ABSTRACT
Immune and inflammatory mechanisms play key roles in the development and outcome of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). ß2-Microglobulin (ß2M) is the light chain of major histocompatibility complex-1 (MHC-1), which can directly and quickly reflect the immune and inflammatory state of the body. Previous studies have shown a close relationship between ß2M and AIS, but its relationship with the recurrence of AIS has not been reported. This study attempted to explore the relationship between ß2M and the recurrence of AIS. A single-center AIS cohort involving 135 patients was followed for approximately 26-46 months. Clinical and laboratory data from the patients were collected when hospitalized. The endpoint was the occurrence of recurrent AIS after patients were discharged. Propensity score matching was used to match cohort groups. Cox regression analysis was used to predict risk factors for recurrent AIS, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to calculate the optimal cutoff value for discriminating recurrence in patients with AIS. The rate of recurrence was 29.6% [95% CI, 21.8%-37.3%] in the follow-up group. Patients with higher levels of serum ß2M had a higher risk of AIS recurrence than patients with lower levels of ß2M (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.214 [95% CI, 1.557-6.633]; adjusted hazard ratio after matching, 5.831, [95% CI, 2.052-16.572]). A ß2M value of 2.31 mg/L was calculated by ROC analysis as the optimal cutoff value for AIS recurrence (area under the curve 0.770, [95% CI, 0.687-0.853]). As a quick responder to the body's immune and inflammatory states, ß2M may be a novel and reliable biomarker in predicting AIS recurrence.
ABSTRACT
AIM: To explore the possible association between Osteopontin (OPN) genetic polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk, which remains undocumented yet. METHOD: We enrolled 300 patients with histologically confirmed cervical squamous cell carcinoma and 774 age-matched healthy, unrelated, cancer-free female healthy subjects as control subjects. Three OPN gene polymorphisms were determined. Reulsts: The genotype distributions and allele frequencies of -156 GG/G and -443 T/C polymorphisms were significantly differed between cervical cancer patients and controls. The cervical cancer cases had markedly higher percentage of -156 GG carriage and significantly lower TT and TC of -443 genotypes than controls. The Logistic regression analysis showed that the -156 GG carriage was associated with significantly elevated OR of 2.492 for cervical cancer while the TT and TC of -443 represented lower risks. This trend was not seen in subjects without human papillomavirus infections. In addition, the -156 GG carriages was significantly associated with poorer clinical conditions, including higher clinical stage, poorer tumor differentiation, higher positive lymph node status and higher chance of parametrical invasion. The -443 T/C and -66 T/G polymorphisms did not show any association with the clinicopathological feature. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the -156 GG/G and -443T/C polymorphisms might be used as a genetic marker for cervical cancer susceptibility.
