Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography findings of LAMNs with peritoneal and splenic metastases: a case report and literature review.

Low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms (LAMNs) are rare appendiceal tumors that are primarily diagnosed using computed tomography(CT) enhancement and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Herein, we report the sonographic features, especially for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), of a 70-year-old female with an unusual LAMN metastasizing to the peritoneum and spleen. The patient had a right pelvic mass 2 days prior to presentation. Two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound revealed a mixed cystic-solid mass in the right lower abdomen and spleen parenchyma; CEUS showed heterogeneous enhancement in both areas, suspected to be a mucinous mass. CT enhancement and MRI findings revealed concurrent findings. Histopathologically, LAMN lesions were confirmed in the appendix, spleen, and peritoneum of the specimens obtained during exploratory laparoscopy. No recurrences were reported at three years postoperatively. LAMN lesions may metastasize to abdominal organs, and imaging examinations are essential for diagnosis. This study presents major ultrasonography and CEUS findings for the diagnosis of LAMNs.

The estrogen/miR-338-3p/ADAM17 axis enhances the viability of breast cancer cells via suppressing NK cell's function.

Natural killer (NK) cells are the critical elements of the innate immune response and implicated in rapidly recognizing and eliminating cancer cells. However, the tumor-suppressive ability of NK cells is often impaired in several cancer types. The critical roles of microRNAs have been elucidated by increasing evidences, while the regulation of miR-338-3p in anti-tumor activation of NK cells and its relationship with estrogen in breast cancer (BC) are still confusing. Here, miR-338-3p level was found to be significantly downregulated in BC tissues and estrogen receptor positive (ER+ ) cells, this difference was more obvious in ER+ patients or BC patients at advanced stage (TNM III and IV). MiR-338-3p level was shown to be downregulated by 17ß-estradiol in BC cells (MDA-MB-231 cells and MCF-7) in vitro. MiR-338-3p overexpression decreased disintegrin and metalloprotease-17 (ADAM17) secretion in MDA-MB-231 (ER- ) and MCF-7 (ER+ ) cells. In addition, miR-338-3p overexpression or treatment with anti-ADAM17 antibody could down-regulate granzyme B, CD16, and NKG2D in NK cells, which was reversed by human recombinant ADAM17. Furthermore, these educated NK cells could promote the viability of MDA-MB-231 or MCF-7 cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that miR-338-3p was negatively regulated by estrogen in BC cells, impairing NK cell's activity by the up-regulation of ADAM17, and conversely promoted the viability of BC cells. Therefore, the estrogen/miR-338-3p/ADAM17 axis is critically implicated in BC pathogenesis and may provide potential targets for BC diagnosis and treatment.

Downregulated Expression of linc-ROR in Gastric Cancer and Its Potential Diagnostic and Prognosis Value.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the global mortality diseases and has a poor prognosis due to the lack of ideal tumor biomarkers. Numerous studies have shown that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can affect the occurrence and development of cancer through a variety of signaling pathways. The abnormal expression and specificity of lncRNAs in tumors make them potential biomarkers of cancers. Nevertheless, the diagnostic roles of lncRNAs in GC have been poorly understood. So this study focuses on the clinical diagnostic value of lncRNAs in GC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to investigate the expression of the linc-ROR (long intergenic noncoding RNA, regulator of reprogramming) in 105 paired GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) were established to assess the diagnostic value of linc-ROR. The relationship between expression of linc-ROR and clinicopathological factors of patients with GC was further explored. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of linc-ROR expression. RESULTS: The linc-ROR expression level was significantly decreased in GC tissues compared with its adjacent nontumor tissues (n = 105, P < 0.001). We also discovered that linc-ROR was evidently downregulated in 68.6% (72/105) of GC tissues. The AUC's value of linc-ROR was up to 0.6495, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.7524 and 0.5143, respectively. Intriguingly, the linc-ROR expression levels were obviously associated with tumor differentiation (P = 0.004). Notably, the overall survival rate of GC patients with high expression of linc-ROR was significantly higher than those with low expression. CONCLUSION: Our data revealed that linc-ROR has clinical potential as a biomarker for the diagnosis of GC and assessment of its prognosis.

Circ-ZNF609 promotes migration of colorectal cancer by inhibiting Gli1 expression via microRNA-150.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of circular (circ)-ZNF609 on the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer and its underlying mechanism. METHODS: 24 cases of postoperative colorectal cancer tissues and 36 cases of mucosa tissues were selected as experimental group and control group, respectively. Circ-ZNF609 expression in colorectal cancer tissues and mucosa tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). For in vitro experiments, subcellular localization of Circ-ZNF609 in nuclear and cytoplasmic HCT116 cells was assessed. MicroRNA-150 was found to bind to Circ-ZNF609 by dual luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, migration ability of transfected HCT116 cells was assessed by Transwell assay. Additionally, mRNA and protein levels of glioma-associated oncogene 1 (Gli1) in HCT116 cells were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Higher expressions of Circ-ZNF609 and Gli1 were found in colorectal cancer tissues compared to paracancerous tissues. MicroRNA-150 was downregulated in colorectal cancer tissues. Pearson correlation analysis showed that Circ-ZNF609 was positively correlated with Gli1, and microRNA-150 was negatively correlated with Circ-ZNF609 and Gli1. Dual luciferase reporter assay confirmed that microRNA-150 was bound with cytoplasmic Circ-ZNF609. Furthermore, downregulated Circ-ZNF609 inhibited migration of HCT116 cells. In addition, knockdown of Circ-ZNF609 or overexpression of microRNA-150 inhibited cell migration, which was reversed by co-transfection with microRNA-150 inhibitor and Circ-ZNF609 siRNA. CONCLUSIONS: Circ-ZNF609 regulates Gli1 expression via microRNA-150, thus affecting the migration of colorectal cancer.

