Complete sequence of an esophageal carcinoma inbred Sprague-Dawley rat model mitochondrial genome.

The Sprague-Dawley rat strain is a common used model for esophageal carcinoma disease study. We sequenced this rat strain mitochondrial genome for the first time. Its mitogenome was 16,312 bp and coding 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes. A total of 96 SNPs were examined when compared to reference BN sequence.

Intraoperative radiation therapy delivered prior to lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer: a single institution study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety, cosmesis, and clinical outcome of intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) delivered prior to lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer. METHODS: From December 2008 to March 2012, 75 breast cancer patients (ages 34-66 years) were treated with IOERT during breast conservative surgery. IOERT was delivered using a mobile linear accelerator. Suitable energy and applicator size were chosen to ensure coverage of the tumor with anterior and posterior margins of 1 cm and lateral margins of 2 cm. Patients with sentinel node metastases or younger than 40 years received 8 Gy as boost followed by post-operative external beam radiation therapy of 50 Gy/25F; the others had 15 Gy, prescribed to the 90% isodose depth. Adjuvant treatment consisted of chemotherapy (55 patients), hormonal therapy (59 patients), or combined chemotherapy and hormonal therapy (41 patients). The safety, cosmesis, and short-term outcome were evaluated. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 54 months (range: 30-66 months). Two (2.7%) patients developed post-surgical hematoma. Six (8.0%) patients developed mild breast fibrosis. Eight (10.7%) patients suffered from local pain. One (1.2%) patient experienced a post-operative infection. Sixteen (21.3%) patients developed Grade 1 pulmonary fibrosis. Forty-three (57.3%) patients had an excellent cosmetic result and 23 (30.7%) had a good cosmetic result. Three patients had an ipsilateral breast recurrence, with an actual 3-year local recurrence rate of 4.0%. One patient had an ipsilateral axillary recurrence, resulting in a 3-year regional recurrence rate of 1.3%. No distant metastases or deaths were observed. The 3-year disease free survival was 94.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative electron radiation therapy delivered prior to lumpectomy is safe and feasible for selected patients with early-stage breast cancer. Early side effects, cosmesis and short-term efficacy are acceptable, but a longer follow-up is needed for evaluation of late side effects and long-term outcome.

Intraoperative radiotherapy in patients with breast cancer treated by breast-conserving therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety, cosmetic effects, and clinical efficacy of breast-conserving surgery combined with intraoperative radiation therapy for the treatment of Chinese patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Breast-conserving surgery combined with intraoperative radiation therapy was performed in 64 breast cancer patients. The postoperative short-term efficacy, safety, and cosmetic effects were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 64 patients, 1 case (1.6%) had local recurrence one year later, 7 cases (10.9%) had grade I postoperative radiation-induced lung injury, 10 cases (15.6%) had local hardening at the surgical sites, 8 cases (12.5 %) had changes in skin color, and 8 cases (12.5%) had pain at the surgical sites. Excellent or good levels of cosmetic effects were achieved in 95.3% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The application of intraoperative radiation therapy with breast-conserving surgery can yield satisfactory short-term curative efficacy, a high level of clinical safety, and good cosmetic effects.

[Predictive value of sonographic features in preoperative evaluation of malignant thyroid nodules].

