The expression and relationship of AdipoR1/R2 in gastric intestinal metaplasia.

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin (ApN) is a 244-amino acid protein mainly secreted from the adipose tissue and involved in various physiological functions. ApN exerts its metabolic effects by binding to two major receptors: adiponectin receptor-1 (Adipo-R1) and adiponectin receptor-2 (Adipo-R2). Recent studies have reported ApN's involvement in the progression of cancer. However, there are no studies evaluating the relationship between Adipo-R1/R2 expression and gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM), which is a predisposing factor in gastric cancer (GC) development, and Helicobacter pylori H. pylori infection. AIMS: In this study we aimed to investigate the relationship between the Adipo-R1/-R2 expression and H. pylori infection in patients with GC and gastric IM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients that underwent gastric resection and 56 patients that developed gastric IM were included in the study. The Adipo-R1/-R2 expression and the presence of H. pylori were examined immunohistochemically. The univariate analyses showed that the expression of Adipo-R1/-R2 in GC patients was significantly lower compared to both complete metaplasia (CM) and incomplete metaplasia (ICM) patients (p <0.0001 for both). RESULTS: According to multiple multinomial logistic regression analysis, Adipo-R1/-R2 expression in the CM group was significantly higher than in the GC group (p = 0.05, p = 0.014, respectively). Moreover, Adipo-R1/-R2 expression was significantly higher in ICM group compared to the GC group (p=0.012, p=0.045, respectively). However, in both analyses no significant difference was determined in terms of H. pylori positivity between the groups. CONCLUSION: The resulting data suggests that ApN plays a role in GC processes via Adipo-R1/-R2 receptors.

Randomized controlled trial of 8 weeks' vs 12 weeks' interval between neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery for locally advanced rectal cancer.

AIM: The aim was to compare the pathological complete response (pCR) rate at 8 compared to 12 weeks' interval between completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. METHOD: This was a randomized trial which included a total of 330 patients from two institutions. Patients with locally advanced (T3-4N0M0, TxN+M0) rectal cancer were randomized into 8- and 12-week interval groups. All the patients received long-course CRT (45 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions and concomitant oral capecitabine or 5-fluorouracil infusion). Surgery was performed at either 8 or 12 weeks after CRT. The primary end-point was pCR. Secondary end-points were sphincter preservation, postoperative morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Two-hundred and fifty-two patients (n = 125 in the 8-week group, n = 127 in the 12-week group) were included. Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between groups. The overall pCR rate was 17.9% (n = 45): 12% (n = 15) in the 8-week group and 23.6% (n = 30) in the 12-week group (P = 0.021). Sphincter-preserving surgery was performed in 107 (85.6%) patients which was significantly higher than the 94 (74%) patients in the 12-week group (P = 0.016). Postoperative mortality was seen in three (1.2%) patients overall and was not different between groups (1.6% in 8 weeks vs 0.8% in 12 weeks, P = 0.494). Groups were similar in anastomotic leak (10.8% in 8 weeks vs 4.5% in 12 weeks, P = 0.088) and morbidity (30.4% in 8 weeks and 20.1% in 12 weeks, P = 0.083). CONCLUSION: Extending the interval between CRT and surgery from 8 to 12 weeks resulted in a 2-fold increase in pCR rate without any difference in mortality and morbidity.

Overexpression of miR-21 Is Associated With Recurrence in Patients With Hepatitis B Virus-Mediated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Liver Transplantation.

Liver transplantation (LT) is the best treatment option for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-mediated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, recurrence is the most important issue after LT. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the relation of dysregulated expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in recurrence formation in HBV-mediated HCC cases. A total of 42 HBV-mediated HCC patients were evaluated in this study. Among 21 miRNAs, the expression level of miR-106a and miR-21 were higher and miR-143 and miR145 were lower in patients with HCC compared with noncancerous liver tissues (P = .0388, P = .0214, P = .0321, and P = .002, respectively). Compared with nonrecurrent patients, the expression level of miR-21 was 3.54-fold higher and miR-145 was 2.42-fold lower in patients with recurrence during the 5-year follow-up (P = .004 and P = .032; respectively). In addition, according to multivariate Cox regression analysis, the overexpression of miR-21 was found to be a prognostic indicator in HBV-mediated HCC patients (P = .002). In conclusion, we show a significant association between high expression of miR-21 and recurrence in HBV-mediated HCC. Therefore, up-regulation of miR-21 could serve as a promising prognostic marker for HCC.

