[Roles of targeting Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways in the treatment of esophageal carcinoma].

Ras is best known for its ability to regulate cell growth, proliferation and differentiation. Mutations in Ras are associated with the abnormal cell proliferation which can result in incidence of all human cancers. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) is a downstream effector of Ras and plays important roles in prognosis of tumors. Recently, evidence has gradually accumulated to demonstrate that there are other effectors between Ras and ERK, these proteins interact each other and constitute the thorough Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. The pathway has profound effects on incidence of esophageal carcinoma and clinical applications of some chemotherapeutic drugs targeting the pathway. Further understanding of the relevant molecular mechanisms of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway can be helpful for the development of efficient targeting therapeutic approaches which contribute to the treatment of esophageal cancer. In this article, roles of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway in esophageal carcinoma as well as pharmacological targeting point in the pathway are reviewed.

Nasogastric or nasojejunal feeding in predicted severe acute pancreatitis: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Enteral feeding can be given either through the nasogastric or the nasojejunal route. Studies have shown that nasojejunal tube placement is cumbersome and that nasogastric feeding is an effective means of providing enteral nutrition. However, the concern that nasogastric feeding increases the chance of aspiration pneumonitis and exacerbates acute pancreatitis by stimulating pancreatic secretion has prevented it being established as a standard of care. We aimed to evaluate the differences in safety and tolerance between nasogastric and nasojejunal feeding by assessing the impact of the two approaches on the incidence of mortality, tracheal aspiration, diarrhea, exacerbation of pain, and meeting the energy balance in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. METHOD: We searched the electronic databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and EMBASE. We included prospective randomized controlled trials comparing nasogastric and nasojejunal feeding in patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis. Two reviewers assessed the quality of each study and collected data independently. Disagreements were resolved by discussion among the two reviewers and any of the other authors of the paper. We performed a meta-analysis and reported summary estimates of outcomes as Risk Ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: We included three randomized controlled trials involving a total of 157 patients. The demographics of the patients in the nasogastric and nasojejunal feeding groups were comparable. There were no significant differences in the incidence of mortality (RR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.37 to 1.29, P=0.25); tracheal aspiration (RR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.14 to 1.53, P=0.20); diarrhea (RR=1.43, 95% CI: 0.59 to 3.45, P=0.43); exacerbation of pain (RR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.32 to 2.70, P=0.90); and meeting energy balance (RR=1.00, 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.09, P=0.97) between the two groups. Nasogastric feeding was not inferior to nasojejunal feeding. CONCLUSIONS: Nasogastric feeding is safe and well tolerated compared with nasojejunal feeding. Study limitations included a small total sample size among others. More high-quality large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to validate the use of nasogastric feeding instead of nasojejunal feeding.

[The impact of initial fluid resuscitation with different ratio of crystalloid-colloid on prognosis of patients with severe acute pancreatitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of fluid resuscitation with different ratio of crystalloid-colloid in early resuscitation stage on prognosis of patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made by reviewing clinical data of 47 patients with SAP from January 2001 to December 2011. According to crystalloid-colloid ratio 1.5 or 3, which was the input volume of crystalloid fluid versus colloid fluid in the first 24 hours, patients were divided into low ratio group (crystalloid-colloid ratio <1.5, n=13), middle ratio group (crystalloid-colloid ratio 1.5-3, n=15) and high ratio group (crystalloid-colloid ratio >3, n=19). Among the patients who had been successfully resuscitated, rate of mechanical ventilation, the oxygenation index, intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), and the amount of fluid retention in the third space within the first 24 hours, as well as the parameters of fluid resuscitation and the survival rate within 2 weeks were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: (1) In the first 24 hours, the rate of mechanical ventilation in the high ratio group was significantly higher than that in the middle ratio group and the low ratio group (68.4% vs. 20.0%, 23.1%, both P<0.05); the oxygenation index was significantly lower than that in the middle ratio group and in the low ratio group (180.7±26.3 mm Hg vs. 280.6±24.8 mm Hg, 260.3±25.7 mm Hg, both P<0.05); the IAP was significantly higher than that in the middle ratio group and the low ratio group (16.8±3.6 cm H(2)O vs. 13.4±3.5 cm H(2)O, 13.1±3.3 cm H(2)O, both P<0.05); the amount of fluid retention in the third space was significant higher than that in the middle ratio group and the low ratio group (2834±631 ml vs. 1887±282 ml, 1865±300 ml, both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in above indexes between middle ratio group and low ratio group (all P>0.05). (2) In the first 24 hours, the volume of crystalloid in high ratio group was significantly larger than that in the middle ratio group and the low ratio group (3611±798 ml vs. 2308±416 ml, 2124±477 ml, both P<0.05); and the volume of colloid in high ratio group and middle ratio group was significantly lower than that in the low ratio group (993±233 ml, 948±140 ml vs. 1506±332 ml, both P<0.05); and the mean crystalloid-colloid rate in the high ratio group was significantly higher than that in the middle ratio group and the low ratio group (3.65±0.13 vs. 2.43±0.13, 1.41±0.08, both P<0.05). The volume of infused fluid during the first 72 hours in the high ratio group was significantly higher than that in the middle and low ratio groups (11 941±1161 ml vs. 9036±982 ml, 9400±1051 ml, both P<0.05). (3) The survival rate in the high ratio group (36.8%) was significantly lower than that in the middle ratio group (86.7%, P<0.05) and the low ratio group (61.5%, P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A suitable crystalloid-colloid ratio should be considered in the early stage of resuscitation in patients with severe acute pancreatitis, which would result in a decrease in the fluid retention in the third space as well as an improvement of survival rate in return. It is suggested that the middle ratio of crystalloid-colloid fluid resuscitation should be the optimal strategy.

Atrial natriuretic peptide: a possible mediator involved in dexamethasone's inhibition of cell proliferation in multiple myeloma.

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has been recognized for several decades for its role of regulating blood pressure. Recently, cumulating evidences show that ANP plays an anticancer role in various solid tumors via blocking the kinase cascade of Ras-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 with the result of inhibition of DNA synthesis. ANP, as well as its receptors (NPR-A and NPR-C) has been identified present in the embryonic stem cell and a wide range of cancer cells. Various lymphoid organs, such as lymph nodes, have been detected the presence of ANP. Multiple myeloma (MM), though the therapies have evolved significantly, is still an incurable disease as B lymphocyte cell neoplasm. Dexamethasone is the cornerstone in treatment of MM via inactivation of Ras-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 cascade reaction. Coincidently, dexamethasone can increase the expression of ANP markedly. Nevertheless, the role of ANP in MM is unclear. Based on these results above, we raise the hypothesis that ANP is involved in mediating dexamethasone's inhibition of proliferation in MM cells, which suggests that ANP may be a potential agent to treat MM.