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1.
Toxicon ; 238: 107572, 2024 Feb 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38145881

ABSTRACT

Protobothrops mucrosquamatus, also known as the Taiwan Habu, is a venomous snake prevalent in Taiwan. It is accountable for most snakebites in the region. The toxin of the Taiwan Habu has significant hemorrhagic potential. However, patients bitten by this snake often suffer more local injuries than systemic ones. This report presents two cases of individuals bitten by the Taiwan Habu who subsequently experienced thromboembolism. In the first case, an 88-year-old male, bitten on his fourth toe, suffered a cerebral infarction 32 hours post-bite. In the second case, an 82-year-old female, bitten on her ankle, experienced cardiac arrest 19 hours later. Both patients promptly received antivenom and showed no signs of coagulopathy either before or after the snakebite. However, elevated coagulation factor VIII levels were observed in the first case. Our aim is to understand the mechanism behind these thromboembolic events. This report emphasizes the unusually high level of coagulation factor VIIIa and highlights the need for further investigation into the mechanisms involved. Consequently, physicians should assess the risk of thromboembolic events in snakebite patients by evaluating coagulation factors during treatment.


Subject(s)
Blood Coagulation Disorders , Crotalinae , Snake Bites , Thromboembolism , Venomous Snakes , Humans , Male , Animals , Female , Aged, 80 and over , Snake Bites/complications , Snake Bites/therapy , Antivenins/therapeutic use , Thromboembolism/etiology , Taiwan
2.
Eur J Surg Oncol ; 49(10): 107040, 2023 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37672825

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Internal mammary nodes are important in breast cancer prognosis, but their diagnosis is often missed in clinical practice, leading to inaccurate staging and treatment. We developed a validated nomogram to predict the presence of internal mammary sentinel nodes (IMSN) metastasis. METHODS: A total of 864 sequential IMSN biopsy procedures from a prospective studies database of 1505 cases were used for model development and validation. Multivariable logistic regression was performed on 519 sequential IMSN biopsy procedures from multi-center data between August 2018 and July 2022 to predict the presence of IMSN metastasis. A nomogram was developed based on the logistic regression model and subsequently applied to 345 sequential IMSN biopsy procedures from single-center data between November 2011 and July 2018. The model's discrimination was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: The overall frequency of IMSN metastasis was 17.0% in our study. A predictive model for IMSN metastasis was constructed using tumor size, tumor location, lymphovascular invasion, the number of positive axillary nodes (P < 0.05 for all variables in multivariate analysis), and histological grade (P < 0.05 only in univariate analysis). The nomogram was accurate, with a concordance index of 0.84 in the bootstrapping analysis and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80 in the validation population. CONCLUSION: Our nomogram provides an accurate and validated multivariable predictive model for estimating the individual likelihood of having IMSN metastasis. This may be useful for personalized treatment decisions regarding internal mammary radiotherapy in breast cancer patients.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Humans , Female , Breast Neoplasms/surgery , Nomograms , Lymphatic Metastasis/pathology , Prospective Studies , Lymph Nodes/pathology , Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
3.
Front Oncol ; 13: 1173970, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37476380

ABSTRACT

Introduction: MicroRNAs may be implicated in the acquisition of drug resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia as they regulate the expression of not only BCR-ABL1 but also genes associated with the activation of drug transfer proteins or essential signaling pathways. Methods: To understand the impact of specifically expressed miRNAs in chronic myeloid leukemia and their target genes, we collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and healthy donors to determine whole miRNA expression by small RNA sequencing and screened out 31 differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRNAs) with high expression. With the utilization of miRNA set enrichment analysis tools, we present here a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of DE-miRNAs to disease and biological function. Furthermore, the literature-based miRNA-target gene database was used to analyze the overall target genes of the DE-miRNAs and to define their associated biological responses. We further integrated DE-miRNA target genes to identify CML miRNA targeted gene signature singscore (CMTGSS) and used gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to analyze the correlation between CMTGSS and Hallmark gene-sets in PBMC samples from clinical CML patients. Finally, the association of CMTGSS stratification with multiple CML cell lineage gene sets was validated in PBMC samples from CML patients using GSEA. Results: Although individual miRNAs have been reported to have varying degrees of impact on CML, overall, our results show that abnormally upregulated miRNAs are associated with apoptosis and aberrantly downregulated miRNAs are associated with cell cycle. The clinical database shows that our defined DE-miRNAs are associated with the prognosis of CML patients. CMTGSS-based stratification analysis presented a tendency for miRNAs to affect cell differentiation in the blood microenvironment. Conclusion: Collectively, this study defined differentially expressed miRNAs by miRNA sequencing from clinical samples and comprehensively analyzed the biological functions of the differential miRNAs in association with the target genes. The analysis of the enrichment of specific myeloid differentiated cells and immune cells also suggests the magnitude and potential targets of differentially expressed miRNAs in the clinical setting. It helps us to make links between the different results obtained from the multi-faceted studies to provide more potential research directions.

