The Significance of PAX8-PPARγ Expression in Thyroid Cancer and the Application of a PAX8-PPARγ-Targeted Ultrasound Contrast Agent in the Early Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer.

Objective: To investigate the significance of PAX8-PPARγ expression in thyroid cancer and the application of a PAX8-PPARγ-targeted ultrasound contrast agent in the early diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Methods: In this study, the expression of PAX8-PPARγ in thyroid cancer tissues, paracancer groups, and normal thyroid tissues was detected by western and immunohistochemical techniques; the effects of PAX8-PPARγ expression inhibition on thyroid cancer cell growth, clonogenic ability, and antiapoptosis were examined. The terminal carboxylactic acid/hydroxyacetic acid copolymer (PLGA-COOH) nanoparticles were prepared by the double emulsification solvent volatilization method. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the targeted contrast agent was detected by MTS and other methods; LD50 was used to evaluate its short-term in vivo toxicity after intraperitoneal injection in mice. Results: PAX8-PPARγ expression was significantly increased in thyroid cancer tissues, and the expression level of PAX8-PPARγ was closely correlated with TNM staging and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). In addition, PAX8-PPARγ was also expressed at high levels in thyroid cancer cell lines relative to normal thyroid cells. MTS experiments showed that the PAX8-PPARγ-targeted ultrasound nanocontrast agent had no significant toxic side effects on thyroid cells; countess observed that the contrast agent had no effect on cell survival and mortality; the LD50 assay showed that the targeted contrast agent had a wide safety range. Western blot showed the expression of caspase-3, BAX, and Bcl-2 in thyroid cancer cells, indicating that the nanocontrast agent has a good biosafety. In vitro targeting experiments showed that there were more nanospheres aggregated around the cells in the targeted contrast group. In vivo targeting imaging of nude mice revealed that the ultrasound signal was significantly enhanced in the targeted group compared with the nontargeted group after 20 min of LIFU irradiation. Conclusion: PAX8-PPARγ overexpression in thyroid cancer cell lines and thyroid cancer tissues promoted the proliferation and antiapoptotic ability of thyroid cancer cells and promoted the tumorigenic ability in nude mice in vivo. We successfully prepared a PAX8-PPARγ-targeted ultrasound nanocontrast agent, which has regular morphology, uniform size, and high stability, and its liquid-gas phase change can be promoted at lower temperature. Therefore, this contrast agent can achieve US-targeted imaging and temperature phase transition function, and may have enhanced ultrasound imaging potential.

Analysis on the Effects of CT- and Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Transthoracic Needle Biopsy Combined with Serum CA125 and CEA on the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer.

The number of patients with lung cancer is difficultly diagnosed in the early stage. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy combined with serum CA125 and CEA on the diagnosis of lung cancer. 120 patients with suspected lung cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were selected and divided into an ultrasound group (n = 60) and CT group (n = 60), according to different percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy modalities. All patients received serum tumor markers detection, so as to compare the CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy results and pathology results, levels of serum tumor markers among all patients and the patients with different lung cancer types, and diagnostic efficacy of tumor markers, as well as complication rate (CR) in patients. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy were 0.880 and 0.800, respectively, while those of CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy were 0.909 and 0.625, respectively; the CA125 and CEA levels in the lung cancer group were higher than those in the benign group (P < 0.001); the CA125 and CEA levels of the patients with adenocarcinoma were higher than those with squamous carcinoma, and the CEA levels of the patients with small-cell carcinoma were lower than those with adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05); the sensitivity, specificity, and Youden indexes of CA125 were 0.638, 0.833, and 0.471, respectively, while those of CEA were 0.766, 0.778, and 0.544, respectively; there were no significant differences in CR between the two groups (P > 0.05). CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy is a safe and feasible diagnostic modality for lung cancer, and its combination with serum CA125 and CEA can significantly improve the accuracy of the detection results, which is worthy of promotion and application in clinical practice.