretreatment HBeAg status, and follow-up duration are independent predictive factors for post-treatment CHB relapse. In HBeAg positive patients, pretreatment serum HBV DNA is also one of the risk factors for relapse.</p>

Significance of EGFR and p-ERK expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the expression of EGFR and p-ERK in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and investigate their clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Immunohistochemistry LSAB method was adopted to detect the expression of EGFR and p-ERK. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software package (10.0) to correlate their expression with clinical characteristics and prognosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Positive staining for EGFR was observed in 39 of 55 cases (70.9%). The EGFR expression was correlated with clinical stage and gender. EGFR expression was correlated with poorer overall survival (OS) and shorter time to progression (TTP). Positive staining for p-ERK was observed in 29 of 55 cases (52.7%). There was a statistically significant association between positive p-ERK expression and advanced clinical stage. Positive p-ERK expression was correlated with poorer OS, disease-free survival (DFS) and TTP. EGFR expression was correlated with the expression of p-ERK. On multivariate analysis, age over 50 years was an independent poor prognostic factor for NPC. Both EGFR and p-ERK were not independent prognostic factors for NPC.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Expressions of EGFR and p-ERK are detected in NPC. Their abnormally high expression signifies poor prognosis in NPC patients.</p>

Speculation on the Continuing Education for the Faculty Members of Medicine in the New Era / 中华医学教育探索杂志

To push up the quantity of faculty member in higher medical education,and acclimatize them to the social economic development of 21st century,the significance,instructions,contents,approaches and administrations of continuing education for medical faculty members are discussed.The re-education for medical faculty members should be based on the motivation of activity and spontaneity,and the goal of continuing education should be high quantity,differentiated standard and individuation.