4.
Cell Death Dis ; 14(6): 369, 2023 06 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37344492

ABSTRACT

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterised by severe pulmonary inflammation, alveolar-capillary barrier disruption, and pulmonary oedema. Therefore, establishing effective therapeutic targets for ALI prevention is crucial. The present study reports a novel function of RNF128 in regulating LPS-induced ALI. Severe lung damage and increased immune cell infiltration were detected in RNF128-deficient mice. In vitro experiments revealed that RNF128 inhibits neutrophil activation by binding to myeloperoxidase (MPO) and reducing its levels and activity. Moreover, RNF128 regulates alveolar macrophage activation and neutrophil infiltration by interacting with TLR4, targeting it for degradation, and inhibiting NF-κB activation, hence decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our results demonstrate for the first time that RNF128 is a negative regulator of MPO and TLR4 in neutrophils and alveolar macrophages, respectively. However, AAV9-mediated RNF128 overexpression alleviated lung tissue damage and reduced inflammatory cell infiltration. Thus, RNF128 is a promising therapeutic candidate for pharmacological interventions in ALI.


Subject(s)
Acute Lung Injury , NF-kappa B , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases , Animals , Mice , Acute Lung Injury/chemically induced , Acute Lung Injury/genetics , Acute Lung Injury/prevention & control , Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology , Lung/metabolism , Neutrophil Infiltration , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Peroxidase/metabolism , Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism
5.
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao ; 33(5): 1207-1214, 2022 May.
Article in Chinese | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35730078

ABSTRACT

Based on the distribution records of Cunninghamia lanceolata, we used the maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model and geographic information system (GIS) methods, combined with environmental factors such as climate and terrain, to predict the potential distribution areas suitable for C. lanceolata under current and future climate scenarios. The results showed that annual precipitation was the most important factor driving the distribution of C. lanceolata. Under the current climate scenario, the total area of suitable for C. lanceolata growth was about 3.28 million km2, accounting for about 34.5% of the total land area of China. Among all the suitable areas, the lowly, intermediately, and highly suitable areas accounted for 18.3%, 29.7% and 52.0% of the total, respectively. Under future climate scenarios, the suitable area of C. lanceolata would increase, showing a clear trend of northward expansion in China. A concentrated and contiguous distribution region highly suitable for C. lanceolata would appear in the humid subtropical areas of southern China. The model was tested by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The average area under the curve of ROC of the training set was 0.91, showing high reliability.


Subject(s)
Climate Change , Cunninghamia , China , Ecosystem , Entropy , Forecasting , Reproducibility of Results
7.
Hepatol Int ; 16(4): 807-816, 2022 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35064545

