The impact of body mass index on operative time in transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach for thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: The impact of body mass index (BMI) on operative time in transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) for thyroid cancer is still a subject of debate. This study assessed the impact of BMI on operative time and postoperative complications in patients undergoing TOETVA. METHODS: The study has been conducted to compare the outcomes of TOETVA in patients with high BMI (≥25) and those with normal BMI (<25). Postoperative outcomes, including operative time, blood lost, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy, hypocalcemia and postoperative pain score, were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 62 patients who underwent TOETVA were included in the study. The high BMI group consisted of 39 patients, while the normal BMI group included 23 patients. No significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding operative time, blood loss, postoperative pain score, and postoperative complications such as recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy and hypocalcemia. CONCLUSIONS: BMI was not significantly associated with operative time and postoperative complications in patients undergoing TOETVA, indicating its safety and feasibility for elevated BMI patients.

Prediction and screening of circRNA in triple-negative breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to study the expression profile and potential function of circular RNA (circRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). METHODS: RNA sequencing technology was used to detect differentially expressed circRNAs and lncRNAs between TNBC tissues and the adjacent tissue. The potential functions of these different RNAs were analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis by bioinformatics tools. We also selected and analyzed these key circRNAs and lncRNAs to verify their important functions in TNBC. RESULTS: A total of 139 differentially expressed circRNAs and 1001 lncRNAs were obtained. The co-expression analysis showed that the hub lncRNAs (OIP5-AS1, DRAIC) were associated with several tumors and mainly enriched in tumor metastasis. We also screened 5 circRNA-hosting genes (NTRK2, FNTA, BAPGEF2, MGST2, ADH1B) that were associated with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) receptor signaling pathway and cerebral cortex development, as well as AMPK and TGF-ß signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: We identified a large number of differentially expressed circRNAs and lncRNAs, which provide useful insight in understanding TNBC carcinogenesis.

STAMBPL1 knockdown has antitumour effects on gastric cancer biological activities.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of STAM binding protein-like 1 (STAMBPL1) knockdown in the suppression of gastric cancer activities. Pathological data and STAMBPL1 protein expression were analysed in 36 patients with gastric cancer, including 24 stage I-II and 12 stage III-IV patients, by haematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry. In vitro cell experiments were performed to measure AGS cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration by MTT, Celigo cell count, flow cytometry, Transwell and wound healing assays following STAMBPL1 knockdown. The relative protein expression levels were evaluated by western blotting. When compared with the adjacent normal tissues, STAMBPL1 protein expression in the gastric cancer tissues with increasing stages was significantly upregulated (P<0.01 or P<0.001). STAMBPL1 gene expression was not identified to be significantly different between AGS and MGC80-3 gastric cancer cells (P>0.05). Following STAMBPL1 knockdown by short hairpin RNA (sh)STAMBPL1, cell proliferation was significantly suppressed, the cell apoptosis rate was significantly upregulated, and the numbers of invasive AGS cells and the AGS wound healing rate were significantly decreased (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively), compared with those in the shControl group. Additionally, STAMBPL1 and NF-κB protein expression levels were significantly downregulated in the shSTAMBPL1 group (P<0.001, respectively). STAMBPL1 may be oncogenic in gastric cancer, and STAMBPL1 knockdown may suppress gastric cancer development.

Sijunzi decoction-treated rat serum induces apoptosis of side population cells in gastric carcinoma.

Sijunzi decoction (SJZD) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Previous studies have indicated that SJZD exhibits antitumor activity. However, the underlying molecular mechanism has not been fully elucidated. To explore the antitumor mechanism of SJZD, the effects of serum from rats treated with SJZD on the proliferation of MKN-28 and HGC-27 gastric carcinoma cell lines were systematically investigated. It was found that SJZD-treated rat serum significantly inhibited the growth of MKN-28 and HGC-27 cells in vitro. The results obtained from a colony formation assay showed that SJZD-treated rat serum decreased the colony formation ability of MKN-28 and HGC-27 cells. The apoptosis rate in MKN-28 and HGC-27 cells was also increased following treatment with SJZD-treated rat serum. Flow cytometry with cell sorting revealed the presence of side population (SP) cells in MKN-28 and HGC-27 cells though Hoechst 33342 staining, and verapamil reduced the SP percentage. Further analysis showed that SJZD-treated rat serum promoted the apoptosis of SP cells in MKN-28 and HGC-27 cell lines by upregulating Bax, caspase-3 and PARP and downregulating bcl-2. These data revealed the therapeutic effect of SJZD-treated rat serum on gastric carcinoma. Following the preliminary identification of the inhibitory effect on the growth of gastric cancer cells in vitro, the growth inhibitory effect of SJZD-treated rat serum on SP cells was confirmed, and this inhibition particularly involved the induction of cell apoptosis.

Aberrant expression of ALDH1, MMP9, Integrin αvß3, and KiSS-1 in invasive ductal carcinoma and their clinical significance.

BACKGROUND: Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1, a biomarker of cancer stem cells), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9, known as a matrilysin), Integrin αvß3 (known as a biomarker of cell-matrix adhesion) and KiSS-1 (suppressor gene of tumor metastasis) are all related to cancer invasion and metastasis in many cancers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of ALDH1, MMP9, Integrin αvß3, and KiSS-1 in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), and their respective associations with clinical characteristics and survival in IDC. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of ALDH1, MMP9, Integrin αvß3, and KiSS-1 in 227 whole IDC tissue specimens. Patients' clinical and demographic data were both collected. RESULTS: The expression of ALDH1, MMP9, and Integrin αvß3 were significantly higher in IDC tissues than in the control tissues. The positive expressions of ALDH1, MMP9, and Integrin αvß3 were positively associated with tumor grades, lymph node metastasis (LNM), tumor stages, and tumor node metastasis (TNM) stages, and inversely with overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Positive expression of KiSS-1 was negatively associated with tumor grades, LNM, tumor stages, and TNM stages, but positively with OS and RFS. A multivariate analysis demonstrated that the positive expression of ALDH1, MMP9, Integrin αvß3, KiSS-1, ER, and HER-2, as well as TNM stages were independent prognostic factors for OS and RFS in IDC. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of ALDH1, MMP9, Integrin αvß3, and KiSS-11 should represent promising biomarkers in predicting metastasis and prognosis, as well as being potential therapeutic targets for IDC.

Artemisinin inhibits gallbladder cancer cell lines through triggering cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Primary gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common malignancy of the digestive system. Due to its resistance to standard chemotherapy, no effective treatments are available at present. Artemisinin, a plant-derived anti­malarial drug, has recently been shown to have anti-proliferative effects on a range of human cancer cell types. However, the efficacy of artemisinin against gallbladder cancer has not been reported. The present study investigated the effects of artemisinin on the proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of gallbladder cancer cell lines. A cell viability assay and an in vivo xenograft study demonstrated that artemisinin significantly inhibited the growth of gallbladder cancer. Western blot analysis indicated that artemisinin induced the expression of p16, while down­regulating phosphorylated extracellular signal­regulated kinase (ERK)1/2, CDK4 and cyclin D1 expression, leading to inhibition of the ERK1/2 pathway. Furthermore, flow cytometry and western blot analysis showed that artemisinin caused G1-phase arrest of the cell cycle, promoted the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), led to a collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential and to triggered cytochrome c release from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm, which finally activated caspase­3­mediated apoptosis. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that artemisinin inhibits the proliferation of gallbladder cancer cells in vitro as well as in vivo and induces apoptosis via induction of ROS and cell cycle arrest. These results suggested that artemisinin may be suitable for the treatment of gallbladder cancer.