Endothelial progenitor cells as the target for cardiovascular disease prediction, personalized prevention, and treatments: progressing beyond the state-of-the-art.

Stimulated by the leading mortalities of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), various types of cardiovascular biomaterials have been widely investigated in the past few decades. Although great therapeutic effects can be achieved by bare metal stents (BMS) and drug-eluting stents (DES) within months or years, the long-term complications such as late thrombosis and restenosis have limited their further applications. It is well accepted that rapid endothelialization is a promising approach to eliminate these complications. Convincing evidence has shown that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) could be mobilized into the damaged vascular sites systemically and achieve endothelial repair in situ, which significantly contributes to the re-endothelialization process. Therefore, how to effectively capture EPCs via specific molecules immobilized on biomaterials is an important point to achieve rapid endothelialization. Further, in the context of predictive, preventive, personalized medicine (PPPM), the abnormal number alteration of EPCs in circulating blood and certain inflammation responses can also serve as important indicators for predicting and preventing early cardiovascular disease. In this contribution, we mainly focused on the following sections: the definition and classification of EPCs, the mechanisms of EPCs in treating CVDs, the potential diagnostic role of EPCs in predicting CVDs, as well as the main strategies for cardiovascular biomaterials to capture EPCs.

[Prognostic value of lymph node ratio and N stage in stage III colorectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prognostic value of lymph node ratio and N staging in stage III colorectal cancer. METHODS: The clinicopathologic factors and follow-up data of 304 cases with stage III colorectal cancer from January 1998 to December 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazard regression model in forward stepwise regression. Patients were divided into different subgroups according to the number of lymph nodes sample. RESULTS: LNR and N stage were independent risk factors for stage III colorectal cancer, the prognostic value of LNR was better than that of N stage [Odds ratio were 1.838(95% CI:1.563~2.161) vs. 1.625 (95% CI:1.392~1.898)]. Subgroup analysis showed that, when the number of lymph nodes sample was less than 13, the prognostic value of LNR was better than that of N stage (Odds ratio were 1.836 vs. 1.639). But when the number of lymph nodes sample was more than 13, they were comparable (Odds ratio were 1.876 vs. 1.853). CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic value of LNR and N stage were comparable for stage III colorectal cancer, but when the number of lymph nodes sample was less than 13, LNR was more valuable.