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Liver cancer is a detrimental complication in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and alcoholic or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, metabolic risk factors underlying NAFLD usually cause substantial differences in their clinical outcomes. Recently, several studies have used a novel definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) to reassess patients with NAFLD and pointed out the importance of metabolic risk factors. Since patients with NAFLD, MAFLD, or metabolic syndrome (MetS) have different burden of metabolic risk factors, it is crucial to decipher the risk of developing hepatic complications in these populations. METHODS: Through a longitudinal nationwide cohort study, the risk of liver cancer was investigated in patients with MetS alone, NAFLD alone, overlap NAFLD/MAFLD, and coexisting MetS and NAFLD. The general characteristics, comorbidities, and incidence of liver cancer were also compared. RESULTS: Intriguingly, patients diagnosed with MetS alone did not have a significant risk of developing HCC compared to control individuals, while patients with NAFLD alone, NAFLD/MAFLD, and coexisting NAFLD and MetS exhibited 6.08-, 5.81-, and 15.33-fold risks of developing HCC, respectively. Apart from metabolic risk factors, renal function status and liver cirrhosis were the independent risk factors for the development of HCC among these groups. CONCLUSION: Our data emphasize that metabolic dysfunction has a significant impact on hepatocarcinogenesis in patients with NAFLD. Moreover, coexisting multiple metabolic risk factors would dampen the risk of developing HCC in patients with NAFLD. Closely tracing HCC formation through laboratory examination or imaging is crucial in these patients.


Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular , Liver Neoplasms , Metabolic Syndrome , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology , Cohort Studies , Humans , Incidence , Liver Neoplasms/complications , Liver Neoplasms/etiology , Metabolic Syndrome/complications , Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/epidemiology , Risk Factors
8.
Cell Death Dis ; 12(10): 908, 2021 10 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34611140

ABSTRACT

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder associated with the Philadelphia chromosome, and the current standard of care is the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). However, some patients will not achieve a molecular response and may progress to blast crisis, and the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. In this study, next-generation sequencing was used to explore endogenous miRNAs in CML patients versus healthy volunteers, and miR-342-5p was identified as the primary target. We found that miR-342-5p was downregulated in CML patients and had a significant inhibitory effect on cell proliferation in CML. Through a luciferase reporter system, miR-342-5p was reported to target the 3'-UTR domain of CCND1 and downregulated its expression. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-342-5p enhanced imatinib-induced DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis. Finally, by analyzing clinical databases, we further confirmed that miR-342-5p was associated with predicted molecular responses in CML patients. In conclusion, we found that both in vivo and in vitro experiments and database cohorts showed that miR-342-5p plays a key role in CML patients, indicating that miR-342-5p may be a potential target for future CML treatment or prognostic evaluation.


Subject(s)
Cyclin D1/metabolism , Disease Progression , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic , Imatinib Mesylate/therapeutic use , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/genetics , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/pathology , MicroRNAs/genetics , 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Apoptosis/genetics , Base Sequence , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Cell Survival/genetics , Cyclin D1/genetics , DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded , Disease Models, Animal , Down-Regulation/genetics , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/drug effects , Gene Ontology , Humans , Imatinib Mesylate/pharmacology , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/blood , Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy , Leukocytes/pathology , Mice, Inbred C57BL , MicroRNAs/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Up-Regulation/genetics
9.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 100(18): e25756, 2021 May 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33950962

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: We conducted a population-based cohort study enrolling patients with Stage II and III colon cancer receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with uracil and tegafur (UFT) or fluorouracil (5-FU) from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 to 2015. The outcomes of the current study were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated by multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models. We compared our effectiveness results from the literature by meta-analysis, which provided the best evidence. Severe adverse events were compared in meta-analysis of reported clinical trials. In the nationwide cohort study, UFT (14,486 patients) showed DFS similar to postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy (adjusted HR 1.037; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.954-1.126; P = .397) and OS (adjusted HR 0.964; 95% CI 0.891-1.041; P = .349) compared with the 5-FU (866 patients). Our meta-analysis confirmed the similarity of effectiveness and found the incidence of leucopaenia was statistically significantly reduced in UFT (risk ratio 0.12; 95% CI 0.02-0.67; I2 = 0%). Through our analysis, we have confirmed that UFT is a well-tolerated adjuvant therapy choice, and has similar treatment efficacy as 5-FU in terms of DFS and OS in patients with Stage II and III colon cancer.


Subject(s)
Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/administration & dosage , Colonic Neoplasms/therapy , Fluorouracil/administration & dosage , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/epidemiology , Tegafur/administration & dosage , Aged , Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic/adverse effects , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant/adverse effects , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant/methods , Colectomy , Colonic Neoplasms/diagnosis , Colonic Neoplasms/mortality , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Fluorouracil/adverse effects , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/prevention & control , Neoplasm Staging , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Retrospective Studies , Taiwan/epidemiology , Tegafur/adverse effects
10.
Cell Death Dis ; 12(4): 323, 2021 03 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33771967

ABSTRACT

In obese adults, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is accompanied by multiple metabolic dysfunctions. Although upregulated hepatic fatty acid synthesis has been identified as a crucial mediator of NAFLD development, the underlying mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. In this study, we reported upregulated expression of gene related to anergy in lymphocytes (GRAIL) in the livers of humans and mice with hepatic steatosis. Grail ablation markedly alleviated the high-fat diet-induced hepatic fat accumulation and expression of genes related to the lipid metabolism, in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, overexpression of GRAIL exacerbated lipid accumulation and enhanced the expression of lipid metabolic genes in mice and liver cells. Our results demonstrated that Grail regulated the lipid accumulation in hepatic steatosis via interaction with sirtuin 1. Thus, Grail poses as a significant molecular regulator in the development of NAFLD.


Subject(s)
Fatty Liver/metabolism , Hepatocytes/metabolism , Sirtuin 1/antagonists & inhibitors , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/metabolism , Animals , Fatty Liver/genetics , Hepatocytes/drug effects , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Knockout , Palmitic Acid/pharmacology , Sirtuin 1/metabolism , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/biosynthesis , Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics , Up-Regulation
11.
Oncogene ; 38(9): 1432-1447, 2019 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30266989

ABSTRACT

High-frequency relapse remains a clinical hurdle for complete remission of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patients, with heterogeneous dysregulated signaling profiles-including of Raf-MEK-ERK and Akt-mTORC1-S6K signaling pathways-recently being implicated in disease outcomes. Here we report that GM-CSF/IL-3/IL-5 receptor common ß-chain-associated protein (CBAP) is highly expressed in human T-ALL cell lines and many primary tumor tissues and is required to bolster leukemia cell proliferation in tissue culture and for in vivo leukemogenesis in a xenograft mouse model. Downregulation of CBAP markedly restrains expansion of leukemia cells and alleviates disease aggravation of leukemic mice. Transcriptomic profiling and molecular biological analyses suggest that CBAP acts upstream of Ras and Rac1, and functions as a modulator of both Raf-MEK-ERK and Akt-mTORC1 signaling pathways to control leukemia cell growth. Specifically, CBAP facilitated Akt-dependent TSC2 phosphorylation in cell-based assays and in vitro analysis, decreased lysosomal localization of TSC2, and elevated Rheb-GTP loading and subsequent activation of mTORC1 signaling. Taken together, our findings reveal a novel oncogenic contribution of CBAP in T-ALL leukemic cells, in addition to its original pro-apoptotic function in cytokine-dependent cell lines and primary hematopoietic cells, by demonstrating its functional role in the regulation of Akt-TSC2-mTORC1 signaling for leukemia cell proliferation. Thus, CBAP represents a novel therapeutic target for many types of cancers and metabolic diseases linked to PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 signaling.


Subject(s)
Membrane Proteins/genetics , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/genetics , Ras Homolog Enriched in Brain Protein/genetics , Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein/genetics , Animals , Carcinogenesis/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Humans , Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1/genetics , Mice , Phosphorylation , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/pathology , Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics , Signal Transduction , T-Lymphocytes/pathology , Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
12.
Bone ; 106: 121-125, 2018 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29054753