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonographic (US) features for the pre-operative differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules by using pathological diagnosis as the reference standard. METHODS: A total of 1501 patients with 2123 thyroid nodules (1864 malignant, 259 benign) diagnosed intra-operatively and undergoing pre-operative ultrasonography at our hospital were recruited. The following characteristics of US images were evaluated: nodule size, shape, margin, echotexture, echogenicity, presence and type of calcification, blood flow inside or around nodules and the presence of ipsilateral cervical lymphadenectasis. RESULTS: (1) The risk of malignancy was higher in a solitary nodule than in a non-solitary nodule [16.7% (109/653) vs 10.2% (150/1470), P=0.000]. The mean diameter of benign nodules was larger than that of malignant nodules [(2.4±1.4) vs (2.1±1.9) cm, P=0.009]. (2) Microcalcification, irregular shape, ill-defined border, solid and hypoechogenicity were more common in malignant nodules. Irregular shape had the highest sensitivity and positive predictive value while microcalcification had the highest diagnostic accuracy. (3) Nodules with a rich blood flow inside tended to have a higher risk of malignancy. The distribution pattern of blood flow around the nodules was not associated with the differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Nodules with the presence of ipsilateral cervical lymphadenectasis had a higher risk of malignancy than those without lymphadenectasis [28.3% (80/283) vs 9.6% (92/963), P<0.01]. (4) If microcalcification, irregular shape, ill-defined border, solid, hypoechogenicity and the presence of ipsilateral cervical lymphadenectasis were treated as the characteristics of malignancy, a higher frequency of these characteristics was correlated with a higher risk of malignancy. CONCLUSION: Despite a lack of specific US imaging characteristics in malignant thyroid nodules, microcalcification and irregular shape appear closely correlated with malignancy. A combined use of conventional US characteristics may improve the accuracy of differential diagnosis.

[Effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy of docetaxel combined with and epirubicin or pirarubicin on breast cancer: clinical analysis of 160 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects and toxicity of the neoadjuvant chemotherapy of docetaxel combined with epirubicin or pirarubicin on breast cancer, and to investigate the influencing factors of the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: 160 patients with stage II/III breast cancer, all females, aged 47 (22-66), were treated with docetaxel plus epirubicin or pirarubicin with 3 weeks as a cycle. Two to six cycles of treatment were given before surgery. The clinical efficacy and toxicity of the treatment were evaluated, and the correlation between the influencing factors and the clinical parameters with treatment response was analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical response rate (RR) was 90% (144/160), the complete response (CR) rate was 26% (41/160), the partial response (PR) rate was 64% (103/160). The stable disease (SD) rate was 8% (13/160). The progress disease (PD) rate was 2% (3/160), the pathologically complete remission (pCR) rate was 7% (11/160), and the tumor-pathological complete response (tpCR) rate was 2% (1.3/160). Univariate analysis showed that the tumor size, clinical stage, triple negative phenotype might be the meaningful parameters influencing the clinical response. The patients with smaller tumor size, low stage tumor, and being triple-negative were more likely to achieve CR (P = 0.0371, 0.0013, and 0.0019 respectively). Age, histological grading, ER/PR ratio, Her-2 status did not significantly influence the early response. Multivariate analysis showed that the disease stage might be the meaningful factors for better response (P = 0.0030). The major toxic reactions of the therapy included neutropenia, alopecia, nausea, and vomiting. CONCLUSION: The combination neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel and epirubicin or pirarubicin is an effective method to treat breast cancer with tolerable toxicity. The meaningful parameter influencing the early response is clinical stage.

[Prevention and management of frequent complications after endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm].

OBJECTIVE: To prevent and manage frequent complications after endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). METHODS: The data of 71 cases of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) treated by endovascular repair were analysed retrospectively. The reasons, managements, results and prognosis of frequent complications were investigated. RESULTS: Seventy-one cases of infrarenal AAA were treated by endovascular repair with 100% success rate. There was no surgical conversion to open aneurysm repair. There were 8 cases of primary endoleak, 1 case of nervous complication and acute thrombosis. An average follow-up period was 26 +/- 5 months. Three persistent endoleaks and 4 secondary endoleaks were found during the follow-up period. The endoleak rate was 9.8% (7/71) within 1 month postoperatively and mortality rate was 1.3% (1/71). Total mortality rate was 4.2% (3/71). Two patients died from acute myocardial infarction and one from acute heart failure. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm is technically feasible and can effectively exclude aortic aneurysms from the circulation. Endoleak is a chief complication after endovascular repair of infrarenal AAA.Additional procedures and follow up are very important. Endoleak with enlarged aneurysm should be treated actively.