Prognostic significance of pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with laryngeal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been shown to be associated with the progression of laryngeal cancer (LC), but studies have reported inconsistent results. We systematically evaluated the effect of the pretreatment NLR on the prognosis of LC in the meta-analysis. METHOD: The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched from January 1, 2000 to September 10, 2019, to identify studies investigating the relationship between the NLR and outcomes in LC patients. The fixed-effects model was used to assess the pooled hazard ratio (HR), along with the 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS: A total of 105 records were obtained through the databases and 12 studies enrolling 3710 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled overall survival (OS, HR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.53-2.03, P < 0.001), progression-free survival (PFS, HR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.38-2.13, P < 0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS, HR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.33-2.07, P < 0.001) indicated that a higher NLR led to a poorer prognosis for patients with LC. In terms of publication year, country, cutoff value, cutoff method, treatment modality, statistical model and NOS score, subgroup analyses consistently showed a worse OS in patients with an elevated NLR. Additionally, there was no significant difference among the subgroups (all P for heterogeneity > 0.05). CONCLUSION: An elevated pretreatment NLR is significantly associated with poorer prognosis in patients with LC. NLR values are easily obtained from routinely collected blood samples and could assist clinicians in determining the prognosis of LC patients.

UCHL3 promotes proliferation of colorectal cancer cells by regulating SOX12 via AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: The dysregulation of deubiquitinating enzymes is important in the development of many cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the precise function and potential mode of action of the deubiquitinating enzyme UCHL3 in CRC progression are poorly elucidated. METHODS: The expression levels of UCHL3 in patient samples were analyzed by western blotting, real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry and its association with overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method. Colony formation, CCK-8 and Transwell were used to examine the effects of UCHL3 knockdown or over-expression on CRC cells growth, invasion and migration. The functional effects of UCHL3 and SOX12 on tumor growth were further examined using xenograft tumor mouse models in vivo. RESULTS: Here, we found high expression of UCHL3 in CRC tissues which showed an association with the development of tumor and CRC patient survival. Studies conducted in vitro showed that UCHL3 overexpression facilitates proliferation, invasion, migration, and EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) in cells of CRC, and a knockdown of UCHL3 had a reverse effect. Likewise, experiments conducted in vivo also showed enhanced tumor growth due to UCHL3 overexpression. In addition, UCHL3 was found regulates SOX12 expression in CRC cells. PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is required for UCHL3-mediated SOX12 expression. Mechanically, UCHL3 regulates SOX12 via AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and facilitated tumor progression. CONCLUSION: UCHL3 plays an oncogenic role through the AKT/mTOR/SOX12 axis and can be considered as a potential target for therapy and CRC prognostic biomarker.

[Study on preparation method of Yueanjian for treatmen of premenstrual syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the liver-depression and spleen-deficiency syndrome model in rats to screen the optimal extraction method of small compound Yueanjian on the basis of pharmacodynamic and chemical indicators. METHOD: The PMS liver-depression and spleen-deficiency syndrome model were established by the chronic restraint stress method and treatment with Yueanjian extracted by three methods: water-extraction, steam-distillation and alcohol-extraction. Behavioral performances and the contents of estradiol and progestin in serum were determined before and after the administration of the three extracts. The contents of salvianolic acid B in these three extracts were detected by HPLC. The optimal extraction method of Yueanjian was selected according to pharmacodynamic results. RESULT: The contents of estradiol and progestin in groups treated with steam distillations and alcoholic extraction were higher than the model group. In the open field test, the group treated with steam distillations showed much higher scores than the model group. HPLC showed that the content of salvianolic acid B extracted by steam-distillation was higher than the other two extracts. CONCLUSION: On the basis of pharmacodynamic and chemical results, the steam-distillation was proved to be best extraction method of Yueanjian.