ABSTRACT

In thalassemia major or transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients, osteoporosis-related bone complications such as fracture events are common. However, no studies have investigated the risk of fracture in transfusion-naïve thalassemia population. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal nationwide cohort study to determine whether this population has an increased risk of fracture. This nationwide, population-based cohort study analyzed data from 1998 to 2010 obtained from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, with a follow-up period extending until the end of 2011. We identified cases with transfusion-naïve thalassemia and selected a comparison cohort that was frequency-matched according to age and year of diagnosis of thalassemia at a ratio of one subject with thalassemia to four subjects in the control group. We analyzed the risk of fracture events to occur in transfusion-naïve thalassemia cases by using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Totally, the study recruited 1369 transfusion-naïve thalassemia subjects and 5416 controls. We identified a total of 71 cases with fracture events within the thalassemia group and 204 within the control group. The overall risks for developing fracture events were 1.35-fold higher in transfusion-naïve thalassemia individuals than the comparison cohort after adjusting for age, sex and comorbidities. Most fracture events were observed in male transfusion-naïve thalassemia individuals rather than the normal population. In subgroup analysis, there was a 1.46-fold higher risk to develop upper-limb fracture in the thalassemia group than in the control groups. In conclusion, our long-term, cohort study results showed that there was a higher risk for the development of fractures in transfusion-naïve thalassemia individuals, particularly in male cases.


Subject(s)
Fractures, Bone/epidemiology , Thalassemia/complications , Thalassemia/epidemiology , Adult , Female , Fractures, Bone/etiology , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Proportional Hazards Models , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Young Adult
14.
PLoS One ; 11(6): e0158501, 2016.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27362355

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Pneumococcal disease leads to renal complications ranging from persistent proteinuria to end-stage renal disease. Studies on the association between pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) and acute kidney injury (AKI) are scant. This study assessed the relationship between PP and risk of AKI. METHODS: This nationwide population-based cohort study examined data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for the period 2000-2011. We identified inpatients with newly diagnosed PP according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. In addition, we selected a comparison cohort from inpatient claims without the diagnosis of PP that was randomly frequency-matched with the PP cohort according to age, sex, index year and comorbidities. We analyzed the risks of AKI by using Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for sex, age, and comorbidities. RESULTS: A total of 10,069 patients with PP and 10,069 controls were enrolled in this study. After adjustments for age, sex, and comorbidities, patients with PP had a 1.11-fold risk of developing AKI compared with the comparison cohort. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that AKI risks are higher in patients with PP compared with the comparison cohort. Careful follow-up observation and aggressive treatment are necessary for patients with PP to reduce the risk of AKI.


Subject(s)
Acute Kidney Injury/etiology , Pneumonia, Pneumococcal/complications , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cohort Studies , Databases, Factual , Female , Humans , International Classification of Diseases , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Young Adult
15.
Support Care Cancer ; 24(1): 53-60, 2016 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25913172

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Palliative care consultation service (PCCS) is currently utilized to provide care to terminal patients in Taiwan. However, there is little research on the relationship between PCCS and end-of-life outcomes. This study aimed to elucidate the association between PCCS and end-of-life outcomes in terminal cancer patients. METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews of terminal cancer patients who consulted the PCCS of a medical center in Taiwan from January 2007 to December 2012 were performed. Data on 1369 patients were recorded, which included details of outcomes such as discharge from hospital, transfer to hospice ward, and death after PCCS termination. Other variables such as demographics, disease-related information, symptoms, and psychosocial needs were also evaluated. Logistic regression models were employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratios and related 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, timing of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) signature, constipation, and spiritual problems experienced by the patients were important predictors for terminal cancer patients who were discharged from the hospital or had expired at the time of PCCS termination. Age, gender, primary cancer diagnosis, timing of DNR signature, constipation, and other physical symptoms were the key predictors for patients who were transferred to the hospice ward or had expired. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the outcomes of PCCS and highlights the important predictors for patients at PCCS termination. These factors can be targeted to improve and enhance the quality of PCCS rendered in the future.


Subject(s)
Hospice Care/methods , Neoplasms/psychology , Palliative Care/methods , Terminally Ill/psychology , Adult , Aged , Constipation , Female , Hospices , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Taiwan
16.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 94(52): e2381, 2015 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26717386

ABSTRACT

Studies on the association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are scant. This nationwide population-based cohort study assessed the relationship between IBD and further risk of PAD.This nationwide population-based cohort study was based on data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2010, with a follow-up period extending to the end of 2011. We identified inpatients with newly diagnosed IBD by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. In addition, we selected a comparison cohort from the inpatient claims that was randomly frequency-matched according to age, sex, and index year. We analyzed the risks of PAD by using Cox proportional hazards regression models, including sex, age, and comorbidities.A total of 11,067 IBD patients and 43,765 controls were enrolled in this study. The risk of developing PAD was 1.29-fold in the patients with IBD compared with the comparison cohort, after age, sex, and comorbidities were adjusted. The patients with IBD who required 2 or more hospitalizations per year were nearly 27.5-fold more likely to have PAD compared with the comparison cohort.This nationwide population-based cohort study demonstrated that PAD risks are higher in patients with IBD compared with those inpatients without IBD. Careful follow-up observation and aggressive effective treatment should be sought for patients with IBD to reduce the risk of PAD.


