Potential risk factors for the development of seroma following mastectomy with axillary dissection.

Seroma is a common complication following breast cancer surgery and the controllable predictive factors remain unknown. Patients who underwent mastectomy with axillary dissection between 2008 and 2011 in our hospital were retrospectively investigated. The demographics, clinical characteristics and therapeutic factors of each patient were recorded. The association of seroma incidence with each variable was evaluated by univariate logistic regression analysis. All the variables were considered independent predictors of seroma incidence. The probability of developing seroma following surgery was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 102 patients, with a mean age of 54.86±13.02 years (range, 30-89 years), were included in this study and the incidence of seroma was found to be 22.55%. The operative time (P=0.0066, coefficient = 0.0261, OR=1.03) and the use of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCA) (P=0.0002, coefficient = -1.8089, OR=0.03, ref = no) was significantly associated with the incidence of seroma postoperatively. In conclusion, the prediction of the development of seroma following mastectomy with axillary dissection is challenging. However, a longer operative time and the non-use of PCA may represent potential risk factors for this complication.

Expression and clinical significance of osteopontin in calcified breast tissue.

Osteopontin (OPN) is an integrin-binding protein, believed to be involved in a variety of physiological cellular functions. The physiology of OPN is best documented in the bone where this secreted adhesive glycoprotein appears to be involved in osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. In our study, we used semi-quantitative RT-PCR of osteopontin in calcification tissue of breast to detect breast cancer metastasis. The obtained data indicate that the expression of osteopontin is related to calcification tissue of breast, and possibly with the incidence of breast cancer. The expression strength of OPN by RT-PCR detection was related to the degree of malignancy of breast lesions, suggesting a close relationship between OPN and breast calcification tissue. The results revealed that expression of OPN mRNA is related to calcification of breast cancer tissue and to the development of breast cancer. Determination of OPN mRNA expression can be expected to be a guide to clinical therapy and prediction of the prognosis of breast cancer patients.

Effect of lentivirus-mediated shRNA targeting VEGFR-3 on proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

It has been reported that vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) is highly expressed in most tumor tissues, including gastric cancer. However, the effects of VEGFR-3 knockdown on the proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of gastric cancer cells and downstream signaling molecules have not yet been well established. In the present study, four short hairpin RNA (shRNA) sequences targeting the VEGFR-3 gene (NM_002020) were designed and cloned into a lentiviral vector, pRNAT-U6.2/Lenti, to construct four recombinant lentiviral vectors. The vectors with the two highest interfering efficiencies were selected to be co-transfected with packaging vectors in HEK293T cells to assemble lentivirus particles. Results from Western blot analysis showed that the VEGFR-3 shRNA-4 lentivirus-infected group (sh#4) had the highest efficiency of gene silencing in the MKN45 cell line compared with the parental and control group. The sh#4 group significantly slowed cell proliferation, decreased the mean percentage of S-phase cells and increased the mean percentage of G1 phase cells, promoted cell apoptosis, and also significantly inhibited cell invasion of MKN45 compared with the other two groups. Furthermore, the expression of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in the sh#4 group compared to that of the other two groups. Moreover, results from qRT-PCR revealed that knockdown of VEGFR-3 with the shRNA lentiviral vector resulted in down-regulation of the downstream neural cell adhesion molecule contactin-1 (CNTN-1). In conclusion, the recombinant lentivirus particles were able to remarkably suppress VEGFR-3 expression, regulate the cell cycle, inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in the MKN45 cell lines.