Combating breast cancer progression through combination therapy with hypomethylating agent and glucocorticoid.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Among breast cancer types, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15% of all breast cancers with aggressive tumor behavior. By using bioinformatic approaches, we observed that the microRNA-708 promoter is highly methylated in breast carcinomas, and this methylation is linked to a poor prognosis. Moreover, microRNA-708 expression correlates with better clinical outcomes in TNBC patients. Combination treatment with the hypomethylating agent decitabine and synthetic glucocorticoid significantly increased the expression of microRNA-708, reactivated DNMT-suppressed pathways, and decreased the expression of multiple metastasis-promoting genes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and IL-1ß, leading to the suppression of breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as reduced tumor growth and distant metastasis in the TNBC xenograft mouse model. Overall, our study reveals a therapeutic opportunity in which a combined regimen of decitabine with glucocorticoid may have therapeutic potential in treating TNBC patients.

Investigation of a cluster of Legionnaires' disease during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in northeastern Taiwan, June 2021.

PURPOSE: To describe the investigation and intervention of a cluster of Legionnaires' disease detected during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: From June 7 to 22, 2021, 15 cases in the neighborhood near our hospital were detected. Information about residence, workplace, hospital visit, and potential exposures was collected. Sampling and decontamination were performed for potential sources. RESULTS: All 15 patients had pneumonia when visiting the emergency room with negative COVID-19 test results. Most patients were male (73.3%) with the mean age of 65.7 years. The most common comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (40.0%) and hypertension (40%). The most common symptom was fever (93.3%). Two (13.3%) patients needed mechanical ventilators. Fever subsided within 2 days of treatment for most cases (85.7%). Five cases had exposure history at our hospital, and the other 10 lived or worked in the area within 2 km of our hospital, mostly in buildings A and B. Water sampling was carried out for our hospital, buildings A and B; one water sample from a cooling tower in our hospital cultured positive for Legionella bacteria. Early testing and treatment for suspected cases were carried out for the outbreak, and all cases were discharged with pneumonia resolution. CONCLUSION: This was a community outbreak of Legionnaires' disease near our hospital. COVID-19 tests were repeated frequently before testing for Legionnaires' disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early recognition of Legionnaires' disease and timely treatment improved outcome.

Risk factors for scabies in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Scabies is a global problem. Transmission of scabies is usually due to direct or indirect contact. Delay in diagnosis may result in the spread of the scabies mite. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important. METHODS: In this study, we collected data from 52 scabies patients and analyzed the risk factors for scabies with the case-control method. RESULTS: Our study has revealed that the patients who were bedridden [odds ratio (OR) 6.72, p < 0.0001], living in a nursing home (OR 9.89, p < 0.0001), had a higher clinical severity status before admission (OR 1.25, p < 0.0001), and a catheter inserted (including nasogastric tube, Foley catheter, Port-A, or Hickman catheter) (OR 9.05, p < 0.0001) were significantly more likely to acquire scabies infection. CONCLUSION: To prevent scabies, proper management of the nursing home setting, including adequate cleaning of the contaminated clothing, bedding and equipment, in combination with treating all suspected scabies patients, and contact isolation are important and necessary.

An outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections related to central venous catheters for hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine risk factors for hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infections (HCRBSIs) and investigate whether use of maximal sterile barrier precautions would prevent HCRBSIs. SETTING: Tertiary-care medical center hemodialysis unit. DESIGN: Open trial with historical comparison and case-control study of risk factors for HCRBSIs. METHODS: Prospective surveillance was used to compare HCRBSI rates for 1 year before and after implementation of maximal sterile barrier precautions. A case-control study compared 50 case-patients with HCRBSI with 51 randomly selected control-patients. RESULTS: The HCRBSI rate was 1.6% per 100 dialysis runs (CI95, 1.1%-2.3%) in the first year and 0.77% (CI95, 0.5%-1.1%) in the second year (P = .0106). The most frequent cause of HCRBSI was MRSA in the first year (15 of 32) and MSSA in the second year (13 of 18). Ten MRSA blood isolates in the first year were identical by PFGE. Diabetes mellitus was a risk factor for HCRBSI. Age, gender, site of hemodialysis central venous catheter (CVC), other underlying diseases, coma score, APACHE II score, serum albumin level, and cholesterol level were not associated with HCRBSI and did not change between the 2 years. Hospital stay was prolonged for case-patients (32.78 +/- 20.96 days) versus control-patients (22.75 +/- 17.33 days), but mortality did not differ. CONCLUSIONS: Use of maximal sterile barrier precautions during the insertion of CVCs reduced HCRBSIs in dialysis patients and seemed cost-effective. Diabetes mellitus was associated with HCRBSI. An outbreak of MRSA in the first year was likely caused by cross-infection via medical personnel.