Subject(s)
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/complications , Peripheral Arterial Disease/etiology , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Case-Control Studies , Cohort Studies , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Peripheral Arterial Disease/epidemiology , Proportional Hazards Models , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Taiwan/epidemiology , Venous Thrombosis/epidemiology , Venous Thrombosis/etiology
17.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 94(48): e2165, 2015 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26632898

ABSTRACT

Infiltrating neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, and cytokines constitute a state of chronic inflammation within the tumor microenvironment. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5a (TRACP5a) protein, a novel product of activated macrophage, is postulated to be a biomarker for systemic inflammatory burden in states of chronic inflammation. We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of TRACP5a expression in tumor-infiltrating macrophages and serum TRACP5a in patients with metastatic breast cancer (BC). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data from 34 BC patients with confirmed skeletal/visceral metastasis upon or during first-line palliative treatment. Patients were stratified into 3 groups based on the therapeutic responses and follow-up disease course. The association of TRACP5a protein with other inflammatory and cancer biomarkers was assessed among the clinically distinct group of patients. Higher TRACP5a protein was significantly correlated with earlier disease progression and survival (P = 0.0045) in comparison to other inflammatory markers, CRP or IL-6. Patients with higher serum TRACP5a level and shorter survival and treatment refractoriness also had more TRACP+ tumor-infiltrating macrophages. Our data support a hypothesis that serum TRACP5a protein can potentially be a predictive and prognostic marker to evaluate disease progression and therapeutic response in BC patients with bone/visceral metastasis. The associations between overall survival and TRACP expression by macrophages require further prospective investigation.


Subject(s)
Acid Phosphatase/biosynthesis , Acid Phosphatase/blood , Breast Neoplasms/blood , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Isoenzymes/biosynthesis , Isoenzymes/blood , Macrophages/metabolism , Adult , Aged , Biomarkers, Tumor , Breast Neoplasms/mortality , Breast Neoplasms/therapy , C-Reactive Protein/analysis , Disease Progression , Female , Humans , Interleukin-6/blood , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Metastasis , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Survival Analysis , Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase
18.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 94(46): e2040, 2015 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26579812

ABSTRACT

Acetaminophen (APAP) intoxication is a common cause of hepatic toxicity and life-threatening hepatic failure. However, few studies have investigated the possible association between APAP intoxication and acute kidney injury (AKI). We constructed a retrospective cohort study to clarify the relationship between APAP intoxication and the risk of AKI.We identified patients with APAP intoxication and selected a comparison cohort that was 1:4 frequency matched according to age, sex, and year of APAP intoxication diagnosis from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 1998 to 2010. We analyzed the risks of AKI for patients with APAP intoxication by using Cox proportional hazards regression models.In this study, 2914 patients with APAP intoxication and 11,656 controls were included. The overall risks of developing AKI were 2.41-fold in the patients with APAP intoxication compared with the comparison cohort. After we excluded APAP intoxication patients with coexisting AKI and hepatic failure/hepatitis, the overall risks of developing AKI were still 2.22-fold in the patients with APAP intoxication. There were 2 patients who had end-stage renal disease (ESRD) following APAP intoxication-related AKI. Limitations include retrospective review, selection bias, and absence of data on detail medications used, laboratory investigations and dosage of APAP intoxication.Our long-term cohort study results showed that AKI is a possible adverse effect among patients with APAP intoxication, regardless of whether patients have presented with hepatic toxicity. However, additional studies are necessary to clarify whether such patients can progress to ESRD.


