Search

Background and Objective: Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobin-like domains 3 (LRIG3), a member of LRIG gene family, is down-regulated in various human cancers, but its functions are still unclear. This study was to explore the effect of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated LRIG3 gene silencing on the proliferation of glioma GL15 cells and the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67, and investigate possible mechanisms., Methods: The plasmids pGenesil2-LRIG3-shRNA1 and pGenesil2-LRIG3-shRNA2 which containing U6 promoter and LRIG3-specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and the plasmid pGenesil2-negative-shRNA containing unspecific shRNA were transfected into GL15 cells. Stable cell clones were selected by G418. The mRNA and protein levels of LRIG3 were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. The expression of PCNA and Ki-67 in GL15 cells were examined by SABC immunohistochemistry., Results: Compared with those in control cells, the mRNA levels of LRIG3 transcripts were reduced by 52.4% and 63.8% in shRNA1- and shRNA2-transfected cells, respectively; its protein levels were reduced by 50.9% and 67.4%, respectively. Cell proliferation was enhanced by LRIG3 shRNA transfection. The positive rate of PCNA was significantly higher in shRNA1- and shRNA2-transfected cells than in control cells [(72.13 +/- 5.64)% and (81.93 +/- 5.23)% vs. (35.40 +/- 5.69)%, p < 0.01]. The positive rate of Ki-67 was also significantly higher in shRNA1- and shRNA2-transfected cells than in control cells [(82.27 +/- 5.50)% and (88.67 +/- 3.52)% vs. (49.73 +/- 5.73)%, p < 0.01]. PCNA expression was positively correlated to Ki-67 expression (r =0.932, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Down-regulating LRIG3 gene expression can improve the proliferation of glioma GL15 cells.

Background & Objective: The prognosis of relapsed or refractory T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (T-NHL) is poor. There is no definite prognostic factors and standard regimens for these patients. This study was to explore the prognostic factors and effective regimens for relapsed or refractory T-NHL., Methods: Clinical records of 45 patients with relapsed or refractory T-NHL, treated in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University from Jan. 1997 to Mar. 2003, were analyzed in terms of response, long-term survival and prognostic factors., Results: By the end of Jul. 2006, 5 patients still alive; the median follow-up time was 30 (2-70) months. The median survival time after relapse was 22 (2-62) months. Of the 45 patients, 42 (93.3%) received salvage regimen, the response rate was 61.9% (26/42); for those received second-line chemotherapy, the response rate was 52.4% (22/42). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 75.6%, 17.8%, and 4.4% for the whole group, 82.1%, 25.0%, and 5.8% for low risk group and 64.7%, 6.5%, and 6.5% for high risk group, respectively (P=0.026). Multivariate analysis showed that serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (P=0.010), second-line Ann Arbor stage (P=0.009), second-line IPI score (P=0.015), autologous stem cell transplantation (P=0.026), performance status (P=0.002), and IMVP-16 regimen (P=0.026) were independent prognostic factors of relapsed or refractory T-NHL., Conclusions: Second-line IPI score, autologous stem cell transplantation, and so on, may be independent prognostic factors for relapsed or refractory T-NHL. The prognosis of this disease is poor and the addition of intensive treatments, such as stem cell transplantation, should be considered when alleviated after chemotherapy.

Background & Objective: The incidence of mucositis caused by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is relatively high. The severe painful mucositis can reduce the quality of life of patients obviously. Transdermal fentanyl is efficient in treating chronic pain of cancer, and also can relieve the severe pain of mucositis resulted from chemotherapy. This study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of transdermal fentanyl for the severe painful mucositis caused by AHSCT., Methods: A total of 22 malignant tumor patients suffered from severe mucositis caused by high dose chemotherapy combined AHSCT. The analgesic degree before and after treatment was evaluated by the scores of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (range 0-10). The median VAS scores of all patients were above 4 (moderate to severe pain) before the administration of transdermal fentanyl. The quality of life before and after treatment was evaluated by the Standard of Quality of Life drew up in China in 1990. The adverse events after treatment were evaluated by Common Toxicity Criteria formulated by National Cancer Institute of the USA., Results: The median VAS score has been decreased from baseline at 6 (4-9) to 3.5 (0-9) on Day 3, 2 (0-6) on Day 5, 0.5 (0-8) on Day 7, 0 (0-6) on Day 10, and 0 (0-5) on Day 15 after treatment (P<0.001). The overall response rate was 100%, while the complete response rate was 45.5%. The quality of life of the patients was improved significantly (P<0.01). The adverse events after treatment of transdermal fentanyl included dizziness, somnolence, dysuria, mild and transient nausea, vomiting, discomfort of stomach, and so on. All the adverse events disappeared within several days after proper managements. Neither severe adverse event nor drug addiction was found., Conclusions: Transdermal fentanyl has good analgesic effect on painful severe mucositis induced by AHSCT. It is convenient and well tolerated, and could improve quality of life significantly.

Background & Objective: Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a group of heterogeneous malignancy with poor prognosis. The role of international prognostic index (IPI) in PTCL remains to be determined. It is necessary to find new molecular markers for PTCL. This study was to evaluate the clinical significance of nm23-H1 and MUC-1 in predicting the prognosis of PTCL., Methods: The expression of nm23-H1 and MUC-1 proteins in 96 specimens of PTCL was detected by SP immunohistochemistry. The correlations of nm23-H1 and MUC-1 expression to clinical features, objective response, and overall survival of PTCL patients were analyzed., Results: Of the 96 patients, 78 (81.2%) were nm23-H1-positive, 56 (58.3%) were MUC-1-positive. Neither of the expression of nm23-H1 and MUC-1 was correlated to the pathologic subtype of PTCL (P>0.05). The high expression of nm23-H1 was associated with some poor prognostic factors such as stage III-IV, performance status (PS)> or =2, extranodal involvement, and more than one site of extranodal involvement (P<0.05). The high expression of MUC-1 was only associated with stage III-IV and more than one site of extranodal involvement (P<0.05). Of the 89 patients with evaluable disease, the overall response rate was 87.8% with a complete remission (CR) rate of 56.7%. The CR rate was significantly higher in nm23-H1-negative patients than in nm23-H1-positive patients (66.7% vs. 55.4%, P<0.05), and significantly higher in the patients with low nm23-H1 expression than in those with high nm23-H1 expression (79.9% vs. 44.0%, P<0.05); the CR rate was higher in MUC-1-negative patients than in MUC-1-positive patients, and higher in the patients with low MUC-1 expression than in those with high MUC-1 expression, but the differences were not significant. The median follow-up of the whole group was 30 months (range, 2-98 months), and the median survival time was 32 months [95% confidence interval (CI)= 26-34 months]. The overall 5-year survival rate of the whole group was 35.1%. The overall 5-year survival rate was significantly higher in nm23-H1-negative patients than in nm23-H1-positive patients (86.7% vs. 24.9%, P=0.001), and significantly higher in the patients with low nm23-H1 expression than in those with high nm23-H1 expression (52.3% vs. 21.7%, P<0.001). The overall 5-year survival rate was slightly higher in MUC-1-negative patients than in MUC-1-positive patients (47.9% vs. 28.5%, P>0.05), and slightly higher in the patients with low MUC-1 expression than in those with high MUC-1 expression (46.2% vs. 22.2%, P>0.05). Multivariant analysis showed that IPI score and nm23-H1 expression were independent prognostic factors of PTCL., Conclusions: Overexpression of nm23-H1 is related to poor prognosis of PTCL; it may be a potential prognostic index of PTCL. Overexpression of MUC-1 is not related to.