Astragaloside in cancer chemoprevention and therapy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Tumor chemoprevention and treatment are two approaches aimed at improving the survival of patients with cancers. An ideal anti-tumor drug is that which not only kills tumor cells but also alleviates tumor-causing risk factors, such as precancerous lesions, and prevents tumor recurrence. Chinese herbal monomers are considered to be ideal treatment agents due to their multi-target effects. Astragaloside has been shown to possess tumor chemoprevention, direct anti-tumor, and chemotherapeutic drug sensitization effects. In this paper, we review the effects of astragaloside on tumor prevention and treatment and provide directions for further research.

Precision diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC). Early diagnosis of HCC remains the key to improve the prognosis. In recent years, with the promotion of the concept of precision medicine and more in-depth analysis of the biological mechanism underlying HCC, new diagnostic methods, including emerging serum markers, liquid biopsies, molecular diagnosis, and advances in imaging (novel contrast agents and radiomics), have emerged one after another. Herein, we reviewed and analyzed scientific advances in the early diagnosis of HCC and discussed their application and shortcomings. This review aimed to provide a reference for scientific research and clinical practice of HCC.

Progress and prospect of surgery 4.0 / 国际外科学杂志

With the deep integration of medicine, science and technology, remarkable progress has been made in the field of surgery. The new technologies represented by artificial intelligence, 5th generation mobile communication technology, precision surgery and surgical robot have been deeply explored and widely applied in the diagnosis and treatment of surgical diseases, which has played an important role in promoting the development of "surgery 4.0" . In the future, with the continuous development, improvement and promotion of surgery 4.0, the traditional working mode of surgeons will be greatly changed, and the diagnosis and treatment process of surgical diseases will be optimized.

Application and expectation of patient-derived tumor xenograft models in the treatment of pancreatic cancer / 国际外科学杂志

Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis, systemic comprehensive therapy including chemotherapeutic and molecular targeted therapy is the key to improve the postoperative prognosis of pancreatic cancer, as well as to prolong the survival time of advanced pancreatic cancer. However, due to the drug resistance and heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer cells, systemic comprehensive treatment still does not reach the ideal effect, and personalized therapy will be an important approach to solve this problem. The personalized therapy for pancreatic cancer will become possible with the application of patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models. Here, this article will review the progress of the application of PDX models in comprehensive therapy of pancreatic cancer based on reviewing the methods of establishing pancreatic cancer PDX models, aiming to provide new ideas for personalized therapy of pancreatic cancer.

Inhibition of cytohesin-1 by siRNA leads to reduced IGFR signaling in prostate cancer

To explore how cytohesin-1 (CYTH-1) small interfering RNA (siRNA) influences the insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFR)-associated signal transduction in prostate cancer, we transfected human prostate cancer PC-3 cell lines with liposome-encapsulatedCYTH-1 siRNA in serum-free medium and exposed the cells to 100 nM IGF-1. The mRNA and protein levels of the signal molecules involved in the IGFR signaling pathways were determined by real-time PCR and detected by Western blotting. The relative mRNA levels of CYTH-1, c-Myc, cyclinD1 and IGF-1R (CYTH-1 siRNA group vs scrambled siRNA group) were 0.26 vs 0.97, 0.34 vs 1.06, 0.10 vs 0.95, and 0.27 vs 0.41 (P < 0.05 for all), respectively. The relative protein levels of CYTH-1, pIGF-1R, pIRS1, pAkt1, pErk1, c-Myc, and cyclinD1 (CYTH-1 siRNA group vsscrambled siRNA group) were 0.10 vs 1.00 (30 min), 0.10 vs 0.98 (30 min), 0.04 vs 0.50 (30 min), 0.10 vs 1.00 (30 min), 0.10 vs 1.00 (30 min), 0.13 vs 0.85 (5 h), and 0.08 vs 0.80 (7 h), respectively. The tyrosine kinase activity of IGF-1R was associated with CYTH-1. The proliferative activity of PC-3 cells transfected with CYTH-1 siRNA was significantly lower than that of cells transfected with scrambled siRNA at 48 h (40.5 vs87.6 percent, P < 0.05) and at 72 h (34.5 vs 93.5 percent, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the interference of siRNA with cytohesin-1 leads to reduced IGFR signaling in prostate cancer; therefore, CYTH-1 might serve as a new molecular target for the treatment of prostate cancer.