Subject(s)
Acetaminophen/poisoning , Acute Kidney Injury/chemically induced , Analgesics, Non-Narcotic/poisoning , Acute Kidney Injury/physiopathology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Databases, Factual , Female , Humans , Kidney Failure, Chronic/chemically induced , Male , Middle Aged , Proportional Hazards Models , Retrospective Studies , Risk Assessment , Taiwan
19.
Medicine (Baltimore) ; 94(40): e1608, 2015 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26448007

ABSTRACT

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can cause several life-threatening complications, particularly in cardiovascular and neurological systems. However, no studies have been performed to investigate the association between peripheral artery disease (PAD) and CO poisoning. We constructed a population-based retrospective cohort study to clarify the risks between PAD and CO poisoning. This population-based cohort study involved analyzing data from 1998 to 2010 obtained from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, with a follow-up period extending to the end of 2011. We identified patients with CO poisoning and selected a comparison cohort that was frequency matched according to age, sex, and year of diagnosis of CO poisoning at a ratio of 1 patient to 4 control patients. We analyzed the risks for patients with CO poisoning and PAD by using Cox proportional hazards regression models. In this study, 9046 patients with CO poisoning and 36,183 controls were included. The overall risks for developing PAD were 1.85-fold in the patients with CO poisoning compared with the comparison cohort after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities. Our long-term cohort study results showed a higher risk for PAD development among patients with CO poisoning.


Subject(s)
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning/complications , Peripheral Arterial Disease/etiology , Adult , Cohort Studies , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Proportional Hazards Models , Retrospective Studies , Risk
20.
PLoS One ; 10(9): e0138632, 2015.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26382962

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the specific chemoregimens selected for adjuvant therapy in the patients with stage III colon cancer. We investigated the trends in chemotherapeutic prescribing patterns and looked for adequate therapeutic setting for these patients. METHODS: 288 patients presenting with stage III colon cancer and undergoing adjuvant therapies after curative surgery for more than 3-month were enrolled between January 2006 and December 2011. Demographic characteristics and therapeutic factors were analyzed, including age, gender, histological grade, tumor sizes, tumor location, pathologic stage, performance status, serum carcinoembryonic antigen, regimens selection, interval from the operation to the start of adjuvant therapy and prolonged adjuvant therapy. Kaplan- Meier methods were utilized for drawing survival curves and Cox model was used to analyze survival, prognostic factors. RESULTS: The analysis showed that the patients aged under 70 received more intensive therapies than those aged over 70 (P<0.001). Later, advanced analysis in therapeutic factors was conducted between the patients aged under 70 and those over 70. In the patients aged under 70, significant differences in 4-year overall survival (OS) were noted between UFUR (oral tegafur-uracil plus leucovorin) groups and FOLFOX (5-FU plus oxaliplatin) [65.6% versus (vs) 89.8%, relative risk (RR) 3.780, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.263-11.315, P = 0.017]. There were also differences in 4-year OS between these patients with and without oxaliplatin-contained regimens (92.1% vs 83.4%, respectively, RR 0.385, 95% CI 0.157-0.946, P = 0.037). In addition, the patients who received intravenous or combined therapy also had higher 4-year OS than those only received oral regimens (92.1% vs 76.6%, P = 0.077), though the finding did not reach statistical significance. In contrast to the survival benefits of above therapeutic settings for the patients aged under 70, there was less advantage in the old patients when they received intensive therapies or even oxaliplatin-contained regimens. Prolonged cycles of adjuvant therapy resulted in no significant benefit to survival rates regardless of ages. CONCLUSIONS: The adequate individualized therapeutic strategy plays an important role for stage III colon cancer. Our findings suggested that benefit of oxaliplatin-contained therapy is limited to patients aged under 70 and oral fluoropyrimidines may be an effective option for old patients. In addition, prolonged adjuvant setting is suggested to be unbeneficial for managing stage III colon cancer.


Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Colonic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Colonic Neoplasms/mortality , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Colonic Neoplasms/surgery , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Fluorouracil/therapeutic use , Humans , Leucovorin/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Organoplatinum Compounds/therapeutic use , Oxaliplatin , Precision Medicine , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Tegafur/therapeutic use
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