ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is currently no evidence that hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype affects survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate whether the HCV genotype affected the survival rate of patients with HCV-related HCC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using the data of patients with HCV-related HCC evaluated at two centers in Korea between January 2005 and December 2016. Propensity score matching between genotype 2 patients and non-genotype 2 patients was performed to reduce bias. RESULTS: A total of 180 patients were enrolled. Of these, 86, 78, and 16 had genotype 1, genotype 2, and genotype 3 HCV-related HCC, respectively. The median age was 66.0 years, and the median overall survival was 28.6 months. In the entire cohort, patients with genotype 2 had a longer median overall survival (31.7 months) than patients with genotype 1 (28.7 months; P = 0.004) or genotype 3 (15.0 months; P = 0.003). In the propensity score-matched cohort, genotype 2 patients also showed a better survival rate than non-genotype 2 patients (P = 0.007). Genotype 2 patients also had a longer median decompensation-free survival than non-genotype 2 patients (P = 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in recurrence-free survival between genotype 2 and non-genotype 2 patients who underwent curative treatment (P = 0.077). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, non-genotype 2 (hazard ratio, 2.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.71) remained an independent risk factor for death. CONCLUSION: Among patients with HCV-related HCC, those with genotype 2 have better survival.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/virology , Hepacivirus/genetics , Hepatitis C/virology , Liver Neoplasms/mortality , Liver Neoplasms/virology , Adult , Aged , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Genotype , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Propensity Score , Proportional Hazards Models , Republic of Korea , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Survival RateABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is an uncommon form of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Korea. In this study, we aimed to highlight the clinical features, diagnostic methods, and outcomes of abdominal TB over 12 years in Southeastern Korea. METHODS: A total of 139 patients diagnosed as having abdominal TB who received anti-TB medication from January 2005 to June 2016 were reviewed. Among them, 69 patients (49.6%) had luminal TB, 28 (20.1%) had peritoneal TB, 7 (5.0%) had nodal TB, 23 (16.5%) had visceral TB, and 12 (8.6%) had mixed TB. RESULTS: The most frequent symptoms were abdominal pain (34.5%) and abdominal distension (21.0%). Diagnosis of abdominal TB was confirmed using microbiologic and/or histologic methods in 76 patients (confirmed diagnosis), while the remaining 63 patients were diagnosed based on clinical presentation and radiologic imaging (clinical diagnosis). According to diagnostic method, frequency of clinical diagnosis was highest in patients with luminal (50.7%) or peritoneal (64.3%) TB, while frequency of microscopic diagnosis was highest in patients with visceral TB (68.2%), and frequency of histologic diagnosis was highest in patients with nodal TB (85.2%). Interestingly, most patients, except those with nodal TB, showed a good response to anti-TB agents, with 84.2% showing a complete response. The mortality rate was only 1.4% in the present study. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients responded very well to anti-TB therapy, and surgery was required in only a minority of cases of suspected abdominal TB.
Subject(s)
Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal/diagnosis , Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal/epidemiology , Abdominal Cavity/microbiology , Abdominal Cavity/pathology , Abdominal Pain/diagnosis , Abdominal Pain/epidemiology , Abdominal Pain/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Peritoneum/microbiology , Peritoneum/pathology , Peritonitis, Tuberculous/diagnosis , Peritonitis, Tuberculous/epidemiology , Prognosis , Republic of Korea/epidemiology , Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal/pathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Transcription factors with an APETELA2 (AP2) domain have been implicated in various cellular processes involved in plant development and stress responses. Of the 139 AP2 genes predicted in rice (Oryza sativa), we identified 42 genes in our current study that are induced by one or more stress conditions, including drought, high salinity, low temperature, and abscisic acid. Phylogenic analysis of these 42 stress-inducible AP2 genes revealed the presence of six subgroups (I-VI) with distinct signature motifs. Two genes, AP37 and AP59, representing subgroups I and II, respectively, were functionally characterized. Both genes were found to be induced upon 2 h of exposure to drought and high-salinity conditions but to differ in their expression profile upon exposure to low temperature and abscisic acid. The overexpression of AP37 and AP59 in rice under the control of the constitutive promoter OsCc1 increased the tolerance to drought and high salinity at the vegetative stage. Increased tolerance to low temperatures was observed only in OsCc1:AP37 plants. More importantly, the OsCc1:AP37 plants showed significantly enhanced drought tolerance in the field, which increased grain yield by 16% to 57% over controls under severe drought conditions, yet exhibited no significant difference under normal growth conditions. In contrast, grain yield in OsCc1:AP59 plants in the field was reduced by 23% to 43% compared with controls under both normal and drought stress conditions. Microarray experiments identified 10 and 38 genes that are up-regulated by AP37 and AP59, respectively, in addition to 37 genes that are commonly induced by both factors. Our results suggest that the AP37 gene has the potential to improve drought tolerance in rice without causing undesirable growth phenotypes.