Safety and efficacy of laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer in the elderly.

To evaluate safety and efficacy of laparoscopy-assisted radical gastrectomy (LARG) for advanced gastric cancer patients aged 70 years or older. Clinical data were retrospectively collected from patients with IIA-IIIC gastric cancer who underwent LARG (n = 30) and open radical gastrectomy (ORG, n = 34) in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery in the Ningbo First Hospital from January 2012 to December 2013. The mean operative time was longer in the LARG group than in the ORG group but there was no statistical difference between the two groups. The intraoperative blood loss (120 ± 52.7 ml vs 227.3 ± 146.9 ml), incidence of postoperative complication (23.0% vs 47%) were lower in the LARG group than those in the ORG group. In addition, the time to first flatus (2.9 ± 0.8 d vs 4.6 ± 1.2 d), time to first ambulation (1.2 ± 0.4 vs 4.1 ± 1.0 d), time of nasogastric intubation (2.5 ± 1.0 d vs 3.5 ± 1.4 d), and postoperative hospital stay (13.0 ± 4.2 d vs 16.9 ± 4.1 d) were significantly shorter in the LARG group than in the ORG group, respectively. No statistical difference in the number of harvested lymph nodes was noted between the two groups (30.2 ± 12.0 vs 28.1 ± 11.8, P > 0.05). LARG is safer, more effective and less invasive for the elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer.

High fever as an initial symptom of primary gastric inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in an adult woman.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, also known as inflammatory pseudotumor, plasma cell granuloma or inflammatory myofibroblastoma, is characterized histopathologically by myofibroblastic spindle cells with inflammatory cell infiltrates composed of plasma cells, lymphocytes and eosinophils. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is typically seen in children or young adults and is most commonly localized to the lungs, but it can occur anywhere in the body. To date, however, only a few cases involving the stomach have been reported. Herein, we present a case of gastric inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in an adult woman with an initial symptom of high fever.

Adult Hirschsprung's disease: report of four cases.

Adult Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a rare motor disorder of the gut that is frequently misdiagnosed as refractory constipation. The primary pathogenic defect in adult HD is identical to that seen in infancy or childhood, and is characterized by the total absence of intramural ganglion cells of the submucosal (Meissner) and myenteric (Auerbach) neural plexuses in the affected segment of the bowel. Ninety-four percent of HD cases are diagnosed before the patient reaches 5 years of age, however, on rare occasion, mild cases of HD may go undiagnosed until he or she reaches adulthood. In this study, we describe four cases of adult HD with a history of longstanding recurrent constipation, relieved by laxatives, and presenting to the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery with progressive abdominal distention, colicky pain or acute intestinal obstruction. Barium enema or computed tomography revealed a grossly distended proximal large colon with fecal retention. Intraoperative frozen section biopsy was performed in all cases and showed aganglionosis of the stenotic segment and a normal distal rectum. In all cases, patient symptoms were completely resolved and there were no complications arising immediately post-surgery or at one-year follow-up. Adult HD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases where adult patients present with chronic constipation or even acute intestinal obstruction. The modified one-stage Martin-Duhamel or Rehbein's procedure is a feasible surgical option for treating cases of adult HD involving a segment or the entire bowel.

The effect of combination treatment with docosahexaenoic acid and 5-fluorouracil on the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes, including the novel gene BCL2L12, in gastric cancer cells.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays an important role in suppressing the growth of cancer. In this paper, the synergetic anticancer effect of combination DHA with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was investigated in gastric carcinoma cells. We found that DHA inhibited the growth of cultured SGC7901 cells at different concentrations in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, the growth-inhibition activities of increasing concentration of 5-FU were markedly enhanced when different doses of 5-FU were administered in the combination with dose as low as 40 microg/ml of DHA. The early phase of apoptosis was increased in DHA- and 5-FU-treated cells. In the case of apoptotic genes expression in the combination-treated cells, BAX mRNA expression increased, whereas FAS, BCL-2, BCL2L12, and CASPASE-9 mRNA expression decreased. These results suggest that DHA strongly enhances the anticancer effect of 5-FU. Moreover, the application of both compounds on gastric cancer cells provides a new potential approach for cancer therapy.

[Application of SELDI-TOF-MS in detection of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a serum protein fingerprint model for prediction of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer by SELDI-TOF-MS analysis, and to determine the differentiatial proteins associated with the metastatic liver cancers. METHODS: Data were collected from the Department of General Surgery in Zhongshan Hospital. A group of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) without liver metastasis (n = 36) and another group with liver metastasis (n = 36) were included in this study. Serum samples were collected from peripheral venous blood before operation. Special serum protein or peptide fingerprint was determined by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). The obtained data were analyzed by Biomarker Wizard software to screen the serum protein markers discriminating colorectal cancer patients with and without liver metastasis. A serum protein fingerprint model was established. This model was blindly verified in of CRC patients with and 44 cases without liver metastasis. RESULTS: Comparing the characteristic proteins in those two groups of patients, 10 specific protein peaks were identified with statistical significance (P < 0.05). According to m/z growing from small to large, they were: 2398, 2814, 4084, 4289, 4465, 6422, 6619, 11 482, 11 649 and 13 714. The predictive model had a sensitivity of 91.7% and a specificity of 97.2%. The validation showed a sensitivity of 75.0% and a specificity of 81.8%. CONCLUSION: A predictive model based on differentiatial serum protein fingerprint with high sensitivity and specificity has been successfully established. It should be a very useful tool in detection and diagnosis of liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients.