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To analyze the distribution of pathogens and risk factors of mortality inThe clinical data, infection relevant indexes, and prognosis of patients withA total of 80 patients withThe most common strain of

Purpose: To design an alternative workflow for cancer-risk assessment to predict distant metastasis (DM) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: We enrolled 234 patients with non-disseminated NPC and a family history of cancer who underwent intensity-modulated radiotherapy and concurrent chemo-radiotherapy with/without induction chemotherapy in our primary cohort. We conducted univariate and multivariate analyses of the associated prognostic factors, built a nomogram model for distant-metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and confirmed the prognostic value of weight-loss ratio (WTratio). The secondary cohort included 97 patients with available pre-DNA levels who were treated at our cancer center. We performed internal validation with the primary cohort and external validation with the secondary cohort, and compared the new DMFS model with the current 7th TNM staging system. Results: In the primary cohort, 95.9% patients experienced weight loss. The N group (N2-3 vs. N0-1, P = 0.037) and pre-DNA level (P = 0.02) were independent prognostic factors for DMFS in NPC patients. Smoking (P = 0.051) and WTratio (P = 0.052) showed a significant trend for DMFS. WTratio was an independent prognostic factor for DMFS (P = 0.03). Smoking, WTratio, N group, and pre-DNA level were merged to build a risk-score model for DMFS using a nomogram, which could predict survival after internal and external validation. Conclusions: Maintaining body weight during treatment is essential to prevent DM of NPC. Compared with the current 7th TNM staging system, the new DMFS model might better predict DM of NPC. The alternative workflow designed could be applied for prognostic analysis of other cancers.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were reported to be involved in the development of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, the study on miRNAs in ccRCC is far from complete. The present study identified miRNAs which could act as potential novel prognostic markers for ccRCC, and analyzed its possible mechanism. We found that miR-19a correlated with poor prognosis of ccRCC patients via promoting cell proliferation and suppressing PTEN/SMAD4 expression. Both the microarray screening result and TCGA KIRC dataset analysis showed that miR-19a was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues, and further analysis of TCGA data revealed that the upregulated level of miR-19a was strongly associated with advanced T stage and poor prognosis of ccRCC patients. Consistent with clinical observations, miR-19a overexpression significantly promoted ccRCC cell proliferation in vitro. To further explore the mechanism by which miR-19a correlated with cell proliferation and poor prognosis of ccRCC, we performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for target genes of miR-19a in ccRCC patients. Result indicated that the key target genes of miR-19a included SMAD4 and PTEN. In ccRCC tissues, expression levels of SMAD4 and PTEN were negatively correlated with expression level of miR-19a, revealing that miR-19a suppressed the expression of SMAD4 and PTEN in ccRCC patients. miR-19a overexpression significantly suppressed the expression of SMAD4 and PTEN in vitro, further verifying that SMAD4 and PTEN were the target genes of miR-19a in ccRCC cells. Our results elucidated the tumor promoting role of miR-19a and established miR-19a as a potential novel prognostic marker for ccRCC.

OBJECTIVE Osteoprotegerin (OPG) may predict progression of chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) with increased mortality and play an important role in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Mounting evidence suggests that PAH developed during CHF is not solely caused by a "passive" increase from the left ventricular enddiastolic pressure, but rather a "reactive" response from contributing lung endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodelling, a pathological process that can be significantly influenced by endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs).This study aims to examine whether circulating EPCs from patients with CHF are affected and if OPG could be implicated during disease progression. METHODS In this study EPCs were isolated, cultured, and quantified from patients of CHF with (n = 20) or without PAH (n=40) as measured by right heart catheterization. Serum levels of OPG and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) were analysed and correlated with EPCs. RESULTS A significant decrease in circulating EPCs (39.3 ?9.1 vs 67.1 ?10.5 EPCs/x200 field; P