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Because of lacking studies of urolithiasis in children, we detected the biochemical metabolic levels and FokⅠ polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in Uyghur children with urolithiasis, and evaluated the associations of biochemical metabolic levels with FokⅠ genotypes. We included 142 Uyghur children (108 males) under age 14 years with a diagnosis of urolithiasis and 238 Uyghur children (154 males) under age 14 years without a history of urolithiasis as controls. Baseline information and data for serum and urine parameters were obtained from medical records. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to analyze the VDR FokⅠ polymorphisms. In univariate analyses adjusting for age and sex, carbon dioxide combining power (CO2CP) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.19), serum magnesium (Mg) (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.03-1.56) and serum chlorine (Cl) (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.88-0.97) were related to Uyghur children urolithiasis risk. A multiple logistic regression model showed CO2CP (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.09-1.26), levels of uric acid (OR = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00-1.01) and serum sodium (Na) (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82-0.99) were associated with pediatric urolithiasis. The risk of urolithiasis was increased with the F versus f allele overall (OR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.01-2.00) and for males (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.02-2.27). However, metabolic levels did not differ by FokⅠ genotypes. In our population, CO2CP and levels of uric acid and serum Na as well as polymorphism of the F allele of the VDR FokⅠ may provide important clues to evaluate the risk of urolithiasis in Uyghur children.

BackgroundAt present, the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is mainly based on radiotherapy, but there are many radiation delivery techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and 2-dimensional radiotherapy (2D-RT).Materials and methodsWe searched all the eligible studies through the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, and Embase. The endpoint events in meta-analysis were overall survival (OS), tumor local control including local-regional free survival (LRFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and late toxicities.ResultsA total of ten publications met the criteria and were identified through searches of the databases and references. We included 13304 patients in the meta-analysis, of whom 5212 received IMRT and 8092 were allocated to 2D-RT alone group. Compared with 2D-RT treatment, the IMRT group was associated with a better 5-year OS (OR = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.36-2.12), LRFS (OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.82-2.37), and PFS (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.26-1.56). Additionally, the incidence of late toxicities such as late xerostomia (OR = 0.21; 95% CI = 0.09-0.51), trismus (OR = 0.16; 95% CI = 0.04-0.60), and temporal lobe neuropathy (TLN) (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.24-0.67) for NPC patients in IMRT group were significantly lower than 2D-RT.ConclusionsThe meta-analysis demonstrates that IMRT provides improved long-term tumor overall survival and local control including LRFS and PFS. Additionally, IMRT yields a lower incidence of late toxicities induced by irradiation in NPC patients. Compared to 2D-RT, IMRT may be an effective treatment for patients with NPC. Further intensive studies should be pursued to examine the association.

BackgroundAssociation between polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure and breast cancer risk has been widely studied, but the results remain controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the evidences from observational studies on PCB exposure and breast cancer risk.MethodsRelevant studies with data on internal PCB dose were identified from PubMed, EMBASE, CBM and CNKI databases through November 2014. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess the association between PCB exposure and breast cancer risk. Heterogeneity test, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis and publication bias test were also performed. To further explore the association between specific groups of PCB congeners and breast cancer, we examined the PCB congeners classified, according to their structural, biological and pharmacokinetics properties, as group I (potentially estrogenic), group II (potentially anti-estrogenic and immunotoxic, dioxin-like), and group III (phenobarbital, CYP1A and CYP2B inducers, biologically persistent).ResultsOf 660 studies screened, 25 studies which met criteria were selected, involving a total of 12866 participants (6088 cases and 6778 controls) from eight countries. The results showed that the risk of breast cancer was associated with group II (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08-1.40) and group III (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.09-1.43) PCBs, but not with group I (OR = 1.10, 95%CI: 0.97-1.24) PCBs or total PCB exposure (OR = 1.09, 95%CI: 0.97-1.22).ConclusionsOur meta-analysis based on the selected studies found group II and group III PCB exposure might contribute to the risk of breast cancer. More studies in developing countries with higher PCB levels are needed, as well as studies to explore the relationships between mixtures of organochlorine compounds and breast cancer risk.