Immunohistochemical detection of p53 and MDM2 expressions in liposarcoma with World health organization classification.

BACKGROUND: Liposarcomas are among the most common soft tissue sarcomas in adulthood. AIM: The purpose of the study is to perform a histopathologic typing according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of cases diagnosed with liposarcoma and to examine the difference of p53 and MDM2 expressions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The haematoxylin-eosin stained sections of 48 subjects enrolled in the study have been evaluated on the basis of the WHO classification for liposarcoma and sections stained using p53 and MDM2. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi-Square test was applied. RESULTS: 20 subjects were diagnosed with well-differentiated liposarcoma (WLS), 16 myxoid liposarcoma (ML), 7 pleomorphic liposarcoma (PL), and 5 de-differentiated liposarcoma (DLS). The number of cases stained positive with MDM2 and p53 were positive correlated in all subjects (P = 0.02). p53 and MDM2 positivity increased in high grade tumors (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: p53 and MDM2 immuno-reactivity was found to be potentially useful in liposarcoma diagnosis but a definitive implication would be rather unhealthy due to the small number of cases in our study.

Thyroid carcinoma risk in patients with hyperthyroidism and role of preoperative cytology in diagnosis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of thyroid carcinoma in patients with hyperthyroidism and evaluate the role of preoperative ultrasonography (US) guided thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma in these patients. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-five hyperthyroid patients--119 with toxic multinodular goiter (TMNG), 47 with autonomous functioning toxic nodule (AFTN) and 159 with Graves Disease (GD)--were included in this study. All patients were evaluated with US and in all patients with nodules, US guided FNAB was carried out. RESULTS: Among 159 patients with GD, 62 were without nodules. Totally, 583 nodules in 263 patients were sampled by FNAB. Cytologic results of nodules were as follows: 87.7% benign, 6.2% inadequate, 4.3% suspicious and 1.9% malignant. Postoperatively, 42 (12.9%) patients were diagnosed as thyroid carcinoma histopathologically. Thyroid carcinoma was detected postoperatively in all patients with malignant cytology, in 47.8% of patients with suspicious cytology and in 44.4% of patients with inadequate cytology. Moreover, in 13 patients with benign cytology and in 3 Graves patients without any nodule ultrasonographically, incidental thyroid carcinoma was found (5.7%). Consequently, thyroid malignancy rates were 16% in TMNG, 6.4% in AFTN and 12.6% in GD. CONCLUSION: Thyroid carcinoma is common in hyperthyroidism and FNAB is a reliable method in diagnosis of thyroid malignancy in these patients. Additionally, incidental thyroid carcinoma prevalence is also high in patients with hyperthyroidism. We suggest that it is reasonable to evaluate nodules with FNAB in hyperthyroid patients prior to radioactive iodine treatment or surgical intervention.

Noise tube sources for the far IR and millimeter region.

The radiant output of a noise tube (C. P. Clare Model TN-167), designed for the 90-140-GHz (3.3-2.1-mm) frequency range, has been compared with that from mercury lamps over the wavelength region from 0.4 to ~6 mm. Lamellar grating and Michelson Fourier transform spectrometers were used in conjunction with He cooled bolometers of NEP from 10(-12) to 10(-14) W/(H(2))(1/2) to measure relative spectral irradiance. With this instrumental arrangement, the radiant power emitted by the noise tube was observed to be less than that from a mercury lamp, at least to a 3-mm wavelength, but it produced less source noise than an ac operated mercury lamp. When the noise tube operating current was reduced, the spectral irradiance peak shifted to longer wavelengths.